I said goodbye Tuesday to Capital Q, a barbecue joint in Chinatown near my office. It closed today, after serving for many years as the only place that produced somewhat reliable Texas-style brisket in the District. The reason for the closing is an old one: The rent’s gotten too high to sustain business in an area that has completely transformed in the 15 years CapQ has been around. The Washington City Paper has a video report on the departure of the restaurant:

I almost always had one of two main dishes at CapQ — the brisket, which on its best days was very good and on its worst days was really forgettable, and a middlin’ pulled pork sandwich that always served as a fallback when the brisket didn’t look good. They also had chicken and ribs, but the portions of those were too enormous for lunch and the ribs could be kind of pricey. I also tried the smoked turkey and pulled beef, and rejected them; they also had a good Texas-style sausage (hard to find in this area) but I preferred the other choices. Finally, I was a fan of the spicy sauce, although most people chose the sweet mild one.

Both Chinatown and barbecue in this area have gotten a lot better since CapQ first opened. A lot of people with Texas ties seem to like Hill Country a few blocks away, although it’s reportedly expensive (I still haven’t been there). Urban BBQ also has its fans and frankly, I still like the ribs at Rocklands, especially the one in upper Georgetown. But CapQ was the convenient place for me, and I had been going there every couple of weeks or so for the last three-plus years.

Naturally, I got brisket with spicy sauce on my final visit. Here it is (well, the last half of it):

Previously: The first half of this statement… | Hokum home