Not Quite National BBQ Tour - Part 7: Union Woodshop

So the guys of the Bema Seat BBQ Association were off (in style) on another adventure this weekend. After lots of word-of-mouth advertising and TV features galore, we decided it was time to make the trek out to Clarkston to try out the Union Woodshop.  We purposefully moved the meal to Saturday and planned for an obscure 2:30pm "L-INNER" meal to avoid all the crowds we were warned about.  We got right in and had a good time talking BBQ and all things manly .... but you're here to read about the Meat! - so let's get to it.

RATING DEFINITIONS # STAR / 10

0-1  =   Its BBQ … I’ll try just about any place once,  even Dickey’s

2-3  =   Honorable Mention … well executed even if not to my liking

4-7  =   Good BBQ … flavorful, distinct, and presented well with good sides

8-9  =   Good Kansas City BBQ … see above + KC Magic

10   =    The Undiscovered Country 

... please note that the ratings have been revised to acknowledge the possibility of good BBQ outside Kansas City.

Union Woodshop, ClarkstonMI

The Woodshop is famously one of the 2 "Unions" in Clarkston MI.  The Mac & Cheese that made the Clarkston Union famous has made its way here along with some of the trappings of a failed fancy restaurant that got a bit too big for its britches. According to the menu, the website - and many of the folks that recommend it - the Woodshop also features the best Pulled Pork in SE Michigan.

THE PLACE

Grown-ups eat here ... and ... and ladies with fancy hairdos.  No seriously, the atmosphere is designer-rustic with beautiful carved wood and chandeliers competing for your attention with metal trays and plywood floors.  No gift shop in sight - but this is destination BBQ, and the surroundings are a big part of why you'd journey out this way.

THE FOOD

More than one of the Bema Seat Gang was surprised at how relatively few options there were for ordering BBQ.  Basically you got a sliced meat or ribs, and then added any other meat as a sidecar.  This made it a bit pricey to try very many of the selections, so there was a bit of sharing at the table ... but as always, I'll limit my comments to what I actually tried.

* Brisket (sliced) - Nice and thick. Good flavor, though not very much of it.  To me the brisket is the single greatest measure of the BBQ joint.  I was sad to see it go - more so because I spent so little time with it.

* Pulled Pork - heavy on the smoke flavor - so much that it was almost all you tasted.  With this being a headline item, I expected more fireworks ... but maybe that has more to do with the sauces (see my note below).

* Spare Ribs - Mr Day was kind enough to literally 'throw me a bone' in exchange for some of the highly anticipate pork.  This was by far the best meat of the meal and may just be reason enough for me to start leaning away from brisket as the go-to order in future excursions.

* Baked Beans: Tried a sample before ordering (good call Bema Seat brothers) and glad we did ... no love here, nothing to see - move a long.

* Sweet Potato Mash:  Wow this was good ... Charred Jalapenos and Michigan Maple Syrup.  Again, only a tiny portion but for my money, this was the most exciting flavor of the day.

* Union Mac & Cheese:  Tasty, stringy, and appropriately cheesy (I tasted at least 4 cheeses).  Other than the onion rings I saw around the table, this was by far the most generous serving on the table.

* Sauces:  The Woodshop features 5 sauces at the table and 2 that are available on request.  Best of the bunch was a South Carolina Mustard - worst was an incomprehensible mayo-based sauce attributed to Alabama - and honorable mention to the "Hell Michigan" request only sauce.  Hell - it turned out - wasn't all that hot after all (even with ghost chilies and capsaicin extract) - but was the best of the tomato based sauces.

THE WRAP-UP

So, the Woodshop was a fun experience with really great sides but small portions and weird sauces.  That's quite a few pluses and minuses to take into account, but if I get my slide-rule out and include the untested variables (chicken / sausage etc) it rates a respectable 5 ... a solid non-Kansas City score that's only been topped locally by Billy Sims and Bad Brads.  Wish Brad's could get the Sweet Potato mash together  .... *sigh*

Note:  I did manage to bring home 1 small piece of brisket and a bit of pulled pork to try with the KC Masterpiece sauce I had in the fridge.  It was excellent and made the pork truly wonderful.  Maybe we should really start smuggling in our own sauce.