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If you’re studying this photo of barbecued brisket from Blackwood BBQ and thinking something’s a bit off (besides lighting, composition, focus, etc), it’s because it’s been sliced parallel rather than perpendicular to the grain of the muscle. Who does that? Amateurs, that’s who. It all too frequently results in tough, stringy slices. When I asked owner John Naylor if this was standard operating procedure at the Loop quick-serve joint, he immediately made reference to a Yelp review some aggrieved whinger had posted complaining of the very same thing. Naylor knows the proper way to slice brisket; he says he’s on the assembly line every day keeping watch, and has seen it happen only a few times.
I haven’t tried the chicken yet, but the pulled pork was decent too, not as fatty as I prefer, but served with just a bit of sauce to keep it moist. With the recent glut of ersatz barbecue joints trying to be all things to all people, it bodes well that Blackwood isn’t muddying the waters with ribs, rib tips, manufactured burnt ends, or anything else. But they turn this on its head with five regional hot sauces: Memphis style, Kansas City, vinegar-based North Carolina style, a sweet mustard-based South Carolina, and a peppery, gritty Chicago style unlike any I’ve come across before. Standard sides include corn bread, mayo-and-vinegar-based slaw, mildly sweet beans loaded with shredded pork and green peppers, and a superlative mac ‘n’ cheese with fat, creamy elbows covered in a crusty Parmesan armor.
