A-OK grade (better than middle of the road, but not by much)
Pros: The beef brisket sandwich was the Wednesday special tonight and the meat was on point, juicy (maybe even succulent) and a decent portion as to not overhang the sandwich, but not feeling ripped off.
I know it's not always important, but the dudes that took my order (white guy with dark hair and a beard) and the guy that served the food (hispanic guy, clean shaven) were really helpful and nice.
Plenty of parking and there was about 10 cars ~6:30pm, so busy enough to know it's a place people actually go (I'm new to Champaign).
Hot sauce was the perfect amount of hot for me. I needed a sip every so often, but never got too hot.
Location and easy access to the roadway, plus it's ~5min driving from my place.
Seasonal Turkey legs? Sounds bomb... I'm almost wishing I got that just cause it's a novelty and my Disneyland experience wasn't the same without one.
The lemon drink is just lemonade. For whatever reason I was imagining a lemon slushy or something with everyone's reviews of it. It's good and a good balance of sweet/tart, leaning on the sweet side. Worth the buck.25 for a small ($1.75 for a medium).
Cons: Fries would be good if they weren't soggy from being wrapped in everything (sauce, humidity from sandwich, a little grease).
(May not be a Con) Small dining space, but I'm not sure if I saw some more room off to the side.
Sauce... man, everyone was shouting about the sauce and it was def subpar for me, and I didn't expect too much, tried to keep my expectations to a minimum. It's definitely a strong, hot-sauce (dark, almost chipotle-y though, not vinegary like typically imagined) style bbq, but I just wasn't diggin it. I wouldn't call it smoky, hearty, sweet, just don't know how to describe it better.
Decorations, but whatever, it's a casual man cave that's spruced up for the handful of people that probably care enough.
Will I go back? Yeah, probably get something different or at the very least a different sauce (sauces are the same flavor, just different amounts of heat) or no sauce. Order something that doesn't come with fries or ask for a different side to replace em. But I'm gonna check out the other BBQ places in town before I get back here.
Black Dog seems to set the bar here, so I'll try it toward the end. Remember this is decently priced BBQ and it's good meat, so it's worth a try. I would probably choose the Hickory River for the Nachos and this place for the Brisket.