While many teenagers are constantly browsing Instagram or sending snaps to god knows who, I have an odd obsession with Yelp. I can spend hours scrolling through the app, drooling over all the insane food pics. One day, I happened to browse upon a top-rated barbecue place called Bobby-Q. Intrigued by its creative name, I decided to venture down to Phoenix and see what they were all about. My mind was blown. My taste buds exploded. Ever since then, I’ve been a die-hard fan. With the advent of Corona, I decided to pay them another visit, ordering takeout for the first time. I wanted to see if the quality of their takeout would match up to their top-notch, sit down experience.
I settled upon their “Family Feast” — an assortment of meats including a half-
pound of smoked beef brisket, a half-pound of smoked pulled pork, a half rotisserie BBQ chicken, a half rack of St. Louis ribs, and two side dishes of your choice in which I chose their ranch beans and mac and cheese. Bobby-Q packs the ribs and chicken in one container, the pulled pork and brisket in another, the side dishes on their own, and extra BBQ sauce in their own little plastic containers. I made the 30-minute drive downtown to pick up my food. Actually, I made my parents drive me because I could’ve potentially caused a four-lane traffic accident on the highway. Pickup was relatively simple with no complications. On the drive back home, I had to constantly suppress my urge to just start eating in the car. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally made it home, and it was munch time
Container One — The St. Louis Ribs and the Rotisserie BBQ Chicken
I began my journey to satiate my carnal desires with the ribs. From an initial look, the ribs looked pretty good. They were lathered with house-made BBQ sauce and had some gorgeous grill marks. When I went to separate them, the 
meat instantly fell off the bone, a telltale sign that the meat was extremely tender and had been smoked for a long time. After my first couple of bites, I can confirm that the meat was indeed extremely tender and had a nice, smokey flavor. Additionally, the sweetness from the BBQ sauce helped cut through the saltiness of the ribs, creating a perfect harmony of flavor in each bite. I was quite impressed with their ribs, and I hoped to continue tasting such quality. Next up was their chicken. There was a thigh, a drumstick, and a massive chicken breast. There were no sauces at all, only a medley of dry seasonings. The chicken looked very impressive with its glistening white meat and that charred chicken skin. It was extremely succulent, bursting with juices during each bite. The chicken skin was texturally perfect, not rubbery at all. However, it was a bit under-seasoned, especially on the big pieces like the breast. Overall, it was a very delicious first plate of food.
Container Two — The Brisket and the Pulled Pork
Straight off the bat, I was concerned with the brisket. First off, it was missing the “bark” or that dark line of seasoning that coats the top of each brisket. Additionally, two pieces had massive chunks of white fat still attached to it. With such poor aesthetics, I was expecting the taste to be mediocre at best. However, my expectations were proven wrong and not in a good way. The meat was extremely tough, similar to eating a well-done steak. Likewise, it looked like pieces of steak. For some odd reason, each piece of brisket was cut into perfect, rectangular pieces, and I have no idea why they would massacre such beautiful meat. Was it to achieve a more aesthetic look? To give barbecue fans a heart attack? One thing for sure was that this poor brisket was 
having an identity crisis and thought it was a steak. It also had very little moisture, making for some extremely dry bites and left my mouth begging for liquids. Generally, brisket should be soft and crumble under the light touch of a fork, but this brisket had none of these qualities. Additionally, it was severely lacking seasoning as expected since it didn’t have that signature bark that all briskets should have. Also, I was extremely disappointed to have to eat around the massive pieces of fat attached to some pieces. Were they that careless that they forgot to properly trim off the fat cap, or did they not take the time to properly smoke it and render off the excess fat? Even adding extra barbecue sauce couldn’t save the brisket. Another thing to remember is that brisket is the king of barbecue. It’s the crème de la crème or the epitome of the barbecue world. For Bobby-Q to mess this up, it’s an embarrassment. How can they be one of the highest-rated establishments in Arizona and mess up the most important meat — the brisket? They had a bangin’ brisket pre-COVID, but this sort of quality is unacceptable under any circumstance. Happy to move away from the brisket, I approached the pulled pork with caution. It looked extremely white, missing that gorgeous, pink smoke ring. Perhaps, it wasn’t smoked long enough like the brisket. Once again, my expectations were quite low. But this time, they were proven wrong in a good way. In terms of taste, it was pretty spot on. It had a nice, slightly smoky flavor and was extremely moist to my surprise. The barbecue sauce did wonders in terms of flavor and really elevated the pulled pork from mediocre to amazing. Plate two was a bit of a let down with the brisket, but the pulled pork saved this plate.
Sides — Mac and Cheese and Ranch Beans
In my opinion, Mac and cheese is an American staple and an obvious accompaniment to barbecue. There’s not much I can say about the appearance except that it looked yellow and cheesy. When I was spooning it 
towards my mouth, I could really tell that this was some quality mac and cheese. The cheese sauce was quite viscous and was neither watery nor runny. The actual macaroni was cooked al dente and was fully submerged in that decadent cheese sauce. The luxurious sauce was extremely smooth in consistency, free of any lumps. It was salty and uber cheesy, making each bite heavenly. Bobby-Q executed this timeless American classic with perfection. Another popular pairing for barbecue would have to be beans. Their ranch beans looked very soupy which was a bit odd. I took a bite, and I was 
instantaneously reminded of why I loved their beans so much. The heavenly mixture included a melange of beans, bits of brisket, and bacon — a trifecta of deliciousness. The flavor profile was extremely complex and was quite salty thanks to the meats, had a strong acidic component, and a gorgeous, sweet aftertaste of apple. The dish was truly superb, and the acidity really helped clear your palate after consuming so many fatty meats. However, after numerous spoonfuls, the acidity became overwhelming, and I wished they would’ve toned down on the amount of vinegar they had put in. Additionally, I would have preferred a more viscous consistency. Cooking it down and getting rid of all that water would achieve such consistency and also intensify the beautiful flavors as well. Bobby-Q’s side dishes are the real deal and might be even better than their barbecue.
As a Bobby-Q veteran, this takeout experience was a bit underwhelming, and I would offer a six and a half stars out of ten. I came in with the mindset that everything was going to be exactly like all my previous sit-down experiences. Unfortunately, the food didn’t meet my expectations, most notably the brisket. Everything else met my expectations thankfully. I honestly think that Bobby-Q was just having a bad day hence the poor brisket. They’ve been so consistent in the past, and I genuinely don’t believe that their quality has fallen that much during COVID. Hopefully, everyone can go to Bobby-Q and try out their BBQ for themselves. They have a total of three locations: Phoenix, Mesa, and Biltmore Plaza. With that, I’m off to exercise because I’m pregnant with a food baby.
