Jamieson22 wrote:As a total random side note, noticed your Weber grill brush in photos. I recently grabbed a Grill Wizard Grill Brush, and while only having used it a couple times, I have to say it is great. Seems like it will avoid the clogged up bristles I always get on the Weber brush, rendering them useless after a couple months.

Jamie,

The Grill Wizard looks to be a really nice grill brush, thanks for the heads up. Far as the Weber grill brushes, agreed, they only tend to last a few months. Knowing this I tend to stock up end of season when they are, at least the last time I bought them at Home Depot, on sale for $2.99.

Enjoy,
Gary

HI,

Since we have drifted off to grill brushes.

I couldn't find my grill brushes recently and needed to find something to improvise. Under the kitchen sink, I found a rarely used brass scrunge for scrubbing pots when especially dirty. I went outside, scrubbed my grill clean and fast. Best yet, it practically shook clean and was useable inside once again. I like it better than the brushes. In my experience the brushes accumulate gunk rendering them useless. Frankly I thought my brass scrunge was being used as a sacrificial lamb never to return to kitchen service. For whatever reason it simply did not accumulate gunk.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

Since we have drifted off to grill brushes.

I prefer to use my Red Dragon Propane Torch to clean the grates. I'm also able to get those so important "char marks".

Sorry to bring this back on-topic

Made my first treck to Honey1 this afternoon. Got the tip/link combo. Excellent stuff. The tips would offend the meat jello folks as they were exquisitely chewy. They were also pretty low on the fat scale for tips.

The links were kind of a surprise. I had no idea what to expect. The first bite was smoky and tasty. But I kind of expected a little spice. It took about 15 seconds before the spice finally hit me. They were now perfect.

The sauce was OK, but nothing special. But the meat was so good I didn't really use much of it.

I did feel the portion was a little small. We ordered the extra large, which they claim is enough for 3-4 people. It was barely enough for 2. We had 2 tips and 1 little link left over. Not that it was a terrible value for the price, but I'm sure glad I only had 1 other person to feed.

The other negative was a personal slight. Serves 3-4 people? When you put 1 fork and 1 wet nap in the package I jump to the conclusion that you expect me to eat it all myself. I mean, I'm a glutton, but not that big a pig.

I'll have to try more of their menu before I declare them the best BBQ north of Madison. But no doubt they win for #1 in tips.

It would be so great if Honey 1 had a good side.

I've resorted to frying their white bread ("on the side, please") in butter when I get home. But some decent greens or red rice would be so wonderful, just the dream of it makes me weepy.

midas wrote:I did feel the portion was a little small. We ordered the extra large, which they claim is enough for 3-4 people. It was barely enough for 2. We had 2 tips and 1 little link left over. Not that it was a terrible value for the price, but I'm sure glad I only had 1 other person to feed.

Before all the 1st time visiters possibly over order, my personal experience has been that the large (serves 2-3) has been so amply sized for hubby and I that we eat about 1/2 of it when we order and dine there, and we eat the remaining half for dinner another night. I would say that hubby and I are about average in terms of how much we eat. Last time, we also added on some cole slaw, but that was more of an accessory, and we only ate part of it when we ate at Honey 1.

To future Honey 1 newbies...On one hand, don't hold back as long as you don't mind leftovers. However, I would also say that Honey 1 is a place where it's easy to order more if you find your initial order wasn't enough.

trotsky wrote:It would be so great if Honey 1 had a good side.

I've resorted to frying their white bread ("on the side, please") in butter when I get home. But some decent greens or red rice would be so wonderful, just the dream of it makes me weepy.

While I definitely think their bbq should be the highlight, I also look for sides. I try not to eat too many fries. The cole slaw helps, but I'd like to see a couple more good sides. From Honey 1's perspective, they should see sides as a high margin opportunity. I'd love to see some corn or beans.

kithat wrote:Before all the 1st time visiters possibly over order, my personal experience has been that the large (serves 2-3) has been so amply sized for hubby and I that we eat about 1/2 of it when we order and dine there, and we eat the remaining half for dinner another night.

Conversely, before any 1st time visitors under-order this transcendent pork, my suggestion is that the large tip dinner is in fact perfect for one person with a large appetite. It's the exact quantity I'd want for a big ribs dinner, not more and not less. And if gluttony is relative, my wife who's rather petite also gets the large tip dinner and finishes about 85% of it on her own if she's hungry. (as have various dinner companions I've gotten take out with)

kithat wrote: From Honey 1's perspective, they should see sides as a high margin opportunity.

I was thinking the same thing as we were eating 20 bucks worth of smoky pork tonight. I'd pay 3 bucks for a pint of greens. I know it's a little time consuming but they could cook a huge pot all at once. In the summer, people would pay at least a buck for an ear of corn.

When they were on Division, I would occasionally even stop at Popeye's on the way home for sides. It felt wrong, so I stopped.

Well I just got back from Honey1 and I'm more than a little POed. I took my wife there for the first time to get a carryout order. There was no place to park so I just had her go in to order while I went around the block. She tried to order 2 link/tip combo lunch specials and 1 pulled pork lunch special. The guy at the counter told her they didn't have any lunch specials, only what was posted on the wall. I had just been on their website 5 minutes before leaving the house to drive down there and the lunch specials were very prominent on their menu page.

To add insult to injury, they included a printed menu with our order. Sure enough the lunch specials were touted on the printed menu too. Strange though, the menu was conspicuous by it's absence from the order counter itself.

Bottom line is, we got overcharged $7 plus tax for our order. My wife is not the type to argue with them so she just paid extra. Of course she had no problem giving me a hard time about it all the way home.

Trust is an important part of the restaurant business and I'm sorry to say they have lost mine.

Funny, I just went to H1 for a Tip Link combo. I was surprised that it wasn't on special anymore. After my first bite I didn't really care about the few extra bucks though. I can still taste the smoke and still have a little burn left from the link. It was great stuff. It's a tough time of year for any business. Maybe they just haven't been making enough money and had to stop the special for awhile.

FYI: The specials section on the web menu also states:
"Specials subject to change without notice "

On another Honey 1 note, anyone have a clue the differences between the tip Buckets and Pans (yes I know I can call but looking for actual opinion as well).

A small PAN of tips is $40 and states it serves 6+, whereas a Large BUCKET serves 7+ and is $39. Also the XL Tips meal serves 3-4 and is $14.50, so seemingly it would feed 6-8 and be $29 (even though it really only serves 1.5-2).

Not nit-picking, more so curious as I am picking some up for Super Bowl and not sure what to get. Are the number of people that can be fed on Pans/Buckets estimated in same scale as the meals, or are the figures accurate??

Jamie

Jamieson22 wrote:FYI: The specials section on the web menu also states:
"Specials subject to change without notice "

Almost every menu has verbiage stating 'prices subject to change without notice'. This is meant to cover them so that they don't have to send out menus with new pricing to every person within a 3000 mile radius. But I'm talking about getting a menu from them after walking out of the establishment that still lists the specials.

Every place I've ever been that didn't want to spend the money to throw away a supply of menus would at least take a magic marker and blackout the offending section. And the website takes less than 5 minutes to update. This is just sloppy business.

midas wrote:

Jamieson22 wrote:FYI: The specials section on the web menu also states:
"Specials subject to change without notice "

And the website takes less than 5 minutes to update. This is just sloppy business.

FYI, I am actually responsible for updating the Honey One website. I received the new menu from them 2 weeks ago, and thought I had made all price changes. If I had missed something, I am sorry. I will go home and take a look again at the menu I got.

I've grown really fond of Honey 1's links lately and find myself ordering the combo more and more often. (I remember trying them the first time I went there and not liking them all that much, so I'm not sure if I just had a bad batch or if their recipe changed.)

Question-- Does anyone know where they buy their links? A friend and I were discussing this and he stated it was from a to-remain-nameless south side chain grocery store. I was shocked and thought they'd be somewhat more specialty store based. Then again, given the proper technique, maybe being smoked all day can turn a common link into a thing of beauty.

Moo & Oink. The Adamses and the boxes behind the counter have confirmed this to me before. But it has been a while since I asked (at least a year).

JeffB wrote:Moo & Oink. The Adamses and the boxes behing the counter have confirmed this to me before. But it has been a while since I asked (at least a year).

It is still Moo & Oink. I was there last month talking to Robert Jr., and one of the workers came up the stairs with a case of Moo & Oink links.

It was only a matter of time before I ran into another LTH'er at a board favorite. (Yes, I've been a lurker, but I eat well.) When the couple in front of me ordered two large combos, sauce on the side, I knew I'd found company. I got to enjoy my ribs with Evil Ronnie and The Lovely Donna! (As Andy Warhol once famously said, in the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes. The modern analogue is that on the Internet, everyone is famous to fifteen people. Clams with black bean sauce, Evil Ronnie style, has been on my list of things to try for quite a while. )

The tips were fantastic as always. Honey 1 has a magical way of making the outside crisp (without being burnt) and the inside moist, all with a wonderful smoky flavor. The sauce is sweet without being overpowering. And, I know I shouldn't say this in front of GWiv, but I like ordering sauce on because after I eat myself to the point of bursting getting to the fries at the bottom, they're soggy and delicious having soaked up all the flavor of the sauce and rib drippings. (Incidentally, The Lovely Donna mentioned that the fry style had changed. I was only familiar with them with the large steak fries, but my first trip was only a couple months ago.) To me, the combo feels bare without the links, but I have a hard time putting my finger on how I feel about them.

All in all a wonderful evening.

I ordered the tips and links combo last night based on numerous recommendations of top posters in this forum.
Maybe it was too late (10PM) or maybe it was because the guys behind the counter wanted to play a practical joke on me, but the tips were so chewy that I have eaten tootsie rolls that had more crunch.
I literally could not chew the meat enough to make it swallowable without having a heimlich maneuver expert by my side.
Was it just a bad night?
Too late at night to order tips?
Or is Honey 1 done?

Go to the best Texas BBQ joints down in Luling, Llanos, Austin or whereever at closing time and you will get some pretty bad meat. Or at Arthur Bryants early Sunday at opening before the fresh stuff is prepared and you will find the same.

No BBQ benefits from sitting in a hot box waiting for hours to be served.

Most places cook up to a certain time. If you show up LATE, you are eating meat that has been hanging around for a while.

bsmooth7 wrote:I ordered the tips and links combo last night based on numerous recommendations of top posters in this forum.
Maybe it was too late (10PM) or maybe it was because the guys behind the counter wanted to play a practical joke on me, but the tips were so chewy that I have eaten tootsie rolls that had more crunch.
I literally could not chew the meat enough to make it swallowable without having a heimlich maneuver expert by my side.
Was it just a bad night?
Too late at night to order tips?
Or is Honey 1 done?

Well, you know, sometimes even the great places slip. I greatly admire Robert Adams and his Q, but I had to laugh when I walked by Honey 1 today and saw this sign in front:



Look a little closer...



Happy birthday Mike Sula!

Every time I've seen that sign I've noticed that, and every time I giggle to myself and hope Sula has seen it.

I guess now I can assume he has

Happy Birthday, Mike!

bsmooth7 wrote:Was it just a bad night?
Too late at night to order tips?
Or is Honey 1 done?

Could have been a bad night, or just some meat that did not want to behave. My first trip to Honey 1 a few months ago elicited a "well, if I'm in the area" response from me. Good, not tremendous, and the tips may have been sitting as it was a slow rainy night.

A couple of weeks ago, I ended up staying at work on a Friday night until 8pm. At that time of night, Congress-Fullerton on the Kennedy is not a big diversion, so I went and tried them again. Absolutely perfect, easily the best rib tips that I have eaten in years. They were definitely freshly cooked, as I had to wait a fair amount of time for them while I watched the Cubs stink on the TV in the dining area.

So, I'd give them another try at a busier time.

I'd advise that earlier is definitely better at Honey 1. As was posted above, if it's been sitting around, it's not going to be as good. Such is the nature of commercial barbeque.

=R=

gleam wrote:Every time I've seen that sign I've noticed that, and every time I giggle to myself and hope Sula has seen it.

Hee, yes. It's what I love best about H1--one of those places where everybody knows your name.

m'th'su wrote:Hee, yes. It's what I love best about H1--one of those places where everybody knows your name.

Yes, absolutely, H1 has sole.

Got catering from H1 on Sunday, small pan of ribs, and some number of chickens. Yum! It was ready when they said it would be, perfectly cooked, and everyone thought it was great (even those who said they had been spoiled by how great a time they had at Rib Fest last weekend).

Just an FYI so others don't experience the crushing disappointment I did last night- Honey 1 is closed through August 27 for remodeling (?) according to a sign on the door.

My wife and I went to Honey 1 BBQ last night to celebrate our 3 year anniversary. I picked this place after looking over all the GNRs and decided that since our honeymoon was partially spent in Memphis, BBQ would be a good meal. We got there around 7pm to a completely empty restaurant. There were a few carryout orders picked up during our meal, but no one was eating there. My wife ordered the pulled pork sandwich and I had the small rib tip/hot link combo. The pulled pork sandwich was delicious. It had to be eaten "deconstructed" since it was very messy. Not sure if anyone can eat that like a sandwich! The hot links were amazing with a nice crisp skin and juicy insides. The BBQ sauce there is very good and had a little heat to it. The rib tips were AMAZING - just a little chewy and nicely charred on the outside. And then I saw the fries at the bottom covered in sauce and drippings - yummy! We have been to Smoque before and my wife preferred it better (by only a slight margin). I, however, will be going back to Honey 1 many times in the near future. No quality problems and the guys working there were great. My jacket still smells today!! Not the typical anniversary restaurant, but who wants to be typical?

blucrsr wrote:My wife and I went to Honey 1 BBQ last night to celebrate our 3 year anniversary.

This brought a little tear to my eye...

Congrats on the anniversary and she sounds like a keeper!
Jamie