4R Cantina Food Truck at Disney Springs

4R Cantina Food Truck recently opened at Disney Springs. Similar to the other 4 Rivers locations, smoked meats were served here but with a Mexican twist. They had standard items including tacos, quesadillas, and nachos, but the one item everyone was talking about was the taco cone.

I had the Brisket Barbacoa Taco Cone. The cone was made from a deep fried tortilla spiraled into a cone shape. This was filled with shredded brisket, lettuce, guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, queso, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime. It was all very tasty and the cone shape made it mobile with the food truck's lack of seating. My complaint about the whole thing was the shape of cone and getting to the bottom. There was plenty of good stuff like guacamole and sour cream at the top, but it was hard to mix up those ingredients to the bottom since the cone got narrower and narrower. Regardless, I very much enjoyed my taco cone!

Just Smokin' BBQ Food Truck in Tampa, FL

I was over in Downtown Tampa for an event a few weeks ago and found some food trucks parked outside. I decided to have lunch from a truck called Just Smokin' BBQ. Looks like they specialize in Memphis style barbeque.

I had the BBQ Nachos. This was pulled pork with nacho cheese, BBQ sauce, and jalapenos served over tortilla chips. They normally do sweet barbecue sauce on the nachos. I saw they had mustard based sauce which I like better, so I had them switch it out. The nachos were pretty tasty overall. They weren't the most creative version of nachos I've ever had, but they did the trick. I'd probably have this again.

Porkie's Original BBQ in Apopka, FL

I had lunch at Porkie's Original BBQ in Apopka on a couple occasions recently.  On my first visit, I tried a sandwich called the Sloppy Cow. This consisted of shredded pieces of brisket, topped with grilled onions and a horseradish sauce served on a round hamburger-like bun. I ordered collards and Brunswick stew as my sides. The sandwich was unique compared to what I see at most barbecue places. The brisket was nice and tender, had good flavor, and the horseradish added to the meat's flavor. I enjoyed the Brunswick stew, mostly because it isn't a food I see often in Florida's barbecue restaurants. The collards were good but forgettable.

I had the Pig Dip on another visit. Unlike the Sloppy Cow, I wasn't a big fan of this sandwich. Two pieces of pressed bread were filled with thickly sliced pork. An au jus for moistening up the sandwich was served on the side. The thick slices of pork were a bit chewy, had a little too much fat, and lacked flavor for my liking. The au jus didn't really help with flavor. It just made the bread soggy. I used more of the barbecue sauce on the table compared to the au jus. I ordered collards and Jim's Dirty Taters as my sides this time. I mentioned the collards were good but forgettable. I had forgotten I ordered them last time I was here. Still tasty enough on this visit. The potatoes were the best part of the meal on this visit. They were cut sort of like home fries and topped with all sorts of delicious seasonings.

My conclusions from eating at Porkie's a couple times now. Get the Sloppy Pig but skip the Pig Dip. Interesting that I liked brisket much better than pork at a restaurant named Porkie's...

Terrace BBQ at SeaWorld Orlando

I was at SeaWorld and had dinner at a restaurant called Terrace BBQ. This is located in a building once occupied by the Hospitality House where you could get free beer when Anheuser-Busch owned the park. I noticed Anheuser-Busch beers were still available in here, but you have to pay for them now. I was last at Sea World back in October and this building had an Italian buffet in it then, so the conversion to Terrace BBQ has apparently happened within the past couple months.

I tried the rib platter. This came with three good sized ribs, macaroni & cheese, and a roll. The ribs were good, covered in a slightly spicy dry rub. One of the three contained more fat that I would have liked, but they were otherwise good. The macaroni and cheese was also good. It was very cheesy and had nice bits of crumbled something over the top. Texture in macaroni is good. The roll was disappointing mushy white bread.

As far as Orlando theme park food goes, I normally rank SeaWorld last on the list. I've had some pretty bad food in the park, so I was a bit surprised when the ribs and macaroni were actually tasty. With SeaWorld's financial woes and budget cuts all over their parks, it is good to see their food hasn't suffered. Hopefully these ribs were a sign that it's getting better!

Smokey Joe's BBQ in Sanford, FL

I had lunch at Smokey Joe's BBQ in Sanford (not to be confused with Smokey Bones right up the street). This restaurant took over the space formerly occupied by Boston's Fish House. I wasn't a big fan of Boston's when they first opened but their food did seem to improve over time. I guess everyone's bad experiences when they first opened stuck in people's minds because they eventually closed. Now it is Smokey Joe's turn to try their luck at running a restaurant in this location. Normally barbeque restaurants are have pretty standard fare, and Smokey Joe's was no exception. They had plates where a meat and sides were chosen. There were sandwiches. Pretty much what you would expect on the menu for a place serving barbecue in this area.

I had the Pulled Pork Plate. This came with meat, two sides, and Texas toast. I picked the mac & cheese and fried okra as my sides. Everything looked good, but I was less than pleased after tasting the food. With the exception of the okra, none of the items on the plate were hot. In fact, just about everything was about room temperature. This made me a bit wary, especially when it came to the pork. It tasted alright, but was nothing noteworthy. The mac & cheese was served at a similar temperature and lacked flavor. The cheese part of the mac & cheese was barely noticeable. The fried okra was the only thing which was hot, hopefully because it was freshly made. Unfortunately, the batter was far to salty (and I like salty foods). The Texas toast was also forgettable.

There was nothing about Smokey Joe's that gave me any reason to go back. There are far too many other good barbecue restaurants in the area to deal with forgettable and cold food. Hopefully this place will be like Boston's Fish House and will improve their food. If not, I see them being open for less time than Boston's was...

Lone Star Barbecue & Mercantile in Santee, SC

Driving back towards Florida along I-95, I stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Lone Star Barbecue & Mercantile in Santee, SC. This place was located in a complex of several old wooden houses right outside of Santee State Park.

Lone Star offered both a menu to order from as well as a buffet. I decided to try their buffet.

My first plate of food samplings included pulled pork, collards, black eyed peas, macaroni & cheese, tomato pie, and corn fritters. Most of the food on the plate was tasty. The pork was nice and tender. The corn fritters were on the dry side. The tomato pie was an interesting food that I had never tried before. It was basically layers of bread and slice tomatoes, baked together in a creamy sauce. It was interesting, but not something I'd go out of my way to order.

Second plate included fried chicken, rice topped with some sort of pork stew, lima beans, cole slaw, and hush puppies. Chicken had good batter. The hush puppies were definitely better than the other corn fritters that I tried on my previous plate.

For dessert, I tried some blueberry cobbler, banana pudding, and chocolate pudding. The blueberry cobbler was definitely the best of the three.

I do enjoy trying these little independent places on my trips. Lone Star Barbecue was only about a mile off I-95 and was a far superior choice to stopping into a Subway in a truck stop for some travel food...

Kenny & Denny's BBQ at Orlando Farmers Market

I visited the Orlando Farmers Market in Lake Eola on a recent Sunday afternoon and bought lunch from Kenny & Denny's BBQ. Their menu consisted of turkey legs, sandwiches, quesadillas, and breakfast items. I ordered the BBQ Pulled Pork Quesadilla.

The quesadilla consisted of a tortilla filled with a generous portion of pulled pork, cheese, onions, and barbecue sauce. The whole thing was grilled until everything melted together, then was sliced and served. I did enjoy the combination of smoked meat, cheese, and barbeque sauce. The quesadilla was dripping grease while I was eating, probably a sign of how unhealthy it was. Still, the quesadilla was very tasty and I'd order this again at some point.

4 Rivers Smokehouse in Longwood, FL

Everyone seems to love 4 Rivers Smokehouse. As much hype as the original location in Winter Park received, I didn't try 4 Rivers until they opened a location very close to where I live in Longwood. Since then, I've visited the restaurant several times and I do enjoy their food. I wouldn't necessarily say it's the hands down best barbecue around but they are pretty tasty with some interesting variations on the barbecue restaurant standards. 

Pulled Pork Sandwich: This was pretty standard pulled pork sandwich. Shredded pork with barbecue sauce sandwiched between two halves of a bun. A very boring sandwich compared to some of the other stuff on 4 River's menu.

BBQ Quesadilla: I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Pulled pork with melted cheese in a grilled tortilla. The smoked flavor of the meat and the barbecue sauce went really well with the cheese. Why does cheese rarely come on barbecue sandwiches? I liked it. Had a side of collards and macaroni & cheese.

Messy Pig: Basically the same pulled pork sandwich as above, only with the addition of coleslaw and jalapenos. The additional toppings definitely add dimension to an otherwise boring pork sandwich.

Six Shooter: This is one of the more interesting menu items that 4 Rivers has. It consists of baked cheese grits topped with pulled pork, coleslaw, jalapenos, and pickles. Cheese grits topped with anything is normally good, and this is no exception. Also note the bacon-wrapped smoked jalapenos that I choose as a side. Seemed like they should have had potential but the peppers were too soggy for my liking.

Burnt Ends: This sandwich was filled with 4 River's Burnt Ends which is a mixture of pork and brisket. Because the Burnt Ends were very saucy, much like the pulled pork, I didn't taste too much of a difference between the two sandwiches. The sauce was the dominant flavor on both so differences in the meat were somewhat buried. I was expecting to notice a bit more of a difference with the brisket in there, but I didn't. Fried okra and collards were my sides with this sandwich.

There we go. Those are the food pictures from my visits to 4 Rivers. The barbecue is good, but one thing that bothers me about this place is their serving methods. They just unceremoniously dump the food on wax paper over trays, half the time covering the order written on the same paper with a grease pencil. Whether those pencils are food-safe or not, I don't want to be eating that stuff with my burnt ends. I've also gone with people that have just ordered sides (on multiple occasions). Instead of giving them their own tray, they put their meal on the trays belonging to other people in our group who have ordered meats/sandwiches, resulting in us having to uncomfortably eat off of the same tray. We always seem to forget to ask for them to put the food on separate trays because we seem to assume that new person equals a new tray. Minor things really, and I seem to be one of the few people to be bothered by it judging by the following that 4 Rivers has. I'm not convinced to put a 4 Rivers bumper sticker on my car yet, but I'll definitely return for more barbecue at some point...

Durham's Best Barbeque in Elkton, MD

I stopped in Elkton, MD for lunch. I got off I-95 at this exit and had a few interesting food choices. One was a seafood restaurant selling food from a shipping container. Another choice, and the winner for the meal was BBQ in a log cabin called Durham's Best Barbeque.

I had the beef brisket sandwich, topped with peppers and onions. Durham's gave a huge amount of meat, all overflowing out of the bun. It had nice flavor but was a bit dry. The small cups of barbecue sauce that were supplied weren't enough to moisten the sandwich. The peppers and onions were very skimpy and went almost unnoticed.

Smokin Pig in Pooler, GA

Time for some travel blogging! I drove up to Maryland at the beginning of June. One of my favorite ways to keep the drive interesting is seeking out little restaurants hidden away off I-95. All along the interstate south of DC, it seems like there's a whole lot of barbecue to be had.

One of the barbecue stops on this trip was at the Smokin Pig in Pooler, GA. After following a billboard led me to a closed restaurant, I decided instead to put my phone to use. I did a search on Yelp and saw that the Smokin Pig was nearby. I also learned that I should avoid their cole slaw from Chris of Eat Local Orlando who had written the most recent review of the place. Aren't smartphones wonderful?

I had the Pork Plate. The pulled pork came with garlic bread and two sides. I choose macaroni & cheese and Brunswick stew. The pork was served sauceless, but there were several barbecue sauces to choose from on the table. I liked their vinegar sauce, but their mustard based bbq sauce was even better. I've never seen mustard based sauce outside of Georgia and that's too bad since I really like it. The macaroni was average. The Brunswick stew was good, although it did remind me somewhat of vegetable soup.

My co-pilot for the trip had a chicken sandwich. Looked like thick slices of chicken on a hamburger bun. She picked the cole slaw as her side. There was no complaints.

I liked my food from the Smokin Pig. I'd stop here again if I lived in this part of Georgia, but I don't. That means I'll probably never return, but who knows, there are a few other BBQ places that I've made multiple visits to on my drives up I-95 (See Dixie Bones).

Up in Smoke Pit Bar-B-Q in Tallahassee, FL

While on a weekend trip to Tallahassee, I had barbecue for the third time in three days. Not sure how I ended up eating at Sonny's, Wiregrass Boys, and then Up in Smoke Pit Bar-B-Q in that short amount of time, but it happened.

 I had their two meat combo. I picked the pulled pork and smoked turkey, with collards, pretzel macaroni & cheese, and garlic toast. The pork was tasty with very little fat. The turkey was thickly sliced with a nice smokey flavor. The meats were especially good with their mustard barbecue sauce. If I remember correctly, mustard barbecue sauce is Georgia style. I was intrigued by the pretzel macaroni & cheese when I ordered it, but it was normal mac & cheese topped with crumbled pretzels.

Overall, I enjoyed my meal at Up in Smoke!

 

Wiregrass Boys Southern Cuisine in Tallahassee, FL

I was up in Tallahassee for a conference at FSU and a catered lunch from Wiregrass Boys Southern Cuisine was involved. Turns out that the lunch was more barbecue (day after I ate lunch at the original Sonny's Bar-B-Q), specifically pulled pork and various sides. The meat was being smoked nearby on site.

The food was served cafeteria-style from foil trays. It was not the most effective system since my food was just slightly above room temperature when I ate. Nothing more appealing than lukewarm meat...

The plate of food involved pulled pork, baked beans, macaroni & cheese, a roll, and chocolate chip cookie. In terms of taste, the sides were all very average and the meat needed some sort of better sauce than the prepackaged Bulls-eye sauce that was supplied.

Overall, the food was pretty average but I honestly was expecting better. Homemade barbecue fresh from a smoker normally is way better than this...

Big Jims Bar-B-Q Food Truck in Melbourne, FL

I tried a food truck in Melbourne called Big Jims Bar-B-Q. Big Jims seems to be set up in a semi-permanent location along 192 in an empty lot occupied with the main trailer, a couple of smokers, and some picnic tables. I decided to get the pulled pork sandwich combo, served with two sides.

I tried the collard greens and cornbread for my two sides. I liked the collards, but the cornbread was very dry and could have used some butter for some extra flavor.

The sandwich was good, with loads of pork drenched in a vinegary barbecue sauce. Only complaint was that the sauce soaked down to the lower bun and made the bread very soggy. Regardless, the sandwich tasted good and was a whole lot of food for $7...

Cowboys Bar B-Q & Steak Co. in Ft. Pierce, FL

I stopped for dinner at Cowboys Bar B-Q & Steak Co. in Ft. Pierce based on a recommendation while driving down south. I'm not all too familiar with the area, but I'm pretty sure I ate a meal at a R.J. Gators that used to be in this building a few years ago.

I ordered their pulled pork dinner. The menu claimed it was award winning. Sounds good to me. The pork was nice and tender with very little fat. It had a great smokey flavor and there were plenty of barbecue sauces on the table to sample with the pork. I had waffle fries and corn on the cob for my two sides. I liked the corn, although all of the salt and pepper on top was definitely a bit on the strong side. The waffle fries tasted like fries should. Garlic bread was the only part of the dinner I didn't like. It was boring white bread with very little garlic flavor. I suppose that's what the butter was for...