Kinfolk's BBQ, Ft Walton Beach, Florida

Most visitors to the Emerald Coast will never find Kinfolk's, and that is a good thing. Most visitors will never get more than a mile from the beach, and that is also a good thing. There are plenty of tourist joints to take your money and serve you up tourist food. You must have a neutral zone for sanity's sake. A sort of tourist "no fly zone". Of course, you have the occasional interloper, and they are dealt with on a case by case basis (no one will look at you twice, honestly).

So now you are asking, Mark, how do I find Kinfolk's BBQ? Here it is: go north from 98 on either Eglin or Beal Parkways. Turn right or left on Racetrack road (paved in 1977) and start looking for the smoke rolling out onto the road. If the smoke smells like hickory, you found it. It is on the south side of Racetrack road, roughly mid way between Beal and Eglin. If it smells like tar, that could be road repairs. If so, Ask the tar guys, they can tell you where Kinfolk's is located.

The ambience: You know it is a good BBQ joint, his store shares a strip mall with a guy who sells old appliances, as well as a laundromat. Kinfolk's is decked as far as good BBQ joints go. The tables are old, with little character. The chairs are VFW rejects. The ceiling tiles, dingy, the floor, linoleum. The food is served on generic Chinet. There is little evidence of the fire that burned half the joint up a couple of years ago now (how does the insurance company insure a building in which they build an open fire?). The facilities, are clean, however. You can eat here.

The Pit: an open pit style, definitely North Carolina. Always someone tending the bricked pit, always with a garden hose/nozzle in hand. There is always a bunch of meat in there, I'd say at least 100 lbs. at a time.

The Wood: I'm still trying to find out where this guy gets his great quality semi-green hickory. He aint tellin'. He's always got a pile streetside that I must stop and admire.

The Menu: Pork, Chicken, Beef, in that order. My advice; eat pigs. Chopped or sliced, I like the sliced (which equates to chunked). The sides are coleslaw, fries, Brunswick stew, rolls or bread. The Brunswick stew is awesome, but they are stingy with it. They seem to be more stingy with the stew than they are with the BBQ. No matter the meat you buy, they slather it with a little bit of sauce (I will cover sauces here any second). The coleslaw is always very good. I don't think they offer beans.

Sauces: Now, we all now that the North Carolinians (east/west) will fire cannonballs at one another concerning which BBQ sauce is the correct one (mustard or vinegar base). Fortunately at Kinfolk's, you can sample both. The house sauce is mustard based (very awesome), the hot sauce is vinegar (and it is not that hot, but it is very good). I like to mix them up, an act of treason in North Cackalacky, but I, then again, am not from up there.

Tea: The tea is excellent. Not too sweet, and they bring you a pitcher so you don't run out. The tea here is very good, and the glasses are nice and large.

Prices: This is not one of them BBQ joints that all of the sudden becomes the place to eat of the moneyed set. That is good, because what usually goes along with that is a price hike. You can eat a BBQ plate and have a glass of tea with a tip for less than eight dollars at Kinfolk's. A plate of Kinfolk's is a good bargain, you can dine here for a buck or two more than McDonalds.

Kinfolk's attracts everyone for its great menu and value. Many times you will see military guys in there eating next to the power company guys who are sitting next to the Real estate guys who are shooting their straw sheaths at the government contractor guys.

If you are in Ft. Walton, stop by Kinfolk's for some great eating.



Recommended: Yes