Monday, December 21, 2015

Smokey The Beast aka BBQ in Paris

As much as I love France, there are some things from the US that just do not exist here. My friends. Trader Joe's. The weather in Los Angeles. Great restaurants open ALL afternoon. Free checking. Customer service which allows instant refunds and / or exchanges. In exchange for all those things, I have heavenly bakeries, healthcare and medicine that is almost free, low cost efficient public transportation, and a spirit of community which treats everyone, including restaurant servers, with respect and gives them a living wage. No place is perfect, but that doesn't mean that I don't still try to find all that I want no matter where I am in the world. 

Finding good BBQ in Paris is one of my quests. I had a truly good spicy pork rib at Frog Revolution, a pub with 24 beers on tap, but it is more a place to go drink with food than the other way around. The Beast, on the other hand, is a place to eat with great drinks, including craft beers and very rare bourbons. Prices range from 9-24 Euros ($11-27 US) for the meats, 4-5 Euros ($5-6 US) for the sides, and a lunch menu of 15 Euros ($17) for a meat, side and drink, it's a good deal for the best BBQ I've had in Paris. The first time I went, I had the pork ribs with a side of greens, and a beer. the pork ribs were tender in the center, but dry on the end, needing the delicious tomato based BBQ sauce to moisten the meat.

The beef brisket was excellent, with a wonderful peppercorn crust, nice smoke, and juicy meat, good enough to eat without any sauce at all.
The smoker is from Texas and they had to remove the doors to get it inside the place.
The greens weren't bad, with plenty of pork goodness, but they needed salt and heat to make them better, unfortunately Parisian taste is not known for having any tolerance for spice, so sneak in some hot sauce if you want to perk up this side, or take it home and doctor it up.
The pickles and pickled onions were excellent, with a crisp texture and vinegary bite.
The baked beans were the best side I tasted, with a smokey tomato base, just slightly sweet.
The decor reminds you that the owner spent some time in Texas, but fortunately there were no chainsaws in sight :)

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