Buffalo Bob's: Beats Biggs

Well, we are winding down on our great Lawrence TourWing of 2013.  Just three stops left and this stop has us trekking downtown on Mass Street to Buffalo Bob's Smokehouse for some smoked wings.  After our bad Biggs BBQ experience we were a little once bitten, twice shy so-to-speak about going to another BBQ place but we were pleasantly surprised.  As the picture shows, them are some healthy sized wing portions all crisped up and served on a bottomless bed of curly Q fries.  And if you are there on a Monday night as we are, they're $5 per pound.    

 

So, what about Bob?  These were so much better than Biggs.  They are slow smoked and then I am guessing flash fried to give it that crispy skin we so desire.  But an untrained eye can see that they serve their wings "naked" with only a dusting and not coated in sauce.  Boo, Bob, boo!  They do have sauces that are served on the side.  Obviously, you have a hot wing and a cold sauce that is runny.  Just isn't the same.  And, our rules clearly state that the wings must be coated in sauce.  So, there is going to be some deductions. 

 

As for texture and tenderness (T-n-T) they were above average and is their strong point.  Very crispy on the outside but not overdone.  The chicken meat well preserved by all the sealed in juices.   

 

But flavor, well, it took a little hit.  The sauces offered on the side are their BBQ sauces and a hot sauce.  The hot sauce (pictured above) looks and tastes like Louisiana Hot Sauce right out of the bottle.  One BBQ sauce named after an old girlfriend was described to us as sweet and spicy which we found to be lacking in both categories.  Maybe Bob thought the same and that's why it didn't work out; I don't know.  The hot BBQ was not hot.  Perhaps it was hotter maybe but not hot.  The mild was overall their most flavorful and best sauce we sampled.

 

Still, overall Buffalo Bob scores a total of 6.58 which puts them in 8th place thus far, sandwiched between Johnny's Tavern (Original) at 6.67 and Saints Pub at 6.53.  If Bob would only smoke them, flash fry them, sauce them, and serve them then we would eat them and judge them higher.  If anyone knows Bob you may want to suggest that.  Still, they scored a very respectable ranking and they are heads and shoulders above their in town rival Biggs BBQ that scored the worst: 4.275.  A morale victory, perhaps? 

 

Now, Buffalo Bob's overall as a place to go. They have good BBQ and some really good lunch specials and the service is fast and friendly.  The place is divided in two halves.  One side is the restaurant and the other is dubbed the "Dynamite Saloon" with a really cool bar.  There are flat screen TVs in there if you want to catch a game.  Same menu is served in the saloon so you will not be missing out on menu selections.  And on some Friday nights you can catch Patrick Nichols picking his guitar and singing some Delta Blues.  And if you are really lucky you may catch him on a night when our good friend Chris Millspaugh joins him on harmonica for a real treat to your ears!    

 

And then there were  two...