| rev:text
| - I'm not one to "hit-and-run" an eatery when it comes to reviewing it, especially one that is local. So we actually tried this place a couple of time to give it a chance.
It's a good example of property re-use. It appears to be housed in an old service garage. Painted white with red & blue trim for a patriotic theme, there is no inside seating; there are, however, a couple of outside picnic tables which were nice and clean.
The first time we went we got the ribs special. It seemed to be a half rack of ribs smothered in sauce, with a side for $14.99, We also purchased a Local Flavor certificate so we saved about $10. The ribs were fall-off-the-bone, and unlike the first reviewer, we could actually taste the smoky flavored, complete with the coveted "smoke ring." There was more than enough meat on ours; mind you, these aren't "country ribs" that places like Foodland sells for $0.99/lb. They have two kinds of sauces, mild and hot. We opted for the mild, and again, unlike the first reviewer, our sauce was thick but flowing, not pasty. Our only complaint was that there was probably a bit too much of it, which is probably why the lady serving us gave us almost a half loaf of bread to sop up the sauce. Too much sauce is usually an indication that there is something to hide. The sauce was OK - sort of had a peppery kick in the back of the throat. We were trying to figure out what was causing it, and decided that the sauce was smoke-flavored as well. We could be wrong.
On the second visit, we chose the pulled chicken sandwich ($5). Think pulled pork, but with chicken. Plenty of meat on the mini-hoagie length bun with a good amount of sauce; some of the chicken was large chunks. However, some of the chunks were a little dried out. It might be better to have all the meat shredded to hold the sauce better in every bite.
As for the sides, it was a mixed bag. First, the price - $3.50 per side (or 3 for $9) to me is a little steep for about 8 oz. In this area, you have to think like the customers, and customers around here are traditionally cheap. They look at the amount they receive and compare it to what they can get somewhere else. I know the owners are just starting out, but it's something to consider. If you are going to charge $3.50/side, make it something unique that nowhere else serves.
The sides we tried included the cowboy beans, the mac-n-cheese, and the potato salad. The cowboy beans were really flavorful, and included bacon, ground meat, and (of course) baked beans. Personally, I would throw a larger white bean in there as well just to give it more substance. The mac-n-cheese was nice and creamy, not store bought like the first reviewer alluded to. The potato salad - while the use of what tasted like Miracle Whip (and it's tang) and green olives was a nice touch, the potatoes were slightly undercooked.
Some suggestions for the owner:
1. Taste test the sandwich with some toppings - banana pepper rings, pickles, jalapenos - see what might go well with it.
2. Maybe offer a substitute for the ribs without the sauce - maybe something with a dry rub.
3. Reduce the price of the sides to $2.50/each. Three for $6 may be more appealing to the clientele. Or come up with something unique.
Service? The lady who served us was super nice.
Would I go back? I have no reason to NOT go back. I'd rather go here than to McDonald's and the processed crap they churn out. I say give them some time to work out the kinks, give them a try, and form your own opinion. Everyone I went with said they would give them 3/5 stars, so 3/5 it is.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)