Paul's BBQ, 2008
I haven't been to Paul's since I took my dad there exactly a year ago while my mom was in the hospital. I've been trying to eat lunch with my aunts every Friday when I'm in Lincoln and they wanted to go to Paul's this time and I was all for it since it had been so long. I've been exposed to a lot of BBQ in South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas since the last time I went to Paul's so I was interested in doing some comparing.
We met at 11:30 because I knew the lunch rush would be huge. By noon the place was packed. I had the brisket sandwich and a couple of ribs. I think I've always had the pork sandwich when I've been there before. Like good BBQ is intended, the meat doesn't really need any sauce. The beef was tender and smoky, but not overpowering, served on a Kaiser roll.
The option to add 2 ribs is pretty neat. Normally I don't order ribs because there isn't enough meat to justify the cost, and they usually aren't that good. These ribs were perfect. No need for sauce. The meat pulled off the bone cleanly and the flavor was out of this world.
I advised both my aunts to get sweet potato fries and they sounded skeptical but they were pretty happy with that recommendation. I used to think the sweet potato fries at all the local restaurants came from the same place and maybe they do but Paul's cooks 'em up better than anyone else. At most places, like Wilderness Ridge for example, the fries are overcooked, dry and flavorless. Paul's were crisp but tender, and they were hot.
My one gripe with Paul's is that the sauces they offer, although you don't sauces there, are too sweet. I'd love it if they added a third sauce that was more vinegar and mustard based but still spicy.
I drove by Paul's around 1800 on my way home from work and it was packed again. I'm glad a real BBQ place can exist and thrive in Lincoln. I just wish they'd make a sauce that's spicy but not so sweet.
We met at 11:30 because I knew the lunch rush would be huge. By noon the place was packed. I had the brisket sandwich and a couple of ribs. I think I've always had the pork sandwich when I've been there before. Like good BBQ is intended, the meat doesn't really need any sauce. The beef was tender and smoky, but not overpowering, served on a Kaiser roll.
The option to add 2 ribs is pretty neat. Normally I don't order ribs because there isn't enough meat to justify the cost, and they usually aren't that good. These ribs were perfect. No need for sauce. The meat pulled off the bone cleanly and the flavor was out of this world.
I advised both my aunts to get sweet potato fries and they sounded skeptical but they were pretty happy with that recommendation. I used to think the sweet potato fries at all the local restaurants came from the same place and maybe they do but Paul's cooks 'em up better than anyone else. At most places, like Wilderness Ridge for example, the fries are overcooked, dry and flavorless. Paul's were crisp but tender, and they were hot.
My one gripe with Paul's is that the sauces they offer, although you don't sauces there, are too sweet. I'd love it if they added a third sauce that was more vinegar and mustard based but still spicy.
I drove by Paul's around 1800 on my way home from work and it was packed again. I'm glad a real BBQ place can exist and thrive in Lincoln. I just wish they'd make a sauce that's spicy but not so sweet.
posted by Swoof at 11:23 AM
4 Comments:
Is it still on 48th and Pioneers?
@sarah: Yes, just west of 48th and Pioneers in the former laundromat.
I love Paul's. It is a wonderful, locally-owned success story that thrives by being what it is and nothing more. And best of all, it's not even a mile from my house.
I love sweet potato fries. I will have to go there soon and try them. Any idea where I can find sweet potatoes in Lincoln grocery stores? All I can find are yams. Oven fried sweet potato jo-jos are great.
I've found Paul's to be too inconsistent- especially with their ribs; too many dried-out racks, with a hydrocarbon aftertaste, like they were cooked with a lighter fluid fire.
BBQ 4 U, off of 14th, by the State Pen, has the best BBQ in town these days. The ribs are sensational- easily on a par with Arthur Bryant's in K.C. and I've yet to find pulled pork as delicious as BBQ 4 U's. The only downsides are the eccentric and too-short hours they're open- I mean, who closes at 4:00PM on a Sunday?!?!? And what self-respecting BBQ joint closes at 7:00PM on a weekday?!?!?!
But still, the meat is worth it and there is no better selection of BBQ sauces in the state. I bet they've got at least fifty for sale and about ten or so for pumping on your order.
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