Denise G.
Yelp
Even though I was not thrilled with tonight's experience - I'm still bumping them up a star because the ribs were actually pretty good.
Some background on me -
a. I LOVE barbecue. Or I should say I love grilled and smoked food. I actually don't care for barbecue sauce at all. I ONLY use barbecue sauce if the food is awful and I'm trying to camouflage the taste.
b. I am a carnivore. Even though my GBS makes it difficult to eat large portions in one sitting - I absolutely LOVE meat. Chicken and fish are a staple - but pork and beef are a treat!
c. I typically buy racks at places for $25 - $30 and cook sides at home because the places don't have sides or the sides are underwhelming.
The good, the bad & the ugly:
The good -
1) Owner seems nice - although he does seem like sometimes he's 'sittin on ready' as the young folks say. Lol. Busy but his frustration or impatience definitely bleeds through a little. I could tell he was amping up for an argument from me about the sauce and he got a little snippy with dude in front of me. It's close to closing. I get it.
2) The rib portion (half rack = 5 bones here) had a very nice flavor. Nice bark. And they were lean & tender (not mushy).
3) The food was ready very quickly. He told me about 15 minutes - instead it took about 5 minutes.
The bad -
1) Ordering process. They are EXTREMELY busy. Good for them, but bad for me. The ordering process was not easy. I tried to place an order online, but I did not see an option for racks of ribs only. I just saw 1/2 rack with 2 sides.
I am fully aware that a lot of folks struggle with including their ENTIRE list of offerings online, so I decided to call the restaurant to ask. After trying to call 4 times across a period of one hour, I finally got through. I was told that they offer half racks (aka 5 bones) - no full racks. I said Ok, thanked him and told him I would call back, but then I realized that I hadn't asked the price. I tried to quickly get his attention, but he hung up before I could ask the price. I called J to see if he wanted anything and he declined, so I called back. Called 3 times. Owner answered, put me on hold. After 6 minutes and 12 seconds on hold, hung up - I was nearly at their parking lot.
Arrived to see 2 people standing outside waiting to place their orders.
Even though this place has been here for a while now - there is no awning or wind breaker walls. If it's raining - you better be prepared to stand in the rain. If it's cold and windy - you better be prepared to stand in the cold. No stars deducted for this though.
The star deduction is because I believe that if your staff is lean, so you can't always answer the phone, that's fine. If your online ordering system doesn't list all your options, or have good descriptions, forcing people to call or order in person, I'm less sympathetic. And if placing an order in person involves noisy fryers, fans and wind. And the entire process is rushed because of the set-up. No bueno.
2) Descriptions lacking. The ribs description on their website says "Hickory Smoked Spareribs cooked slow and low for nearly 5 hours. The results are frankly delicious." The 'other' menu just says 5 bones. We eat barbecue 4 - 5 times a month in this house - so I can honestly say that I find it kinda odd that they cover the ribs with sauce without TELLING you up front. For instance, some places serve their ribs completely dry - with sauce on the side. Some serve them a lil sticky because they've been heavily basted with sauce. The only other spot I'm aware that serves their ribs DRENCHED in sauce like this is Atlanta Fusion BBQ & The BBQ Place. Sauced places tend to use terms like "drizzled with our homemade, award-winning sauce" or "covered in our signature barbecue sauce." These are direct quotes from menus of nearby spots BTW. I absolutely did NOT ask. Delirious from the cold & trying to hurry since they're so busy. Lol. I exited the vehicle 5 min later to ask about sauce, food was already ready. Owner pushed bag towards me. Said it's up to me to tell him in advance. Ok. Placed another order. Brought the saucy ones home. J ate ONE rib about but stopped. Said the sauce was a little too spicy - even after just the one rib, his heartburn kicked in. So I have to trash them. :-(
3) Smoke. I KNOW they smoke 'em, but ribs did not have a super discernible smoky flavor.
There was no ugly.
As I stated previously - we tend to buy full racks of ribs for $25 - $30 and these tend to be big meaty ribs and rib tips are included. This ribs are considerably thinner, but I expect 'restaurant' pricing to be different based on overhead. While not a true, sit-down restaurant, I'm sure they have overhead costs that factor into pricing. Because of 'my error' - I spent $27.54 for five ribs, so I can't say my wallet is happy. Lol. But I'm still giving 3 stars, A-OK because David genuinely seems like he's "working diligently to provide freshly prepared real food."