We're from Texas and one thing we've missed is the bbq. It does not seem like we can find good bbq anywhere in Portland, and my hopes were high for Podnah's but they can be disregarded and thrown in the scrap bin with the rest of the "good" bbq joints up here.
We got the Pitboss plate.
The pulled pork was dry, or would've been drier had not been doused in the vinegar sauce. In Texas, if people didn't feel obligated to finish their plates or take it home because of the price, I'm sure this probably would have been half-eaten or just entirely thrown away if you put it on someone's plate.
If there's anything as emblematic of Texas bbq, it's brisket. Here, the brisket was just okay. It wasn't the best and wasn't anywhere near amazing. You could get this quality brisket (probably a bit better, to be honest) at a Smokey Mo's chain in Austin. I wasn't too thrilled to be paying the price we did for it, but I was happy to find that, at least, it tasted like they just used some salt and pepper to season it, and in an admittedly good amount. But taste isn't the whole deal with brisket. 10 hours isn't long enough to cook a really good brisket. You're going to need at least 12 hours, maybe more, and that time means a lot. Depending on a whole bunch of variables -- whether or not you're cooking a whole brisket, the quality of the meat, what the weather is like, so on and so forth -- you'd need to adjust the time, but it'll never take just 10 hours and come out decent, and this is proof positive at Podnah's. The fat shouldn't be chewy, like it was here. It should just kind of melt easily when you tear the meat apart. For that matter, the meat really wasn't that tender, which could come from not cooking it right (not paying attention to keeping the brisket moist in the smoker) or just the quality of the meat. But brisket is a tough cut to cook properly, and 10 hours does not get the job done. For something that is the epitome of Texas bbq, and while claiming to be a Texas-style joint, this was a huge misstep.
The sausage and pork ribs were probably the best part. The sausage was flavorful, not too greasy and it reminded me a little bit of the sausage from Southside Market in Elgin. The jalapenos would've been a nice touch if nothing else was spiced the way it was, which leads me to...
It's not "Texas style" to throw a metric ton of spice into your sides. If you can cook the beans and collards right, there are natural flavors that are great themselves, and brought out better if you use just the right amount of additions and spices. But it takes a good hand to get it right. Dumping a ton of spice in it is just a way to mask the fact that it's really not that good. And, in turn, all you can end up "tasting" is heat anyway. The good bbq in Texas does not use a lot of spices or heat in the sides or the bbq. It's actually rather mild.
For the actual meat, some people have their own rubs and concoctions and what not, but generally, the best route -- you'll notice from the really good bbq joints down there -- is a half/half mix of salt and pepper on the meat, including the pork. (I know the Carolinas sometimes use a very conservative amount of red pepper flakes on their pulled pork [the best pulled pork I've ever had was in Greenville, SC, with a mild mustard sauce], along with sauce, but this just doesn't happen in a lot of restaurants in Texas.)
For the sides to be "Texas style" (in the tradition of the great pits there), it's better to be conservative with the spices and to let the main ingredients primarily stand on their own. It's too goddamned hot down there to be dealing with too much heat on the food. Aside from that, much of the heat would come from the bbq sauces that you can choose to put on the meat if you're so inclined. But if the food is cooked good enough, sauce isn't even necessary to begin with.
I mention a lot about how this food contrasts to how it actually is cooked and served in Texas, and I'm only doing that because of how they market themselves. I don't want to give the impression, though, that this food is good enough for the price tag, even if they weren't laying claim to a Texas tradition. Even if they weren't marketing themselves like this, they still would not get a good review for me.
I'm giving Podnah's one star for the music. I always love hearing some southern blues and old country, like I was raised on. I'm giving it one more star for the fact that they are they only place in Oregon, so far that I've seen, that had any Shiner to offer. At least they got those things right, and if I'm ever up for a pitcher of Shiner, I'll come back here. For anything else, though, I'm staying away and hoping that, one day, I can find a good bbq restaurant in Portland, "Texas style" or otherwise. read more