Good BBQ in Ashburn, Virginia??? Is It Possible!!!

I am fortunate (Or unfortunate depending on your perspective) to live in the wealthiest county in the nation…Loudoun County, Virginia.  Lovely place.  I live in Ashburn, Virginia, which is literally a “stone throw” away from Washington-Dulles International Airport.  Most of the people around here, are into the “showy kinds” of food, or organic and local food (Mainly so they can tell you that they buy only organic and local food…in some pretentious statement of wealth), or they eat ethnic foods (Which I certainly have no problem with).  However, it is good to have a restaurant that reflects the culinary virtues of America, more specifically the South.  No other food exemplifies southern cuisine like BBQ.  In Ashburn, there is a bbq “joint” called Carolina Brothers, and they have some damn fine bbq.  However, like most bbq places, it’s a “joint” rather than a restaurant.  A place where they actually cook the food right outside of the place in barrel grills/smokers…the place in question, an old general store right near the Washington and Old Dominion Bike Trail.  Now Ashburn, actually has a bbq restuarant…a brand new joint that just opened up a few weeks ago, called Bluz Brothers Bar-B-Que and Grill.

I went there a few days ago to pick up a menu, just to see what was on it.  A very simple menu…not long or extensive.  Six starters, some chili, a soup of the day, and three salads, ribs, rib combos, brisket, pulled pork, and even fish dishes.  They also have many of the classic side dishes associated with bbq restaurants, such as potato salad, mac-n-cheese, baked beans, etc.  But I was immediately attracted to the burgers and sandwiches they had, and one burger in particular.  But I’ll get back to that in a minute.  Tonight, I decided to go there for dinner, and I have to say…damn good job.

The nice waitress comes to me, takes my drink order (Mountain Dew), and comes back with my drink, and a plate of food…which I didn’t order.  It wasn’t exactly a plate of food, but a complimentary order of their HOMEADE potato chips.  Yes sportfans…they make their own potato chips, lightly seasoned, fried to perfection, and served with a wonderful dill/spiced cream dipping sauce.  No boring ass peanuts or stale saltines to snack on before dinner…they give you homeade chips.  I was excited already.  After I devoured my plate of chips, the waitress came back for my order, and I knew exactly what I was going to get.

I told you that a few days ago I got the menu to check out, and I saw on the menu a burger that really spoke to my sensibilities.  The “Bluz Ultimate All In Burger”…this is an awesome creation.  An 8 ounce patty, with melted cheddar cheese, fried onion straws, bbq sauce, and here’s the kicker….PULLED PORK.  Yes my pork and beef fans…pulled pork served on a burger (Can you hear the angels sing).  Personally, I think this dish was created after a night of smoking weed.  I can imagine a long day of menu planning before the restaurant was opened, and the owner, mangers, chef, and cooks were all smoking some weed.  They had a lot of leftover food in the kitchen, and got the munchies.  “Dude…I’m fuckin’ hungry…what do we have to eat?”  “I don’t know man, I’ll find out what’s in the kitchen”.  All they had in the kitchen was leftover pulled pork, a few hamburger patties, cheese, some onion straws leftover.  They just threw all of that shit on the burger, and BOOM…one of the great sandwiches was born.  The burger was cooked well, although I do wonder if the burger was frozen or fresh (I believe it was fresh, but the mushiness of the meat, made me wonder).  Either way, it was cooked well, and tasted decent.  The onion straws were very tasty…more like tempura onion straws than traditional onion straws, but again…very tasty.  Then the pulled pork….whoever cooked the pork, put their feet, toes, hands, and perhaps some earwax in it…very, very good.  Also have to give them props for their grilling of the bun, not just on the inside, but also on the outside.  A perfectly grilled bun, in my opinion, is hard to accomplish, but they did it well.  I got this meal with a side of sweet potato fries.  I have had better sweet potato fries, but they were above average.  They needed to be fried a little longer, and a little bit more seasoning.  Essentially…a very good night.  On a scale of “one” to “ten”, “one” being complete and utter crap, and “ten” being so good I want to cuss…I will give it a “7″.  Granted, I have to go back a few times to see how good the ribs are, and how good the sides are (Most bbq joints, in my opinion, make horrible sides).

I talked to the manager and owner afterwards, showing them my support for this restaurant.  The owner looks to be 25 years old, but seems to have everything together, and is already looking ahead to open other bbq restaurants.  I told him not to do it…keep the restaurant unique, perfect the craft, and then have people come from all over to eat at the restaurant.  Whether he follows my advice or not…hey, he can do what he wants.  For the time being though…Bluz Brothers Bar-B-Que and Grill is a great local restaurant, and I look forward to going back real soon.

Bluz Brothers Bar-B-Que and Grill
43150 Broadlands Center Plaza, Suite 194
Broadlands, Virginia 20148
(703) 858-9499