Throwdown Lowdown

If you follow us via Social Media, or caught the TV news coverage, you likely know we went up against Restaurant NOCA in a “Brisket Throwdown” Sunday.  Here’s the backstory...

Elliot Wexler (Noca owner) approached us with the idea a few months back.  He had done something similar with Lolo’s Chicken and Waffles, a sort of “Chicken Throwdown” for local bragging rights.

We were intrigued.  Restaurant NOCA (stands for North of Camelback) is at 32nd/Camelback.  Chef Chris Curtiss has created a great menu and the place has received much-deserved acclaim in a relatively short period of time (they opened in 2008).

So how would we compete?  We agreed to pit (pun intended) our brisket, beans and onion rings against theirs.  The onion rings were made with love by Anthony and Tim at Joe’s Farm Grill, and were amAzing.  As we all started talking about the competition,  The Coffee Shop (at Agritopia next to the Grill) won Cupcake Wars on the Food Network.  Hmmm.  Tammie Coe is known for great cupcakes over on that side of town, Jessica and the crew at The Coffee Shop do a great job over here in the East Valley.  So cupcakes were added to the competition.

We viewed the competition as an opportunity to have some fun, but more importantly to sharpen our culinary “chops” and ensure that the food we would call “comfort food” we serve here is of a caliber that stacks up with the best high end food around.  We’ve always taken pride in the fact that while our place will never be thought of as “high end” based on our service system and affordable prices, our food nonetheless stacks up with the best around.  We all eat out a great deal, and have thought privately that we hold our own against many of the best places in town, and are perhaps a cut above some others in terms of quality, flavor profile, and in many cases value.  This throwdown would be an opportunity for nearly 200 Phoenicians to weigh in on the discussion.

We used the weeks leading up to the competition to get serious about ensuring our stuff was up to snuff.  We re-visited our wood (Arizona pecan) and made sure we are using an age of wood best suited for smoking meat (usually green/fresh pecan).  We studied carefully the temperature of the smokers at the time we load the meat, and again during the smoking process.  Every operator wants to think they are at the top of their game every day, but sometimes it is good and wise to measure things to ensure reality matches up with the goal.  I took the opportunity while in Texas recently to eat brisket, ok a lot of brisket, in Austin, College Station, and a few other places while there.  Gotta say I didn’t have a single bite of brisket there that compared with what we are serving every day.  I felt great about that, and knew our chances of winning this local competition were pretty good.  We forgot to tell Elliot that our brisket had already been nominated for best in the nation on Live with Regis and Kelly.  Hey, he has a computer, he could have Googled us!

Tim and Anthony took the same type of look at our onion rings at the Grill.  We would never want to rest on our laurels.  Guy Fieri’s crew told us when they were filming Diners Drive-ins and Dives our rings were the best they had ever enjoyed.  Guy went bonkers over them on camera.  But we know style plays a big role in personal preferences, and the Noca tempura-coated style versus our crispy panko rings would allow people to see contrasting types.  

The soul searching and research served us, and our customers well.  We were reminded of what we do well, and likewise reminded to constantly stay vigilant to remain at the top of our game.

Results?  We won for Brisket and Beans,  Noca edged out our rings, and Tammie Coe’s cupcakes won as well.  Other results?  We had a blast, and Noca had their busiest night ever.  We think next time maybe we’ll have the Noca crew out to Gilbert and show them how to serve great food to 2,000 people some Saturday!?

0nocatadjoe

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Gilbert guy who walks with Christ, sells BBQ, and appreciates those who care enough about his random musings to occasionally read his blog.