Burnt End

Burnt End & Sausage Plate

Burnt End has been keeping a low profile since they opened in March 2011.  In a strip storefront that has hosted a half dozen restaurants over the last decade, Burnt End now makes it home – like a hermit crab with Goldilocks’ syndrome (or something).

Pulled Pork & Sausage "Bowl"

On my first visit, Baby Son and I both ordered brisket sandwiches; a Hatfield (third pound - $5.99) and a McCoy (half pound - $7.99).  I gotta say, I was overwhelmed when the meal arrived.  Meat was spilling out of both sandwiched.  Spilling?  No, gushing.  I didn’t try to weigh them, but I did ask the chef if this was a standard order.  Yes, he assured me.  I brought half the McCoy home.  The meat (brisket and sausage) was tender, tasty, and swimming in sauce.  Although there was a definite, if small, smoke ring on the brisket, there was very little bark.  This is one of the essential marks of great Que and it is M.I.A.  Most joints serve sandwiches dry and invite the consumer to add sauce to their own liking.  Burnt End douses the meat as if it were a California wildfire.  The sauce was on the dainty side – good spices but overly sweet without any smoke or molasses taste.  The spicy sauce was very spicy, a better choice.

On another trip I ordered the eponymous burnt ends with sausage plate ($10.50).  They were tender enough, but not really double-smoked as many joints do their ends.  These were just marble size-cubes of brisket and the fat was not trimmed off the outside.  Given the tenderness and taste, I wouldn’t say they’re exceptional as far as burnt ends go, but darn good.  The Spicy Southwest barbeque sauce was among the best I’ve ever had.  My wife ordered "The Border Bowl" - pulled pork, "signature"* sausage, cornbread, cheesy corn, and "tobacco"(?) onions.  She liked it.  Not my kind of dish.

I asked, as I always do when I like the sausage, who the maker was.  Word came back from the kitchen that it was from "Rosedale".  I know my local sausage and I'd never heard of a Rosedale making links.  I called Rosedale BBQ this morning and asked if they sell their sausage.  Sweet lady on the phone said simply, "No, we buy Hillshire Farms."  My guess is that this sausage is made by Rosedale's KCK neighbor, Krizman's House of Sausage.

My professional assessment (based on my scoring standards):

Brisket... Taste: 8 Tenderness: 8 Appearance: 8 = Overall: 8

Burnt Ends... Taste: 8 Tenderness: 8 Appearance: 7 = Overall: 7.8
Sausage... Taste: 9 Tenderness: 9 Appearance: 9 = Overall: 9

A $2 order of home-made fries came in a bowl the size of Connecticut.  The fries were crisp and delightfully showered with sea salt.  I was impressed with the generous portions, but not the quality of the smoke.  This is average fare and it’s going to be terribly difficult to hammer out a reputation with this stuff.

By my lights, Burnt End deserves THREE piggies.

site: http://www.eatpbj.com/burntendbbqmenu.pdf