I know a lot of people love the ribs at TJ’s, and some people are into the steaks, but a couple of years back I went with some friends for happy hour and we got the sampler plate with ribs, brisket, sausage, and bbq chicken, and I was really impressed with the chicken. BBQ is a hard thing to sell all day. It takes a lot of time to cook, and it’s hard to hold it on line without drying it out. You see ribs a lot of places because they reheat quickly and you can make up for any dryness by wrapping the ribs in foil and saucing them heavily then popping them in the oven. That’s also one of the reasons that wings and boneless skinless chicken breasts have taken over the menu from bone in chicken (except fried of course, and even that is starting to be dominated by “tenders”} so finding a really good half chicken somewhere has gotten kind of tough. There’s Jay’s, and Podnah’s, and Sonny’s, and whoever has the shack on Government this week, and there’s a lot to be said for all of their ribs and brisket, but chicken that still has some juice to it is a rare find. I suspect that TJ’s has found a workaround in sous vide. That’s where you brine the chicken first to get some extra flavor in, then seal it in a plastic bag and bring it up to temp in water. Kind of like boil in bag, but you never actually come to a boil. You can hold whatever it is almost indefinitely, then take it out of the bag and finish it on the grill or in the oven, sauce it and serve it. Not sure that’s what TJ’s does, or if they have some other magic at play, but the result is outstanding.
TJ’s underwent a renovation about a year ago and they transformed from a kind of almost upper end, country club style to a straight up sports bar with a lot of draft beer and TV’s. Luckily they hung on to all the memorabilia, including Billy Cannon’s Heisman, so I think they did exactly what they hoped to do–update the setting for the younger crowd without alienating the old folks. By now the old folks have probably internalized the changes and think the place always looked that way. Here’s a peek inside the new TJ’s.
