ZZQ Texas Craft Barbecue, Richmond, Virginia

On Friday of the wedding weekend, Nancy and I drove down to 3201 West Moore Street in the Scott’s Addition neighborhood of Richmond. Our goal, or at least my goal, was lunch at ZZQ. Nancy is a real trooper.

I’ve posted on ZZQ twice already, once in the depths of the COVID lockdowns after my first visit, when I was very impressed by just about everything. My second visit involved a recheck of the brisket, which is at worst one of the very best versions outside of Texas, and indeed better than some well known Texas spots.

I waited until Friday, our second day in Richmond, to visit ZZQ — you’ll remember we ate at Perly’s. Friday is pastrami day at ZZQ, and I was eager to try theirs. I’ve had surprisingly good luck with the pastrami at every barbecue place at which I’ve tried it, including Silver and Sons, 2fifty, Redemption, and HammerDown. The hot smoke and the attention that barbecue places give the smoking process add flavor and tenderness.

Nancy and I entered ZZQ and got in line. You order meat first, and it is carved to order. Next you move down the line adding sides and then desserts and beverages. Both of our orders wound up on the same tray.

Let’s take things in stages. I ordered a deconstructed pastrami sandwich. The sandwich normally is topped by sauerkraut and ZZQ’s own “giddy-up sauce,” which is white. I asked for the sauerkraut and the sauce on the side so that I could focus on the pastrami with minimal distraction. I received the pastrami sandwich and here it is.

Let’s get an aerial view.

The pastrami had a very spicy pepper bark and good seasoning throughout. The was a genuine pastrami cooked with hot smoke by people who really, really know how to cook brisket. It was as tender as young love and full of the richness and meaty flavor enhanced by oak smoke. ZZQ again does a fantastic job.

Nancy ordered a quarter pound of smoked turkey. Let’s look at it again.

Nancy volunteered that “This might be the best turkey I’ve ever had in a barbecue place” — and Nancy has had turkey in more barbecue places than you can imagine. Look how moist that breast meat is! This is exceptional. I guess that the “in a barbecue place” qualifier was a bow to Greenberg Smoked Turkey.

Let’s also take a closer look at the sides. They are, clockwise from bottom left, the giddy-up sauce and sauerkraut, Sweet Tea Beets, Terlingua Cole Slaw, Orange’s Texas Caviar, and Roasted Sweet Potatoes.

The giddy-up sauce had a somewhat tart, vinegary taste, and the sauerkraut was a medium tart variety. I did add some of each to a bite of the pastrami, and it worked well. Those terrified that the white color of the sauce indicated mayonnaise can rest easy. It had a completely different flavor profile, one not that different from mustard.

The beet salad was terrific. The beets are cooked in sweetened chamomile tea and cinnamon (I’m not sure at what point in the process that’s added) and served chilled. It works, oh, how it works. I’m not particularly a fan of beets, but I’m a big fan of this dish. I may even try chamomile tea some day.

I also chose the Terlingua Coleslaw, which I ordered in the absence of the maque choux that I’d loved on my second visit. The slaw includes diced apple along with purple cabbage, carrots, and spring onions. The dressing is sweeter than I prefer, so I wasn’t a fan, but the ingredients were all fresh.

Nancy chose the sweet potatoes, and immediately mentioned that they had a lot of sugar. I was surprised that she was surprised. Aren’t sweet potatoes really vehicles for sugar and butter, and, in this excellent recipe, bourbon? In the South, where Nancy has eaten often, they’re listed as a vegetable in the same spirit that banana pudding and cobbler are vegetables. Nancy ate it all.

Nancy also chose the Texas Caviar, another dish common throughout the South and bearing the name of the applicable state. It’s a bean salad, and always a good order. Here it leaned toward black beans, but in the Deep South there usually are some black eye peas.

This was another successful meal. I loved the pastrami. There’s nothing like expertise in hot smoking. Hurry on down to ZZQ on a Friday (go early) and try some yourself. And if any of your local barbecue places offer pastrami, please let me know.

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