After moving to the Twin Cities, I had a hell of a time finding good bbq. I tried the raved-about boujie spots, with their $15 dollar cocktails, sterile subway-tile interiors, and dangling air plants. And I tried the crusty, standby neighborhood staples that have been around for 30+ years. But nothing could hold a candle to my old flame, Portland’s finest bbq, Matt’s.
So it was – with a little more celebration than would be reasonable – I found Black Market StP, here in Saint Paul.
Black Market is run by Robert Lorch – who supplemented his years working as a professional cook in the trades, pouring cement – and Jill Moeller who is an ICU nurse. They operate out the back of a trailer/smoker they park in the lot of an auto repair shop at the top of the Smith Street bridge [UPDATE: Black Market has moved their location to 120 Plato Blvd W, Saint Paul, MN, 55107]. They’re open only two days a week, Friday and Saturday, from 5-7 in the late spring to early autumn. They’re open only Saturdays during the winter, for obvious reasons.
From my days working at Whole Foods and Starbucks, I’ve developed a no-tolerance policy for chatting up people who are just trying to do their job. But again, I was maybe overly excited to discover highly promising bbq in town. So I got to chatting up Jill and Robert.
They began Black Market as a side hustle which eventually turned into a main hustle. But, unlike other great food carts, they kept Black Market small, simple, and delicious – even as demand for their fabulous meats grew.
This is a rarity, at least from what I saw in Portland all the time, especially during the whole stupid “food cart boom” in which many Portland food carts followed a predictable trajectory:
A food cart would open for business. They’d be scrappy and fun and eager to stand out in a saturated market. They’d offer great food at a great price, and even if they were cash-only, their friendly and fast service would make up for the inconvenience.
Word would spread. Their popularity would grow. The secret would get out and demand would spike.
Eventually, and often sooner rather than later, everything would go south. Their portions would shrink. The food was never as good as when they opened. The wait for lunch would balloon from a five-minute stop to long lines and even longer waits for an order. And their cash-only policy – previously a mild inconvenience – would be exacerbated to frustrating mockery by impatient and even rude service.
I’m late to the Black Market StP game (they opened in earnest in June of 2016). Unlike all those Portland food carts that got lazy and bland and unfun, Black Market’s bbq is still just as fabulous as a young, enthusiastic cart stocked and prepared to surprise and delight.
But more than the exceptional quality of their food is the tight and highly devoted following and community Robert and Jill have built around their small business. It is a true rarity.
This is probably because Robert and Jill are just the greatest people. They certainly were far more patient with me and my many questions than I was with the awful people I encountered at the Whole Foods Bakery or Starbucks. But the community around Black Market StP is proof positive that when businesses hang on to a genuine love of craft, commitment to quality, and dedication to their customers, people will respond.
More than that, it will drive people nuts.
To bring home this point even further, Black Market recently raised their prices and I don’t even give a shit. While I don’t have money to just throw around, I’d much rather pay a couple dollars more to help a great business hang on to their business model and continue to make our lives better for it. It sure is a sight better than paying a premium for a crappy product, crappy service, long waits, and a maddening cash-only policy.
I should note, Black Market does not serve their meat with bbq sauce.
I will not comment on their decision to serve meat without sauce. It is what it is. Honestly, the ongoing quarrel among bbq enthusiasts about whether or not bbq should be served with sauce is exhausting and obnoxious. I’m super over it.
That said, I am a man of condiments. So it is probably even better that Black Market isn’t a brick-and-mortar, so Robert and Jill don’t have to watch me slather sauce all over their meat.
If Jill and Robert find this blog post, I’m sorry. It’s nothing personal. (I was born this way.)
A note about the food itself.
Jill and Robert very generously agreed to let me come and take pictures of their cart and their process. I joined them early last May, on a sunny Friday afternoon, as they were wrapping that day’s pre-orders.
As I was squirreling around, snapping pictures, Robert invited me to get real close with my camera. He brought to my attention a brisket, cutting through the charred slab with a reciprocating blade like it was warm butter. He spread the meat at the cut, and juices plunged forward, running down the side, dark brown, pure flavor.
Black Market offers beef short ribs, baby back ribs, fun one-offs, pulled pork, pork and beans, and my personal favorite, Texas style brisket. The brisket is everything. Dirty, nasty, and delicious. The bark is crispy and faintly sweet and very salty. Just right. And the meat inside is as buttery as you need it to be – fork-cut tender. Just an all-around treat.
I did a final edit on these photos last night, and it was just an absolute nightmare – a couple hours tweaking the shadows, and highlights, and crops of these pictures, many of which were close-ups of this obscenely succulent meat. My stomach was just gnawing away at me the whole time. But the most sultry item I had in the fridge was some leftover ham from Christmas dinner. We had some chips in the cupboard, but nothing that could’ve cut the cake.
A disclaimer about this blog: Robert and Jill didn’t pay me for the blog or the pictures. Though, I should mention, I did score some incredible free bbq for my paltry efforts. But that is only because they wouldn’t let me leave without some kind of trade. And I wasn’t going to argue.
Not only would Jill and Robert not hear of letting me go without some kind of trade, but they’re also helping out local musicians like Trevor McSpadden during the farer months of summer and autumn, providing a COVID-safe venue to play music and reach new audiences. Besides bourbon, I can’t think of anything that pairs better with Texas style bbq, than Trevor McSpadden’s unique blend of honkey-tonk and country & western swing.
Trevor McSpadden & Mary Cutrufello at Black Market StP
You’ll just have to take my word for it, Black Market StP is a rare vision that should be celebrated. They’re bigger than just a food cart, and Saint Paul is all the luckier for them.
Please note, Black Market BBQ has moved their location. They are now located at 120 Plato Blvd W, Saint Paul, MN, 55107.