"Don't judge a book by it's cover" and "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" are two common expressions that come to mind when reviewing Gradys. Since I don't want to say anything mean or hurtful, I wont tell you that this place looks like they should be conducting 12 step meetings. Oh darn I just blew it. Okay, its an extremely clean dive, but it's so humble in it's decor (especially the outside) that it borders on pathetic. The tables are card tables, the menu is a large wall written in magic marker and surrounded by a surreal drape, or tapestry or some cloth. The cutlery is all plastic.... and they're not putting out the good plastic.... it's the lightweight stuff.
Now I LOVE a good dive and normally I would never criticize the decor of a dive because most of the time the dive's decor gives it character. And I'm not sure I'm really criticizing Grady's, I'm just making an observation. The decor in Gradys really doesn't give it character because... basically... there is no decor to speak of.
Regarding the food observations.... the BBQ brisket is AMAZING. The coleslaw is spot-on and the mac-and-cheese was really good. But again, the BBQ meat is about as good as it gets. The sauce is fantastic. But what makes this place really special is Grady and his wife (Mrs. Grady). These are two of the nicest, coolest and sweetest restauranteurs I've had the pleasure of meeting. Grady definitely knows how to slow cook some meat.
In closing, I went to Grady's one time and I met two really cool Yelpers (who apparently dine there weekly) and now their my Yelp friends. How cool is that? Amazing BBQ sauce at Gradys.