Restaurant Review - Bulldog Barbecue

A few weeks ago ten of us got together for dinner at Bulldog Barbecue in North Miami. Thankfully they take reservations for groups over eight, because when we arrived there was a line outside and the place was full. Part of our group was already there so we worked our way to our table.

The place is small and not set up for large parties, but we made the best of it. The biggest problem was that the air conditioner wasn’t enough to cool the crowded restaurant due to the open kitchen. It was uncomfortably hot despite the fans dispersed throughout the room. The server explained that they had ordered industrial fans that were to be installed soon. That may help, but I don’t think it will be enough when our Miami summer arrives. If it was that bad in early April imagine the dog days of August! As for the service itself, it was good if a bit abrupt. Again it was very crowded and the servers were really busy, so I’ll give them a pass.

The wine list is small, as beer is the more traditional accompaniment to barbecue. I was the only one to order a California Cabernet and I didn’t finish it because it was so hot. I’m not a beer drinker, so I can’t judge from experience, but everyone seemed happy with the beer selection.

After the drinks were served we got a basket of Corn Bread, which was good but they didn’t give us butter! We also got Carolina Slaw which was very good.

Those of us who ordered appetizers were happy. One of the guys got the BBQ Lettuce Wraps with pulled pork – it was delicious and there was a lot of it. The Smokehouse Wings were good too, with a little kick but not overpowering. The White Chili was fantastic, loaded with white beans and very flavorful turkey. The Roast Corn was just that, it was pretty and tasty. I got the Cornmeal Crusted Oysters and loved them, they were out of avocado which is usually served with the oysters, but everything else was so good I didn’t even miss it. The BBQ Chicken Flatbread wasn’t liked by everyone – but I thought it was delicious. Those who didn’t like it complained that it was too sweet.

For entrees we all ordered either Baby Back Ribs (you can get a half rack or a full rack), the Beef Brisket or the Pulled Pork. As usual everyone tried everyone else’s food. Here’s the consensus: The Baby Back Ribs were good, not greasy, and fall-off-the-bone tender – however, not the best ribs we’ve ever had. Both the Beef Brisket and the Pulled Pork were very good, very lean and tender – perfectly done. For all of the entrees however, some of us found them lacking in barbecue sauce, with the brisket having practically none. They had two types of sauce that you could add yourself – a yellow honey-mustard like sauce that I was told was typical of the Carolinas, and a red, too-watery-for-my-taste sauce that was uneventful.

We ordered a variety of sides: the Sweet Fries - which are of course sweet potato fries, Cheese Grits, Chipotle Fries and Burnt End Beans. The sweet potato fries were good, but they were, well, sweet potato fries. The cheese grits were delicious, even those of us who don’t like grits (me being one of them) found them tasty to the point that I would order them; the chipotle fries were fine, not too spicy, but nothing special; the burnt ends beans were delicious, but we mistook the burnt ends for pieces of bacon – I don’t know if that night they were short on burnt ends and they added crispy bacon or if we were just wrong, but in any case the beans themselves were smoky and sweet and yummy.

As usual we ordered a bunch of desserts and everyone tried everything. There was Berry Cobbler which was huge, served warm with ice cream – very good, and perfect for sharing. The Fried Apple Turnover, also served warm, was good - crispy and not too sweet. The Milk and Cookies consisted of chocolate chip cookies, macadamia nut cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies with a big glass of milk – the cookies were good but nobody actually drank the milk. We were all excited about the S’more Pie but wound up a bit disappointed – the marshmallow topping was good, the layer of chocolate was good, but the bottom, which I guess was supposed to be the graham cracker, was too hard and dry and, at least to me, tasted more like gingerbread. Finally, my favorite, the Hot Chocolate Puddin’ Cake which was basically a hot chocolate lava cake served piping hot with ice cream on the side – delicious! The chocolate was dark and fabulous.

Of the ten of us, four said they would go back for specific dishes. As for me, I’m glad I went, but I don’t need to return.