The former Chai House at 5463 Leary Ave NW is now Ballard Best BBQ.
The menu includes chicken, pork, beef, beef short ribs and pork ribs. They also serve bbq sandwiches, hamburgers and salads. The dessert menu lists eight options including Orange Caramel – “white chocolate mousse with orange zest is suspended on a layer of chocolate-caramel and whole macadamia nuts, all tucked inside a crumbly tart shell” and Charlotte Juliet – “a layer of white cake infused with Grand Marnier, a layer of dark chocolate mousse, a layer of raspberry mousse and a raspberry glaze to coat the top.”
According to the menu, “We believe simple ingredients, and using the rights meats will give you a natural tenderness, and delicious taste.” Prices range from $6.45 for one chicken skewer with rice and two sides (potato wedges, baked beans, coleslaw or corn on the cob.”
The hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.
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You had me at “white chocolate mousse…”
I hope they got the stink of petrulli out of the place.
Don’t worry, they ran a spell-checker and got rid of it all.
This looks great. So much better than the two faux-BBQ restaurants that Ballard has now (Gabriels Fire and Smokin Petes).
However, I’m concerned if they will be able to remove the stank of meth and jenkem from the facility. Jenkem has a nasty habit of lingering around for years.
It’s bad. We want our money back bad.
What is petrulli, Fred?
its not even close to bbq…they are gonna need to really change their game plan and get a pitmaster in there if they are gonna make it….im not trying to talk bad…i want them to succeed ..i really do
Eeww! That’s not BBQ. Don’t take my word for it, go there.
You’re right, I spelt it wrong, but then again, since I bathe, I’ve never had to deal use it.
I think they’ve got an identity crisis going on here. There’s peanut sauce and sriricha on the table and the meat comes on the skewers on a faux-banana-leaf platter. This isn’t “bubba’s bbq pit”.
“Best”=”Pinoy”, as far as this joint goes. And I liked the meat – unusual spices, moist, tasty. But as I know next-to-nothing about Filipino cuisine, I don’t know whether the uninspired, bland sides (run-of-the mill beans and slaw) are authentic or stretching for US bbq.
Full disclosure: I miss Mr Chai by the gallon.
Since some folks are talking of the old Chai house let me remind you of something. The cat, also known as “Mr Chai”, “Chai Cat”, “Mr Spots”, “Spots” or “Tweak Cat” who was on the Chai House logo died several years ago. I consider it a great travesty that they did not take down the sign of the cat or at least be up front with the story of this cat. He was a good, fat fluffy cat and I think the previous owners, operators and staff should have done more with regards to full-disclosure and transparency when it came to the disposition of this beautiful cat.
oh geez, now i want to hear the entire dessert list. i have not found anything to fill the hole left by the loss of lombardi’s chocolate mousse! (actually went to everett to the lombardi’s up there this weekend and there is no other reason i’d be going to everett!)
Agreed. When I want BBQ I expect, nay demand, there be a seven dollar Sriracha Chicken Skewer with Rice, and fancy Grand Marnier pastries for dessert. Preferably set in a sterile Pan-Asian atmosphere if possible.
Not that faux-BBQ we have in Ballard now, what with their “ribs” and “pulled pork”. I mean really, what kind of BBQ is that? I hear that Gabriel’s Fire is serving something called “brisket”. WTF is that? The nerve. Where are the Satay Skewers with Peanut Sauce, the Hamburgers and Salad? You know, real BBQ.
I mean, this place is the Best BBQ in Ballard. It says so right there on the sign.
And no, if you have the miraculous ability to smell jenkem hanging around for years, it is unlikely that you ever go anywhere that doesn’t smell faintly of it. To you. Personally. I imagine you catch a whiff of it on the wind while out strolling on the beach on a bright Summer’s afternoon, dragging your thoughts inevitably down some horrible memory lane, the origin of which none of us have any interest in hearing about, ever, and a single tear comes to your eye.
Does anyone know what cooking methods they use to bbq?
Going by my spell-checker, it smells like petrol now. Or possibly petrels.
they use a wok.
You’re delusional.
Disclaimer – my wife and I moved from Austin, TX so we have high standards for BBQ and were very excited about the prospect of a good BBQ place opening in Ballard. We ate there on Sunday and immediately after walking in we wondered if the place was a true BBQ restaurant or some type of Asian fusion. I order the large pork ribs and my wife ordered the pork sandwich. The ribs were good (not great), they were not cut either. So I had to cut them with a dull knife. The bake beans were terrible. They tasted like some kind of chili style beans out of a can. Cole slaw was good but steamed rice with BBQ, I don’t understand that. The pork sandwich tasted more like Korean BBQ, and appeared to be beef. They had a bunch of different sauces but none of them matched the sauce on the meat so it would have made them taste bad.
Here are my recommendations for the owners:
1. Loose the weird fusion BBQ style and go with a traditional style; Texas, Kansas City, Memphis or North Carolina. (wet or dry rub; sweet, spicy or vinegar)
2. Have a combo plate with 2-3 different types of meat at a good price. Less than $15. Pork sandwich and 1 side should be $10.
3. Sandwiches should be pulled pork or chopped beef
4. fix your sides; baked beans should be sweet with brown sugar and bacon. If you have to use Bush’s Baked Beans. Add potato salad. ditch the steamed rice
5. add sausage
6. book a trip to Austin and check out Rudy’s, Kruez Market and Salt Lick
Judging by your pic, you are fairly deluded your self.
Pig
Anything vegan-friendly on the menu?
Yeah, the menu itself.
You want VEGAN at a BBQ joint? That’s like going to professional wrestling match and asking if they’ll be performing any Shakespear.
Yeah, the menu itself.
You want VEGAN at a BBQ joint? That’s like going to professional wrestling match and asking if they’ll be performing any Shakespear.
Who wants to be friendly to vegans?
Never had a decent filipino meal and have been there many times. Nice people, awful food.
Hoss, as far as Austin, how about Iron Works? I thought the beef ribs were to die for.
Yeah, it was a serious question. I’m not sure if that was a serious answer or if you just wanted to post that response? I am asking because I can’t find a menu online and was hoping someone who had seen one could respond.
And I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect some vegan options, even at BBQ place. RoRo’s has BBQ “pulled portabella.” Plenty of restaurants around have a BBQ field roast sandwich. Why wouldn’t every restaurant offer some vegan options? People generally go to restaurants in groups, and not everyone has the same dietary requirements. Offering to accommodate various diets is the only smart way to run a restaurant.
Hoss – I thought Iron Works was the best until I went to heaven…I mean the Salt Lick! OMG!
Being friendly to vegans is always a mistake.
Iron Works was good but my favorite is Kruez Market in Lockhart which is about 40 minutes outside of Austin. They smoke the meat with a dry rub and they don’t have any sauce. The meat just falls off the bone and melts in your mouth. Then I would pick Rudys followed by SaltLick.
Can’t people give critiques and suggestions to help a local business? I love Ballard and local business. Thats one of the great things about the neighborhood, very few chains. But thanks for the suggestion on moving back to Texas.
I’m sorry to say I had the worst lunch in years here. Weird and gross. This is some kind of weird Asian version of BBQ that is quite off-putting and not even edible, as far as I’m concerned. Low, low quality ingredients… the cheapest of the cheap. The chicken skewer was disgusting, fatty and half-raw. One bite and I spit it out. The “sides” were oddly served in the kind of plastic bowls and dishes you expect to see in a 30-year old Chinese restaurant. The sides were lousy… ranch style beans from a can with no BBQ flavor at all, and steamed sticky rice. Sticky rice is NOT a side for a BBQ place. How about tater salad, cornbread, fried Okra, or even just fries, for Pete’s sake? The wait service was eager to please but it seemed their grasp of English was as shaky as their understanding of BBQ style cuisine, and they kept calling us “Mister” and thanking us in obtrusive ways. I felt like a tourist in my own home town… weird as all get out, and not in a good way. We ordered the deserts, just out of hunger more than anything else, and guess what… they were OUT of them. A strange and depressing place. What in the world were they thinking when they started this place??? They need to seriously overhaul the menu and get a pitmaster FAST or I suspect they’ll be gone soon. Sad… it would be great to have a decent BBQ place in the heart of Ballard.
Oh, yeah, that’s the way we did bbq in Texas, in a wok! Actually *I* smoke the best babybacks in town.
That’s a valid question for family dining. My son loves good beef ribs but wife is a vegan. That’s the kind of harmony we need in the world!