Eric S.
Yelp
This OKlahoma-Style barbecue was just OK.
I guess this was historically a takeout place but they started to offer dine-in so I decided to check it out. It seems pricier than Lucille's. You have to order at a counter, pay for it first, and then you can sit down and eat it inside. This is another place that has the nerve to ask for a tip before you even find out what the quality of the service will be.
The cashier looked like he didn't want to be there. When I ordered the food and drink, he told me he would bring the drink over to my table. I didn't realize that these are just bottled beverages. Did he bring the beverage over anytime soon? No.
I sat down and waited for my two item combo to be delivered. The place has an eclectic vibe. There are some barbecue references on the walls, but then randomly they have other weird stuff on the walls it made me feel like I was in a teenage boys room back from the 1980s with clutter everywhere. They had some sort of mini arcade area that you can play if you want, for free.
Onto the food, I ordered the baby back ribs, which were not as tender as I like ribs to be, and they were oversauced (for my liking) with a very sweet bbq sauce (for my liking). The second meat I ordered was the brisket. It was tender, maybe mildly on the dry side, and again over sauce with the cloyingly sweet barbecue sauce. I found it odd that they heavily sauced both when they have the barbecue sauce is sitting at the table. I would've been much happier to apply my own sauce. They also had a spicy version.
The sides I ordered with the meal was a cornbread with honey butter, and fried zucchini with ranch. The cornbread was mediocre. I probably wouldn't order it again because they give you a small dinner roll (which probably came out of a bag from a grocery store). I can't imagine them baking bread at this place. The fried zucchini were horrible. Had an unseasoned thick hard shell on them and the inside had an anemic piece of zucchini. It's definitely felt like they were just refrying something frozen out of the bag. The ranch dressing felt like it came from a bottle, only watered down. It was flavorless.
Also randomly while waiting on the food, they brought over a basket of waffle fries. If I knew they were gonna bring over a basket of waffle fries that I didn't order, I probably would not have ordered the fried zucchini.
Back to the service, they did refill my water cup a couple of times, which I appreciated, but when I asked for some sweetener for the unsweetened iced tea, they never came with it. They also made it a point to say goodbye as I was leaving which I thought was nice but slightly creepy because I was already out the door and the door was closed behind me.
Value: it was about $38. I was full, but it just seemed a little bit expensive for the quality.
Bottom line: Will I be back? I wouldn't go here on my own (as there are better bbq places in the South Bay), but I also wouldn't nix the idea if somebody else really wanted to go there. I would probably just get the brisket and ask them not to sauce it. Or, I might try their tri-tip. I definitely would skip the fried zucchini. The waffle fries were good. I don't know if they routinely give free waffle fry appetizers. The cornbread was just OK.