Bogart's Smokehouse Taipei (美式木柴煙燻屋) OPEN til SOLDOUT — Restaurant in Nangang District

So I have tried BaBa's many times before and saw many comments about the owner of bogarts and thought most of his comments were justified so I decided to try this place. This place is actually quite different than BaBas but the food is good.

Bogarts is I believe a Carolina style bbq. They have a lot more vinegar options to help cut the grease. The Pickles, vinegar based coleslaw, carolina sauce, and even straight up vinegar. Baba is a more traditional/Texas style bbq you would find.

The meats: I ordered a plate and the meat came on buns! I had the Pickles and coleslaw so it made a great sandwich after adding some mustard tangy carolina sauce. The brisket we got were quite lean, yet still juicy/tender and sliced super thin. I was expecting a fatty thick cut, so it was a good surprise since I've been having too much fatty goodness in taipei anyways. Although it did remind me a bit of roast beef with it's thin cuts. Either way I liked it. If you are looking for that fatty brisket, I was able to try the burnt ends and that was super rich but good. BaBas brisket has more smoke flavor if you like to eat it plain, but if you like to dress it up in sauce then it doesn't matter. I feel the brisket at bogarts has a much better value.

Pork ribs were pretty good. Its a pretty standard pork rib at many bbq places in the states.

Pulled pork, I was given a lot of the less fatty pieces which normally tends to be dry(I prefer the fatty pieces like the money muscle), however it was not dry so they nailed the cook on it. It also had a pretty decent bark on it. BaBas once again is more smokey. But now that I think about it, the lean pieces at Babas tend to be more dry, but the fatty pieces tastes great at babas even without sauce. I like the carolina sauce with my pulled pork so it didnt matter to me.

The sides: The sides are quite different than a lot of the typical bbq joints I've been to. The sides are more vinegar based and has some southern touch to it? I'm not really sure how to describe it. You get a huge amount of Pickles, and it's sweet and tangy, perfect for a sandwich. The coleslaw is vinegar based, it was good until I got to the bottom. My partner mentioned that there's a bitter taste to it near the end and I believe their dressing had too much Celery seed in it. Just drain the dressing and the Coleslaw was perfect again on the sandwich. Chili: has a lot of meat and tastes a bit southern? I am not sure but maybe its creole? Either way it was good to me. Bbq beans: BaBa doesn't have bbq beans. These beans were pretty good with a lot of meat, this like the chili has that creole taste to it. The bbq beans also has that bbq smoke taste. Both the chili and beans has the hint of Gumbo to it. Mac&cheese: Not your typical Mac and cheese and I don't know how to describe the taste. The closest taste I can think of is that it's a little similar to the green flaming hot cheetos bag lol. I like how it's a bit runny and not super cheesey tasting.

Decor: it has nice decor but with spacing, its better to go without kids, grab a plate and leave. If you want to go with kids, it's better to go to Babas new location or maybe go to bogarts at a less busy hour?

Overall I think the place was great. I was expecting something you normally get when you think American bbq, but I got some different variation that I very much enjoyed. After my meal, it didn't seemed like I ate a heavy meal at all since there was all this vinegar to cut through the grease. Also the cuts I got wasn't too fatty, but still tender. I will go back a few more times and update the post if anything changes. Bogarts is quite different than Babas, but I would say Babas is like a typical American bbq with a little taipei sprinkle and Bogarts is a pure American bbq from a certain region. To me Bogarts is more unique and I feel I can eat more often. Both are good though,...

So, I first came across this place nearly 4 years ago when I was driving along the road. I already had lunch but when I saw brisket I couldn’t resist to try it out. It was quiet that lunch time and boss man was happy to introduce some of the good stuff on the menu, even though I had my mind set on the brisket ! It was great , and you get a good selection of condiments to accompany the meat. The Mac and cheese was heavy and very cheesy which I like and not often the case with other places in Taipei. The beans were well spiced up and I avoided the bun first time round because I was trying to eat less carbs (eat mac and cheese and no to bread- not sure it made that much sense!). So afterwards my wife and I would pop in once in a while for lunch and started to do a few take outs as wife was pregnant and wasn’t too comfortable with the stalls in the restaurant. Then one day we ordered ribs and it came a little dry than usual, though the flavour was the same. When I next ordered a take away I mention this to the person who took my order and the next thing I knew was the boss man abruptly telling me “can’t nip pick parts of the ribs and we don’t change the process or ingredients”. I was slightly annoyed and at the end I decided to cancel the order being a little angry. I was raising a valid feedback but I was not complaining, as I think it’s important that owners should know what problems may occur. However, to my surprise I got a text message from the boss man saying that he’s sorry that I canceled the order , but give us another try. So I thought to myself, “fine” because he actually reached out re-ordered . On arrival, we had a little chat , maybe there was a little misunderstanding but he kindly gave me a larger portion of ribs and even threw in a massive spicy sausage! Now we live a little further out, we don’t get the chance to pop in as much as we like. But since our little one started pre school we do either pop in and get take out once every 2/3 weeks. And a few days ago I popped a tyre en route a pick up. They kindly held my order and kept it warm until I sorted out my car issue. End of the story, it’s not cheap, but not expensive, you pay for the time, process and effort in the way they cook their meat and stuff. Not many people realise this because they only see the finished product and oblivious to how much time, effort and trouble is involved. And to all the nagging people - They set their rules on how they run their business and if you can’t be sensible enough to obey to them, then you have zero reasons to complain and get no tasty brisket either! I hope they are around for a long time as I need a brisket fix every now and then and I don’t think there is a better place in Taipei thus far! Bossman can be quite abrupt at times, but I got used to it because the guy is running a business and he’s always there. I would go nuts if I had to be there everyday!

From the Asian guy with the British Cockney accent. Not sure if...

My friends and I have eaten ribs everywhere in Taiwan- and I can say without hesitation that the best ribs and burnt ends we have ever had were the ones we annihilated today at Bogart's. If I could give them 7 stars, I would slam that mouse button with my sticky, perfectly seasoned index finger in a heartbeat! I'm already coming up with excuses to go back to Nangang to eat Bogart's again - they're THAT good! If you still aren't convinced, keep reading for a more specific breakdown of my experience at Bogart's.

LOCATION:

-easy to find, conveniently located near two Nangang MRT stations. If you are attending a trade show at the Nangang Exhibition Center this would be a no brainer.

-we got to the restaurant around 5:45 anad once we were brought to our table after ordering, the food was out almost immediately!

THE PLACE:

-Authentic in ambience, you are transported to a down home American BBQ joint. Lots of imported beers, great bric-a-brac on the walls, music on point. Good energy. Really nice interaction with staff in the open kitchen.

THE FOOD:

-we opted to share a full rack of ribs with pit beans and slaw, as well as pulled pork, beef brisket and a side of the divine burnt ends

-the ribs were pull apart tender, seasoned to perfection, moist but not sloppy, and fresh as can be. My favorite of the barbecue sauces that they place conveniently on each table were the Voodoo (more of a traditional barbecue sauce with a slight spicy kick) and the Big Mama D's Original (Sweet with a tang and fruitier). Also, the vinegar heavy Mississippi Mud was great on the brisket.

-slaw was excellent and NOT mayo based which is a HUGE plus in our book

-burnt ends were sweet, flavorful, and tender! They need no extra enhancement. (Very limited. Arrive early in the day or prepare for disappointment.)

-macaroni and cheese was rich and cheesy with a dusting of bread crumbs

-pit beans are laced with pulled pork and fantastic

-potato salad is dense and creamy, providing relief from the hot sauces

SERVICE:

-employees are friendly and helpful and direct you throughout the whole process. The owner gave us a complete run down of the sauces and sides

-After learning that the burnt ends were sold out for the day, the owner presented us with some on the house! Fantastic!

Needless to say, we can't wait to come back to Bogart's to eat their incredible ribs again! Maybe next time we'll even order a whole rack...