Friday, September 23, 2011

First Impressions: Wis-Tex BBQ

If there's one type of food that will get me back on the blog it's BBQ. I will never say that Madison has enough smokehouses. Hell, I was even sad when the chain Smokey Bones closed at West Towne.

Thanks to the weekly round up of restaurant news links from MadisonAtoZ.com, I learned about our newest addition Wis-Tex BBQ. I also discovered that it's Stoughton location isn't far from our new pad. Armed with that knowledge my toddler and I set out to pick up some take out.

Wis-Tex BBQ has only been open a few weeks so they're still working out some bugs. The menu MadisonDining.com posted had already changed so no sweet potatoes for my partner. Also when I was led to the bar to order,'the bartender asked me what I wanted before even handing us said menu. Really minor issue though as the service from the two bartenders made for a great experience overall. Not only did they rush our order but they also double checked it before handing it over (take note BW3). They also fawned over the boy including grabbing him some paper to draw on while we waited. As we enter the terrible twos, I can't tell you how much I appreciated this.

As for the food, it was all solid to good but nothing that induced a PPP like salivation. PPP refers to the departed Porky Pine Pete's my gold standard for BBQ in Madison.

For my two meat platter I went with the chopped pork and brisket. I'm used to a smokey dry brisket and this was full of moisture like a brisket roast. It was my least favorite meat and lacked seasoning. The pork was my second favorite though and had a good smoke ring throughout despite again needing more seasoning.



The sides of beans and fries were very on point and the best seasoned dishes of the night.

My partner opted for the smoked turkey breast and it was the closest to a PPP moment. I'm not usually a poultry fan when there's
pork around but this was moist and smokey. She went with sides of corn and potato salad that elicited no comment either way. Each meal also included a fine piece of Texas toast and a pickled cherry pepper. Sauce on the side was vinegar based with a pleasant sweetness.



For $4 extra we each added on a side of 3 ribs The ribs had a nice bark and great smoke ring. Like most everything though they could have used more rub/seasoning.





For a place that's only been open a few weeks there was good traffic. While it's no PPP or Smokey Jon's, good service, location,and solid food will have us back for more.

Wis-Tex BBQ, 620 Nygaard St,WI (608) 205-6201


Wis-Tex on Urbanspoon