I have a friend who hates any word used to describe food.
Well not any word, but those words that people who love talking about food will
bash around: delicious, tasty, succulent, smothered, gelatinous, lip-smacking. Oh,
you know the sort I mean.
So...I guess he’s going to hate this blog entry, because it’s
going to be pretty hard to talk about Grillstock, Bristol’s king of the BBQ, without
launching myself into fifty shades of food porn. Indeed, it seems I’m not
alone. Nearly every review, tweet or Facebook mention I’ve read of it so far
has been dripping in alliterative adjectives (smoky, sticky and succulent –
hell, the company’s slogan is ‘Meat, Music and Mayhem’).
So I’ll try my very best but be warned friend, you’re not
going to like it. Not one tantalisingly tasty titbit of it.
I first heard about Grillstock when I went to the festival
they held in Bristol in May. I didn’t know anything about them but someone had
told me that Kitty, Daisy and Lewis were playing and there would be beer and
meat (this was further backed up by a huge banner advertising chorizo lollipops
as soon as you walked in – my sister thought she was dreaming). The festival
was superb, with the aforementioned beer being provided by Brooklyn Brewery and
tons of excellent meat-based products (all smoky and succulent the lot of it).
So when I heard that the company behind this festival of ingenuity had built
upon their stand in St Nick’s market, and opened a restaurant on the Triangle,
it was a real no-brainer.
The first thing I would say to anyone thinking of going to
Grillstock, is to go. Just go. Right now. Why are you reading this blog? You
could be eating smoky meat.
If I still have any of you after that, I’ll move on.
Having spent a year in North America I would say I’m a
pretty harsh critic of American style grub. So often it falls short of what I
want it to be. If I was a bit of a
pretentious person I might drop in my experience of a Brooklyn smokehouse last winter
but as I’m not, I’ll just hint at it in a passively sarcastic way. The bottom
line is BBQ rules OK and I’m so pleased that Grillstock have brought it to
Bristol.
Just from the look of Grillstock I was pretty excited. The
theme is wood - there’s wood everywhere. Wicked Southern music plays
in the background and beers are served in those little cans I like.
Unsurprisingly, Grillstock is all about the meat and all about the portions. Don’t
bother going if you’re a bit precious because this isn’t the place for you.
It’s a big communal table full of people drinking and getting rib sauce in
their hair. We took a seat and prepared to join them.
Now let’s be straight, choosing what to eat was an extremely
difficult decision because everything sounds great. Unfortunately when we
visited they were out of ribs and jalapenos (gosh darned it we’ll have to
return!). As a group we ended up opting for a mix of the burger and BBQ
platters and were not disappointed. There was also big love for the serving
style (everything is served on a metal tray which makes you feel a bit like
you’re in prison – in a good way). The burgers were really good, topped with
pulled pork and full of gherks which always earns top marks from me. The
platters come with cornbread and a sausage – since when is sausage a side?
Amazing. I managed to snaffle a bit of the cornbread and it was really light
and sweet and went really well with the spicy, smoky meat. No luck on the
sausage-snaffling front, but there’s always next time.
I ordered a side of burnt ends which definitely split
opinion in a sort of Marmite-y way. Burnt ends are the ends of the brisket
which are put back in the smoker so they turn chewy and really dark in
colour and taste. There was broad agreement that they were good but there’s no
denying the texture’s a bit weird and for some it was a bridge too far. It was
agreed however that the BBQ beans ruled the roost which seems obvious when you
think that someone decided to put pulled pork in them.
As we chomped our way through, we were sitting next to a
group of guys who were out on a “bloke’s night out”. Most of them ordered the
‘Lockjaw’ burger which I’m not going to list on here but safe to say we were in
awe of their abilities. If only we could go that extra mile, eat that extra beef
patty! Maybe one day. As they (all) finished their plates they looked really,
really happy. And I think that’s what Grillstock is, just really good fun. I’m already planning my return visit. Mainly
because I have unfinished business with that sausage, but also because I can’t
wait to take everyone I know here. It’s a truly communal and exciting
experience.
We obviously enjoyed ourselves immensely as we left after
managing to get BBQ sauce all over our elbows, chins and even anointing the
queen on a £5 note. So much so that it was decline by Sainsbury’s.
Next time I’m fixing for some brisket on a twenty.
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