 SWEET FIRE BBQ 116 Mulberry St., Claremont 542-9227 (9BBQ) sweetfirebbq.com Serving: Wednesday-Monday, 11:30 to closing; Monday and Tuesday, open at noon. Cuisine: American barbecue Entrees from $4.95 Scoring: Our Gourmet and The Dining Companion each grade a restaurant in five categories, for a combined total score of up to 100 points. Visit the Dining section of NewHampshire.com to read previous Our Gourmet reviews listed by town. |
There was no dessert on the menu, and after all we ate, I was glad for that. There’s no way I could have fit dessert in. We had appetizers, but since we had no dessert, we’ll give the main course an extra 10 points each this week — for a total of 40, instead of 20 — to make up for that.
Appetizer: 12.5/20
Our Gourmet: We started with the cream cheese salsa ($3.95). The “salsa” had a smoky heat and creamy goodness. We weren’t sure what to expect, but this was surprisingly good. The chips, however, were straight out of a bag and not very tasty. 7.5
The Dining Companion: I had to try some of the meat chili ($3.50/cup), which was not very thick, with a tomato-y sauce and, oddly enough, a meatball in the middle. It was obviously rewarmed because there were cold spots in the cup. This is not like any chili I’ve ever had and I don’t recommend it. 5
Entree 28.5/40
OG:: The easiest thing for us to do was to order The Christophe — a large sampling of the barbecued chicken, ribs, pulled pork and brisket ($30). That way we each got to try a little — or a lot — of everything.
We ordered smoked mac and cheese on the side ($1.95) — a cup of mac and cheese made with rigatoni with chunks of barbecue in it. It was an interesting switch from the standard barbecue sides of beans and cole slaw (which they also have).
TDC: It was mild and only slightly smoky, but OG and I agreed they were a little heavy-handed on the oregano.
OG: The platter came with a maple corn muffin, that was mildly sweet with a real maple flavor. TDC particularly liked the muffin.
The platter of meat was quite large, with generous portions of each kind of meat. I thought the chicken was moist and flavorful — and the chicken is usually my least favorite. I did enjoy the ribs — they had a slightly sweet flavor that was nice. 14.5
The barbecue at Sweet Fire is dry rub. According to Sweet Fire’s Web site, the restaurant’s takes a “minimalist approach” to the amount of sauce they put on the food, allowing diners to sauce the food to their own liking. There were two kinds of barbecue sauce: My favorite by far was the “hot,” which wasn’t that hot, but pleasantly spicy. The regular was lacking in flavor.
TDC: The brisket didn’t do much for me — it had very little smoky barbecue flavor. The flavor of the pulled pork was better and it was cooked nicely. 14
I have to say, this was the greasiest barbecue we’ve had — and there were big pieces of fat on the plate with the meat, which weren’t all that appetizing.
OG: My heart did kind of seize up just looking at it.
All the rest 15.5/20
OG: The service was good and the atmosphere of Sweet Fire BBQ is pleasant enough. It’s pretty much a roadhouse with a pool table, long bar and a few tables, although we had a booth that was quite comfortable. The room seats about 30, including 10 at the bar, and I imagine the place hops at night. We learned that the restaurant has been open for about a year and is doing good business. 8
TDC: It’s not the best barbecue we’ve had, but Sweet Fire BBQ turned out to be a fine place to stop on a hot day, grab some barbecue and a beer and just relax for awhile. 7.5
Value 15.5/20
OG: Our total bill came to just about $45. That’s a pretty good value. 7.5
TDC: I agree, you’ll get a filling meal at a reasonable price. 8.
TOTAL: 72/100
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