Q fanatic BBQ

I know I’ve gotten a bit behind on posting about our latest culinary adventures in the Twin Cities, and since I’ve previously lived in Memphis and Kansas City, I thought that a review of a local Minneapolis BBQ restaurant would be a great way to restart this blog.

A foodie colleague of mine, David, has been instrumental in steering us in the right direction for all things delicious in the Twin Cities. (If you want a quick listing of the best places in the area, check out his recommendations on his website here:
https://7minutemiles.com/food/ ) So when Scott and I were in the mood to try some local BBQ last Sunday, we consulted David’s list and headed out to Q fanatic in South Minneapolis. Since it was also Mother’s Day, we figured that a BBQ joint might be a safe bet for getting a table during prime brunch time. We were right.

When we pulled into the parking lot, we could smell the smokers so we took that as a reassuring sign. Once inside, you order right at the counter, and the food is dished out cafeteria style. When we try a new BBQ place, Scott always goes straight for the pulled pork sandwich. I wasn’t sure what to get, but knew I wanted to get something other than pork so that we could try a different meat. The staff was super friendly and helpful, and since I was trying to decide between chicken or brisket, they offered me a sample of the brisket and my decision was made to go with the sliced brisket sandwich.

The sliced brisket is the most expensive sandwich they have on the menu at $9.95, but they give you a ton of meat so I felt that the price was justified. The pulled pork sandwich is $8.50 and was also overflowing with meat. The brisket and the pork both had great flavor. (Side note: I still have yet to find a place that has better smoked brisket than Smoking Jay’s in Omaha, but I’ll save that for an upcoming post on my favorite Omaha places!)

One thing that I found interesting is that after they pile this delicious smoked meat onto the bread they ask if you want all the “fixins” on it. You have the option of adding lettuce, diced tomatoes, pickles, sliced red onions, shredded Swiss cheese, or shredded cheddar cheese. In my opinion, if the meat is good, the only thing you might need is a little bit of sauce. I’ll never understand why anyone piles all of that on top of the meat and overpowers it. Why hide that smoked meaty goodness under lettuce and tomatoes?

Speaking of sauces, they do make all of their own. We tried three different sauces: Honey BBQ (mild), Espresso (their original sauce with just a little bit of heat) and the Southern Mustard. The Honey BBQ and Espresso bottles were out on the tables, and the Southern Mustard was a staff suggestion and served in a small ramekin. The three sauces were good. I tend to like a savory, spicier sauce so the Honey BBQ was too sweet for me.

The sandwiches don’t come with any sides, so we added a side of the spicy potato wedges and the macaroni and cheese. The macaroni was really good, and it was a huge portion.

The spicy potato wedges were pretty standard. We were both a bit disappointed that they didn’t have basic french fries on the menu. Potato wedges tend to get dried out, and the seasoning on them was a bit too spicy for me. We probably wouldn’t get them again.

Overall, Q fanatic was better than expected. It doesn’t beat KC or Memphis BBQ, but it definitely satisfied our BBQ cravings. If you’re ever in Minneapolis and want some smoked meat, Q fanatic will hit the spot.

In honor of my blog’s namesake, the obligatory MTM photo. This pic represents me in Minneapolis – satisfied with the BBQ but dreaming of my KC, Omaha, and Memphis favorites.