4Rivers Smokehouse- Gainesville, FL

     

The 4Rivers location in Gainesville has been open for several months now, so I decided it was time to stop in. Returning by air from the barbecue-scarce Northeast, I passed up the temptation to sample airport barbecue during a layover in Charlotte for the opportunity to share a meal at 4Rivers with my wife and kids. Less than 30 minutes after touching down in Gainesville, we were standing in a medium-long line at this Florida chain's newest location.

The inside eating area is more spacious than the other branches I have been to. Though there are a few outside tables, this location lacks the large outdoor eating area that the others have. It sits on the end of a strip mall, surrounded by parking spaces and sidewalks. The crowd on a Thurday night was noticeably younger and louder, as could be expected in a college town, but the line moved smoothly and orderly.

As at the others, you order your meats first. While they are being sliced and packaged, you pick your side items from the display case in front of you. With the whole family along, I added a half slab of ribs and a half pound of pulled chicken to the requisite pound of brisket we ordered. The boys wanted fries and mac and cheese as sides. We got these but also ordered sweet potato casserole and an order of bacon-wrapped jalapenos.

Brisket is the main attraction here, and they do it well. It's perfectly smoky and well seasoned, and though we didn't specify, ours had a good balance of lean and fatty slices. Those who complain that the brisket is too fatty or too dry probably don't know that you have to order it how you want it; each brisket has a fatty and lean end, and if you don't specify, you just get whatever they slice. A legitimate concern, I think, is the temperature. By the time I made it past the cashier and to our table, the brisket was cold. I've noticed this during visits to their other locations, but it seemed worse here. This was a minor issue though and quickly forgotten.

The ribs were good too. They were meaty with a good combination of smoky and sweet flavors. I would consider them slightly overcooked though, with a bit too soft of a texture. I don't actually like when they "fall off the bone"- great ribs take a few teeth to chew. Pulled chicken is not something I normally would order, but our 2 year old liked it, and it was actually pretty good. It came doused with sauce, but that was ok. The sauce goes better on chicken than it does on their pulled pork.

The smoked jalapenos were epic as usual and they disappeared first. The rest of the sides were good too, but nothing stood out like the peppers.

Overall, 4Rivers has taken over the top spot for barbecue in Gainesville in my opinion. Their brisket is definitely the best in town-maybe even the state. I would still go to Adam's Rib Company when I'm looking for ribs, and Adam's or David's for pulled pork. But if you're going with a group and want to make everyone happy, or if you're even considering eating brisket, this is the place to be.


FOOD RATING: 4 OF 5
OVERALL RATING: 4 OF 5

4Rivers Smokehouse- Jacksonville,FL

I eagerly anticipated the opening of 4Rivers fourth location in Jacksonville, but it turned out I didn't make it there until about a month after they had opened. I had had a great experience at their Winter Garden location, so I was cautiously optimistic for more of the same here. The exterior was very similar, from the unique signage to the large outdoor eating area.









Stepping inside, I encountered a lunchtime line of 25-30 people. It moved quickly though, and gave me just enough time to get some shots of the interior. This location features a larger indoor dining area than I remember at the other location, with a combination of small four-tops and a few long communal tables on wheels.

They had a similar collection of unique sodas. I chose an Earp's Original Sarsaparilla, aptly described as "rich velvety sarsaparilla flavor with a touch of smoke".

Soon after, I was at the counter. In a rare departure from my usual modus operandi, I didn't order pork on my first visit here. Angus brisket is 4Rivers signature offering. It was by far my favorite of their meats I had tried before, so I wanted to do a fair comparison. At least there was bacon wrapped around the smoked jalapenos I got as a side, so pork was not completely left out. Potato salad and barbecue beans rounded out my meal.

 The brisket was every bit as good as before, flavor wise...in fact the slightly thicker rub and absence of sauce drizzled on top improved it in my opinion. It was perfectly moist, smoky and excellently seasoned.

My only complaint was that by the time it was sliced, plated and paid for, some of it had become rather cold. I used some of these pieces to sample the sauces. The sauces complemented the meat well, but were not overly impressive. There was not much difference between the regular and hot sauce either.

The smoked jalapenos were fantastic. I don't foresee my being able to eat here in the future without ordering at least a couple of them. The potato salad was just average, but the beans were thick and flavorful.

I was glad to see that so far 4Rivers has been able to keep impressing, even with their quick expansion. Like before though, I recommend if you eat here, you must try the brisket. I will definitely be back and try the rest of the menu.  This rating largely reflects the brisket, and may change after trying more items- but hopefully not!




 FOOD RATING: 4.5 OF 5
OVERALL RATING: 4 OF 5

4Rivers Smokehouse-Winter Garden, FL

    I waited a long time to fit in a trip to 4Rivers near Orlando. It was highly recommended by many whose barbecue opinions I respect, from  personal friends to Daniel Vaughn of Full Custom Gospel BBQ, in one of his rare non-Texas posts. After months of hearing rave reviews for their signature Angus Brisket, I finally arranged a visit to the Winter Garden location. This is their second restaurant, which has the same menu, but a little more eating area than the original Winter Park location. It shares a parking lot with a strip mall just a couple miles off the Florida Turnpike. I've heard the line can get long to get in the door, and they are prepared for that with a winding sidewalk and menu boards outside, but at 5:00 PM on a Friday evening we were able to walk right in. Once inside, the sights and smells overwhelm your senses, making it hard to concentrate on the important decisions at hand. The first one you have to make is what to drink:

This is an incredible collection of unique and independent label sodas. I couldn't linger though because the steaming brisket in the next window was calling my name, so I quickly chose a Cheerwine and moved on.

These thick crusted slabs of Angus brisket were obviously a hot seller, as they were constantly being sliced and plated. There was no question this had to be part of my order. With so many choices including chicken, turkey, Texas sausage and more, it was difficult picking a mate for my two meat combo. In the end pulled pork won out, because that's what smoked pig is all about.

Continuing down the cafeteria style line, the final choices of side items are made from the multitude of dishes inside the sparkling glass cases.

My combo came with three. I settled on potato salad, cheese grits, and smoked jalapenos. After paying, you either take one of the few inside tables, or head back out the door to the "side porch" eating area.This room is filled with wood picnic tables and lined with stools. Even though you're outside, the roof overhead and the smart decision of placing this area on the east side of the building keep it from getting overly hot in the afternoon sun. I plopped my plate, which was actually just a butcher paper-lined tray on the table and got ready to dig in.

The brisket was all that and more. Each fresh,tender slice had a subtle smoke that added to the high quality taste of  the meat without overpowering it. The bit of sauce they drizzled over the top wasn't needed, but it made for a great looking presentation.

Contrast that with the pulled pork, which was drowned in sauce- so much so that it had a sickly orange hue. That sauce, by the way, didn't strike me as anything special. There is a regular and a hot version, but really nothing interesting in the way of flavor. The pork did have some tasty bits of bark mixed in, and it may have been well smoked, but I couldn't tell. I can only guess they are trying to keep it moist by mixing in sauce. It was also barely warm, which tells me it had  been sitting out for quite some time.

But then the sides stepped in, bringing the awesomeness back to my meal. Thick and creamy potato salad, grits baked in foil with butter and cheese, and then the jalapenos. Stuffed with cream cheese, wrapped in bacon and then smoked, they were my favorite part of the meal besides the brisket. One order was two peppers, but thankfully they gave me three because they were a little small.

Even without finishing all the pork, I left stuffed and happy. My advice here: try whatever you like, but don't skip the brisket and you won't leave disappointed.

FOOD RATING: 4 OF 5

OVERALL RATING: 4 OF 5