| rev:text
| - This is a great, unpretentious place for delicious BBQ! Also group friendly.
We came in on a Friday night at 7PM. The place seemed empty, but in fact most of the tables were full. I think it seemed empty due to cavernous feel to the place. It so big and ceiling so high that the number of tables seems too few to actually populate the place. Not a bad thing necessarily, just something I noticed.
I was with a fairly significant group(12) and there was no problem pulling a couple of tables together. It was slightly awkward due to the tables not all being the same size/shape but it worked. We noticed a couple of other large groups as well, so it seems quite group friendly.
We mulled over the menu for a few minutes. It's standard BBQ faire, but the way the menu is presented isn't very professional. A few items crossed out with magic marker, and the font used is a bit hard to read. The menu we had was also printed at an angle. A bit of a nitpick but I noted this as a potential warning sign. (I was wrong to doubt)
Then our group went and ordered our food and beers. They have a few local taps, and some bottles as well. Some additional varieties would definitely help in this department. I should note that speed and efficiency don't seem to be much of a priority here. It took a good 20 minutes for all 12 of us to order. Granted, we paid in groups of 2 or 3 and they got the drinks ready after each subsequent order, so this wasn't all that unexpected.
The food came out quite quickly, as I'm sure like most BBQ places it is being held at temperature in the kitchen. Presentation was decent, though for my dish was just piles of meat on a platter. This was not a bad thing! I ordered a sampler-type dish with pulled pork, ribs, and brisket. Quality of the meats was fantastic, I was especially impressed with the dry rub on the ribs. I couldn't pick it out, but there was some spice in the dry rub that really put it over the top good. Nothing was too dry, and the flavors were great. Portions are pretty large, especially for the platter I enjoyed. It could easily fill up two people. I ended up taking the rest home. As another reviewer mentioned, the sides were nothing to write home about, but they were good nonetheless. I had the beans and mashed potatoes.
Everyone in the group seemed to especially note how great the ribs are.
As other reviewers noted, I was a bit disappointed with the only option for sauce being the different flavors of Sweet Baby Rays, but I wont knock them for this necessarily since it is what I keep in my fridge. Here's hoping they are working on their own. That would really kick this place over the top of the BBQ mountain here in Madison.
Overall our group came away quite full and pleased. We all noted that we'd be back.
Smoky Jon's is my current favorite BBQ in Madison, but this place gives it a run for its' money. I will need to perform more *ahem "research." (meaning I'll definitely be back. repeatedly.)
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