Barbecue eateries in Ottawa serve beefy, smokey favourites

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Dickey’s Barbecue Pit

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81 Riocan Ave. Unit M5, Barrhaven, 613-825-3336, dickeys.com
Open: Daily 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Prices: Meat platters $18.99 to $27.99
Access: No steps to front door or washrooms

Moe’s BBQ

2446 Bank St., 613-695-1786, moesbbq.ca
Open: Sunday to Thursday 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 2 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Prices: Barbecue chicken and meat $18 to $34
Access: No steps to front door or washrooms

Lexington Smokehouse & Bar

344 Richmond Rd., 613-218-8209, lexingtonottawa.com
Open: Monday and Tuesday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Price: Two-meat barbecue platter $40
Access: One step to washrooms

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I don’t know how much good it does for me to tell you that Thai food is better in Bangkok than it is in Barrhaven. Or that for pizza, you’ll eat better in Rome than in Riverside South.

But having returned some weeks ago from Austin, Texas, I’m going to say it anyway: barbecue restaurants in Ottawa — or perhaps in Canada, or even outside of Texas — can’t match the slow-smoked ambrosia that we ate at roadside joints, storied eateries and food trucks in the heart of the Lone Star State.

After eating incredibly well during what we called our beef-cation, I visited most of Ottawa’s barbecue eateries, hoping for meat that came close to the finest fare in Texas. That simply wasn’t to be, as I’ll recount below and in another review soon to come. Perhaps it was a fool’s errand. There are simply too many differences and compromises.

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The best barbecue in Austin is served fresh at 11 a.m., in an optimal, hyper-juicy state, at places that close once they’ve sold out. But eateries in Ottawa and elsewhere are fine with serving pre-cooked and reheated meats that were likely better minutes or hours earlier. In Austin, while the seasoning is strong, it leans into the simplicity of salt and pepper while letting the meats shine. In Ottawa, the seasoning of the meat is more subdued, and can sometimes veer into sweetness, perhaps taking cues from Kansas City barbecuing. After eating in Texas, where bold and complementary sauces are optional, we felt that barbecue sauces in Ottawa often help mask the shortcomings of under-seasoned, dry meat.

As well, during my recent barbecue rounds in Ottawa, we found that consistency could elude restaurants. One day there would be pretty good brisket, but on another day, the meat would be tired or chewy.

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Our first stop was at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, which opened on Feb. 24 in a Barrhaven mall. There, the slogan is “Legit. Texas. Barbecue.” Given our recent trip, this motto was a red rag to a bull.

Dickey’s, it should be noted, is the world’s largest barbecue franchise operation, with more than 550 locations in the U.S. and abroad. With its roots in a Dallas, Texas, eatery that opened in 1941, this brand with near-global reach and ambitions opened its first Canadian location last year, in Edmonton, and the Barrhaven location soon followed.

Bear in mind, though, that in Austin, barbecue glory goes to highly artisanal places like Franklin Barbecue, Interstellar BBQ, LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue, and Micklethwait Craft Meats BBQ & Catering, not to the city’s three Dickey’s locations.

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After two visits to the Barrhaven Dickey’s, we found the most enjoyable item was the beef rib, which was hefty, discernably smokey and tender enough. However, it wasn’t available on our second visit. Brisket, the emblematic and tricky-to-cook meat of Central Texas barbecue, was quite pleasingly moist and tender at our last visit, if under-smoked and under-seasoned. That was an improvement on the brisket we tried a few weeks before, which was dry. “Burnt ends,” cubed and sauced chunks of the fattier part of the brisket, were OK, although the sauce skewed sweet for me. Brisket sandwiches, consisting of chopped and shredded meat rather than slices, were not bad, although they lacked the bold beefiness of what we ate in Texas, and needed sauce.

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Marinated chicken and turkey were just dry and meh and hard to recommend. Pork ribs and pulled pork are not available at the Barrhaven Dickey’s, which in fact has a halal menu. Of the side dishes that we tried, the one that stood out was the mess of crispy fried onion strings known as onion tanglers.

Soon after trying Dickey’s, we went to Moe’s BBQ in South Keys. Like the Barrhaven Dickey’s, Moe’s has a halal menu and is in a mall. But is anything but a franchise operation.

Moe’s is owner-operator Mobeen Hussain Butt’s pride and joy. Inspired by barbecue-themed TV shows, the Pakistan-born pitmaster opened his restaurant in 2018, determined to achieve Southern-style, maple-smoked greatness, even if he had not tasted it himself.

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At Moe’s, as at Dickey’s, a serving of beef ribs was tops. At my last visit to Moe’s, brisket slices had good flavour and smokiness, but were chewy, not tender. I preferred the chopped brisket to the burnt ends, which I thought were a bit too small and a little too sweet.

Of Moe’s sides, I like the basmati rice adorned with brisket drippings. I also appreciate Moe’s poutines topped with barbecued meats, and I’ll suggest that if you have enough advance note via Instagram of Moe’s lamb specials, you should make the trip.

Last in this week’s survey is Lexington Smokehouse & Bar. We recently went to the older Westboro location, which I reviewed in the fall of 2018, a few months after it opened. There’s also a more recently opened second location on Clarence Street.

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At Lexington, the barbecued fare that most pleased us was the burnt ends, which are served as a starter and with a choice of three sauces. Pulled pork did the trick as a poutine topping. Brisket slices were just OK, and a little dry, while chewy pork ribs disappointed.

With its more upscale surroundings and well-made cocktails, Lexington positions itself a notch above some other barbecue joints in town. Indeed, it felt like a bit of a bait-and-switch here, as non-barbecued items such as the massive fried chicken sandwich and the charred brussel sprouts with bacon-garlic aioli worked better for us than the smoked items.

So, in Ottawa, I have some favourite barbecue dishes, if not a favourite eatery. The sampling will continue this weekend, and soon I’ll give a few more recommendations.

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