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[REVIEW]
He’s Somebody Now With the breakout success of Navin’s BBQ, things are going to start happening to Chris Armstrong Written by
CHERYL BAEHR Navin’s BBQ 3559 Arsenal Street, 314-449-1185. Thurs.-Sat. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. (Closed SundayWednesday.)
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ast year, if you would’ve asked Chris Armstrong his plans for his barbecue concept, then called Furlough Joe’s, he would’ve looked at you with a quizzical stare — the whole reason he was doing the project was that he had no plans. Having just gotten furloughed from his job as the Midwest sales manager for a Texas-based brewery, Armstrong was in need of something to do to pass the time and decided to throw himself headfirst into his passion for backyard barbecue. At the time, it seemed like a nice distraction from the real world. It didn’t take long for things to take on a life of their own. Armstrong had the ability to smoke meats to his heart’s content, but he lacked the capacity to eat it all. As the amount he produced grew, he enlisted the help of family, friends and neighbors to make sure the meat didn’t go to waste. To his delight, they were so enamored with his barbecue that they began putting in special requests, then fulledged orders, morphing his ad hoc setup into a more formal arrangement with a weekly menu that consisted of a variety of meats and sides. Calling his operation Furlough Joe’s, Armstrong began crowdsourcing ideas, tweaking recipes and building regular customers until one day it dawned on him: He was basically operating a carry-out restaurant. This past June, Armstrong
Navin’s BBQ melds the best of Kansas City and Texas for a unique — and delicious — barbecue option in St. Louis. | MABEL SUEN
Owner and pitmaster Chris Armstrong may be new to the business, but he’s good. | MABEL SUEN made things o cial. Eschewing the name Furlough Joe’s as a relic of a temporary arrangement, the salesman-turned-pitmaster rebranded himself as Navin’s BBQ — a nod to one of his favorite movies, The Jerk — and set up shop in the former Guerrilla Street Food just off South Grand Boulevard. Without changing the setup or ow of the space, Arm-
strong redecorated the room in a gray, black and red color scheme, emblazoned the wall with a mural of a pig with “STL” across its belly, fired up his smokers and set out to become a bona fide player in the St. Louis barbecue community. Armstrong admits that, at least at first, he was a bit intimidated by that robust barbecue scene. Being the new kid on the block with no
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professional smokehouse experience and little time in the business, he knew it was a bold move to plant his ag in a city awash in great barbecue. However, fueled by passion and determination, he is showing that he is up to the challenge. Navin’s does not adhere to one particular style of barbecue, but rather draws from Armstrong’s experiences growing up in both Texas and Kansas City. The result is a restaurant that takes the pieces he likes from various traditions and melds them into a quintessential smokehouse experience. Brisket, for instance, is subtler than a hardcore Texas style, its bark and smoke gentler. In accordance with his Texas side, the meat is tender, moist and infused with earthy woodsmoke and, as an homage to his KC upbringing, Armstrong serves the dish with a side of sweet and tangy sauce that brightens the meat without covering its deep, beefy avor. Pulled pork is the embodiment of the form, the sweet, smoke-infused meat ecked with bits of caramelized exterior pieces that give it a nice mix of textures. Pulled chicken is a pleasant surprise in
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