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Southen style barbecue in Roseville, CA? Authentic Menphis-style barbecue, lovingly prepared by a couple of local, entrepeneurs? Did I mention it's reasonably priced and delicious? It happens and it all comes together at French Quarters BBQ every weekend.
Photo: Today, the smoker wasn't doing smoking duty, but it was doing advertising duty along busy Vineyard Road. New Orleans and Dixieland jazz was playing to set the mood. French Quarters BBQ is truly a welcome addition to the Roseville dining scene, as it's a unique operation and serves barbecue like no other BBQ joint in Placer County serves: Authentic Memphis-style, down-home, southern-style barbecue. Editor's note: If Elvis Presley was alive today, and visiting Roseville, he'd love the place, and probably say, "Yes ma'am... thank you very much." If you're an affectionado of American barbecue, you'll recall there are four main genres, Texas, Kansas City, Memphis, and Carolina, with many sub-genres, such as California style, a.k.a. Santa Maria tri-tip beef. But we're getting away from the subject. French Quarters BBQ is owned by friendly Greg Bumpers, along with his business associate Shawn, and French Quarters a one-of-a-kind, locally owned and operated restaurant, which is the kind of barbecue place that I love to patronize, as I'm all for the little guy. Barbecue is meant to be informal, up-close-and-personal, and that's what you get at French Quarters. The restaurant is located within the friendly acres of Joseph's Auction Town, across the street from it's better known competitor, Denio's Farmer's Market. French Quarters keeps the same hours that Joseph's does, basically from 0800 to 1600 on Saturday and Sunday, but like Joseph's, their hours seem to vary with the weather and the season. French Quarters is tucked away in a little booth near the entrance to the food court, and you can't miss 'em, as they have signs posted all over the place. As an attention getter, they sometimes have a Texas-style smoker set up on Vineyard Road, with lots of signs directing diners to the restaurant within; the smoker is a real attention-getter. However, it's just not all show, as the smoker is used to smoke ribs, so Greg has to commute the 50 yards between the restaurant and the smoker. The smoker serves as a lighthouse to lovers of barbecue, driving down Vineyard Road, as it directs them to the only real Memphis-style barbecue offered in Placer County.
Photo: Greg Bumpers, principal owner and pitmaster, talks football with a passerby. Besides talking barbecue, Greg loves to talk football, as she especially likes the New Orleans Saints.
Photo: Greg proudly shows off the chicken and tri tip that he's cooking on the kettle grill. He doesn't use wood chips for flavoring, as he simply cooks the meat over charcoal. Greg Bumpers wears many hats, and he wears the hat of the principal owner of the business, go-fer guy, advertising agent, chief cook and bottle washer, and all-around nice guy. His business associate Shawn handles most of the inside duties, including filling orders, making change, answering numerous questions, and making side dishes. Greg is a very friendly guy, and loves to chat with his customers, and truly adds the personal touch to a local restaurant. You get to chat with him, and watch him barbecue your meat perfectly, then he takes it inside and slices the meat into bite-size pieces, as Shawn adds barbecue sauce, and adds your side dish(s) to your plate. Greg is a great guy to talk to, but he's not pushy or intrusive... just a great guy to talk to. Of course I had to ask Greg a few questions, so I could get a bit of background information for this article. Greg grew up in a small town in Louisiana, where Southern Cooking and Memphis-style barbecue rein supreme. He comes from a long line of family cooking tradition, and he learned his trade from his mom and his grandparents. Greg and I reminisced about the dog days of August during our childhoods, before air conditioning was widespread, and where friends, family and neighbors congregated outside on the front porch, or on the lawn during warm summer evenings, and the biggest from of entertainment was watching a group of neighborhood kids play a spirited game of kick the can, or hide and go seek. Oh sure, on Saturday nights, we'd all cluster in front of the 16" black and white TV to watch the Lawrence Welk Show, and marvel at JoAnn Castle play the accordion... But that's not barbecue, but French Quarters BBQ is barbecue, as they serve delicious, authentic Southern-style barbecue! As I mentioned before, they have what I call a "Texas Smoker Pit" which is one of those horizontal smoker pits on wheels that slightly resemble a miniature steam locomotive. It's parked along Vineyard Road, underneath a canopy festooned with signs, advertising the business, and is basically only used for bulk smoking. Greg's work horse barbecue equipment is very simple: A 22" Weber kettle grill, fired by charcoal briquettes. Delicious barbecue is not necessarily dictated by the equipment; it's in the skill of the pitmaster. And Greg has the barbecue skills, along with Shawn to back him up on the pit, and to prepare the delicious side dishes.
Photo: Check out the grill marks on the tri tip and chicken!
Photo: Inside the kitchen, Greg cuts up tri tip for sandwiches, as Shawn prepares another side dish. The menu is simple and to the point, and is divided into three main categories: bbq plates, bbq sandwiches, and combo plates. They offer four varieties of meat, including tri tip, ribs, chicken and hot links, which pretty well covers the barbecue spectrum. Of note are the side dishes; potato salad, jambalaya, and bbq baked beans. If you're choosing a bbq plate, you can double your helping of meat for a nominal extra fee, but keep in mind that any item on the menu won't hurt your wallet. French Quarters BBQ offers hand-out menus, and offers take-out orders as well, with a very modest delivery fee. As of this writing, dated July 25, 2010, the prices range from $3.00 for a 1/4 pound hamburger to $21.00 for a full slab of pork spareribs. BBQ plates are in the $7.00 range, with combo plates prices around $15.00. Whatever option you choose, you get a lot of food for your dollar. I might add that French Quarters BBQ is a huge believer in barbecue sauce, but since most bbq sauce is sugar based, it burns, so French Quarters doesn't add the barbecue sauce to the meat until after it's removed from the grill. The meat and the sauce is never burned, and you still get the delicious enhancement of the barbecue sauce. Oh yes, the barbecue sauce, the potato salad, the beans, the jambalaya and everything else is lovingly made in-house - I know, as I watched Shawn prepare the side dishes from scratch. The side dishes are prepared in the kitchen, and stored in stainless steel containers until ready to serve. The barbecue sauce and the side dishes are fresh, and delicious. So late Sunday morning, July 25, 2010, I sat down on one of the picnic tables under the shaded canopy, in front of the restaurant, and chatted with Greg as he barbecued tri-tip, ribs and chicken, and managed to snap a couple of photos of him in action. After seeing the ribs cooking on the Weber kettle grill, my lunch choice was easy: A BBQ Plate of ribs, with side dishes of potato salad and BBQ baked beans. So I bellied up to the window and placed my order with Shawn, paid for it, and while my order was being prepared, I went to the liquor store next door and purchased a tall can or Coors beer, which is the perfect drink to accompany a delicious lunch of barbecue.
Photo: Close-up of the pitmaster at work, as he cuts up a tri tip.
Photo: I pose for the camera as Shawn snaps the shot, and I'm ready to dig into that delicious plate of ribs. Alright, it's time for a few comments about the barbecue that French Quarters BBQ serves. In a few words and phrases: Delicious. Mouth-watering. Authentic Memphis-style. Finger lickin' good! Awesome. The ribs and side dishes arrived on throw-away styrafoam container, with the "main" plate, if you want to call it that, lined with white butcher paper. You use one-use, throwaway plastic utensils for your sides, but the ribs deserve to be eaten, cave man style, up-close-and-personal; they're that good. Styrafoam containers, butcher paper, and plastic utensils only make good barbecue taste even better, as the whole idea of barbecue is to be informal in every way. I also might add that barbecue tastes better eaten outside, while sitting at a picnic table. My generous portion of ribs were coated with tangy Memphis-style barbecue sauce, and the only way to enjoy them was to pick them up with your hands, and dig in and enjoy, and lick your fingers afterwards. Whatever you can't lick off can be taken care of by the ample supply of napkins that are a necessity with good barbecue. The bbq beans were delicious, and not spicy at all, but the potato salad really stole the show. I have to confess that I've never met a potato salad that I didn't love, but the potato salad served at French Quarters BBQ is some of the best potato salad that I've ever eaten. It was fresh, creamy, tangy, and garnished with paprika, and just plain drop-dead delicious. Even if you don't love barbecue - who doesn't? - the potato salad served at French Quarters is worth the visit. As a bonus, if you're interested, you get to watch Greg and Shawn prepare your meal.
Photo: Lunch doesn't get any better than this: Ribs, beans, some of the best potato salad that I've ever eaten, and a tall can of Coors to wash it down. French Quarters BBQ is a very welcome to the Roseville, CA dining scene, especially the barbecue scene. As far as I know, there is only one other barbecue restaurant in the greater Sacramento area that serves authentic Memphis-style barbecue, and there is no other restaurant in Roseville, or Placer County that serves this genre of barbecue. Combine delicious, authentic Memphis-style barbecue, ample helpings, fair prices, and the personal service that you'll receive from Dave and Shawn, and you just can beat French Quarters BBQ. Stop by and enjoy their fine food, you'll be glad you did! French
Quarters BBQ Copyright(c) 2010 eRench Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. This site has been on the web since December 22, 2002. Web page design has been created by eRench Productions, Inc., custom photography for any occasion...
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