On the Market.

Thursday, April 24th starting a 7 p.m. will be The Blues BBQ Co.’s first Bourbon Dinner featuring Knob Creek. Special guest and Whiskey Professor, Bernie Lubbers, will be giving our guests an educational presentation of Knob Creek, as well as personalizing labels for those who bring in their own bottle. The cost is only $95 per ticket and is to include a five course dinner cooked in the featured bourbon, 5 in-house specialty drinks and the presentation by Bernie Lubbers. Seating is limited to 50 guests so call or stop by to reserve your seat today! The phone number is (540) 344-LOVE.

Additionally, Blues BBQ sauces are bottled and ready for sale! They are offering “Blue Carolina,” “Grumpy Yellow,” & “Sneaky Heat.” Pricing is $5 per jar, $9 for 2, or $12 for 3. Bring a little LOVE to your own kitchen!

The lunch specials for Blues BBQ Co. this week are as follows:

Monday, January 28th - Fried Chicken Club-w/ ham, lettuce, tomato, mayo-choice of side, drink $8.95

Tuesday, January 29th - Savannah Style Pulled Pork-choice of side, drink $8.95

Wednesday, January 30th - Chopped Brisket BBQ-choice of side, drink $8.95

Thursday, January 31st - Fried Green Tomato BLT w/provolone-choice of side, drink $8.95

Friday, February 1st - Crab Cake Sandwich w/homemade tartar sauce-choice of side, drink $10.95

Don’t forget, downtown delivery is now free with the purchase of $15 or more.

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You can also catch the following entertainment this week:

Tuesday, January 29th - ACOUSTIC ENDEAVORS (no cover) a fantastic bluegrass band that will
really amaze you!

Thursday, January 31st - GUY”S NIGHT… We all know what ladies night is, but how about a Guy’s
Night!! $2.00 in-house specials, $5.00 appetizers, Action Movies, and great
company…

Friday , February 1st - JACK WAYNE & THE BLUE NOTES (no cover) a group of young Roanoke musicians
that can really play!

Saturday, February 2nd - DYER & ZANNIE (no cover) come check it out…

SUPERBOWL SUNDAY - February 3rd -
Come on down and watch your favorite team on the big screen! There will be
in-house specials and $5.00 appetizers. We will be rooting for the Giants so
anyone wearing Giants attire will receive 10% off of their food purchase.
(Dine-in only)

VALENTINE’S DAY – Thursday, February 14th -
The Blues BBQ Valentine’s Day dinner includes a 5 course meal for $25.00 per
person. Reservations can be made for 5 p.m., 7 p.m., or 9 p.m. MAKE YOUR
RESERVATIONS TODAY!

Adam and I headed out to the new BBQ place, The Blues BBQ Company, Saturday night. We’d been hearing rave reviews, and while I’m not particularly a BBQ fan, my husband is. Lucky for me, there’s not just BBQ on the menu. They also offer starters like Grit Cakes, Fried Mac n Puppies, and Lemon Cajun Shrimp.

The atmosphere of Blues BBQ was really nice. It was very cozy and warm, and the staff was friendly. Adam and I sat at the bar, however, as all the tables were arranged for parties of four or more and I didn’t want to be a table hog as we’d planned on staying a while. The bar, while shiny and new, was apparently built a bit too tall and bar stools had to be special ordered to fit. My toes scraped the bar rail as a result and after a few drinks it seemed like quite a long trip down. But honestly that was the only flaw I really found with the place, and I thought it more humorous than troublesome.

For dinner Adam ordered The Blue’s Pulled Pork - a dry rubbed, slowly smoked pork shoulder using Apple & Mesquite woods, pulled and mixed with a special tangy BBQ sauce and stacked high on a Kaiser roll topped with slaw. The sandwiches are larger than average and Adam really enjoyed this one. BBQ is the specialty here and it only takes a taste to know they’ve hit the nail on the head. I ordered a half rack of Baby Back Ribs - which I don’t really consider BBQ, thank you very much - with a side of fries and collard greens. The ribs were tender, nicely smoked, and perfectly seasoned. The fries, well, they are probably bordering on best in town. They remind me a bit of Steak Escape’s fries as they have skins, but they’re seasoned differently. As for the collard greens - oh my God! - they are the best collard greens on the planet. They’re cooked in fat back and just too tasty to describe. I ordered an additional side of greens after I’d eaten the first side with my meal. That’s how good they were.
I should also mention that several couples had dinner at the table behind us over the course of the night. Two of those couples ordered the Brisket. Both of those couples could not say enough about how fabulous it was. The food rocks. Enough said.

After dinner and drinks we stayed a while to listen to the Jesse Ray Carter Trio. Jesse and his band play every Saturday night starting at 9pm and admission is free. I really enjoyed the tunes, and the rest of the crowd seemed to as well. There was much applause and lots of swaying and quite a bit of Bob Dylan. The restaurant produced a steady stream of business most of the night.

Open four weeks today, The Blues BBQ Company, looks to be a winner. Adam and I enjoyed it so much we ate there again on Sunday for lunch. I got the ribs again. And the collard greens. And the fries. What can say? I’m an addict. And Adam tried the Smoked Brisket Chili. The chili was a big hit, both with Adam and our friend Kyle who ordered it as well. Cheryl, who was also on the Market Sunday, had the Lemon Cajun Shrimp and was very pleased. And then there was the carrot cake. Don’t know how I could forget to mention the carrot cake. All handmade with thick, real, cream cheese icing, the carrot cake was to die for. A gargantuan slice was a mere five dollars and large enough to share. It was extremely moist and extremely edible.

The Blues BBQ Company is located at 107 Market Square and is open everyday from 11am to 2am. Sundays they’re open from 11am to 8pm. Patrick Maggi, the proprietor of Blues BBQ describes his restaurant as the coolest place in town with the best BBQ around. His staff boasts bright red t-shirts that tell you “It’s all about the love.” If you like BBQ, then you’ll love this BBQ. I hope to see you there. For more information on The Blues BBQ Company or for reservations call (540) 344-LOVE. Oh, and don’t forget to ask about the all inclusive, daily lunch specials.

Click here to check out their menu.

Lindsey Nair’s blog - Fridge Magnet - recently had a post on restaurant service. Comments were taken and one reader recommended Martin’s Downtown Bar & Grill as a restaurant with top notch service. So I took that reader’s suggestion and ran with it. Despite my fellow market vendor, Brian, believing it’s really nothing more than a bar that reminds him of a cafeteria - he must be on drugs, truly, though of course he’s never actually EATEN there - they do serve quite a tasty line up for dinner with dishes like Prime Rib, St. Louis Style BBQ Ribs, and Angus Steaks along with starters that include Baked Brie, Portabella Brushetta, and Mini Crab Cakes which are new to the menu. Adam - my geeky, yet gruff hubby - and I took the opportunity to eat at Martin’s last night.

Our dinner started with a fabulous server named Suzi, who I will give credit right off for earning every penny of her tip. She was not only courteous and attentive, but had that great knack for predicting our needs beforehand - a gift that too many servers seem to lack nowadays. We promptly ordered the Baked Brie to wet our appetite. The Brie was delicious and came with an assortment of fruit, bread, and marinara sauce topped with parmesan. It’s definitely worth having if you decide to stop in yourself. Adam and I cleaned up the plate on this dish.

As for the actual meal, I ordered a Caesar Salad and a half rack of the St. Louis Style Ribs with Tangy Carolina BBQ Sauce. After having received some soggy, just plain bad salads from other restaurants, I was truly impressed with Martin’s Caesar Salad. The lettuce was nice and crisp, the croutons were good, and there was just the right amount dressing that not only tasted great, but was obviously made with real anchovies. And the ribs? Oh my god. Wonderful. They were oh so tender and very tasty - some of the best I’ve had in a very long time. The only other ribs in the area that I know of that come close are those at Brambleton Deli. And even then, there’s no comparison.

Adam ordered the Western Burger for his dinner. Which is kind of funny as our friends Jake and Lisa from our Wii nights showed up at Martin’s not five minutes after we did, and Jake ordered the Western Burger as well. Both Adam and Jake ordered a medium burger, and both Adam and Jake got a medium cooked burger. Which personally for us is a miracle as it seems no matter where Adam goes the burger is never cooked medium despite what he asked for. Also, coincidentally, Jake and Adam considered the new Bourbon Glazed Angus NY Strip. As Adam’s burger was cooked to perfection, we’re going back so he can try the Strip next go round. Anyhow, the Western was stacked with what looked to be between 1/3lb. and 1/2lb. of meat along with smoked bacon, cheddar, and a jumbo fried onion Ring that held in the BBQ sauce. Adam could barely get his mouth around it, and ended up finishing most of it with a fork. He couldn’t even eat the whole thing as he amazingly ran out of room in that stomach of his. He was also pleased with the fries as they were not only tasty, but crisp, and everything came straight out of the kitchen nice and piping hot.

For dessert, Lisa, at her table a few spots up, enjoyed the Chocolate Lava which she described as super rich and definitely the “decadent” dessert Martin’s describes it as. Adam and I enjoyed after dinner Martinis. I had a Godiva Martini made with Godiva Chocolate Liquors, and Adam gave the Wild Berry Martini which sort of shocked me. He’s normally a beer man and comes across as very gruff and man-like, yet he completely fell for this *cough* girly, blue drink. *snicker.* And geez, how could a Godiva Martini not rock my world? Even better, they weren’t stingy with the alcohol.

Anyhow, we loved the food and we loved the service. Our bill was under $50 and we left full and happy. What’s more, Martin’s has officially replaced 202 Market as my favorite all time restaurant. So we just have to go back now and try everything else on the menu.

Martin’s, by the way, also serves lunch. I read on their website that they will deliver if you work downtown so guess what I’m having for lunch this coming week! They are located at 431 1st behind the Texas Tavern at the corner of Luck and 1st, and you can call (540) 985-6278 for reservations or more information. Hope to see you there!