Ten-Gallon Barbecue At Renton's Cedar River Smokehouse

Barbecue is serious stuff. In fact, some consider it a lifestyle.

"As with everything barbecue, there is controversy," said Craig "Meathead" Goldwyn with no sense of melodramatic irony. And Cedar River Smokehouse is the first to admit that they're not sticklers for tradition: "We pride ourselves on providing traditional as well as non-traditional Texas Style Barbecue."

Around 1 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon, this Smokehouse was filled with families and the sweet smell of mesquite and hickory. I could not help but snap a photo of a tall drink of water in a ten-gallon hat waiting to place his order, which added an authentic air.

The line moves quickly at the front order counter, and in the throes of lunch time, I felt a bit like I did in my first Parisian cheese shop, as ironic as that sounds. You best go in knowing what you want, or step aside for the regulars. Service is to the point, and food is quick in coming. If you don't know to go to the window to pick up, the harried-yet-polite cook will deliver it to your table with a smile.

Order off the lunch or smokehouse dinners selections all day. Lunch choices are all $7.49, and include a choice of one of their twelve sides. Smokehouse dinners range from $9.39 to $14.99 and include two side dish choices. And for those that are going low-carb, there are signs announcing that you can shun the buns on their lunch selections.

I happen to love this quote from food historian Joan Nathan, "Brisket is the Zelig of food." Brisket is a tough piece of meat by nature, which is most often made into corned beef, but has the chameleon-like ability to transform based on the personality of flavors around it.

In the Texas barbecue world, brisket is the quintessential measuring stick of a pit. At CRS, Angus beef is dry-rubbed, and smoked over mesquite and hickory wood for over 15 hours at a low temperature. Undeniably tender, Cedar River's brisket was crumbled water-under-the-bridge compared to the hearty Mesquite Smoked Beef Ribs that laid on top (a Two Meat Dinner Combo goes for $13.49). The major complaint I heard from my expert was that the silver skin was still attached to the beef ribs, and not trimmed off.

If you want to taste "the other white meat," you can either go for some hot links, pulled pork, or St Louis ribs. As I understand it, this geographic reference points more to the meat (pig) than the style of rub. There's also sliced turkey breast and smoked chicken, your choice of dark or white meat. The generous Ribs-N-Chicken Combo ($13.99) includes two pork ribs, as well as smoky blackened chicken thigh and leg if you go for the dark meat option.

All barbecue orders come with a cup of hot, medium or mild barbecue sauce — you sauce it yourself, something very Texan. Plus each lunch item comes with your choice of one side; dinner comes with two sides. Our favorite was the addictive fresh Coleslaw. The Macaroni and Cheese was creamy if not a bit institutional, but the Homemade Baked Beans balanced smoky and sweet flavors, like they were baked over a campfire. Their Texas Chili was full of pinto beans, a no-no with some traditionalists, but you could make a full meal with just meaty chili ($4.49 pint, $7.99 quart) and toppings from a station of add-ons: jalapenos, shredded cheese, black olives, and sour cream to name a few.

After lunch, we walked over to the Cedar River Trail, full, happy and exuding Texas hardwood perfume. I'll know a lot more when I watch Top Chef this week...

Cedar River Smokehouse
304 Wells Ave. S.
Renton, WA 98055-2714
(425) 255-4820