In 2002, Roger Hardman got tired of working for the man: “I wanted to start making some money for myself,” he says. And he sure does earn it. Arriving at Beachcomber Bar & Grill (319 Arnold Rd., St. Simons Island, Georgia; 912-634-5699) at 7 in the morning, Hardman gets the oak and pecan (“It’s sweeter than hickory”) going in his firebox — and so begins another long day that ends for his customers with fiery, hand-crafted barbecue and ice cold beer.
He tried skipping wood cooking way back when: “I got one of those high-dollar gas cookers and I used it one summmer. I haven’t touched it since. It’s for sale. Take a picture of it for me.”
But the barbecue didn’t taste as good to him, and from the number of customers wolfing down his chicken, ribs, pulled pork and beef brisket, he made the right decisions. “It’s a little more labor intensive” he says, the sweat rolling down his forehead and darkening his t-shirt. But the tradition in nearby Brunswick, where he grew up and learned the restaurant businesss running a Pizza Inn, is to cook with wood, using a firebox to produce indirect heat and carefully controlled temperatures. The meat sits on a mesh under a drip pan, with the smoky swirl of super-heated air caresssing it for 10-12 hours. Call it a pecan-powered convection oven, if you want.
The ribs are nothing short of text-book. Lightly coated with a tangy rub, they don’t melt in your mouth (as anyone who knows a thing about barbecue realizes they shouldn’t). Beachcomber ribs are moist and meaty and require an ever-so-slight tug with the teeth to separate the meat from the bones, which are well worth gnawing on. (my plate is below and, yes, it’s a bit crowded, but those were also my ribs, most of which she ate)
Hardman’s father-in-law is from Texas and helped him get started and it shows with the beef brisket, which has a beautiful smoke right and is fork tender. The pulled pork is similarly tender and smoky.
(Yes, that’s “her plate” below and, yes, it doesn’t have as much food on it as my plate. And, no, she didn’t eat any brisket or brunswick stew, but I saved some of the brisket and had it for breakfast this morning, which sure did beat the fancy-dancy croissant they had in the restaraunt)
Me, I like pulled pork that’s been cooked over coals and has a barbecued taste from the fat hitting the fire, not to mention bark or crust. I’m also not partial to the Georgia sweet sauce, but there’s hot sauce on the table.
Homemade potato salad with boiled eggs in it is a nice touch, aloong with brunswick stew that had lots of vegetables in it, just the way I like it — peas, limas, potatoes, corn and lots of chicken and beef.
Hardman says he got the restaurant for a bargain, almost at a, whoops, fire-sale price. The beer he sells (He’s got imported, domestic and microbrews) sure helps with the overhead, he says, especially on football weekends (Go Ga.!)
Maybe some N.C. cue joints ought to consider adding beer to the menu rather than going over to gas or electric cookers to save money. Yes, they’ve have to get up at 7 in the morning like Hardman, but “It’s fun runnihng your own place,” he says, wiping his brow, “and a lot better than working for the other fellow.”
Cue Confessions 