burnt ends

Tasty Tuesday–Beast Craft BBQ: Brisket Philly

Beast does an amazing job of creating new, unique sandwiches that highlight their many amazing food items, but they are also great at making standard favorites with a Beast twist. Enter the Brisket Philly:

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Brisket and burnt ends on a bun, with cheese sauce (no swiss or provel here!), grilled onions, and poblano peppers. I can’t even decide what it is that makes this sandwich great! The homemade cheese sauce (instead of the standard Cheez Whiz), is amazing. I think the genius of this particular creation, though, is the poblano peppers. They add a smoky quality to the sandwich that is amazing, and really give it that Beast touch, setting it apart from other Philly sandwich creations. I highly recommend giving this a chance the next time it appears on Beast’s menu!

Tasty Tuesday–Beast Craft BBQ: Big Country

Beast had me at asparagus fries…

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The Big Country is another amazing creation from Beast…it’s currently tied with the Beefcake for my favorite beef-based sammich. Brisket and burnt ends, smoked bacon, plus brisket gravy (yeah, they do that!), and asparagus fries, which, as far as I could tell, was really just pan-fried asparagus, similar to how I cook it, and was delicious!

I think I’ve made it clear by now that I absolutely love Beast’s burnt ends, and the brisket is also amazing. The brisket gravy was new to me, and I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Let me just say, it’s delicious. I have to admit that I let the sammich get a bit cold while I was taking pictures of it and doing a few other things, and I think the gravy would have been even better if I had gotten to it before it cooled off, but even at room temperature, it was great. And the asparagus was a great contribution…a nice little taste of spring, plus, you know, it makes the sammich healthy!

As always, I will be anxiously awaiting Beast’s next creation…I don’t how they keep coming up with interesting and unexpected combos that work so well, but they really do!

Tasty Tuesday–Beast Craft BBQ: The Beefcake

Another Tuesday, another chance to support a local small business!

I’d been wanting to try the “Beefcake Sammich” ever since I first saw it on the menu, but I missed it the first few times around. The good people at Beast were kind enough to make me one, even when it wasn’t an advertised item, since they had the ingredients available and they’re awesome like that.

I already knew Beast’s brisket is great, and the burnt ends are amazing, so there were no surprises as far as the meat part of the sandwich. I also knew the white BBQ sauce is awesome (still want to know what’s in that stuff!), but I wanted to see how it paired with beef instead of chicken. The other ingredients were grilled jalapeños, pickles, and tobacco onions (also known to me as onion straws)…and I have a major weakness for onion straws!

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Again, Beast did not disappoint. I’ll have to admit to being a jalapeño wuss…I only ate the first one before my sinuses surrendered. They definitely do add a pleasing kick to the sandwich, though! The onion straws were as amazing as I had hoped…I could eat a whole plate of just those!

It really was just like I imagined it would be, which, in short, was delicious. I especially enjoyed the way the standard BBQ sauce on the burnt ends mixed with the white sauce. As always, there’s just no way you can finish this in one sitting (at least I couldn’t!), but I love that I had leftovers to look forward to the next day. I think this sandwich is now tied for first place with the “Jive Turkey Sammich.” I might say this is the best one yet, but the two sandwiches are so different, it’s easier to just call it even, rather than try to compare them!

Tasty Tuesday–Beast Craft BBQ

I’ll be totally honest…a few months ago, when we saw the new sign for Beast Craft BBQ, I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t sure what “craft BBQ” was, but I knew it sounded hipster-y and pretentious, which is totally not us, so I figured we’d never darken their doorstep.

Shortly after Beast opened, however, we were checking out their menu online, and two things caught my attention. First of all, burnt ends. A popular menu item just across Missouri in Kansas City, burnt ends are surprisingly hard to find around here, which is very disappointing, because once you’ve had them, you know just how delicious they are! That alone probably would have convinced me that we needed to at least try the place, but then there was the icing on the cake…brussels sprouts fried with pork belly. Now, I (strangely) love brussels sprouts anyway, but his combination really intrigued me.

So, we broke down and tried it. I got the burnt ends and tortillas with a double side of brussels sprouts. And it was all amazing! When I’m wrong, I say I’m wrong…nothing hipster-y or pretentious about the food at all! I seriously have no need to ever try anything else from Beast, although I’m sure Ryan will eventually. And even though we can’t afford to eat there often, I check the menu every day anyway (it changes daily), just to see if there are burnt ends available!

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Aside from the delicious food, I’m also impressed with Beast’s commitment to fresh, local food. They don’t use freezers or microwaves, so they have what’s available from their suppliers until it runs out. They even offer local beverages, from coffee and tea (Kaldi’s) to beer and soft drinks (Excel Bottling), and suggest pairings to go with their menu items.

If you’re looking to try a delicious new BBQ place, I highly recommend giving Beast a try…just make sure you check the menu and go early in the day if there’s a particular menu item you want…there’s nothing worse than planning on getting a plate of burnt ends, only to find that they’re sold out!