Danny's BBQ

In Carlsbad New Mexico there's an old Dairy Queen that became a BBQ joint. From the stories I've heard they were a Dairy Queen franchiser that sold BBQ. Corporate Dairy Queen didn't really care for this and they had some issues with the menu that wasn't the DQ menu, so they became a BBQ joint.  I was familiar with Red Chimney in Carlsbad, but I did not hear about Danny's BBQ until read "America's Best BBQ: 100 Recipes from America's Best Smokehouses, Pits, Shacks, Rib Joints, Roadhouses, and Restaurants." The staff is not well organized, but it's small town New Mexico. When I arrived there were about a half dozen staff standing around. I was instructed to seat where ever I wanted so I chose a small table near the front of the restaurant. I arrived about 6 PM on a Thursday night so it was slow at first. The service was just OK and the restaurant was clean. They do not have a mutli-meat combo but the server was nice enough to ask the manager for me, I was able to get a cross section of the meat that they serve. I didn't really care for the sauce; I think one was mustard and the other was vinegar based. The meat was phenomenal for a BBQ restaurant, meaning it was not overcooked according to certain standards; for example, fall off the bone ribs are bad. It was interesting to see that BBQ rub was sprinkled on the pulled pork and this was a good touch to layer flavor on perfectly cooked meat. The ribs were amazing, not overcooked and great flavor. The sides I ordered were the fried okra and beans. The beans were over done and the fried okra was fried okra, you can deep fry anything and it would be tasty.  I would give Danny's BBQ three out of five stars.

http://www.dannysbbq.com/

Burger Rush

The Burger Rush Menu

 I may have mentioned in previous post that there has been a gourmet burger boom as of late with the recession. With any boom there tends to be a bust. It seems like the boom may be ending. I don't think bRgR is open any longer. I was cheering for bRgR, but I don't think that they were able to work the bugs out. Recently Burger Rush opened up on Paseo del Norte and Wyoming. The color scheme is different then your typical place for dining. It's nice but it's weird how colors impact how we eat and we tend to see red.  The lay out of the shopping center is odd. you cannot access the shopping center from Paseo del Norte so getting there takes a bit of planning.

Single Burger and Fries

It's a five step process: pick your protein, pick a bun, add cheese if you like for a charge, choose your condiments,  and additional toppings, some of which cost extra. It's a no frills menu. I'm not sure how this will fly in this neighborhood. I was surprised to see no salads available. So the novelty of this place is knowing where the beef comes from, a Heritage Ranch Premium Source. From what I gather, it just verifies that your meat came from to a specific ranch.

Double Burger and Onion Rings

The burgers are cooked on a flat top griddle. I ordered a single burger on a wheat bun with cheese, ketchup, lettuce, green chile, onions,and bacon; onion rings and fries to share with my cousins. The place was clean and fairly busy for a late weekday lunch. The burger patty is 4 oz and not cooked to order. The patty was a little dry. I felt that the burger was expensive for what I paid for. The food was good, but not great. I would give Burger Rush two and a half stars out of five.

http://www.burgerrushabq.com/