#033 Best BBQ Joint

It has been quite the week, and I am happy to say I finally have some time to post!

Wednesday a bunch of us from work went to "Ladies Night" at the Horse Racing Track (ladies don't have to pay the $2 cover charge).  Sadly, ladies do not get drink discounts, and I spent a bit on some margaritas.  I also made a $2 bet, lost, and swore I would never bet again.  Those who know me know I am not much of a gambler (with my own money at least).  It was a great way to spend the night though.

We went to a Mexican restaurant afterward, and they had a live band playing, which was really fun.  I had camarones ala crema (shrimp in a cheese sauce) which was great but there were fewer and smaller shrimp than I have gotten at other Mexican restaurants.

Thursday, I got to see the final Harry Potter.  I am so-so on Harry. Loved the first few books, got too busy to read the last few books, and catch the movies when I can.  However, I thought it was necessary to see this one, as it is such the end of an era.  For those of you who want to "catch up" before you go, let's be honest.  You aren't going to watch the other movies and you will end up not going to this one! JUST GO! Even if you don't remember anything about the previous ones like me, it is still a great all-around movie and it still makes sense. 

This one wasn't ridiculously long (130 minutes) and if I was watching it myself, I am fairly confident I could have cried at the end.  I found myself mesmerized that one woman somehow came out with such an intricate story from within her mind.  Seriously amazing.

Friday, we went to the Snake River Stampede in Nampa (a big rodeo).  It was $13 to get in, and beers were $4.  I also got glazed almonds for $4 that were delicious!  The rodeo was really fun and I loved the center it was held in (Idaho Center). You could see everything really well.  They did something I hadn't seen at a rodeo before -- the horses and riders were decorated in lights and they turned off the overhead lights while they ran around, like a light show.  It looked futuristic and awesome.

Today we did some errands.  I got gas (my discount was 20 cents off!) and we went to Walmart and Costco.  At Walmart, I loaded up on vegetables - limes, radishes, cilantro, parsley; corn tortillas to last me months, diced chiles in a can, and rice vinegar, all for $7.

I got to then go to Costco and set up my new Costco account (thanks mom!).  I also got to use my new Costco gift card (thanks Auntie Linda!), so it was very exciting.  I stocked up on chicken tenderloins, which last me at least two months.  I also splurged on chicken and apple sausages, which is out of character for me, but sounded tasty.  I got a white wine for cooking vegetables in, grapes for snacking and asparagus for roasting :)  I also restocked my garbanzo beans and green beans as the cans last me for quite some time and I love them both.

After that, we went to Goodwood BBQ.  I'll get back to that at the end, as it was one of my "to see" places.

From there, we went to the Boise Music Festival.  It was all day from 9am - 9pm.  Some of the bands you have heard of playing were Sugar Ray, MC Hammer, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.  The entire event is free and at this huge, gorgeous park.  It was really fun to go and check it out, but it was REALLY hot at 5 pm still, and I was a bit miserable in the sun.  There were also SO MANY PEOPLE.  It was a fantastic place to people watch, but a bit intense.  My favorite was while we were sitting in the shade.

And now, back to #033 Best BBQ Joint, Goodwood BBQ.  The website says they use "closed-pit style" BBQ and all their food is made from scratch.  I am not sure the difference n BBQ styles, but I can attest to the fact that their food is absolutely delicious!

I LOVE the way this place was decorated.  First of all, you walk in and it smells incredible.  The menus are a really cool material (like bendy, latex-y) and the place has a classy BBQ atmosphere.  You could take a date here or take your family here, and either way you would feel comfortable.  The kitchen is enclosed in glass, so you can see the meat cooking.

We also had excellent service.  The kind of waitress who doesn't hover, but always seems to fill your water up in time and get you what you need.

The menu was extensive and it surprised me. I thought there would only be a few choices for BBQ, but there was also an array of delicious sounding salads, sandwiches, and appetizers.  My friends both got house salads for an additional $2.59 with their entrees and I started by talking shit (how annoying how expensive salads are, etc.) but the house salad was really impressive.  It had bacon, eggs, croutons, etc. and came with cornbread and honey butter!

I got the lunchtime platter of pulled pork with coleslaw and baked beans.  The coleslaw was great - very fresh with minimal mayonaise type dressing, so it actually seemed fairly healthy.  The beans were good but had a definite smoked flavor I am not used to in beans.  My pork was awesome.  Very well cooked and I smothered it with the house sweet BBQ sauce (they also have a spicy one -- didn't think it was that spicy though).

There are paper towel rolls at the tables, but we didn't end up needing them.

All my food only cost $9.50, and my friends couldn't even eat all theirs because they were so full.  This place is awesome, classy, and affordable.  It might have helped our price that we were ordering off the lunch menu, but I can't imagine dinner is much more expensive.

Tomorrow I think I am going to go see Friends With Benefits, so I am looking forward to that!