rev:text
| - After a whole day of flying from SFO to Houston and finally to Charlotte, my coworker and I were running on EMPTY. Since we had such a late flight, there weren't a lot of options left for a Sunday night dinner, but when we stumbled upon McKoy's Smokehouse & Saloon that boasted a four star rating and was open until 2 am, it was practically a no brainer to get there and refuel.
As expected, the restaurant wasn't very crowded, but for a Sunday night, we were surprised to find a decent number of parties enjoying a late dinner like we were. We were offered a "late night" menu that had basic BBQ sandwiches, platters, and various sides like fries, coleslaw, and salads. Starving, I chose the McKoy's hamburger with a side of mac and cheese.
Considering the lack of a crowd, I was surprised that the wait for food was a bit lengthy, but I suppose that just meant the food was cooked fresh. Presentation wise, the hamburger was massive with vibrant fresh veggies piled on a charred beef patty and a large bun. The mac and cheese was strangely presented like a hump, but it looked pretty good.
Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving. The one thing that lacked from the entire entree was SEASONING. How could a BBQ place be so bland? I'm not one to put ketchup on burgers, but my goodness, I practically drizzled the condiment ALL OVER my burger just to get the taste of something besides charred meat and bread. (Charred is putting it lightly; it practically veered towards burnt.) Then on top of the severely under seasoned burger was the mac and cheese that was coated with what felt like congealed cheese. Where was the ooze? Where was the creaminess? It honestly tasted like they used day-old cheese to coat the macaroni pasta.
I walked in starving, so to be perfectly honest, my standards were quite low, but even then, I couldn't find anything in my dish to be impressed about. The only reason I gave this place two stars instead of one is because the service was friendly and the restaurant itself has a cool vibe. I'm not too sure where the "saloon" part comes in, but it's definitely a bar where you can watch any game imaginable on FIFTEEN television screens strewn all over the walls.
Did I finish what I ordered? I was too hungry not to.
But was I that hungry that I couldn't tell McKoy's was an absolute disappointment? No way.
|