kitchenplay

it's okay to play with your food

Friday, May 8, 2009

6 Degrees of Separation and Angelo's BBQ










It's a small world. I can say this because one of my colleagues at Fort Worth Opera, Andrew, is the future brother-in-law of a non-opera friend of mine in Philadelphia, a friend who lives a mere three blocks from me in Newbold with his fiancee. Yes, it is a small world indeed.

Upon hearing of this new connection, our mutual friend told Andrew both about kitchenplay and Angelo's, a spot for some good old fashioned BBQ. Andrew made it there first and could attest that it was indeed a good place for some 'que. I rounded up some of our opera cohorts and we ate there last night. Overall, the place gets a big thumbs up for decor. Is there such a thing as "too much" taxidermy? I don't think so.

Much of the food came out on Styrofoam trays, the environmental consequences of which were perhaps cancelled out by the fact that the sandwiches came wrapped only in wax paper. The hit across the table was the ribs. They were fall off the bone tender and deliciously smoked. The BBQ sauce wasn't too sweet and heavy on the tomato flavor. I like a thicker sauce in general, but it still did the trick. The baked chicken looked delicious, with a golden brown skin.

I was disappointed by my chopped beef sandwich. The meat tasted good but it was dry, an aspect that could have been easily remedied with more BBQ sauce. I sampled all the sides, which included cole slaw, potato salad and baked beans. The beans were really nice with a strong chili pepper flavor. The potato salad was old-fashioned and eggy, while the cole slaw was remarkably fresh tasting despite how much mayo was in it.

In short, come for the ribs, stay for the taxidermy.

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