Great sauce can go only so far...
Madison's Famous Dave's is on par with 4/5 of the 'Famous' franchises that I have visited. Excellent prices, intriguing menu, entertaining atmosphere of shi*hole nostalgia and cheesy Dave photo manipulations. The main difference with this franchise is the lack of a wait.
S. Park Street's Famous franchise is in a lower-midlin stretch of town with little in terms of decent choices (spare me with Edo's diatribes). It has plenty of parking and open tables (yes, I know Madison is far from the BBQ mecca of the world, but ... AYE!?!?!).
The main draw to Dave's is the sauce. There is not a BBQ experience like it ... the table feature at least five sauces (sadly missing chipotle) including the best ever ... Texas Pit (tangy/peppery drippings from BBQ heaven). Food costs are reasonable and the offerings can be madcap fun (IE. the HIGHLY recommended feasts served on aluminum trash lids).
All these positives and only four stars ... what gives? It's meat quality!
Wisconsin Dells location has the best grade of like meat available. Several times I have stopped over to their restaurant only to be floored by the seemingly more tender and less fat saturated ribs and beef brisket. Over here (like the other franchise), I've been less than impressed with fatty and inconsistent meat tenderness.
Although this location is not perfect, it's still my 2ND favorite BBQ joint that I had the opportunity to slop in.