Traveling the Texas Barbeque Trail Pt. 1

Texans do not take their barbeque lightly. When it comes to smoked meat, it is all serious business.

Silverado Smoke House, Corpus Christi.

Corpus Christi is a mecca of chain restaurants, but among this sea of culinary mediocrity, there are some gastronomic highlights.

The Silverado Smoke House is an independent family-owned business with a single outlet just off a major highway.

Everything is served cafeteria style. You pick the meat(s), then the sides, pay the cashier, grab the tray and go to the table.

The menu carries an extensive array of meats; beef ribs, St. Louis style pork ribs, brisket, sausage, chicken, chopped BBQ, chicken salad, pork loin, turkey, and ham. It also has Frito pies, and salads (What’s the point of going to a smoke house for salad?).

As a man of modesty, I chose one beef rib, a few pieces of pork ribs, and a little moist brisket for dinner.

The beef rib was like butter. The meat was soft, tender, and just melted in the mouth. It did not have too much of a smoky taste. Some may consider that bland; I call that not over-seasoned with the dry rub.

  

With a nice pink smoke ring around the meat, the pork rib was juicy and off-the-bone tender. The BBQ sauce was a bit on the sweeter side with a strong accent of molasses. It could use a bit of a kick in spice and some tanginess.

The moist brisket was…moist! The fat had given it so much moisture and tenderness that the entire piece was just a joy to eat. Ordering brisket moist is the only way to go for me.

The okra stew was delicious. It had just the right amount of spiciness, sweetness and seasoning.

The cole slaw (top edge of the picture) had a nice crunchiness and just the right amount of balance with sweetness and sourness. It served perfectly as a mouth cleanser for in-between bites.

These two side vegetables were my healthy option for this meal.

I also filled up a few dishes with salsa and peppers from the condiment bar across the dining room.

The salsa consisted of onions, tomatoes, radishes, and a few herbs. It had a nice crunchy bite to it. The peppers were wonderful; Jalapeño, California Green, Cherry…, I love pickled peppers!

I washed everything down with the sweet tea. It was just the perfect thing to calm down the spices in the food.

All the meats were very good. I found them standing up on their own quite well without the sauce. Eating the meats without the sauce allowed me to experience the subtle taste in them. My favorite was the beef ribs. It was just so incredibly tender and full of flavor.

No meal is complete without dessert. Next to the self-serve soda machine sat a soft-serve ice cream machine. It was included as part of the meal and of course, it’s self-serve. It did take me several tries to make a perfect cone, but the more I practiced, the more I got to eat. Yes, I ate several mini-cones and I also made myself an ice cream float. Burp!

I absolutely enjoyed my meal at Silverado. For a town better known for chain restaurant dining along the main highway, this was a good find. For everything that I had eaten, it only cost me $20.00!

 

Stella Pizza Part Deux

A few weeks after my initial visit with my friend, L, I returned to Stella with the pizza loving Tourist Tree to try more pies.

We started with the broccoli rabe with garlic and ricotta salata. The broccoli rabe was a bit on the soft side but was better than the one I had during the last visit. We enjoyed the shaved cheese on top except the top portion of the dish was not warm.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Vongole. Clams, Broccoli Rabe, Pancetta, Mozzarella.


The first thing I noticed with the pizza was the burnt blisters on the pie. It got me excited thinking the crust could be very crispy from the high heat in the wood burning oven, or…it was overcooked to a crisp.

My first bit did not disappoint me. The crust was as crisp as a cracker and answered my biting into it with a definite crackling sound. I much enjoyed the texture and favor combination of the crust, the sweetness, saltiness, and gooeyness of the cheese, the saltiness and chewiness of the clams, and the taste of the pancetta that was sprinkled on top. I thought there would be more broccoli rabe on the pizza but it took an eagle’s eyes to spot those finely chopped greens sprinkled sparsely among the other toppings.

Tourist Tree did not like the pie as much as I did. She thought the clam was too salty from the brine. My initial excitement over the pie was slightly dampened by my second slice with the crust not being as crispy and firm as my first slice. An examination of the remaining pizza revealed that the crust did not have an even crispiness throughout the pie. Some parts of it were firm and crisp, others were not.

 
 
 
 

San Daniele. Smoked Mozzarella, Prosciutto, Baby Arugula


The first thing we noticed when the pie was delivered to us was the size of the pie. The rim of the pie was much thicker and rounder than our other pie. There was also much less blistering on the surface. The appearance also confirmed my suspicion that the crust was not crispy. The pizza was nicely topped with plenty of prosciutto but it seemed that it had gone for a swim in the salt bath before ending up on our pizza. I understand that Starr prides himself on using high quality ingredients but this prosciutto seemed to have fallen off a Sysco truck and landed on the pizza counter.

After two trips a fortnight apart, 3 plates of appetizers, 4 pies plus a few odd slices; it is evidence that this restaurant is still on a learning curve after just a little over 2 weeks in business. It was interesting to see that the pies coming out of the oven could be so different. Yes, they were all hand made and cooked individually in a wood burning oven which takes skill to maintain a constant temperature. I do not expect them to maintain exact consistency but I do expect them to be like brothers and sisters with similar characteristics, not a tribe with people from all over the village. I did notice that they were tossing far less pies in the trash this time. Maybe a few more should have been tossed.

Stella Pizza

I was still on a high from eating at Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix a few days ago. I knew of the Stella Pizza in Philly that Stephen Starr just opened not that many days ago and had heard of the research trip that he and his staff had taken through New York City; New Heaven, Ct; and even a pilgrimage to Pizzeria Bianco before firing up the first pizza in the restaurant. The curiosity killed the cat. I couldn’t wait any longer! I grabbed my friend, L, who had just spent a year enjoying Italian life while studying in Rome.

Asparagus, Sunny-side-up Egg, Parmesan, Vinaigrette
 
We decided to start with a few appetizers while our pies were being cooked in the oven.
 
The asparagus was a bit salty. We didn’t think the vegetable itself was anything special but it was good with the cheese and the egg. As most people can tell you, everything tastes better with an egg on top.
 
 
 

Broccoli Rabe, Garlic, Ricotta Salata
 
The broccoli rabe was mushy but still quite tasty. There was a slight spiciness to it and we liked the cheese that had been sprinkled on top as it gave the dish a different character.




 
 
 
 
 

Sitting at the counter in front of the open kitchen, we had a good view of the staff making the pizzas and the pies being baked in an oven made by the same manufacturer who built the Pizzeria Bianco oven.

 Tartufo. Black Truffle, Fontina, Egg, Parmesan

The pizza was brought to us with the whole egg on top, then our waiter broke the egg and let the yoke run everywhere.

The pie had a very nice aroma from the wood burning oven with the aroma further enhanced by the truffle and the egg. The dough could be a bit crisper and thinner but I could understand that it needed the weight to hold up the egg and absorb the moisture. The flavors were all good with the pie giving a very fulfilling feeling when you bit into the slice. It’s a very satisfying pizza.

Baby Spinach, Sun Dried Tomato, Mozzarella, Pine Nuts.

The crust was thin and crispy with the strong scent of garlic drifting in every direction. This pizza had a much different character than our other pie with the thinner and crispier crust. It didn’t give us that heavy feeling with each bite but it was as tasty and as good and just as satisfying.

Abbruzze Pepperoni, Oregano, Mozzarella, Tomato.

We got friendly with the guy next to us and we traded slices.

The red sauce was excellent. It had a very natural tomato taste with just the right amount of sweetness and acidity. I thought the pepperoni was a bit salty but the sauce balanced it out nicely. The crust on this pizza was very thin. It would have been excellent if the pie had stayed in the oven for a few more seconds to get the crust a little bit crisper.

Sitting only a few feet away and across from Starr’s Culinary Director, Chris Painter, we could see that he was keeping a hawk’s eye on everything in this infancy of the restaurant. He checked every single pie that came out of the oven before putting on the toppings and running the slicer through them. We also noticed that he was tossing a lot of pies in the trash. He was tossing on average one in every five pies. I applaud their strict adhesion to quality instead of profit (not that Starr has to worry about profit in any of his ventures), but that also showed that the kitchen had much to improve on its betting average.


So…was it a Pizzeria Bianco, a Pepe’s or any of the places in the pizza holy land of New York City? L liked the pizzas very much. She thought they were comparable to those in Italy but just shy of the best she had there. I do not know Starr’s intention with the direction of this restaurant. However, with only a few days in business under its belt, we can safely say that even with a few [minor] issues to address, its Neo-Neapolitan style pizza has already stood a step head of many of the pizza restaurants in this city. A city which seems to have a pizza joint at every street corner.