I have run in to a string of "meh" food lately and Company 7 BBQ contributed to that feeling. I am on the road for work again and after a long day I did not feeling like going out. I put in a delivery order and waited. I am a good BBQ junkie with an emphasis on the good part. BBQ, both the good and the bad, is expensive and I don't want to feel like I have wasted my money. I feel like I wasted money tonight.
Burnt ends are not the most common of BBQ selections on a menu. They come from the brisket and there are, or should be, a limited amount available. When they are on a menu, they sell out fast! Burnt ends are like eating meat butter. Soft, chewy, fatty, and oh so smokey. Company 7 BBQ has burnt ends on their menu so I jumped on it and put my order in. The burnt ends meal comes with two sides and I chose coleslaw and green beans. While I was going through the selection of sides, I noticed a distinct lack of what I would call traditional BBQ sides. Missing from Company 7's line up were potato salad, pinto beans, and mac-n-cheese. I have also seen many places offer okra as a side. I was a bit confused over the missing sides and scratched my head to see a plethora of side salads. Anyway, my order was placed. Delivery was quick and I headed up to my room to dig in.
I opened my to-go container and immediately questioned my decision. Sitting in the to-go container was a ball of foil that housed the tiniest chunks of meat I have seen that were called burnt ends. Along with the burnt ends were the smallest containers of sides I have ever seen. I looked up the container codes and they hold 4oz of product. Now you are correct if you thought 4oz is about half a cup. It is but only when you are looking at fluids. a 4oz container filled with a solid is not half a cup, it is a lot less. To give you a visual, each of my sides were about the same size in quantity as a golf ball. Not much. To round out the to-go container, there was a good sized piece of corn bread, and a 2oz container of their basic BBQ sauce. If you remember, I said earlier that burnt ends should be soft, chewy, fatty and oh so smokey? The burnt ends I was looking at were hard, tough, overcooked, I'll give them smokey. If your fork cannot pierce a burnt end and almost breaks it, you don't have a burnt end. You have a lump. There was the occasional soft spot of meat that gave the impression of what i ordered. I know this seems hard and harsh but good food isn't hard and with BBQ fetching top dollar, I expect more. The coleslaw was also disappointing. It was just shredded cabbage that may or may not have been dressed with a sauce. The best part6 of the entire meal were the green beans and the cornbread. The green beans tasted like they had been slow cooked for hours; just like my dream southern grandmother used to make. The cornbread was moist and tasty. I did appreciate the trick of putting the butter under the hot cornbread so that it was soft and spreadable once it got to me. A nice touch.
Good food isn't hard. It takes time, patience, and dedication. I am sure Company 7 BBQ didn't start out this way because of the comments I received in the hotel lobby from the aroma wafting from the bag and the affirmations they loved Company 7 and I was in for a good time. The burnt ends were not the right choice for tonight. Maybe I will try the pork or brisket next time? Hopefully Company 7 BBQ can redeem themselves. read more