Counter persons Lindsay, Jordan and Primitive Cuisine owner Kevin Reichert
I was sent a message from Samantha Mccallum-Reichert who together with her husband Kevin own Primitive Cuisine a new BBQ restaurant in Trenton, Ontario Canada which is home to one of Canada’s Air Force bases about 2 hours East of Toronto. Samantha contacted me through Facebook and invited me to visit their BBQ Joint that opened just after Canadian Thanksgiving.
It just so happened that the next week I was driving to Belleville just east of Trenton for business so on my way back dropped in to give them a try.
As I sat down and looked around I found the restaurant had a nice almost a diner kind of feel to it with nice all wood tables and chairs in a light pine. It was clean and simple, with all the menu handwritten on chalk boards and at the table a simple B&W menu on 8.5×11 plain white paper in a menu sleeve. Very easy to read unlike some other BBQ menus that look artistic but you get lost on the page. This menu was well laid out.
It was about 3pm so I had arrived between Lunch and Dinner, there was one other table with people eating.
I did not get an exact count but I would say that there is seating for about 30 people.
Both Samantha and Kieth were working when I arrived and we had a good chat. Right away I had the impression that they were down to earth nice people that liked to interact with their guests, which they did do with everyone that came in while I was there.
As with any of my pics, click to see in full size
I ordered a sampler plate which included some Brisket, Pulled Pork and some Pulled Chicken along with sides of Baked Beans Macaroni & Cheese along with some Slaw
At about this point Samantha was relieved by their counter help Lindsay and Jordan and in fact it was Jordan’s first day on the job. Both were super friendly.
It was a pity that Samantha was not in the building when I took pictures of the staff, bad timing on my part.
The Pork and the chicken were wonderfully tender and moist, the sauce was a Kansas City style with some Maple flavour that really did work well together.
Primitive Cuisine’s Brisket was amazing, the bark was great and it was done Memphis Style.
The Fries are homemade and from local farmers along with most of the items in the joint, he believes in supporting local producers and paying a fair market value for them.
Taste wise I can see that that is the way to go, Fantastic Fries!
I also was given a piece of corn bread which is a BBQ favorite , and it did not disappoint, fluffy and golden yellow, no grainy taste and light and moist almost like pound cake, wonderful!
I found the beans very tasty with some pulled pork added and again you could taste the maple in it, really smooth!
The Slaw was decent nothing out of the ordinary there.
The Mac & Cheese was delicious and by the time I had finished the sampler plate I was quite satisfied and content.
While having my meal others were walking into the restaurant and I thought it was great when one person commented upon entering “Wow it smells great in here!”
I only had water with my meal but I was impressed that in the cooler they had Pop Shoppe, Boylan’s and Jones Soda’s I like when BBQ joints have drinks that are not available everywhere. just like in the south where Cheerwine is so popular, (which reminds me when I go back to NC in January I have to bring back a few cases of the Cheerwine!)
After eating I had a great discussion with the Owner Kevin. and here are some of the things I learned.
- Kevin worked for Nortel and trained in Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina which gave him an introduction to BBQ.
- He and his dad built a smoker from two 200 lb. propane tanks that were discarded during a renovation. Nicknamed “The Beast”
- Before Kevin turned the place into a BBQ Joint it was a Fish & Chips place.
- Kevin uses a 100lb capacity Fast Eddy in the restaurant but also cooks a lot of the meat on his home made smoker back at the house.
- They are hoping to have a trailer doing BBQ down in Prince Edward County in the summer.
Not food related but one other thing I liked was that the art on the walls were originals by local artists and they could be bought!
I believe that Kevin & Samantha have the greatest of attitudes and sense of community that will endear them to their customers., they are the only BBQ Joint in town and from the enjoyment I saw on the peoples faces that were enjoying real BBQ I do think that Primitive Cuisine will make it big in Trenton.
The closest BBQ to them would be in Belleville which has the Smokehouse Blues along with The Bull & The Boar of which I liked the Smokehouse Blues but I did not enjoy the BBQ at The Bull & The Boar
I travel to the Belleville/Trenton area about once a month I know this is one BBQ Joint that I will visit again.
Contact information….
Address - 178 Dundas Street East, Trenton, ON K8V 1L6
Telephone -613-392-4BBQ (4227)
Website (Facebook Page) - http://primitivecuisine.ca
e-mail kevin@primitivecuisine.ca
Bacon
