Barbeque
is a family affair – my brother Alan Cornett at Pinstripe Pulpit has been doing
a bbq survey of his own, mostly in northern Alabama. His example has spurred me
to do a bbq survey of Louisville and possibly its environs, seeking bbq bliss. Oh,
the things I do for you!
I
went to Mark’s Feed Store, a chain based in Louisville, when I first moved to
Louisville over two years ago. I was NOT very impressed, and despite living
almost across the road from one of their restaurants, I had not been back.
Until last night. I decided I would start my survey there, and give them a
second chance.
As
the name implies, Mark’s Feed Store has a country theme. The one I went to, in
Middletown, is a gray wood frame building with a porch. The inside is
welcoming, with wooden pew-like booths, wooden chairs, and blue and white
checked vinyl tablecloths. Each table comes with three bottles of sauce: the
original yellow vinegar-based sauce, a hot tomato based sauce, and their “red”
sauce, a take on the standard tomato-based sweet bbq sauce. The waiter was
friendly and the food arrived quickly and hot. I chose the pork dinner with two
sides and Texas toast; my sides were baked beans and baked apples. The meat
came in a little paper dish, with the sides in small white plastic bowls, all
arranged on a metal cookie-sheet type pan lined with waxed paper.
The
meat was pulled pork, and I decided to try it without sauce first. It nearly
melted in my mouth. Emboldened, I poured some of the sweet red bbq sauce onto the
waxed paper – not on the meat, in case I didn’t like it. The sauce was a little
thin for my tastes, but as it turned out the flavor was okay. Not great –
acceptable. It tasted tomato-y, a bit sweet, but with an afterburn, which did
not make me happy. I didn’t try the original or hot sauces, because I knew I
wouldn’t like them.
The
sides were both quite good. The beans were flavored like the bbq sauce, with
the same sweet taste and mild afterburn, and little flecks of meat enhanced the
flavor. The apples were like a chunky cinnamon applesauce, a nice counterpoint
to the bean and bbq sauce afterburn. The Texas toast was standard, good but not
special. I was too full for dessert, but I may go back just for the homemade
buttermilk pie, which sounds amazing.
Overall,
I would give Mark’s a 7 out of 10. The meat was melt-in-your-mouth tender, with
a good flavor – the best feature of the meal. The beans were good, above
average but not fabulous. The apples were standard fare, like what you would
get buying a jar of Cracker Barrel baked apples. If you’re hungry for bbq, but
don’t want to work for it, Mark’s is a reasonable option. But, for me, it isn’t
a destination bbq.
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