Lunch #11: Asia Bar-B-Que, Seattle International District

The core MSG150 crew was joined today by three other lunchers as we headed out for an unknown Asian BBQ restaurant we had passed numerous times but had paid little mind. We arrived at the aptly named Asia Bar-B-Que after a short cold walk up Jackson, admired the meat hanging in the window, and then headed in.

Asia Bar-B-Que, Seattle
Address: 655 S Jackson St, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: BBQ, Vietnamese
Average rating: 3.2 chopsticks
Lunch date: 12/11/2007 @ 11:50:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 2 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 45 minutes
Chopstix quality: Sliverful Wood
Do they use MSG?: Yes, only a little.
Where is the owner/chef from?: Vietnamese born of Chinese ancestry
Number of tables: 4
Number of occupied tables: 1 (25%)
Number of business lunch tables: 0 (0%)
Number of "local" tables: 1 (100%)
Healthcode Score: 30
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Mixed Pork Bahn Mi, BBQ Duck - $2.75 + $3.00
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Geary's Review

Asia Bar-B-Que has a variety of BBQ and roasted meats plus some other standards. The typical lunch fare seems to be the "Lunch Box" which is huge and includes fried rice, chow mein, a standard Chinese dish, and a BBQ'ed meat choice. On spotting the sides and other dishes available in the warming trays, I opted for a BBQ'ed only lunch. Because of their Vietnamese roots, they also offer traditional Bahn Mi sandwiches which I have a soft spot for.

They offer two flavors of Bahn Mi, the BBQ pork and the roasted pork. I choose a combination of the two. The meat was delicious but the sandwich was sparse on the other typical Bahn Mi fixings. The roasted pork, while maybe a bit fatty for some, was amazing. The meat was tender and flavorful and the skin had a very satisfying crunch. The BBQ pork was also tender, but a bit salty. I couldn't resist, so I also ordered a small side of BBQ duck and rice. The duck was also very good and also a little salty.

If you stick with the BBQ here you won't go wrong.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Steamed Rice, BBQ Pork, Duck - $5.65
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Emmett's Review

After Maxang, Asia Barbeque was a special treat! The space is open, the barbequed duck and pork hangs in the window for all to see. The owner-operators are friendly and polite. I'm wondering how long the meat will hang there before being used for something else? Will we get fed week old meat? The adventure begins.

I ordered last this time, letting my brave cohorts order first. They grab the choice down from the hook, bring out this giant cleaver, and cleave the meat into little pieces, and serve it over your choice of white rice, fried rice, or chow mein. After yesterday's disappointing fried rice, I went with steamed, and got the BBQ Pork and Duck. It was tasty. The pork was flavorful, had a nice spice too it. The duck itself was cold, but fatty and good. I would have preferred if they warmed it up a bit.

For meat and rice, this place is not a bad option. I would consider coming here again to get a meat fix.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Chow Mein, Kung Pao Chicken, BBQ Pork - $6.00
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Adam's Review

What I found coolest about this place: the guy that was cutting my BBQ pork chunks was using (what seemed like) a novelty-sized meat cleaver dangerously close to his cleavable fingertips.

This place is light-years better than Maxang, and I'm glad we have that place "in the books" and that we'll never have to go back. Although, I feel kind of bad even mentioning these two restaurants in the same blog post.

The food:

Chow mein: Standard. I had the lady behind the deli-counter pour some of their BBQ sauce onto my noodles (the lunch was served in the awesomely-insulating styrofoam to-go box). This may have been a mistake because the BBQ sauce ended up being very salty.
Kung Pao Chicken: Standard. Although it seemed to be missing the tale-tell spicy red peppers (you know, the ones that make you hiccup if you eat one).
BBQ Pork: This should be one of this places specialties. This is definitely a meat-straunt: there are roasted fowl and other meats hanging in the window of this joint. Anyways, the BBQ Pork was definitely good, but saltier than normal. Other than the saltiness, I'm going to venture and say: This is the best BBQ pork I've ever had

Decent prices. Friendly owner. Delicious BBQ pork. Standard Chinese.

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: Fried Rice, BBQ Duck, Vegies - $6.00
Rating: 3 Chopsticks

Michael's Review

Street Food. Stalls, shacks, and taco trucks. They are no where to be found in Seattle. Is it the rain? Really cheap rent? Or just our thinly disguised overly conservative up tight attitudes? I bet it's those organic food crunching hippy liberal zoning people that are keeping us from our god given right to good BBQ.

Until the revolution when we can line them up against the wall we have places like Asia Bar-B-Que. God bless the glory that is sodium and nitrate infused pink barbequed pig flesh. It makes me hungry just thinking about it.

When you want your meat-on-a-stick and you don't feel like dealing with the hassle of waiters, menus, and waiting for your food you find a place like this. Point at a carcass in the window, watch as they chop it up, and apply the greasy goodness directly to your arteries. Fuck a bunch of sitting around and wasting time. This is the bleak grimy city and I'm fighting a two front war with my intestines and my heart. More greasy duck please.