Blue Tractor BBQ and Brewery can be found on East Washington at Fourth Ave. in Ann Arbor.
We decided to stop in here on a brisk March evening after taking in a play at the
Performance Network Theatre which is just a block or so away. This was my first visit to Blue Tractor so this write-up won't be too deep. These are just my first impressions.
The decor here was very rich and well suited to a joint serving up some lip smackin' barbecue. Wood is everywhere. The floors are wood and the walls are constructed of huge deep mahogany colored wooden beams.
The food looked pretty interesting. There were a number of appetizers that are fairly common, but we tried a couple that aren't quite that easy to find. Fried Pickle Chips ($6.95) and half a dozen of their Green Chile Cheddar Corn Muffins ($1.95 but were also available singly) seemed like they would hit the spot.
The Pickle Chips were served with a buttermilk lime dip that was quite tasty, but was a little too thin for my preference. The portion size was huge. While the chips had a great flavor, especially with the lime dip, we both felt that we would have enjoyed them more if the pickles were sliced thicker. Here they were sliced very thin, similar to a potato chip, and then battered and fried. This made the end result a little chewy.
The muffins were well made, but I didn't really detect much of the cheddar. There was just a hint of heat from the chiles which I found to be well balanced, but I would imagine some people might desire a little more heat. There was also a wonderful smoky flavor to these that I thought really added a nice element to the mix. The chive butter that was served along with them helped to intensify the flavors, but was a little difficult to spread without crumbling the muffins.
After the appetizers, we added a pair of sandwiches. I ordered the Cowboy Rueben ($9.95), while my companion ordered the Low Country BLT with sweet potato fries.
The Cowboy Rueben is a BBQ twist on the old deli favorite. Replacing the corned beef brisket here is it's un-corned cousin that has instead been smoked. The sauerkraut is replaced with cole slaw (ala the Rachel), pepper jack in lieu of swiss, and finally the Russian dressing gets bumped by a tomato ranch. Everything sounded perfect, but I couldn't help but feel that the sandwich was missing something. A Rueben is a wonderfully tasty sandwich with a lot going on and combining together to make your taste buds crave more. I did try it both with and without the sauce, and while I did like the sauce, I preferred to dip my fries in it. Actually, I think a good BBQ sauce would have given it the kick it needed. I'll try that next time.
The thinly sliced house made bread and butter pickles were also very good and might have been good on the sandwich as well. I just gobbled them up right out of the cup too quick I suppose.
My friend also remarked that her BLT seemed to be missing something, but couldn't put her finger on just what it was.
There is also plenty of variety here with a number of tasty sounding burgers for $9-10 and entrees running from $11.95 to $16.95 for Smoked BBQ Duck. The Ribs looked very tasty and the group sitting behind me were raving about them. There are also daily specials, and on this day they had fish tacos. We inquired about what fish was used and were told that it was walleye, which really sounded interesting rather than the more typical tilapia or mahi mahi, but with a price tag of $17, I took a pass.
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| Clockwise from the top: Brown, Sweetwater's Java Stout, Pilsner, IPA, and Bock |
Having been my first visit, I decided to get a sampling of what they had to offer in the beer department. The five beer sampler set me back $5.95 and was served appropriately enough in a muffin tin. The waitress got briefly confused when I ordered it, mumbling something about five or six and something else I couldn't quite understand. Possibly depending on what they have available on tap the number of beers in the sampler could be five or six? Not sure. This one came with five.
Of the five, the Pilsner was my favorite. It was somewhat similar to the standard American mass produced product, but with one major difference -- flavor. It was a clear straw colored brew with a nice delicate hop flavor and aroma. I found it to be very tasty and very drinkable. Great session beer.
The IPA was fairly hoppy and went well with the Pickle Chips. The Bock paired nicely with my Rueben and had a bit of an alcohol bite.
Blue Tractor does a good job of catering to the average college student, old timers looking for some nostalgia, or the curious George out there with it's "Retro Beers" section of the menu. Here you will have the opportunity to order up an icy cold 12oz. can of PBR, Stroh's, Blatz, Schlitz, Miller High Life, or Carling Black Label for two and a half bucks. I saw more than one table of 20 somethings doing a retro tour, ordering multiple different selections. I'm sure the house brewed Pilsner beats all of them hands down, but it's interesting to see what ol' Granddad thought was some darn fine beer. Hell, I have an uncle who drinks Miller High Life almost exclusively.
I need to make a few more visits to Blue Tractor before I pass my totally subjective, biased, and completely amateur opinion. While I wasn't overly impressed, great potential exists here.
