As we rolled through Lakeside heading to Pinetop last weekend, we noticed this joint. Lisa said the place looked busy and that the parking lot was full. It looked like a pretty decent place so Lisa and I decided to visit before we headed back down the hill.
We stopped in on Saturday afternoon at about 4:30 and there were only about 4 customers. Honestly, it was perfect for us with 3 young kids in tow.
The girl at the counter was awesome and told us a bit about the place and described the four different sauces that they had. Lisa talked with the owner's brother for a bit and found out that they are cooking with a Cookshack (260 I think) and using pecan smoke. Overall service was great, and got even better.
Lisa ordered a "John Wesley Hardin" (PP sammy w/ one side) and I ordered a "Pearl Heart, The Bandit Queen" (CAB Brisket sammy w/ one side). Lisa got beans and I got Sweet Potato fries as our sides. We also got two drinks and total cost was about $20. The counter girl brought out our food within 5 minutes of ordering and also made a few extra trips to our table bringing extra plates.
Both sammys were served on toasted ciabatta bread, with a pickle in addition to our sides. Pork was a bit flavorless without sauce, nothing special at all. Brisket was awesome and probably the best brisket at a BBQ restaurant that we have ever tasted. It was served sliced about 1/4" thick and had a great flavor and texture. Oh yeah.........if you sit there and try to do the pull test on a brisket slice at a BBQ restaurant, you're a nerd (and people will look at you).
Beans were great, one of the best ever. They add brisket and pork and they aren't overly sweet.
Sweet Potato fries were good, just good, and were cut fresh and not frozen. Still, they were a bit greasy, but then again it was fried.
We tried all four of the Stolen Recipe BBQ Sauces 1) Original 2) Honey Pineapple 3) Habanero and 4) Chipotle. The kids loved the Honey Pineapple and Lisa and I really enjoyed the Habanero. Original was good, but nothing special and we didn't care for the Chipotle.
The owner's brother came out after we had eaten and asked for an honest opinion on the food. We basically told him what I said above and he then asked if we had tried the ribs. Since we hadn't, he brought us out 5 individual ribs to sample. They were full spares and tasted pretty good with the pecan smoke (a bit more rub may have helped though). Still, he was kind enough to bring out some free ribs for us to sample, so props to Stolen recipe BBQ.
Overall, it was a very pleasant experience. The next time we are in Lakeside, we'll definitely stop in.
