Sam Hickman
We originally left the house with two potential destinations for dinner in mind, Moe’s BBQ and a new vegetarian place nearby. Am I ever happy we went with Moe’s BBQ. At time of review it is 4.5 stars with around 750 reviews. In Ottawa this is a good sign.
Admittedly this is my first experience with Halal barbecue, and definitely won’t be my last.
We walked in and were greeted with a restaurant that had some smoke lingering in the air. I turned to my wife and said “this is legit”. It turns out there was an issue in the kitchen earlier in the day resulting in the exhaust fan not working at full speed. The options were shut down for the night, or put up with a little smoke. I’m happy Moe opened as I liked the atmosphere it created. From the pics I’ve seen can tell this was a unique experience. It was 8pm on a Saturday and the place was packed. We sat by the door, which we didn’t mind, but Moe apologized for. It is clear he is customer focused as he wanted us to have the best experience. Even if it is the worst table in the restaurant it was still great. As we would find its less about the table and all about the delicious food.
Every barbecue place has their own sauce which kind of defines them. Moe’s bbq sauce is made in house and is delicious. I’m not a fan of overly sweet BBQ sauces so the mild sweetness of Moe’s recipe is perfect for my taste buds. I had to request a few extra servings as it was so good. I could tell is made regularly as it wasn’t vinegary as many in house sauces that sit for too long become.
We ordered the Sample Platter and beef back ribs. For sides we had corn bread, mac and cheese, beans, and coleslaw. As it is a halal barbecue restaurant there isn’t any pork on the menu. I didn’t miss the pork with one exception, the beans.
The sample platter was great. Introduced us to why Moe was about. The meats were beautifully cooked. The pulled beef and chicken were perfectly moist. The brisket was the weakest point as it was a little drier than I would have liked, but I’m getting a bit picky on that one. The mac and cheese was perfect, just the way I like it. Macaronis were slightly al dente, cheese was creamy. Top marks for mac and cheese. I saw a review comment on it being too rich, which is complete nonsense. Mac and cheese at a BBQ is all about comfort food. It’s supposed to be rich!
Coleslaw was also great and perfect recipe for BBQ place. It seemed fresh made which was appreciated. When I asked I was told it was fresh made daily, sometimes multiple times. Beans were a bit runnier than I prefer, but spiced well. As I mentioned before the beans were the only thing where I missed pork. Moe uses kidney beans, which while bigger than the navy beans I was expecting, are quite acceptable in BBQ.
Like BBQ sauce, corn bread is something unique to restaurants, families, neighborhoods, etc. I tend to prefer a dryer more granular corn bread over a more glutenous form. That said, the person I was with said I was crazy and loved Moe’s take. I would definitely order the corn bread again.
Now for the beef ribs. I was blown away. I was not expecting much from them as anyone with experience with beef ribs will tell you they can be tough. I can tell preparing them is a multi step process which results in a Smokey, tender, flavorfully delicious rack of ribs. I will go back for them alone... so good!
It seems in Ottawa if a restaurant is going to be halal the only option is shawarma. Moe’s bucks this trend and I couldn’t be happier to have found it. I will quickly become a regular. There are a few things that indicate it is still new (a little over 1 year old as of writing this), but those extremely minor and aren’t even worth mentioning as they will be quickly resolved with time and experience.
A solid 5 star barbecue experience that I know will continue to get better with time. Relaxed atmosphere, friendly and courteous owner/operator, great selection of drinks. Great for a family dinner, date, dinner with friends. I will be back!
Celiac friendly
