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| - We're not from this area and have recently been a little disappointed with our culinary experiences on the east side, and when our GPS turned us into a little strip mall I was pretty sure Oaks & Embers would follow suit. Boy was I wrong, this joint blew my expectations out of the water!
The space is a lot larger than I would have imagined from the outside. I'm not sure how to describe it, but the atmosphere is different than what I would have expected from a BBQ joint.
The beer list is definitely decent enough for the area, they have a good enough selection of drafts and bottles. It's not super expansive, but it's more impressive than I expected. It was our waiter Harry's first day on the job and he did excellent and was surprisingly knowledgeable about the menu on some questions we asked that were probably not normal FAQ.
We didn't look anything up about the business before our visit, just picked a place at random really, so we weren't aware it was a BBQ place prior to arriving. Because of dietary restrictions, I can't indulge in BBQ sauce so I was a little worried when I first glanced at the menu. I ordered the Las Maria salad and let me tell you, it's taken my #1 spot for best salad I've ever had at a casual eatery! Everything was very fresh. It comes with pulled smoked chicken on top -- it was so flavorful, tender and moist I had to double check that it didn't have any barbecue on it (there wasn't).
And ooooh the avocado ranch dressing...let me tell you. This dressing deserves its own paragraph. First off, I'm pretty sure it's made with fresh avocados. It's a real treat. I'm very picky about my ranch dressings, but this one made the cut ten fold. Some day, I'm going to go back and order their pulled pork tacos and smother those bad boys with this stuff. I urge you to do the same.
Bravo Oaks & Embers, five stars for you.
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