Red's True BBQ

Red's True BBQ

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blogging, food, lifestyle, random, review

This maybe super weird but I am obsessed with slow cooked, smoker type BBQ, things like pulled pork & brisket...really American style BBQ.
So when Red's True BBQ opened in Leeds it went on my list as a must do. That was embarrassingly long ago - so long ago that Red's has opened up a new location since then - but finally, FINALLY I have been & let me tell you it was so worth the wait!

Once a month Leeds bloggers do a dining club & this month my body actually let me go (mostly because it was being pushed through it, I mean RED'S BBQ! I needed to be there!) So I got to go to Red's with a mix of newbies & regulars (or at least as regular as you can get at a restaurant that is constantly over busy).

Red's has this whole religion thing going. As you go in the counter for seating is decked out like a church lectern or pulpit or something, and obviously there are the ten commandments of barbecue.
It may sound on the crazy sound of quirky but I kind of like it. They're so the the holy grail of quirky BBQ in this part of the UK are entitled to as much quirky as they like ;)

The ambience is good: it's kind of got an industrial grunge feel with raw wooden tables, metal chairs & loose light fixtures, the wait staff are super nice & it is seemingly ALWAYS busy. My only problem was the music is unbelievably loud (at least on the day I went). If I was going to go again I might have to take my noise cancelling headphones. I'm serious! I struggled to hear the person sat next to me!

I so need to get a smaller fixed length zoom lens. On my camera this one is just too big.

Obviously, the thing that everybody raves about when they go to Red's is the food & rightly so!
I got the brisket & it had great flavour, a visible smoke ring & it was MELT IN YOUT MOUTH!!!
But you know, they also have the MOST amazing sides. I seriously struggled to pick sides but finally narrowed it down to the sweet potato fries (which were the best example of sweet potato fries I've yet experienced) & the BBQ baked beans (which are spicy & very meaty & - in my opinion - best enjoyed as take out with added honey, they need to do a sweet version *nudge nudge Red's*).

Now I can only speak for the taste of the meal I got (which was exceptional) but I can speak for the eccentricity of some of the food the other bloggers had. I am typing this up on my iPad so I'll add in links later but Carrieanne of http://www.beautiesunlocked.com got this weird (but wonderful looking) three meat nachos that she barely managed to make a dent in ^^
Kel of http://www.adventuresinteaandcake.com did one better & had the (at least semi) famous doughnut burger which she swore tasted delicious but I'm still not sold on. It is apparently one of those things you have to experience at least once in a life time which I'm not 100% sold on. Maybe if it wasn't a cheese burger ;)

Did I mention all their in house sauces? They have the classic Kansas City Style sauce (what we would normally call 'BBQ sauce'), they have a mustard-y South Carolina style sauce, a spice-y, vinegar-y North Carolina style sauce, a super super hot sauce & their twist on ketchup (which is still a sauce). I'm not a HUGE fan of traditional BBQ sauce so I was super impressed with there being other kinds of sauces. I LOVED the mustard-y one but another time I think I'm going to make a custom blend of the lot, because grown ups play with their food ;)

Now I carefully saved room for dessert because I had seen on the menu the words "Pecan Nut Fudge Ice-Cream". They were actually out of that (I guess I will HAVE to go back to try that, such a hardship(!) ) so I followed the lead of my fellow bloggers & got the chocolate peanut butter cheesecake. I LOVE peanut butter desserts but they have a tendency to be stodgy & sticky & sometimes ever sickly. This was none of the above. The mixture itself was light as air" the biscuit base was kind of like the outside of an oreo & the top was very.....Reese's Peanut Butter Cup chocolate. It was all slightly like that actually. I kind of wish it came with a side of salted peanuts (it was all very much the same texture) but even without that it was pretty special.

P.S. If you are an alcohol drinker (like I wish I was) you may like to know that they have a delicious looking selection of cocktails & other alcohol, including an impressive selection of bourbons & ryes. Now bourbon is my weakness so I almost ordered one + a lot of lemonade so I could drink it, but they only have home made lemonade & home made lemonade is actually acidic so no go :( I may have to bring my own lemonade next time ;)

blogging, food, lifestyle, random, review

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