Monday, January 15, 2007
Sonny’s Barbecue - St. Petersburg, Florida
Sonny’s Barbecue has been a Florida institution for a long time. Sonny and Lucile Tillman had a vison of what barbecue should be. They followed that dream and opened their first restaurant in Gainesville, Florida in 1968. Their venture struck a positive chord the public’s attention and they prospered, opening more stores and franchising.
In 1991, Sonny retired and sold his chain to owners of one of his franchises. Bob and Jeff Yarmuth. They continued the positive policies of Sonny and the chain grew and expanded to become the largest barbecue chain in the United States. It now boasts of over 150 stores in nine southeastern states. The Tyrone Blvd. Store was the most convenient to where I was staying.
I had the opportunity to sample the restaurants offerings on two different occasions. On the first visit I chose the pulled pork sandwich. On the lunch menu, the sandwich comes with your choice of two of the ten side dishes offered. I chose the fries and barbecued beans. Later, I decided that the coleslaw would have been a better choice to round out the lunch. The portions were ample and provided more than enough to eat.
The meat was moist, tender and very flavorful. Any of the table-side barbecue sauces that I added were quickly swallowed up by the meat. On that visit I didn’t get a real feel for the five Carolina-style sauces offered. There was mild, sweet, sizzlin’ sweet, smokin’ and mustard sauces. I promised myself, that should the opportunity arise, I would spent more time with the sauces on the next visit.
That next opportunity was to be a bit more than a year later. This time I chose the barbecued sliced beef. I also opted for the salad bar. Most salad bars use small plates as portion control. At Sonny’s, it was a big plate and the salad bar had many selections to choose from. In addition to the lettuce salad and fixin’s, there were potato, macaroni, coleslaw and crab (well, surimi crab) salad. All of the items in the salad bar looked fresh, the lettuce crisp without browning and there was fresh ice all around and the area was neat and well tended. It was an enjoyable sampler salad while I waited for the entree.
It was a full platter, a half pound or more I would guess, of neatly layered slices of beautifully smoked meat. Lean, evenly colored through, it was haloed with a distinctive smoked meat red ring. It was served on a platter with a goodly portion of fries and a slice of garlic bread. I was now in that conundrum that faces all who delight in barbecue. With sauce or without and with which sauce? I tried several slices of the beef without sauce to have a starting point. Delicious. Firm, tender beef with a rich smoky flavor. Then I tried each of the sauces in turn.
Over the years, barbecuing at home, I have developed a fondness for the sweet and savory Kansas City style sauces, not unlike the Southern California Loves Barbecue chain where I first acquired a taste for barbecue. Except for Sonny’s, I have had no experience with the vinegar based Carolina-style sauces. Remembering back to the pulled pork, the sauce made a good seasoning condiment. With the sliced beef, however, it seemed to detract from the already abundant flavor of the smoked beef. The sauces weren’t bad, it just that I think they do better elsewhere. Had I any of the sliced barbecued beef to take home, I would have tried it with a splash of KC masterpiece, just to see.
The restaurant was busy, understandably, it has a large number of regular customers. It is well suited for a family outing for dinner or just a quick lunch of barbecue. The decor is homey rural and looked well used but well cared for and clean. The serving staff was quick and courteous. They were considerate when answering questions and describing the menu selections. So far I have been there twice and I am sure I’ll be there again to try something new from their menu. ¶ 6:57 PM
In 1991, Sonny retired and sold his chain to owners of one of his franchises. Bob and Jeff Yarmuth. They continued the positive policies of Sonny and the chain grew and expanded to become the largest barbecue chain in the United States. It now boasts of over 150 stores in nine southeastern states. The Tyrone Blvd. Store was the most convenient to where I was staying.
I had the opportunity to sample the restaurants offerings on two different occasions. On the first visit I chose the pulled pork sandwich. On the lunch menu, the sandwich comes with your choice of two of the ten side dishes offered. I chose the fries and barbecued beans. Later, I decided that the coleslaw would have been a better choice to round out the lunch. The portions were ample and provided more than enough to eat.
The meat was moist, tender and very flavorful. Any of the table-side barbecue sauces that I added were quickly swallowed up by the meat. On that visit I didn’t get a real feel for the five Carolina-style sauces offered. There was mild, sweet, sizzlin’ sweet, smokin’ and mustard sauces. I promised myself, that should the opportunity arise, I would spent more time with the sauces on the next visit.
That next opportunity was to be a bit more than a year later. This time I chose the barbecued sliced beef. I also opted for the salad bar. Most salad bars use small plates as portion control. At Sonny’s, it was a big plate and the salad bar had many selections to choose from. In addition to the lettuce salad and fixin’s, there were potato, macaroni, coleslaw and crab (well, surimi crab) salad. All of the items in the salad bar looked fresh, the lettuce crisp without browning and there was fresh ice all around and the area was neat and well tended. It was an enjoyable sampler salad while I waited for the entree.
It was a full platter, a half pound or more I would guess, of neatly layered slices of beautifully smoked meat. Lean, evenly colored through, it was haloed with a distinctive smoked meat red ring. It was served on a platter with a goodly portion of fries and a slice of garlic bread. I was now in that conundrum that faces all who delight in barbecue. With sauce or without and with which sauce? I tried several slices of the beef without sauce to have a starting point. Delicious. Firm, tender beef with a rich smoky flavor. Then I tried each of the sauces in turn.
Over the years, barbecuing at home, I have developed a fondness for the sweet and savory Kansas City style sauces, not unlike the Southern California Loves Barbecue chain where I first acquired a taste for barbecue. Except for Sonny’s, I have had no experience with the vinegar based Carolina-style sauces. Remembering back to the pulled pork, the sauce made a good seasoning condiment. With the sliced beef, however, it seemed to detract from the already abundant flavor of the smoked beef. The sauces weren’t bad, it just that I think they do better elsewhere. Had I any of the sliced barbecued beef to take home, I would have tried it with a splash of KC masterpiece, just to see.
The restaurant was busy, understandably, it has a large number of regular customers. It is well suited for a family outing for dinner or just a quick lunch of barbecue. The decor is homey rural and looked well used but well cared for and clean. The serving staff was quick and courteous. They were considerate when answering questions and describing the menu selections. So far I have been there twice and I am sure I’ll be there again to try something new from their menu. ¶ 6:57 PM
