Best Quality Q

When you walk into the B Resort in Lake Buena Vista, you wouldn’t expect that a BBQ restaurant would be in the mix of the hotel’s modern decor. The sleek white lobby with contemporary furnishings would suggest a fine dining restaurant instead. But American Q offers the perfect meld of fine dining, with its thoughtfully crafted kitchen and bar menus, and southern hospitality found at any casual BBQ joint.

Exposed brick, industrial ceilings and a rustic feel are part of the American Q experience, along with flavors from well-known BBQ regions across the United States and Central America. The menu was curated by Executive Chef Justin Leo, who brings an impressive resume, with the likes of Coronado Springs Resort and Bonnet Creek Resort, with him into the American Q kitchen.

The handcrafted bar offerings are a tasty way to start a meal. Familiar cocktails like the Moscow Mule, a mix of Russian Standard vodka, pickled ginger juice and ginger beer, are available along with unique offerings like the Carribbean Passion Picante. This cocktail gives a kick with Beluga vodka, cinnamon simple syrup, chili sauce, and mango and passion fruit purees. Bar bites like the Swine Candy ($4), smoked bacon roasted with molasses and spices; House Made Tator Tots ($3.50) with bacon salt and ketchup made in-house; and Deviled Crab Stuffed Eggs ($5.50) with blue crab and remoulade make for the perfect bite to enjoy along with a cocktail.

While you have the option to order off of the a la carte menu, don’t pass up the opportunity to dig in to the flatbed buffet ($34.95 for adults, $10 for kids 4’7″ and under). Served from the back of a cherry red ’51 Ford pickup truck, the list of more than 20 items includes creamy mac and cheese, a baked potato and sweet potato bar, vine ripened Florida tomatoes and roasted “in-husk” corn on the cob. Make the corn your own with accompaniments like sweet cream butter, garlic-lemon salt, smoked salt, lime juice or crumbled cotija cheese.

The flatbed buffet is much more than the endless trips to the truck for side dishes. The star is the parade of meats – nine different carvings to be exact – presented tableside by cowboy and cowgirl carvers. The rodizio-style feast is reminiscent of Brazilian churascaria with an Americana flare. Choices of meat include picanha of beef, pork shoulder with spiced onions, bacon wrapped boneless chicken thighs and house made sausages. Leo uses only hormone-free, grass-fed beef and pork, and free-range chicken on the menu. Meats are smoked using Pecan wood from Northern Florida and Southern Georgia. The smoking process begins at 4:30 a.m. each morning to ensure doneness by dinnertime, and there is absolutely no re-heating of meat in the American Q kitchen.

To accompany the delicious meats, Leo prepares house made sauces, which include Kansas City, Carolina and Texas Mustard, each representing flavors from the region’s BBQ, along with the sweet and spicy Mango Heat, which brings a taste of Florida onto the BBQ scene.

If you prefer to go the a la carte route, the same great BBQ flavors are presented there as well. The Texas Bark Beef Ribs ($23) are smoked for six hours and served with house slaw and garlic Texas toast. For a different taste of the south, try the Mississippi Fried Catfish & Hushpuppies ($19), which are served with a creole mustard aioli, or the Southern Fried Chicken & Buttermilk Biscuits ($17) with sweet potato salad.

End your meal with a taste of the S’mores Pie ($6). The rich dessert layers crispy graham crackers with gooey flourless chocolate cake and toasted marshmallows. It’s a decadent and familiar southern flavor. The Berry Cobbler ($6) with vanilla ice cream and Croissant Bread Pudding ($6) with apple compote can also satisfy any sweet tooth.

So when you get a hankering for BBQ, step outside of the local area and into the tourism world for a taste of BBQ that you won’t soon forget.