Goody Cole's Smokehouse! Authentic Pit BBQ

Depending on where you are in the country, the term "Smokehouse" might mean something completely different from one another. I'll leave my fellow FGFB brother living in the unshackled free state of Washington to handle those ones, but me, for now, will deal with another kind of smoke. One that makes meats taste out of this world, and makes you want to gorge yourself until you can't think straight........uhhhhh Welcome, my friends, to Goody Cole's.

 

Located in the small town of Brentwood,NH, about halfway between Manchester and Rochester, Goody Cole's Smokehouse sits annoyingly far away, but when you pull in you wonder how is this place so packed at 2 in the afternoon? You walk in, seating is an issue, so it's good to have another member of your crew be on table watch while you're in line to order. The decor is folky, complete with license plates littering the ceiling and walls.

claaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssic

They have varying degrees of simple BBQ plates, ribs, chicken, pulled pork. Nothing too fancy, just straight up BBQ. I was a tad disappointed looking at the menu, but you've got to remember what kind of place your in, and instead of fancy garnished bullshit, you get a plate full of meat, which I can respect! I decided to get a 2 meat combo, grabbing up chicken, pulled pork, which had a side of cornbread, garlic mashed potatoes, and mac n cheese.

you'll notice the sauces....more on that in a moment.

And of course, EVERYTHING about this meal was delicious. The chicken wings, which normally I scoff at and never order because, what am I an animal? Gnawing on a giant bone, licking ferociously at it trying to get every scrap of meat I can off of it? I'm a civilized human being who likes his chickens ground into a fine mush, processed through million dollar machines, the ghost spice of billions of dead chickens DNA catching on and grabbing hold to then be reassembled into a meat shaped tender, easy for dipping! But even without THAT, these chicken wings were cooked perfectly, crispy outsides, deliciousness within.

The pulled pork receives an honorable mention here, It tasted how it should, wet, thick, tender, but was missing something. Not bad, not exceptional just, good. That's where these guys step in:

idea for the next Pixar film

In the BBQ world, sauce is vital. I know there's a lot of BBQists who will bitch and complain that what matters is the meat, which, yeah, it does, but at the same time you can have quality prepared meat, but it can't jump that hurdle into greatness, without a great sauce.

The problem here was, NONE of these sauces were exceptional. I gravitated towards the vinegar BBQ sauce and mustard, but everything else, was kind of disappointing. That seems to be the story with Goody Cole's, it's solid, everything tastes great, the food, expertly prepared, but I feel that a place that has this much cred, should have blown what's left of my hair back. Fortunately, the supporting characters of this meal, knew that they had mediocrity to tend with, and decided to deliver the performance of a lifetime.

The cornbread was deliciously cakey, but wet enough to hold itself together, and delivered that rush of corn goodness into your mouth.

The mac and cheese, was what you'd expect from a BBQ joint, it had that odd cheese grittiness to it, but it had another layer of some kind of cheese (I'm yet to find out what) that smoothed it over, and turned this little guy into a key player of the meal. I'd be tempted to drive there just for this, but I'm pretty sure I'd swerve into oncoming traffic because there's no way it's making it back home.

Goody Cole's has a lot going for it. It has solid food, amazing sides, nice rustic atmosphere,

but as I was saying earlier, nothing to make it AMAZING. I think possibly

what might give the place it's long and storied rep, is the fact that they deliver that 

solid BBQ again and again. They know what

they are and do a fine job doing it, and that, I can appreciate. 

I give Goody Cole's in Brentwood, NH a

B
-Josh

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