We first covered Georgia boys BBQ when they opened in Longmont back in 2011. In two stories over two weeks, Boulder Weekly profiled the two unemployed friends who had recently moved in from Georgia, Matt Alexander and Nick Reckinger, and built a side project of slinging smoked meat in paper bags into one of the most popular barbecue joints in the state seemingly overnight.
So I wasn’t going to Georgia boys to highlight the hidden gem. I was going because I got tired of hearing how good it was and, well, seeing is believing.
The first thing you see is an abandoned warehouse across the street straight out of The Wire. Then you see an easy-going porch and a screen door. Then you see the hordes of people inside.
There is evident care in how Georgia boys cultivated the appearance of their Longmont outpost. The long picnic tables, the single rocking chair, the open kitchen — it all creates something in the mind before you even taste the food. It recalls barbecue joints from Columbia, S.C., to Memphis, Tenn., to Glen Rose, Texas. It earnestly honors the tradition of barbecue establishments before it, and it almost realizes that romantic ideal of “down home cuisine” some of us have in our head from books and films past.
The ideal, of course, is evident in the food. Georgia boys has a long list of meats and sides, which include daily specials. On this day, we indulged in burnt ends, St. Louis-style ribs, pulled pork and sliced beef brisket, but other options included turkey, chicken and sausage variations.
The burnt ends won first prize. Culled from the ends of the brisket, the meat inside was juicy and tender, the burnt outer casing was flavorful and textured. It went with every sauce on the table — traditional barbecue, blackjack (black peppery), mop sauce (tangy), Carolina mustard and ghost sauce (spicy). No matter what else I picked at, the ends justified all other meats.
Speaking of, the pulled pork was the lightest meat on the table, took sauce well, and I’d be happy shooting down a sandwich with the pork slopped in sauce. The ribs were exceptionally tender inside with a thick black crust. And the brisket, if not as tender as the other meats, had the satisfying girth and richness of well-cooked beef.
Sides were no slouch either. The cornbread was velvety and moist, cooked in a cast iron skillet and served in a pie slice. The cole slaw had bits of apples and a sweet dressing covering the cabbage. The mac and cheese was the least favorite. It was a little chunky and wanting for some punch. The baked beans were fantastic with bits of pork and a strong spice presence, giving the cup a magnetic quality.
It’s also worth noting that prices are moderate, and the service was exceptionally friendly and surprisingly quick and organized given the density of customers during the lunch rush.
With a second location already in Frederick, Georgia boys is well off and running. So what if this review was a shameful ploy to drive out to Longmont and indulge in barbecue whose quality has already been well documented by this paper and many others?
Well, when your paper’s first review four years ago claims it “may be the best barbecue on the Front Range,” that’s a claim you ought to check to see is true. And out of an abundance of safety, I’ll check back next week.
Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com
