MUDDLE & TWIST

“If the weight comes from bacon you can so deduct it off the scale total to get your true weight. #science”
― Michelle M. Pillow

MUDDLE AND TWIST   

“BBQ Bar & Grill”

(Formerly Kansas City Barbeque Company  - see Jan 2013 post)

10863 Magnolia Boulevard

North Hollywood, CA 91601

Hours:

Mon-Fri 11am-2am
Sat 11am-2am
Sun 11am-9pm
Kitchen Closes at 11pm Mon-Wed, 12am Thurs-Sat

http://www.muddletwist.com/

Driving down Magnolia Boulevard I noticed that this place had been renamed again.  They had a banner hanging that announced “YES, we still serve BBQ!”  Since this is the third incarnation of a barbeque bar at this location I though it deserved a re-review so, last night, Sharon and I gave it another try.

It looks as though they have found the right formula for this venue.  It’s been redecorated, again.  Gone is the faux roadside stand ordering station and the log cabin wall paper.  The décor is entirely casually sophisticated bar.  Sharon gave them a plus mark for the redo because she noted the purse hangers under the bar.  If you didn’t know they had a kitchen you would think that it was just a slightly trendy neighborhood bar.  Of course, the rick of split hickory logs in the front window might be a clue.    

There are a few tables and an upholstered bench with facing tables and chairs on in the room with the kitchen behind the bar and more tables in the other room along with the small, outdoor, patio area.  They clear out some of the tables in the all bar side to form a small dance floor.  On Friday nights they have a burlesque show there and on Saturday night you can dance.  On Sunday mornings they host a “Boozy Brunch”.

Our bright and eager server, Keven, informed us that the kitchen staff was retained from the previous incarnation.  This was a favorable indication.  The menu has been revised with many more selections in other areas but a bit shorter on the barbeque side.  There are meats by the pound, rack or half and whole chickens but only one combo plate.  Sharon and I decided to share a Combo Plate which was ¼ pound of Beef Brisket, ¼ pound of Sliced Pork, 3 Baby Back Ribs and two small sides.  We chose Mac & Cheese and Coleslaw as our sides.  While, admittedly, there were only a few other people in the place (we were early for a Saturday night) our order still arrived with amazing speed.

Mac & Cheese

We both sampled it and found it a good but not spectacular mac & cheese. The elbow macaroni was al dente and it had a real cheese sauce, not Velveeta®.  It did seem to have a little too much flour in the sauce almost bordering on a mealy texture.  An acceptable side but could be improved.

Coleslaw

As I said the last time I tried it this is more than simply competent coleslaw this is definitive coleslaw…or would have been.  It is a simple two cabbage plus carrots shredded slaw with a creamy dressing, totally conventional, but the cabbage was fresh, crisp and flavorful, the dressing was sweet.  If your preference is a creamy style dressing coleslaw this would be the one.  The problem last night was that the dressing was a little timid and too dry.  Anyone following this blog knows that I have issues with coleslaw being too wet, this time I encountered the opposite. The apparent timidity of the dressing may have been because there wasn’t enough of it.  I had to add a bit more salt and pepper than usual to make it acceptable.  I’ll try it again, anyone can have a bad night.  (Besides, I want an excuse to come back for the burlesque show.)

Sliced Pork

This is actually improved over the last time.  It isn’t pulled pork but thinly sliced.  There is definitely a better flavor and the flavor stands up to the sauce. Not outstanding but worth having.

Beef Brisket

I’ll repeat my previous opinion of the brisket, it is tender and well smoked this is a properly flavorful brisket.  It is served in very thin slices and once on the table tends to get cold quickly.  I suspect it is sliced so thinly because they also put it in sandwiches.  It was not overdone this time.

Baby Back Ribs

They did not disappoint the last time and were just as good, even improved, this time.  While small they were meaty, flavorful and fall-off-the-bone tender.  They seem to have used a double dipped technique, dipping the ribs in sauce and putting them back on the heat for a while but this did not make them at all chewy as sometimes can happen.  Really good ribs!

 

Apple Pie

Keven thought they were already sold out of desserts but when he checked with the kitchen found that they still had apple pie, which got a “Thank you, Jesus!” out of him. We shared a slice of the pie which was served with whipped cream on top.  It turned out to be a Dutch Apple Pie that was in the “Goldielocks Zone”, not to sweet, not too tart, but just right.  We just enjoyed it with absolutely no complaints or criticisms.

I was disappointed that we could not get a combo plate with beef ribs, chicken, burnt ends, and spicy links on it so that we could have sampled the whole range of que.  Noting that the meats we sampled seems to have improved we would guess that they are probably in line with what we had.  It was a good experience that we will definitely repeat.  They still get an 8 but with a plus.