Dragon Ranch Moonshine & BBQ

Another place I have not experienced outside the comfort of my home and the first one I can say significantly suffered from that fact (ordered it from Grubhub).  I ordered the Sliced brisket, a garden salad and cornbread for delivery, and the food came super late and was cold.  If I had written my review before I heated up the brisket and ate it, this would have been a no-brainer 1, but the brisket was so good that it almost fully reversed the spiral of rage I had entered.  

Almost.  The salad and cornbread were pretty mediocre and I feel like this place got away with one by getting a 3.  You're welcome Dragon Ranch, today I have been merciful.

I had given up on Friday night after work fun time for the new year, mostly because it leads to bad behavior like eating fried foods of the happy hour bar variety.  But of course it took just the slightest of twists to my arm when a dear friend texted me at 5:30pm on a January Friday with "wanna have a drink?"

We ended up at Dragon Ranch sitting at the bar, which I knew after previewing the menu, was rife with my favorite trigger foods.  While I opted to be bad and enjoyed a couple of their delicious cocktails (Rockit Man followed by a Pineapple Smash), we did go the healthier route with some lighter apps.

The deviled eggs were creamy and filling, and the pickled onion is always a nice foil for the rich goodness.  We then rounded things out with the Chinese broccoli, which was full of flavor, huge in portion, and low in fat (served in a well seasoned broth), and the grilled Chinese long beans (like French fries, but better for you, right?).

Service was fantastic!

Sadly, they had a fire and will not reopen until April, but by then I'm sure to have shed my winter weight and will be ready to devour their waffle fries and tasty meats!

Heh heh...tasty meat.

I went here a week or two after it opened so maybe they've worked out the kinks.  I ordered a brisket platter and a glass of whiskey (Koval Lion's Pride).  I loved the whiskey and appreciate the fact that they carry a local liquor.  However, the brisket was another matter.  The brisket was cut WITH THE GRAIN, which made it chewy.  The meat was not smoked very well.  Also, the dinner was really expensive, for what it was.

For asian/bbq fusion go to the Brown Bag Truck.  Awesome stuff and half the price (it's a food truck) or Pecking Order (which has much better sauces IMHO).  For straight-up BBQ, look no further than Smoque.