Barber’s Q, Napa, CA (www.barbersq.com)
My two older brothers, Kevin and Matt, Matt’s wife Megan, and Sara and I attended a wedding in Napa recently and on the way out of town on Sunday we stopped into Barber’s Q for Matt’s birthday. Barber’s Q is the brainchild of Executive Chef Stephen Barber - whose skills were honed under the tutelage of Chef John Currence of Commander’s Palace and Brennan’s fame and restaurateur Gene Tartaglia of the highly acclaimed but now closed MECCA in San Francisco.
BBQ is diverse regional cooking that is more religion than cuisine and Stephen’s inspiration stems from his childhood summers spent in Western Kentucky. The sweet, hot, smoky flavors indicative of Southern Midwest Q are not forgotten in Napa!
We ordered: oysters Rockefeller (sorry no pic!), Spicy Chicken wings with blue cheese cole slaw, full rack of baby back ribs, pulled pork, mac and cheese, corn bread, and because it was Sunday - Barber’s Q Sunday fried chicken. Deserts were Q lime pie (no pic) and Granny smith apple crisp (no pic)
The oysters Rockefeller are expertly roasted with the right balance of spinach, creme and bread crumb. The wings are a testament to Barber’s thoughtful care of his ingredients. First he brine’s the wings to maintain juiciness, then steams them to remove all unnecessary fat, then they smoke and are basted with his signature wing sauce. In case you cant count that is three preparations for chicken wings!! Needless to say they were the BOMB! Crispy outside that was not oily. Tender, juicy, succulent inside and the sauce was subtle, sweet and had a nice vinegary pop of heat on the finish. After eating blue cheese cole slaw I don’t know why it is prepared any other way… anywhere! I’ve had better pulled pork. His is a drier interpretation that the wet version I prefer. The ribs were a decent enough version of the Memphis style I hold near and dear to my heart, but they could not compare. Mac and Cheese was delicious al-dente noodles, pungent cheesey sauce and it was prepared the way I like it. Served in a souffle dish and cooked in the oven to give the top a good crust. The cornbread was made from fresh sweetcorn (that I am pretty sure was picked that morning), golden brown on all sides and served with local butter that had an aroma of the native Napa valley sweet grass that should be the only feed for the best of bovines.
I am going to take a paragraph break here because the final entree deserves the distinction. Barber’s Q fried chicken. If you plan to go to Barber’s Q anytime in the future PLEASE go on a Sunday! At least until the fried chicken is placed on the every day menu! 4 pieces of fried chicken were delivered to our table piping hot accompanied with mash potatoes and collard greens. We were instructed to use the pepper infused vinegar as the only condiment for the chicken. I immediately grabbed a thigh, cause hey! i love the thigh. I picked up the chicken. 1. Not greasy, at all! 2. Smell was of lightly toasted flour and fresh eggs. I tasted the chicken. 1. Hot. 2. Succulent. 3. Tender. 4. Juicy. 5. Fall-of-the bone. The flavor was chicken. I mean real, proper, sustainable, natural, living, breathing, scratching CHICKEN!! Before I realized it the all the meat was gone I was sucking on the bones and my brothers and wife were staring at me. My next piece was bathed in the aforementioned chili vinegar. As a result I got all the pleasures of the first piece with the added benefit of spicy brightness that only acid brings to fried food.
If Stephen Barber wants to open up a fried chicken truck in LA… I might quit my new job and take up the tongs. This recipe was clearly the best thing we ate and I will not forget his chicken for a long time to come. Kudos to Stephen and Gene you have a lil gem nestled in a strip mall in Napa! Viva fried chicken Sunday’s!!! TimB.
