Delicious dinner at Moe's Original BBQ!

I'm not the kind of blogger that gets invited to press events or gets sent free stuff to try out and talk about. I think the companies like people who are far more foodie than I am for those sorts of things. So when I got invited to a press event by Moe's Original Barbeque I was extremely excited.

And the food on the menu looked delicious:

From Drop Box

When we walked in, I thought the place was adorable. I have this strange aversion to eating in places that look like fast food joints--if it sets off that trigger, I get the food and take it home. Sometimes BBQ restaurants set me off but this place was really cute and easy to eat in:



When we got there, the menu was even more extensive than what had been emailed to me! The owner invited us to help ourselves to some spinach dip with carrot sticks and celery as an appetizer. It was really good but most places have pretty good spinach dip:



And they offered us beer!



Obviously, I live in Fort Collins, so Fat Tire is offered everywhere (and is what Josh drank) but I was happy to see the Schlitz! This will probably get me driven out of FoCo but I don't love New Belgium as much as everyone else so it was nice to have some choices that aren't frequently offered here.

I ordered chicken wings with summer squash casserole and macaroni and cheese as the sides.

The chicken wings had a really terrific sweet flavor but were pretty dry:



I don't think I would order them again. On the other hand the sides:



were DELICIOUS! The summer squash casserole was obviously homemade and had a nice creamy texture that reminded me of the version I make. Same with the mac and cheese--it didn't come out of a box and had a nice tangy cheese flavor. So good!

Josh got pulled pork with the mac and cheese and creamed spinach:



The pulled pork was tender and flavorful. The creamed spinach was perfect--just enough cream to showcase the spinach, rather than to hide it (the way it should be). I didn't love the cornbread but Josh did--I thought it was dry but he found it perfect.

Since it was Josh's birthday I got us two little desserts:



The owner heard that it was Josh's birthday and showed up with two shots of whiskey:



Uh oh! I hate taking shots but I felt like I should since it was Josh's birthday! ::shiver:: I still hate taking shots. It was a great gesture though!

One of the desserts was banana pudding which was TERRIFIC. It had a nilla wafer on the top and bottom and was absolute perfection. I could have eaten five of them. The other was a Nutter Butter Icebox Pie--it tasted EXACTLY like Nutter Butters! Yum!

From the press kit:

The Beginnings

Moe's Original Bar B Que was founded by three Bama boys: Mike Fernandez, Ben Gilbert, and Jeff Kennedy. After meeting at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, they instantly became friends and had a mutual interest in all things Southern: BBQ, live music, college football, and whiskey.

In 1988, Mike hooked up with Moses Day in Tuscaloosa and began learning to fire roast meats. When Moses fired up his backyard barrel pit, everyone in T-Town knew where to go. The boys were lucky to learn from Moses and his distinct style that makes up Moe's original flavor of BBQ. The boys loved the mountains and eventually they all landed in Vail, Colorado where they each refined their cooking skills. By using fruit wood to smoke the meats and hitting it with two sauces, they knew they had something special. Moe's Original BBQ smokes all meats fresh daily and unlike other BBQ joints, they don't stop there. They prepare eight to ten Southern style side dishes everyday with recipes derived from mothers, grandmothers, nannies and housekeepers.

Moe's Original BBQ is a Southern soul food revival. Working diligently as a team, Moe’s Original Bar-B-Que serves up a unique, all things Southern, bar-b-que experience.

And I believe that they are using actual recipes instead of frozen food from Cisco. I really recommend trying Moe's if you get the chance. I'll be going back to gorge myself on sides and desserts--and a nice cold Schlitz.