City Barbeque
 Cincinnatti, Ohio        Date of Visit: 09/05/14        http://www.citybbq.com

After settling in our luxury accommodations prior to our 2nd diner en blanc, we were taken to a nearby Q joint for some late dinner. I didn’t recognize it at the time but I had just read something about this regional place in a list of worthwhile smoke shops and had added one in Columbus to the list of go to’s. Well, the next trip to Cbus will have to be for something else, we are going to City BBQ in Cincy. The place has the three shiniest smokers I have ever seen and the interior has a processed barn feel. You order at the counter right inside the door, watch the guy in the window scoop and slice your options and find a seat.
 

What Are B.J. & Hawkeye Having?
 

There is a little station where you can collect sauces or veg for your Q and a trough of beverages on ice. We went with the orange and grape Nehi. The stuff is good. Very sweet, fruity, bubbly. I think I like it more than I actually like it. I’m old, I know, but I think it harkens back to the wistful way Radar O’Reilly talked about it on M*A*S*H. I’m officially old.

We ordered the pork, sausage and brisket with sides of mac & cheese, cornbread and cole slaw. The description I read of the place was on point. The meats are tender with a present but subtle smoke. It’s substantial barbeque, in Ohio.

Our pork was a little fatty for me but much of it was full of fat rendered into juicified glory. The slaw on the sandwich was the same sharp vinegared cabbage which cut into the richness of the sandwich. The brisket was much leaner and every bit as good as the pork.
 

Even better was the sausage. Nice smoke, excellent seasoning and oozing meat happiness, I ordered it as an afterthought but it took the blue ribbon. There were four sauces…most of which were pinging to the sweet side of the meter. The original is richly sweet with darker undertones, the sweet city is more just sweet, and the brush fire added notes of heat but was built on the same sweet foundation. Once we got to the table there were bottles of the sauces (not sure why…duh! Actually just now figured it out…the bar with the cups are for to go orders…nevermind) and one additional sauce a very yellow and mustardy mustard. A mix of the brush fire and mustard did nice things to the sausage and brisket but weren’t necessary. Pick your poison.
 

Sausage Is Well Seasoned
 

The corn bread was the sweet cakey style which has never really done that much for me. The mac was gooey with cheese featuring a lot of nuttiness reminiscent of good Swiss, not bad. Intermittent bites of pickle, jalapeno, onion, etc from the veg options keep everything light and interesting making for a good outing centered around their “True Que” regional preparations of high quality protein, done with care and time. When are we getting one in Akron? Maybe we can talk them into a little more variation in sauce.