The tweatup team comprises of six bottomless appetites and it took fate (and twitter) to bring together this hungry pack, whose ultimate goal is to eat our way to economic growth. The pack is led by the enigmatic Tehbus and his second in command Mr FbM, a shadowy secret agent who splits his gastro assignments between America and London. The team’s uber-assasins are three women, namely supercharz, foodieguide and Cattylicious. And I’d like to think of myself as…the waterboy.
The latest conquest is Bodeans, and this is the paper movie*.
(*The events depicted are based on a true story.)
After seeing District 9, I’m feeling a little obsessed with the ultra-realistic mockumentary film making style which was so successfully employed. I also managed a weekend sitting of Speilberg’s Schindler’s List which also employed another form of documentary narrative. Of course war and aliens have nothing to do with Bodeans, which is purportedly London’s original smoke house. Call me naive, I love good PR pitches, especially the ones with a human face attached to it. The Bodeans story starts with Andre Blais’s dream to bring Kansas City smoke & soul to London’s drench & grim. Since their launch in 2002, they have expanded to five locations around town, ensuring their barbeque racks and frosty beers are as authentic as watching Dwyane Wade lead Marquette into the final four. This bbq joint does have an American b-movie feel; darkly lit wooden décor, highlight reels playing on the flatscreens dotted around the basement space, oh and there’s those flickering neon signs too. All that was missing, was me rocking up in my trucker cap. Dang it, why didn’t I photograph the ambiance?
This tweatup coincided with Catty’s birthday – who’s electrifying energy will quickly grow on you (try her blog, you’ll love it). We brought our other halves as well as our imaginary concubines (Cheryl Cole was sitting on my lap, he says) to dinner. I sat across the table from Catty’s beau (whose name I will not say) who is a great bloke and it was quite hilarious trying to convince this twitter sceptic that we food bloggers were not made up virtual people. He bought Catty Jimmy Whoos for her special day. What a dude.
Dang it where’s the BBQ burnt ends? Only on Mondays and Wednesdays we were told so instead we plonked for the other signature dish on the menu, pulled pork and baby ribs £14.95.
The baby back ribs were quite nice, honeyed, smokey and juicy. Not the best ribs to grace London, but pretty good. On the other hand, the pulled pork was abit of a downer, it was mostly dry and chewy.
The other half of the table including myself went for the Bodean special – Jacob Ladder beef ribs.
And so the meatfest begins! I was a little surprised at how big the portions were, I had the half, and I was struggling to finish it. The hopelessly burnt exterior does not tell the story of these short ribs, as the insides were gloriously meaty with wadges of melting fat threatening to fall off the bone, alot of proper carnivorously sturdy flavour going on. I eyeballed about an inch thick of meat, while abit of chewiness was to be expected, it was mostly tender.
I really enjoyed the Jack Ladder ribs, it was everything you’d expect from the meatfest. Also very good was the clam chowder (£3.95) , a creamy potato soup base with bits of bacon to season, served with a couple of slices of buttered garlic bread.
We also naively ordered half a dozen greasy buffalo wings (£4.95) which we embarassingly failed to devour. So much for them bottomless appetites.
Pudding came in the form of aluminium foiled brownies, which Catty made for us. Its delish, I was going to save it for breakfast the next day, but I wolfed it down after trying a few crumbs. Thanks Catty. I must be one of the last Londoners to try Bodeans, so this non-review is just a formality really, if you’ve not been yet (or are a vegetarian wondering what the fuss with meat is about) then give Bodeans a try. Just make sure you don’t over order.
As for the tweatup team, well the search for more feasts continue. Our next conquests include a Lobster feasting (which has already taken place at the time of writing) , a Burger/Sarsaparilla extravaganza will follow in sometime October and then – tentatively – we’re all going to have an epic puff-off before the year ends.
What exactly a puff-off is, well you’ll just have to watch this space, curryhead.
The Gist of It
Bodeans Soho official site
£20pp
10 Poland Street W1F 8PZ
Tel: 020 7287 7575
Closest Tube: Picadilly Circus
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Tags: bodeans, grill, picadilly circus, ribs, soho, tweatup
I am sad that they got rid of their ‘Pig Out for a Tenner’ deal – ribs, pulled pork, slaw, fries and a beer for a tenner. I haven’t been back since, but those Jacob ladder ribs look great.
Now I am the only Londoner who hasn’t been to Bodean’s….
GASP.
Jimmy Choos!
Er, is ready-made puff pastry allowed in this puff off?
No, Helen, I haven’t been either!
Love meat feasts, so I’m sure I’d love Bodeans!
At the risk of coming off like a “redneck snob” (hmm, could there be such a thing?), I’ll throw in my 2 cents as a native Texan. I’ve spent the last 5 years in London trying to find one decent plate of “real” barbeque, and other than the half-witted attempts I’ve made to pull it off at home, I’ve been bitterly disappointed. I’ve given Bodean’s a few tries, and to tell the truth, I still go by there and pick up a sandwich on occasion, not because it’s particularly great, but just because I have a good imagination and somehow convince myself I’m back home for a few moments. Bodean’s seems to be well known as purveyors of top class barbeque here – heck, even my ex-University-of-Texas alums organize regular meet-ups there! But the truth is, it is a pretty poor imitation of the real thing.
When are people here going to understand that real barbeque is not “chicken n’ ribs”, but brisket?! Sliced, melt-in-your-mouth brisket; chopped, fatty, moist brisket; just give me some good brisket! Ribs and chicken are a nice accompaniment, but they aren’t the main course, unless you simply are a non-beef-eater, or if you’ve already had brisket 3 days in a row and you want some variety! Also, for that matter, I should mention barbeque sausage (aka “links” if you go into a proper Texas barbeque joint).. Generally in a proper barbeque restaurant, there should be 3 main options: brisket, links, or brisket and links. Everything else is on the “Other choices” part of the menu.
So, if you go to Bodean’s and ask for brisket, you get (suprise!) a plate of dry, lean, thinly sliced roast beef, which could have come out of a pre-sliced meat pack from Tesco Express. The same exact roast beef you would get if you go into the local Birley’s sandwich shop or anywhere else. It’s miles away from real brisket, and the only way to make it even remotely close is to soak it in a bottle full of their (admittedly decent) barbeque sauce – then if you swallow it fast you might not notice how dry and tasteless it is. I’ve done the same with the “pulled pork” and tried to imagine this was chopped brisket, but again the dryness really stops you in your tracks – it’s not even moist enough to soak in the extra sauce.
As for the ribs – the ones I’ve had at Bodeans were decent, but I would say the offering at Big Easy on Kings Road (all you can eat on Mondays) is slightly better. Also check out Texas Embassy and Chicago Rib Shack.
But if anyone has any other suggestions for some decent brisket in London it would be much appreciated!
Oh, and if you ever find yourself in Texas for some reason, make sure you stop by Rudy’s (http://rudys.com) and experience the worlds finest barbeque. No waiters, no fuss, and no plates – just you, some brisket and sliced bread on a sheet of table paper, and the best barbeque sauce money can buy. Make sure to order “extra-moist” if it’s your first time!
In any case, thanks again for the great review, Kang, keep em’ comin!
Michele – thanks so much for what is a useful comment. It is enlightening to learn about what the real deal is suppose to taste like. The melt in your mouth brisket you described sounds absolutely to die for, and I will keep Rudys’ “Extra Moist” option in mind, the no nonsense service sounds great to me, I’m sure I will make my way to Texas someday in the future.
I don’t know if we have that in London (if we did, I guess you would have already suggested it), can anybody else add to this?
I must agree with you, the pulled pork I tried was uninspired, but the beef ribs on the otherhand were nice.
I have fond memories of the Big Easy, I tried their 1kg sirloin on the bone once…. and I very nearly had the whole thing.
Very. Nearly.
I agree with Michelle – Bodeans is good, but it’s really expensive compared to the down-south BBQ on the states which is always cheap, wet and delicious! I think good old American BBQ is really hard to duplicate – something about being in London just will never compare to a eating sloppy, pulled pork sandwich with a huge iced tea, while sitting on a picnic table in the sun!
The only reason I’d ever eat at Bodeans in London is to watch one of the American football games they play (and to enjoy a Coors Light!)… but I do have to give them credit – the food isn’t bad and they seem to appreciate the idea of American customer service.
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I cannot believe I ordered the Jacob’s Ladder! Death by meat-sweats if there ever was one, I think a half rack of that is equal to about 3 big fat pieces of steak? INSANO. Can’t wait for the puff-off
BTW Panu is very much relieved to find out you guys are “real people”, not just fragments of my over-active gluttonous imagination, my ‘pretend’ friends so I can go out and eat all the time
Puff-off is AWN LIKE DA BREAK OF DAWN!
Except Kang has to enter too. For jokes.
I’ve never eaten at Bodean’s but I’ve been there for a few “American” events (like Superbowl Sunday). The food there has never looked that appealing, but it does seem to draw an American expat crowd (mostly for the nostalgia/homesick reasons Michele mentioned in her comment).
I have to wonder: why is a BBQ joint serving clam chowder, and why is said clam chowder using a “potato soup” base?
I wonder if Texas Lone Star near Gloucester Road station still exists (Kang, you’d know!). When I lived in South Kensington, I used to eat ribs there all the time and they were amazing. I wasn’t as impressed with my ribs and pulled pork at Bodeans as I thought I would be, but maybe Jacob’s Ladder ribs are the ones to go for next time!
Helen – not anymore, it’s now a Dim T
I haven’t tried Bodeans but having read this will definitely be dropping in to tuck into the Ribs – sounds delicious.
Has anyone tried Harlem on Westbourne Grove? I had my first taste of proper Southern Fried Chicken (amazingly large portions) and not having anything to compare it to would love to know what any foodies who have tasted the real thing in the States think of the place…
Regarding the Puff-off – all manner of puffs (hand-made or ready made is allowed)…. and I’ll try my hand at it too, if any of you dare eat my puffs
Regarding super-authentic American BBQ in London – I’ve tried texas embassy in traf sq and thought it was so-so; the Chicago Ribshack I’ve not been yet, and Harlem is new to me as well. Thanks for all the thoughtful comments, certainly has brought it to my attention and I’ll give a few more ‘american’ restaurants around town a try to see how they compare against each other
Forgot to include the link!
http://www.harlemsoulfood.com/
catty: I think it was my fault you ordered the Jacob’s Ladder, so apologies for bringing on the meat sweats!
Re: Bodeans in general, I’ve been to 3 of their branches (Soho, Fulham and Clapham) and the Clapham one seems the most consistent. The pulled pork is always disappointing, but the baby back ribs really are worth going for when they’re on. Oh, and also try the hot chicken wings. They’re great!
When Bodeans first opened, the food was quite novel to London and the pulled pork was a wonder. Shame that’s not the case any longer… the baby back ribs were also hard the last time I visited. Those beef ribs might tempt me back though…
I go to Bodean’s at Tower Bridge about once a week and the Baby Backs are always perfect. The KC Brisket Special sandwich is also amazing.
Serious meat fix!
[...] that’s about it. Similarly the baby back ribs, while good, was probably no better than say Bodeans, the latter is no fine dining establishment, but the monster portions and slender price package [...]