While Philadelphia is home to a thriving food scene and excels at an array of cuisines, it’s not a barbecue hotbed. The region’s smoked meat options have improved somewhat over the past decade, but there is still a lot of room for growth.
Sweet Lucy’s Smokehouse, which is just off I-95 in Northeast Philly, is one of the most popular purveyors of barbecue in the city. They’ve been in business since 2003 and have received numerous positive reviews and online raves over that period.
But after giving them a few chances in their early years, I wasn’t convinced and hadn’t been back in a very long time – until a recent Friday lunch with my friends and periodic dining partners; Helene and Kamala.
My issue with Sweet Lucy’s in the past was that their smoked meats struck me as quintessential northern-style barbecue. It didn’t really fit into one of the regional sub-categories of the genre and reminded me of sauce-soaked barbecue I’ve had at other northern establishments over the years.
At the risk of coming off as a barbecue snob, the reality is that once you’ve had high quality barbecue in a part of the country that is known for it, it’s tough to go back to eating what I thought of as barbecue in younger years. And I’ve had the good fortune to enjoy very good regional barbecue in Texas, Kansas City and North Carolina.
But after staying away from Lucy’s for so many years, I thought it was time to give them another shot in light of there being no apparent decline in their generally positive reputation to see if there was any change.
One positive sign when approaching Sweet Lucy’s is the piles of wood that they have outside. That’s an indication that they smoke their meat the old-fashioned way.
Ordering is done at the counter and the menu is extensive for a barbecue restaurant.
When we made our way back to the seating area after placing our orders, I noticed that they’ve added a bar since my last visit. We also passed by their self-serve sauce options. I took that as a good sign that they may not be drenching their meats in sauce back in the kitchen any longer.
The wait for our orders to be delivered to where we were seated was a short one.
Kamala wasn’t feeling up to eating that day, but Helene’s tray featured a brisket sandwich. As is the case with platters, sandwiches at Sweet Lucy’s come with a choice of two sides. She opted for baked beans and coleslaw.
I went with a two-meat platter and chose brisket and ribs along with mashed sweet potatoes and spicy collard greens for my sides. A choice of bread was also included and I picked cornbread.
My initial impression when opening the container that held my platter was one of disappointment. They are still pre-saucing the ribs fairly heavily, and since they were mixed in with the brisket, some of the sauce rubbed off onto that as well. I prefer to taste the meat without sauce then judiciously add some on my own as needed.
Part of the problem is how they present the meat. The Texas tradition of laying out and serving barbecue on a tray and keeping each meat separate from each other has spread to many of the newer barbecue establishments around the country. I imagine there are logistical or cost-saving reasons for Sweet Lucy’s not following suit. But it does make a difference, as you can see in the above photo of my food. They just sort of throw all of the meat together in one big pile.
The ribs and brisket was moist and soft enough to not need all of that sauce. The flavor came from whatever rub they use more than the smoke, which was hard to detect in spite of all that wood outside.
Neither meat was competitive with what I’ve had in barbecue-heavy regions or even with the best I’ve had in the Philly area. But it still made for a satisfying lunch when combined with Sweet Lucy’s great sides.
In fact, the sides are what Sweet Lucy’s really excels at. They have a longer and more varied list of options than most barbecue restaurants and do a great job on all of the ones I’ve tried. My mashed sweet potatoes were fantastic both in terms of flavor and texture. The collard greens also hit the mark.
Other side options include cheesy creamed spinach, cucumber-tomato salad, mac-and-cheese and roasted veggies.
So the takeaway here is to look elsewhere if you want smoked meat that is at least somewhat reminiscent of what is served in the country’s notable barbecue regions. But those who love southern-style sides and veggies should head on over to Sweet Lucy’s.
Next week’s post will feature the first of a three-part report on the road-trip to New England that my wife and I embarked on last week.
