Who knew they had barbecue on Bourbon Street?

Now, I don’t usually think Louisiana when I think BBQ—the only thing I’m throwing down on Bourbon Street is beer-battered beer, bro! So, when I heard about this new funky joint called Bourbon Street Smokehouse, just a drum-stick’s throw away from Long & McQuade at Bloor and Ossington, I was wondering what the heck they were smoking!

Turns out they’ve got a bit of stuff from all over the place—St. Louis ribs, Texas beef brisket and even some funkier choices like smoked candied salmon and corned beef. Actually, make that Mississippi Texas brisket. I didn’t even know that was a thing…

Now, I’m pretty sure that Mississippi and Texas don’t actually share a border, but at Bourbon Street, they smoke this beef extra long until it’s got the texture of Mississippi pot roast, then serve it up Texas style without any sauce. Now, I normally like my brisket extra fatty—Fatty Brisket was my nickname on The World’s Biggest Loser—but this still kinda worked, even if it felt like I was eating pulled pork. Where’s that coleslaw when you need some, son?

By why eat coleslaw when you can have super-smoky mac ‘n cheese? These noodles were massive, and tasted like they were cooked in the smoker…although I’m not sure how that would even work????

Now, these St. Louis cut ribs came out without a whole lotta sauce, and maybe were a little dry without it, but then they gave us all sorts of sauces on the side—you had Memphis, you had Mississippi, you had Texas, you even had New Hampshire… Nah, just messin’ with Sasquatch, son! What would New Hampshire sauce even be—lobster bisque or something?

Now, I don’t normally think of cornbread as a dessert, but this was almost more like a cake. It even had fruit baked right in! I don’t necessarily want fruit with my BBQ, but as long as you saved it for last, it was pretty darn-tootin’ tasty.