Dish: 7-ounce or 10-ounce tri-tip served with two signature sides ($16.95/$18.95)
Where: Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill, 6797 Springfield Mall, Springfield
Taste: When you think of barbecue, the trinity of brisket, pulled pork and ribs come to mind. In California, however, where Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill is headquartered, tri-trip is part of the conversation. After one bite, you’ll see why. The triangular cut of meat from the sirloin is largely considered a California obsession, though states like Texas also serve it.
What Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill does differently is go beyond simply grilling it like any other steak. Rather, it’s slow-roasted overnight with its fat cap still on, sealing in flavor, before it gets grilled over hickory. “It’s a very forgiving cut of meat, so it’s just a matter of low and slow,” says the company’s culinary director, Alex Benes. The result is a supremely tender portion of lean meat that eschews the typical guilt felt when consuming large amounts of brisket or other barbecue meat. Though once you add sides like peanut coleslaw and “Lauren’s Favorite Mac & Cheese,” all bets are off. Try it with the chipotle-cherry BBQ for a sweet and spicy kick.
Benes, who prefers the title “Sultan of Smoke,” has been making trips to Springfield since the restaurant’s opening in June. It’s the first one outside of California. The D.C. metro area is far from foreign to Benes, who graduated from American University (BA and MA) and went on to work at the local affiliate of ABC News, and later NBC, for 30 years. He braved culinary school before moving on to his encore career in a chef’s coat. His “Sultan of Smoke” title seems apropos given he beat out the competition at the BBQ Bash, a part of October’s Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show. Benes won for his pulled pork and for his brisket. Here’s hoping he brings the tri-tip next year.
Laura Hayes hails from Philly (but don’t hold it against her). She’s been covering the local dining scene for three years, and her work has been published in the Washington Post, Food Network, Washington City Paper, Arlington Magazine and more. Having lived in Japan for two years, she finds herself in a constant state of craving sushi. Laura always orders her favorite savory dish again for dessert and keeps her gut in check through lots of CrossFit classes.
