We dropped in for dinner at Barque’s on a weekday night. It was packed to the brim and we waited an hour to an hour a half before getting seated at the bar. Now, here’s the thing, we really wanted to love it, but from the cold food to the incredibly dry brisket and the decidedly not-spicy-at-all ‘spicy’ baby back ribs, we weren’t very impressed. If there was a bottle of sriracha sauce, Leo would have been all over it, because there wasn’t very much flavour apart from the smokiness.
I’m not sure if we just went on a bad night or it’s that we ordered a sampler, which may explain why the food was cold by the time it go to our table, but I was disappointed. I don’t know. I don’t eat a lot of barbecue outside of home, maybe it’s meant to be like that. Maybe we’ll go for brunch.
Eaten:
Barque Sampler for Two with a choice of three sides ($40)
Brisket – Light smokey flavour, but dry and lean; we suspect we probably just got end of the cut… (Well, I guess someone has to, right?). The leftover was taken home and thrown in a fried rice, mmmmm.
Spicy baby back ribs – Despite the lack of heat, they were the best thing on our plate that evening. They were moist with the loveliest carmelization. I can’t remember what they said was in the rub, but it made me think of smoked paprika and cayenne pepper.
Competition chicken thighs - It was just chicken….not better or worse than any other.
Sides: Pickled platter – Cauliflower, daikon, green peppers, beets, green beans and carrots; smoked asparagus (recommended!); and fries.
Barque Smokehouse
299 Roncesvalles Avenue | Website | Yelp
