August 14-20, 2003

food

Jerky Boy

by Alex Richmond

Bob and Barbara’s is the home of many classic Philadelphia bar staples. From house band Nate Wiley and the Crowd Pleasers to being the home of the special (a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon and a shot of Jim Beam for just $3), they manage to keep things feeling homey and traditional, all of the time.

Now, get ready for a new classic. Bartender and manager Frankie Galoardi has been selling his homemade beef jerky in the bag for $1 a hunk. "Dime bags" are also available, as are gift bags, which include dental floss.

While beef jerky may be the ultimate bar snack (chips are too high in carbs, while jerky is loaded with protein), the All Beef Frank Brand Beef Jerky means a lot more than just chewy goodness to its creator. Galoardi has dreams -- big dreams. Famous Amos-style dreams, in which his jerky recipe becomes a sensation that busts out of Bob and Barbara's and into mouths all over the country.

All sales have been through word of mouth, says Galoardi. "People have a taste and tell their friends. Some days, the cow is flying out of here." He doesn't mean literally, but it could happen; the jerky is good. Good enough to make a toothless baby cry. Good enough to make a dime bag last as long as a nickel bag of weed at a Dead concert.

Galoardi is not only a gentle pusher of the stuff when he's behind the bar, but has a good handle on the marketing-speak, too. He says, "I'm so dedicated to my product that I would handpick and massage each cow that goes into my jerky. If cows knew how good this shit was, I bet they would volunteer."

Of course, the recipe is a closely guarded secret. Galoardi says the base of it is soy sauce, brown sugar, liquid smoke and, uh, well, I can't tell you the rest. He's currently experimenting with hot and spicy, sweet and sour and garlic lovers flavors.

On a domestic whim, Galoardi first tried making jerky at home eight years ago, with a Ronco food dehydrator. "I gave it out for Christmas gifts around the holidays, and always got a big response from family and friends. So I decided I should just do this town a favor and start making it in bulk."

Through Cabela's mail order, he bought a commercial dehydrator, which has 28 square feet of beef-drying space. "That's gotta be enough for a whole cow." Now, a room in his house is dedicated to jerky and the art of jerking.

In the future, Galoardi hopes to have a Bob and Barbara's celebrity jerk-off, with other people's homemade jerky in fierce competition.

"I got big dreams with this thing; I want to put the kids through college one day on the jerky train. Or maybe I can ride the jerky train into retirement."