Smoke em if you've got 'em

Barbecues usually makes me think of rainy Bank Holidays, burnt raw sausages and lots of screaming children. In the USA though, it's been elevated to an art form and one that Andre Blais was kind enough to import to the UK last year.

Bodeans BBQ now has 4 branches in London and a rainy day provided a flimsy enough excuse to try out their Soho branch. Twelve hour slow smoke barbecued pulled pork stirred into a sweet savoury BBQ sauce slathered on a decent bun with some generous chunky fries and a soda. The smoky smells drift across the diner (think Aretha Franklins soul food hangout in the Blues Brothers), orders are screamed out when the baskets hit the pass and the Tex-Mex atmosphere is rounded off with screens streaming Baseball and American Football.

If you can't stand the heat, a basement restaurant offers table service instead and whilst vegetarian options are scant, you'd imagine the smells and baskets of meaty snacks would put a veggie off before they got as far as the only offering on the menu, which is a bit of a mix. It includes New England shrimp, Kansas city burnt ends and Deep Southern Boston Butt but the atmosphere is enjoyable, pure Americana and they've even allowed a burrito to slip over the border. I once vowed I would never go to a fast food joint again but if they were all like this, I'd be the first to super size.