Grub Scout: B-Coux's tasty barbecue trumps presentation

Summer is prime barbecue season, so when I heard that Bruce Bogartz was running a barbecue shack behind his RouXbarb location in Bearden, I thought it would make for a tasty weekday lunch outing for me and The Grub Spouse. We had enjoyed the food at the chef’s now-defunct RouXbarbecue restaurant in Rocky Hill, so we figured we had a good chance of replicating that feat.

The smoker is located in a small wooden out building behind the RouXbarb facility. Most days, you can dine at the counter if any of the few stools is available. On the day of our visit, the smoker was being cleaned, and they were having guests dine in the restaurant, which is normally offered as a seating option anyway. Not wanting to take our orders to go, we decided to grab a table in RouXbarb’s cozy dining room and take advantage of the fully functioning air conditioning.

The offerings vary from day to day, so there’s no fixed menu to speak of. We were offered a selection of beef brisket and pulled pork from the smoker as well as baked beans, cole slaw and homemade potato chips as side items. We told the employee to fix us up with a serving of each of the meats plus representative sampling of all three sides. She threw in a bun for good measure so we could experience the barbecue as a sandwich if we wished.

Our food was delivered to our table in Styrofoam to-go containers, which I’m guessing is the standard operating procedure, given that she the employee was fully aware that we were dining in. Fortunately, we were given metal cutlery instead of plastic.

Lifting the lids on the boxes revealed very generous portions of smoked and seasoning-rubbed meat, with a serving of baked beans and slaw filling the smaller compartments in each box. A foam tub of chips was set between us for us to share.

The brisket was served as three long, thick strips of meat. The taste was incredible — succulent and seasoned to perfection. The meat was tender, making for easy cutting and chewing. This brisket was an enjoyable experience even without the vinegar-based barbecue sauce that accompanied it.

I wasn’t quite as enamored with the pulled pork. The shreds were atypically large and chunky compared to the level of shredding I’ve found at most barbecue establishments, although that wasn’t necessarily a negative. I did, however, consider the pork meat to be on the dry side and definitely in need of some saucy enhancement. The flavor was solid but the dryness rubbed me the wrong way.

I give Bogartz kudos on his side items that day. The baked beans recipe included some amount of allspice, which gave the dish a distinctive flavor normally not detected in baked beans. Meanwhile, the vinegar-based slaw was bolstered with liberal levels of cilantro, giving this item a unique flavor counterpoint as well. The homemade chips were super greasy but also enjoyable.

At around $18 for the two meals, I would have at least preferred real plates, especially having chosen to dine in, but I was left with the impression that operations are scaled down somewhat for the barbecue service. The price seemed like beaucoup bucks for lunch, but you might consider B-Coux’s barbecue worth it if you’re looking for something a little different than what the other guys are smoking.

© 2011, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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