Whatcha Smokin BBQ & Brew - Luther, IA

Megan, Theo, and I lucked upon a cloudy, cool Sunday afternoon that had no obligations. A perfect kind of day. We have this Osprey backpack. The kind you can tote around a small child in. We had been wanting to try it out and Megan had yet to visit Ledges State Park. Truthfully, I had only been there once before, several years ago. I was playing music for a morel mushroom hunters club. I was in and out that day, so I didn’t take the time to enjoy it. It’s a beautiful park with a nice trail system. Due to water flowing over sections of the loop road a portion of it was closed off. After walking along the upper edge of the valley and eventually descending to it’s floor, we walked the road back up
to the trial head. We had a great view of what the park had to offer, and Theo seemed to love his time spent in the backpack.

You’re not here to get trail recommendations from someone like me. You want the food, damnit.

When we finished our hike, and before a rain storm settled in, we headed back towards home. The fastest route took us right past this awesome barbecue joint out in the country. Their tap list had some great local beers and their menu was stacked. I recommend the Texas Tavern. A loose meat sandwich made of ground smoked meats. Unreal. It was served, of course, with their Campground Beans. This side dish, like the rest of their offerings, left little to complain about. If there was one thing I’d change, it would be the quantity. It was your standard, and let me be clear, adequate side serving, but I would have loved more. This was a single bean dish and those beans were cooked to near perfection. Soft without being mushy. You knew you were eating beans, but it wasn’t labor intensive. Thank god. The Campground Beans were stewed in a delicious sauce that had a solid sweet flavor without being cloying. It was balanced with a great smoke presence and a mild black pepper heat on the back end. Did I say nearly perfect? To compliment the beans and provide a bit of diversity on the pallet this dish was loaded with scrap smoked meats from the pit. I know there was pulled pork and brisket in there at the very least. It is one of the meatier baked bean dishes I’ve ever tried and I loved that. While the meat was a good contrast to the beans, I would have loved to have had some vegetables in the mix too. That’s a personal preference, but this is my blog after all. Some cooked onion or bell pepper would have really been the metaphorical cherry on top.

Ratings (On a scale of 1-5)
Appearance: 4
Flavor: 5
Mouthfeel: 4

Total Score: 13

For what it's worth,
A slow Sunday with family: 5
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