TASTE • DINE Donna and Bryan Dooley run Bryan’s Black Mountain Barbecue in Cave Creek with their family. (Photo by Pablo Robles)
Arizona blues legend Chuck Hall signed a guitar that hangs on a wall Bryan’s Black Mountain Barbecue in Cave Creek. Chef/owner Bryan Dooley and Hall are good friends. (Photo by Pablo Robles)
‘Guests are Not Just a Number’ Bryan’s Barbecue wins awards for atmosphere and good food By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
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ook around the airy and bright interior of Bryan’s Black Mountain Barbecue, and the wood walls are covered with awards from the eatery’s 11 years in Cave Creek. Owner/chef Bryan Dooley chalks it up to good food and the staff ’s caring nature. “We’ve made a conscious effort in the beginning to make sure that we take people’s names,” Dooley says. “Guests are not just a number. We want to get to know everybody by name here. We’re a small town. We like to be part of the community. Donna and I have worked really hard to create an atmosphere—especially one that was really welcoming.” Dooley’s talents shine on the limited
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Bryan’s Black Mountain
Barbecue is tucked in Las menu, which is offered in a cafeteriaTiendas in Cave Creek. style setup. (Photo by Pablo Robles) Sandwiches ($9.50 to $13.50)— filled with a quarter pound of pulled pork, beef brisket, pulled chicken or “I would say our ribs are our signature “pulled” squash—are served on a toasted bun dish,” Dooley says. “We have a small menu on with a choice of one 6-ounce side. purpose so we can really just concentrate on Plates and combos are available as well with just the barbecue. a half-barbecue chicken ($14.95), half-pound “We are a traditional barbecue restaurant. beef brisket ($18.50), two-meat combo I’m the chef, but we try to have fun, with little ($17.95), rib and meat combo ($17.95), pork twists and turns on our menu. But if I had to ribs half or full slab ($17.95 or $26.95).These choose one signature dish, it would be our come with a choice of two sides—baked potato ribs, which were recently chosen as best ribs in salad, olive coleslaw, six-pack cowboy beans, Arizona by the Food Network.” French fries or black-eye brisket chili. On special this summer at Bryan’s Black Barbecue chicken is available as a whole Mountain Barbecue is a summer tomato or half, individually, for $15.95; pork ribs are sandwich, which Dooley says is popular for a whole or half slab, $24.95 or $15.95. meat-based barbecue restaurant. Pulled pork, beef brisket and pulled chicken “It has a huge cult following,” he says. “That’s ($16.95 to $17.95) are available by the pound kind of a fun thing.” as well. A Culinary Institute of America graduate, Everything is homemade, and the recipes are Dooley was inspired to open a barbecue Dooley’s original recipes. restaurant by his grandfather. He remembers
AUGUST 2020 | SEPTEMBER 2020 NORTHVALLEYMAGAZINE.COM
