Pulled pork barbecue with twice baked potato salad at One & Only BBQ on Perkins Ext.
The first two dishes I mastered on my own were Beef Bourguignon (thank you Julia Child) and Brunswick Stew (thank you Mom). I haven't eaten either one for at least a decade, so imagine my thrill when I spotted Brunswick stew on the menu at the new One & Only BBQ, located in the former CK's Coffee Shop on Perkins Ext. near Southern.
I ordered a bowl to share with Tony, and our server brought the stew in two small bowls with two spoons, which was sophisticated service for a barbecue joint. The attentive service carried on through our entire meal, which included salads, generously portioned entrees and ice tea for about $20 each.
But back to the Brunswick stew, a delicious bowl of steaming hot limas, corn, tomatoes and three kinds of smoked meat: chicken, brisket and pork. The stew is on the sweet side, which was a little oft putting at first because Maryland Brunswick stew is more savory. But once we settled into the stew's delicious and aromatic flavors, we were asking our server if the stew is available to go. It is for $9.99 a quart.
I'll be returning regularly for the delicious stew to-go, but there are many other dinner options at One & Only BBQ, a popular restaurant also located on Kirby Parkway just north of Poplar. In fact, the menu is extensive, offering smoked dinners (chicken, pork shoulder, turkey, sausage and beef brisket) with two sides and Texas toast for $10.
The restaurant's sides are impressive, widening the typical selection of barbecue baked beans and slaw to include mustard potato salad, twice baked potato salad, sweet potato fries, green beans and vegetarian baked beans.
Vegetarians will be happy to know that One & Only also serves an excellent Strawberry Fields Forever Salad, a heaping serving of Romaine, blue cheese, strawberries and spicy walnuts with balsamic vinaigrette. After the Brunswick stew and the salad, I was so full that I carried home my sandwich, a four-inch stack of pulled pork and slaw on a soft barbecue bun.
Sadly, we were too stuffed to try Millie's Banana Pudding or the restaurant's pecan pie, which I'm hoping is also Millie Katzen's recipe. To this day, my husband says one of the best birthday gifts he has ever received was Millie's pecan pie, a gift she shared with co-workers long before her husband Alan Katzen opened his barbecue restaurants.
567 Perkins Ext., 901-249-4227 (oneandonlybbq.com)
