Monroe's Smokehouse Bar-B-Q, Jacksonville,FL

I first noticed Monroe's Smokehouse while driving down a side street off Cassat Avenue, and made a note to give it a try next time I was in the area. A quick Google search revealed many great reviews, several even proclaiming it the best in Jacksonville and making me more eager to try it out. A couple weeks later, the opportunity arose, and I stopped in for a Friday afternoon lunch. The parking lot was packed, but I managed to find a spot. After entering the front door, you place your order at the counter straight ahead of you. A colorful chalkboard lists the days specials and available side items.

 
They had a two meat combo, so I went for pulled pork and brisket along with sides of baked beans and collard greens. A piece of texas toast was also included. After ordering, you take a number and seat yourself at one of the oversized booths. A few minutes later, my food arrived and I dug in.

I hit the sides first and was immediately impressed with both. The beans were loaded with bacon and tasted heavily of brown sugar, maybe a bit too sweet but I loved them. The greens were tender, cooked in a spicy tomato sauce and had tons of flavor. I was excited to try the meats, especially since I don't usually get brisket and this seemed like the place to try some. Maybe all the glowing reviews and my excitement got my hopes too high, but this meat was a letdown. It was tender and moist, appeared to have a little bit of smoke ring, but I had to strain to find any smoky flavor. Also, the brisket had a big strip of unrendered fat running up the middle, which I have learned from @BBQsnob is not a good sign. It was a great pork roast and roast beef, but fell short of awesome barbecue. While coming to this realization I was also contemplating the sauce lineup:

I poured out a little of the "Monroe Sauce", dipped a couple chunks of meat and found where all the smoke had gone. The sauce, like the sides, was intensely flavorful and it's sweet smokiness almost made up for the lack of it in the meats. The mustard sauce was great as well, but the original remained my favorite.

As good as everything besides the meat was, I wish I could give them a better rating. Best in Jax? I would actually agree with that. Unfortunately, that doesn't say very much.

FOOD RATING: 3 OF 5

OVERALL RATING: 3.5 OF 5

Fat Jack's Smokestack BBQ- Baldwin,FL

 

 

Fat Jack's is on Highway 301 between I-10 and Highway 90, partially hidden by a tall row of pine trees that separates it from the "City Limits Mobile Home Park" of Baldwin. Judging by it's looks and surroundings, I wasn't expecting much when I stopped in for lunch. There sure enough was a smokestack, a pile of wood out front, and a little bit of smoke floating in the blue sky-all good signs.

The inside eating area is separated into two rooms with about 8 tables in each. On this day, they were about half full. One waitress was handling all the tables, and doing a remarkably good job. Our order was quickly taken, and appeared at the table several minutes later.

I had chosen the Pork Sampler, which comes with ribs, sliced pork and chopped pork. I rounded it out with sides of cole slaw and fries. This heap of food served on a pizza tin could probably satisfy two smaller appetites, and splitting the $15 price tag might be nice too. But I was hungry, so I dug in. The fries were hot and the cole slaw was perfect. Getting to the meat of the platter, there was good, better and best. The thinly sliced pork had a huge smoke ring and taste to match. It was pretty dry though, and needed sauce to wash it down with. The ribs were not dry. Tender, juicy and well-seasoned (a bit heavy on pepper for me), they would have been a good meal in themselves. But by far the winner of the three was the chopped pork. Bits of blackened crust mingled with moist chunks of perfectly smoked meat made this my favorite. Next, I sampled all three sauces. The dark one being sweet complemented the ribs very nicely. The other two were similar mustard based sauces, with one seeming to be a hotter variation of the other. Both worked well with the sliced pork. The chopped needed no sauce at all, so I didn't ruin it.

Even though by now I've realized you can find good barbecue in the most unlikely places, this one still managed to surprise me. I definitely will visit again when I'm in the area.

FOOD RATING: 4 OF 5

OVERALL RATING: 4 OF 5

Ed's Belly Bustin BBQ-Lake City,FL

 

You won't find Ed's in the phone book, or in a Google search for that matter. Nonetheless, I had heard several secondhand reports that it was worth a try, so I felt it was my duty to stop in. It currently operates out of a catering trailer parked at the southeast corner of Highway 441 (Main St.) and County Rd 100A just north of downtown. They are only open for business on Fridays and Saturdays. On this sunny Saturday, a good sized crowd was gathered as smoke drifted from the portable screened in smoker.

 

 I ordered a rib plate with potato salad, mac and cheese and tea. It was packed neatly along with two slices of white bread in a styrofoam to-go box, since there are no tables on site. 

The ribs were smoked well. The spicy rub made just a hard enough crust to hold them together, and a little bit of pressure eased them cleanly off the bone. There was a nice 1/4" smoke ring too. As you can tell from the picture, the problem was most of the ribs didn't have more than a quarter inch of meat on them. The flavor was great but it became a little overpowering without enough meat to balance it out. I ended up alternating bites of meat with plain bread to create some contrast. The hot sauce was good, but there wasn't much to do with it. The sides were both great and the sweet tea exceptionally good, definitely homemade.

He's got the cooking part down, but without a little more meat on those bones, it doesn't quite live up to his "Belly Bustin" name.

FOOD RATING: 2.5 OF 5

OVERALL RATING: 3 OF 5