Enter Smoke Queen BBQ into the bbq scene currently at Smorgasburg LA. Since they are a weekly addition to Smorgasburg, seems like a nice time to try them out.
Ordered the smoked brisket plate and added a laksa sausage cuz why the fuck not. Chosen sides were the slaw and chicken rice. Yeah, I said it, chicken rice. I didn’t quite read the sides menu at first and the cashier read off the sides as “slaw, beans and rice” so I initially ordered the slaw and beans but quickly changed out the beans for chicken rice. Order the chicken rice.
(Don’t let the picture fool you, that is a three very large pieces of brisket and a Costco sized sausage)
First off, let me say the smoked brisket and sausage were fantastic, perhaps only very minuscule second to Moo’s Craft for the respective meats. Perfectly smoked brisket with a beautiful smoke flavor and just the right amount of fat content. This is some serious bbq with highly impressive technique from the trimming of the brisket to the cook to slicing. The sausage was very good, slightly spicy with lovely seasonings although didn’t quite get the laksa coming through.
But what I really enjoyed (aside from the excellent bbq on its own) was eating Texas style smoked brisket with that super fragrant and flavorful chicken rice. Never have I thought to pair the two and it just worked. I kept going back to eating them together, then on their own, then separately with sauce, then together with sauce, maybe as you might with Hainanese chicken rice.
The slaw was serviceable with a nice retreat from the heavy bbq and it had a nice little tinge of spiciness. The bbq sauce had a cumin flavor with a bit of acidic tang that went very well with the laksa sausage as it enhanced rather than overwhelm the flavors.
Definitely need to go back and try the siu yuk but was pretty stuffed after eating at other spots prior to Smoke Queen. Food came out very fast after ordering as well. Is there a new BBQ sheriff in town, and her name is Smoke Queen BBQ? Definitely worth the hassle of Row LA.
