In town for a business meeting at Dick's Sporting Goods, a few locals joked about coming here. "It's one of the few places we know where you can get porn, child care, do laundry and eat decent BBQ in one parking lot," they told me.
I opted to stick with the BBQ and for Pittsburgh, it's not bad. If you've never been here, don't expect an upbeat, fun atmosphere like Smokey Bones. This location is in need of a major makeover. It's rundown, old and while the BBQ is fair the atmosphere is bland, at best. The service is lackluster, too. The cashier taking our order struggled to even smile, say hi or thank you.
What you can count on is large portions and plenty of BBQ sauce to try. There's a handful of sauces that aim at replicating several styles, including Western and Eastern North Carolina, Kansas City, Texas and Memphis. They are all fair. None will win any awards, but in Western PA, they do fine.
As for the food, it's average BBQ. I'll put it this way; you aren't going to find anything to complain about, but nothing to rave about, either, although the turkey is pretty good. If you enjoy BBQ you'll be content here and they do have sweet tea, lemonade, etc, so you can feel like you're in the South.
When it comes to meats there's plenty to try. Between two of us, we tried the brisket, pulled pork, pulled chicken and smoked turkey, and one rib per the YELP offer. While the meats were a bit dry, they tasted fine with the sauce. My friends work less than a mile from here and do, sadly, complain about consistency. The ribs are wonderful one week and terrible the next they tell me.
On the other that, they do offer a smorgasbord of sides and cornbread. Their fries are hand-cut and definitely above average, the okra wasn't greasy in any way, which is a huge plus, and the apple sauce tasted like well, apple sauce.