All American BBQ - All Summer Long
Yep, it's July, and that means it's time to take my monthly trip to Sweet Tomatoes. It being the middle of summer it's the perfectly appropriate All-American BBQ month! Initially when I was told that the monthly theme was BBQ I was worried. How much BBQ can you jam into pasta, salads, and breads? Turns out, quite a lot!
With three new concoctions and six other theme dishes, BBQ month gives almost too many options! It was the first time I was very full after only one trip.
(Rankings - The ranking system follows the five-star Netflix formula. 1 - Hated It, 2 - Didn't Like It, 3 - Like It, 4 - Really Liked It, 5 - Loved It. One difference is that we will be using small lemons instead of stars.)
Chili Cheeseburger Soup NEW!
This is the dish I was most excited about. The idea that you could turn a Chili Cheeseburger into a liquid is very awesome! But, it was disappointing. It tasted cheesy, and I got a little of the chili (bit not really), but there was no way it tasted anything like a burger. Too much cheese, and there was a lingering hint of school lunch (maybe powdered cheese?).
BBQ Smokehouse Tossed Salad
This salad was really good. Nothing too crazy going on, just a good salad. The BBQ aspect seemed to be limited to the addition of bacon, but I'm a sucker for bacon.
BBQ Chicken Focaccia on Honey Wheat Crust NEW!
Bread covered in BBQ sauce! This was great. The chicken was totally secondary to the thick application of BBQ. It was like eating ribs. Fantastic!
Smoky BBQ Baked Beans NEW!
These were okay. When you label a food 'smokey' there is a minimum level of flavor smokey flavor you need to add that is above what these beans had. This was more of a "hint" than anything else.
BBQ Potato Salad
Fine as potato salad, but again, not enough BBQ flavor! What are you afraid of Sweet Tomatoes!?
Old-Fashioned Macaroni Salad
When food is labeled "Old-Fashioned" I think that is code for "boring". However, I really like a macaroni salad.
Carrot Raisin Salad
Solid and good and a nice way to eat a lot of carrot. They didn't call it BBQ or smokey, so I was able to enjoy a simple salad with reasonable expectations and it paid off.
Fresh Watermelon
We've all had this, and it's good. It was actually "fresher" than I expected.
Watermelon Gelatin
This should have been terrible, or at the very least, ignorable. However, it tasted so much like a watermelon Jolly Rancher and it was maybe the best gelatin I've ever had.
Weirdness
The 'Fresh Watermelon' is listed on table menu, but has no sign at the dessert bar. Likewise, the watermelon gelatin is listed at the desert bar, but there is no mention of it on the table menu. Odd. Also, Steve got some wonderful Apple Crisp, and I can't imagine why that isn't listed as an essential part of an All-American BBQ.
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