January 2020 is only halfway over, and it’s already been a wild year for barbecue in Shreveport-Bossier. Cobb’s BBQ, one of the oldest continually operated restaurants in Shreveport-Bossier, closed its doors after nearly 70 years in business. Real BBQ and More, a popular barbecue joint in Shreveport, received a glowing write-up from Texas Monthly‘s barbecue editor, Daniel Vaughn. And Bittercreek BBQ, a mobile food vendor that’s bringing a new style of barbecue to Shreveport-Bossier, made their first appearance of 2020.
Like Bittercreek BBQ on Facebook.
Bittercreek BBQ is the brainchild of husband-and-wife duo Jodie and Christi Rhodes. Their excellent barbecue looks and tastes different from any that I’ve eaten in Shreveport-Bossier; I guess you’d call it “craft barbecue” or Central Texas-style. You could also just call it delicious.
The menu offers smokey brisket, whole hog-style pulled pork, heavily seasoned ribs and—in my opinion, at least—the star of the show: fried smoked bologna. Jodie Rhodes, who is a Bossier Marshal, uses an offset smoker burning mostly hickory and pecan woods. The resulting meats are flavorful and photogenic. Plates cost a little more than your average barbecue joint (plates ranged from $12 to $16 on the day of my visit), but I felt that the price was easily justified by the overall quality of Bittercreek’s product.
While Jodie and Christi are still getting the hang of things, they’re planning to make at least a couple of local appearances each month this year, so following their Facebook and Instagram pages is a good idea.
I’d never eaten smoked bologna before visiting Bittercreek BBQ, but I’ve seen it popping up on the menus and Instagram feeds of lots of barbecue joints in Texas. On paper, it sounds like junk food, but the smoking process infuses bologna with an entirely new flavor that I thought was delicious on the Hoggin’ the Show sandwich. That sandwich, which is also topped with enough pulled pork to feed a small army, is a great way to sample multiple meats from Bittercreek for $10.
If you’re into local food, be sure to check out the latest edition of Eat Here: A Food Lover’s Guide to Shreveport-Bossier, a photo-filled guide to local food and drink produced annually by the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau. You can read it online here or download a copy here.
While you’re here, enter our Mardi Gras Getaway Giveaway and you and a friend could win a ride in the huge Krewe of Highland XXV Mardi Gras Parade on Sunday, Feb. 23, plus a valuable assortment of gift certificates as well as hotel accommodations. Enter before Jan. 31!
20×49.com is a publication of The Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau.
