it's like a desert oasis that serves mostly-potable water. before you read this, let me clear: big bad wolf is a perfectly good restaurant and you should try their food. moreover, it's clean, reasonably priced, and the service is very good.
that said, the rest of this review is really written for serious barbecue lovers. if you are one and have some real cue experience, when going to big bad wolf, you should temper your expectations. there is good and there is less so, and i will try to analyze accordingly.
a good place to start is by telling you how it was recommended to me. a neighbor said, "big bad wolf has the best barbecue in baltimore." that is probably a completely true statement, but it has much more do with it being in baltimore and less so with the cue; hence the title of this review...
the biggest problem: the meat has little merit on its own. that is not to say it's bad - it's perfectly edible - but just that it lacks the smokey goodness and/or quality rub of real, time-consuming barbecue. the love was just never added (or the hickory, mesquite, or any other particular wood from what i can taste).
so how do you solve the biggest problem? with their best feature: a good sauce. a real barbecue lover will tell you that even a great sauce can never wholly save flavorless meat, but big bad wolf really puts that maxim to the test with some of theirs.
the good:
- texas bbq sauce - they do a very good job with this one, even down to cooking the onions right into the sauce
- carolina mustard - this was the most pleasant surprise of my sampling! they do an honest-to-god south carlina style mustard-base sauce, and it's pretty damn close to the real thing!
- bourbon cherry - this isn't even really a barbecue sauce of any specific tradition, but damn if it doesn't just taste good! unfortunately, it was billed as a "seasonal" sauce at the time, so it may not always be available. still if you find it, go for it.
the "bad is too strong of a word":
- anything they refer to as a kansas city-style sauce - both the sweet and the spicy... if you have been to kansas city and had real barbecue there, this will simply disappoint you. if your kc experience comes in a bottle from safeway, then these will probably fit or just slightly exceed your expectations. they are acceptable sauces, but pretty run of the mill overall.
the ugly:
- north carolina vinegar - there is no excuse for this one. nc vinegar sauce may be tricky to get right, but they could not have possibly even tried! i'm pretty sure they put some apple cider vinegar in with a few red pepper flecks, watered it down, and called it sauce. this is the worst of their offerings, hands down.
anyhow, like i said, this is a perfectly good restaurant. and, for baltimore, it's about as close as you can get to legitimate barbecue. unfortunately, everything except the ribs is put on a sandwich, but i recommend the "big bad wolf" sandwich anyway. toss the bread aside, eat the brisket with the texas bbq sauce, and the pork with the mustard base sauce. the bacon is a nice little treat too even though it has nothing to do with barbecue. as for sides, the mac-n-cheese is decent, but avoid the greens; and fries are a great way to taste more sauces (and they give pretty serious portions when it comes to the fries!). and, be sure to wash it all down with some half-n-half, since these guys clearly give their sweet tea and lemonade appropriate levels of sugar (i.e. diabetes inducing, but deliciously sweet!).