WOOD SHOP BBQ — Restaurant in Seattle

Wood Shop on a whim for lunch on a Thursday. I dined alone and I'd been very much looking forward to a premiere visit.

First impression, lot's of seats, tons of seats from a countertop with a brassiere feel, nuance of cafe dexterity mark the bar area, well lit and white tiles reflect the market and neighborhood butcher's charm. This is a clean establishment and that's not easy given barbeque, drizzle and blue collar men and construction grit n' boot.

Still... as I wanted, a pleasantness that has a faint but feminine parlor lure as you enter the large dining room. "Sit anywhere you like" says the virtuous girl running the shop, directing the action, pass and cashiers cradle, to tilting pints ands "I'll bring your sandwich right out to you".

A steady line of not too many workers from around the area are ordering from memory as I squint to see the chalkboard but thinking to really examine the trick it is to make brisket more than baskets, sides, bone, or mess.

The server, she's rife with glossy yet expedited descriptions in full. So rather than open end questions she devours your senses with complex questions. Snares! What to order, man. It sounds like she's written whole books on fixin's and spent her breaks tucked between buns on her cheeks just to know with precision how the sandwich must have described itself to her. Now "imagine you're brisket" it whispered. "This is how I feel" it dithered. She's on point, the point of my barbs is she's really good and very focused and all smiles, high octaves chipper too, she bark! That's the kind of employee that's good as hands rubbin' slabs so I ask for the brisket sandwich and a soda.

Logistics being what they are and traffic, this place should be full, it's fast and theres tons of room to elbow patches or listen to the business fellow speak of fiber filaments... staring when I imagine a beautiful woman in the room across from me destroying a tray of ribs, sausage and the warmth of her imaginary corn bread steaks into my honey'd eyelids...no bib.

The brisket sandwich is simple beauty in basket and there I discover what's with it and also because I forgot what the hostess said. I'll eat anything. So...slaw at the bottom, not in the bun, very generous amounts pile into a pickled waterfall of cucumbers and red onions. There's much brisket shaved and stuffed, for me.

It's a good sandwich, of course. The chew is totally soft with nodes of bark here and there. Mmmm. Hold on a moment... ... ... ... ... ... yeah, so anyway.

Brisket is hard to do, this is delicious but it needed more salt and it's cooked a bit too long, less pull than is best. It's challenging making brisket in freezing weather. Yes, you're correct, I could eat another it's such fun sustenance. I loved the sauces too and though I used only increments as is my preferred style with bbq. Slaw was simple, I believe a drier slaw would be more expressed and this slaw was too cold, very cold. Pickles and onions were fun and I love the generous amounts, says a lot about the owner, trimmings are not cheap.

A side table rests where one can gather their cutlery or water, ketchup and mustard and these utilities. Some TVs are accented but not overwhelming or placed with much prominence which is a good thing, imo.

I joked with the waitress that the ghost pepper bbq sauce was no joke. She agreed and WOW, that's some awesome heat for Seattle.

I also really loved that when I exited the space I held the door open for a woman dressed in her Sunday's best, this black woman was ready for church with brimmed hat and elegance... it's clearly one of her favorite places to worship! We had a laugh.

She strolled in, think she bought the place and isn't this nice. So bring your friends... I'm sure dessert is magnificent for some talk, some conversation, some community and union, coffee, maybe bread puddin', puddin'! ...lol, Idk, but I'll find out next trip.

Thank You Wood Shop, a wonderful time and lunch was a taste of your bbq lifestyle. It's not easy making bbq for living but good for your spirits.

That's...

The 1/2 pound brisket from here came out in two large pieces, rather than a set of smaller pieces. I think the smaller pieces would've been preferable, but it didn't make too much of a difference.

I was a little mixed on this brisket. When they came out, both pieces felt pretty moist (i ended up getting one lean piece and one fatty piece). Upon holding it up with a fork, I could see that the pieces did a good job of both holding their shape and having a decent flop - though not at the absolute top tier Appearance-wise, I also noticed that the smoke ring was present. The bark was pretty inconsistent, however. It was present at some points, but at others it was just completely missing, with nothing to the side at all

When it came to eating, I thought the lean piece felt a bit dry. Due to the lack of fat, there needed to be enough moisture in it, coupled with tenderness, to make up for this - and I just didn't think that this was there in that piece. Especially towards the end, as it got farther from being sliced, eating it felt more like a chore than something enjoyable. The fatty piece was better though - due to the increased margin of error from the fat. The fat rendered quite well, and this piece had a lot of flavor throughout.

The meat came with two sides - two slices of bread, pickled red onions, and pickles. This may be weird to say, but I thought my favorite part of the meal were the slices of untoasted white bread. These were surprisingly amazing for being the emblematic blandest thing you can have. The onions and pickles were also great.

I tried a bit of their BBQ sauce, and I really liked it. This was good because it wasn't just sugary - it had some spice to it as well. Normally, I hate BBQ sauce because it's just too sweet, but this one I liked.

While my experience here wasn't top-tier, I would absolutely be back to try the brisket mac & cheese. I'm not sure this place does the greatest meats, but I have a feeling they specialize more on the sides, so this combination is very intriguing to me.

Price-wise, I ended up at around $20 for the meal - which honestly was very solid and not overpriced at all - considering half a pound of brisket

Overall, it's not the greatest brisket, but it's good enough that I'd be down to come...

I really like the location here and the bar/outdoor seating area, and the staff. However, the food is consistently a little underwhelming. It lacks punchy flavor in many capacities; spice, acidity, saltiness. The meat is tender but sometimes on the dryer side, it is not glistening. Pickles and pickled red onions are translucent and not super flavorful, which is very confusing, these should be easy wins. I also understand wanting to have an alternative chicken sandwich that isn't breaded and fried, but it is a really boring sandwich if you aren't drenching it in sauce afterwards. Having some options like flavored mayos or mustards, or something to add crunchy texture on the sandwich itself would really enhance stuff imo.

This place is often very empty, even at lunch time on weekdays. It could benefit from a menu re-vamp for some key items to make them more exciting, like a really spicy dish or something unique to the restaurant. Alternatively, something like more hot-and-ready BBQ serving style with more limited options, so people want to come in while the food is fresh and available. I always get the sense that my stuff has been sitting for a while, even if I show up, order it, and wait. Going to a pro BBQ spot should exceed your expectations, even if you are used to cooking on a Weber grill at home. Emulating some of the popular BBQ spots in other states is not a bad idea in this case.

I am not going to complain about the price in a vacuum, because I understand a business needs to pay its workers a fair wage etc. and there is overhead, but there are some serious competitors in Seattle that cannot be ignored. A shop like Mean Sandwich in Ballard is a great example of this, as well as Brothers and Sisters on Elliott Ave. I will shell out for their stuff and I never have buyer's remorse.

Highlights for me here are the Mac Balls, the beer selection, the location, and the service. The folks who work there are...