This BBQ food truck is one of the cities best for BBQ! They usually sell out before I can make it…read moreout there so obviously I had to go there today on my day off work. Their menu changes here and there but they offer a variety of delicious goods such as brisket, smoked wings, pork belly, ribs, eggrolls, and loaded fries. They even have smoked turkey legs once in a while! The owner and his wife are very friendly and the service is good and fast. I might have just missed the lunch rush when I went shortly after noon but be ready to get in line on a nice day out! I strongly recommend you check out this place if you love BBQ meats and haven't checked it out yet. Did I mention their prices are also great!? Don't miss out on their Facebook specials when they have them!!!

I've been wanting to try this place for months. I have no idea when it is open; my wife happened to…read moresee it on Bluesky or something so we took off for lunch. Glad we did. 5 stars just for the quality of the brisket. The thing that's amazing, if you cook brisket yourself, is the quality of the trim. A uniformly thin 1/8" layer of fat cap on every piece. No idea how they do it but it's exceptional, just at the right thickness to render properly. The brisket is top tier, maybe the second such brisket I've had in the area like it at a restaurant. Good strong smoke profile, rub is a little understated but good and uniform, everything properly rendered, plenty of gelatin and fat for moisture. Strange thing, the brisket was $25/lb which is more than reasonable for brisket of this quality, but the pork ribs and belly were the same price. I didn't try them so I can't say why the pork costs the same as the beef; I'm guessing there is a bigger demand for the pork from the SE Asian customer base. The hot sauce is not what I expected, quite vinegary and what I think were all red Thai peppers. To be honest I was expecting Kua Txob (Hmong pepper sauce) which would have been perfect with the meat. I'll just have to make it myself next time I find this place open. Mac & cheese was very good, nothing super praiseworthy but a good solid tasty home-style side dish. The fries were the least interesting thing we got, but still okay. Overall it's worth looking for and making the trek in the middle of the day, especially if you're a brisket snob/enthusiast.

This is the first barbecue joint since Big Daddy's (RIP) that I've had in the St. Paul area that…read morewasn't disappointing. Brisket: proper render, good smoke ring (this doesn't affect taste but it looks nice), meteorite-black bark as it should be, proper bend on the slice. Fat amount was correct, maybe a little solid from waiting without a warmer. Hot links pretty good, decent flavor, sliced a little thin but nothing to complain about, red, could still get some snap on the casing. Beans were satisfying. Cole slaw was good, no stupid tricks or added herbs, exactly what you expect. Meat platters served with toast which I appreciate more than traditional squishy white bread. They have a whole lot of sauces to choose from; while I don't generally use or advocate sauces with brisket, I tried the Hot and I liked the balance of peppers and vinegar. Alary's (the bar that serves Petey's) validates parking for the ramp next door, which is great because parking is even worse than usual downtown right now. I passed the smoker walking from the ramp, looks like a big charcoal/wood gravity or sidebox wood-fired offset. You can tell from the product that it's run with real skill. Looking forward to my next visit, which is something I almost never say about a barbecue joint.

Service was good for takeout. Ambiance... bar like. We got…read morecarryout...brisket, rib tips, ribs, coleslaw and Mac and cheese on a Thursday evening. The flavors were there but all of the meat and the Mac and cheese were over cooked. They seemed to have been warmed up too many times. The coleslaw was okay.

Yum-o! I've been wanting to go here for years and saddened I've missed out on this deliciousness…read morethe whole time - the whole time! I tried the Firebox Fries with extra meat. Somehow the fries weren't mushy. This isn't something I'd normally get, but I was surprised at how good it was. I went with a group and was also able to try the coleslaw, sticky rice, and pulled pork. The meat was juicy and amazing. I love the coleslaw and even compared it to other coveted coleslaw - this is my favorite. I'm picky with bbq sauce, but their bbq sauce hit hard. They have a small parking lot - maybe 3 or 4 spots, but there is plenty of street parking. Also worth mentioning you order up front and get a number. They will bring out your food, but you will need to grab your beverage, plates/napkins, and utensils. Hands down better than any other famous and/or Dave you may know.

Sensational ribs! We…read morehave been customers of St. Paul's location of Firebox BBQ for several years. Last night we placed a take out order as usual. I love walking into the restaurant as the bbq aromas just waft over you in the entrance and get the taste buds and salivary glands woken up and raring to get to work. We both ordered Rib plates. The menu list that as 4-5 ribs, Texas toast and 2 sides of your choice. We both received 5 ribs. I went with Mac n Cheese and Collard Greens. Let me focus on the star of the show - the RIBS! We've always enjoyed them but these were truly outstanding! Tender, meaty and a perfect kiss of smoke. Everything you hope a rib would deliver! The FireBox sauce was perfect as always and only boosted the experience. The sides were great as always. I ended up calling back to the restaurant and spoke to a staff member and share our feedback on how fantastic the ribs were tonight! I encourage everyone to give Firebox a first try and or a revisit.

Food 4/5 - This BBQ place was worth the try! The chicken was so tender and delicious. The brisket…read morewas the best we've had in MN and the beans definitely have a kick to them. Highly recommend the chicken and side of beans. Service / Ambiance 5/5 - This place is an order at the counter, sit and wait for your food type of place. They had live music outside when we got our food. Really great place we will be stopping again.

Sooo good - 5 stars!…read more I've wanted to check this place out for a few years. But unfortunately, I don't live close-by and the hours & days of operation are limited. But I finally made it. Three of us checked them out for a Friday lunch. It was definitely worth the trip to meet my Wisconsin buddies for some rockin' Q. This is a casual, order-up-front kind of place. Grab your beverage, pick your own spot, and they bring the food to your table. The meats are excellent. I grabbed a half pound of smoked sausage, a half pound of pastrami, and a half pound of beef brisket. My friends both ordered pork ribs. Everything was wonderful! Being a zero carb dude, I really appreciate that you can order meat by the pound (and the half pound). Thankfully, they don't force you to order plant based items. As zero carbohydrate carnivore eater, I didn't order any plant based sides whatsoever. But my friends got broccoli slaw and waffle corn bread (very clever) as sides. They loved their sides. Both of them topped things off with big Texas Brownies and a la mode French Vanilla Ice Cream. The brownies were giant and flavorful. They actually made the whole back dining area smell like chocolate. Finally, the service was excellent. The food came out fast & hot. And the owner popped out of the kitchen a few times to check on us and to chat. Nice guy. They have live music. But we came early and missed all of that...so I can't comment on the music scene. All-in-all, a great place, especially if you're a carnivore. Thumbs up! -Maxx

This place has the makings of a great BBQ joint and it's shockingly flying under the radar despite…read morea lot of great promotion on social media. I'll say I don't love the side options (except the sticky rice). I'd love to see them give their take on classic southern sides like some sort of greens or Texas sides like elotes or brisket beans. Or more Asian sides. What they have currently is just fine. But they DO have the most important part down, and that's the meat. The ribs are as good as the best places in the area (Firebox, Jellybean and Julia's) but they're still unique. They have a few sauce options--the green one is amazing. Their Asian pulled pork is great. And their brisket is above average. I've yet to try their beef rib but it's a goal in the future since I'll definitely keep going back.

Brand new bbq spot owned by a Hmong family. I love the…read moreHmong influence they bring. I ordered the sampler platter for $25. It came with pulled pork, ribs, and brisket. You can tell it was high quality meat. The meats all had a sightly sweet taste to them. I almost didn't need any sauce. I did use a lot of Hmong pepper sauce though because it was so good. For my sides, I ordered the sticky rice, apple coleslaw, bbq sauce, and hmong pepper. The sticky rice was made just how I like it - hot, sticky, and just the right amount of chewiness. The apple coleslaw was good but not memorable. The Hmong pepper sauce was fresh and spicy-- but not too spicy. It gave a good balance to the sweetness of the meat. I docked one star for the following... They provided some tables that look like the ones K12 children sit in at lunch. You can tell they didn't put much thought into designing their outdoor seating (which is currently the only seating available). Additionally, there was nowhere to wash your hands or even hand sanitizer.

I've been coming here for years since my kids attended school down the street from here. I normally…read moreget the BBQ chicken which is superb. Always hot and fresh, same with the fries. I've been eating a lot of chicken lately so I decided to get the cheeseburger. It was really good and received it in under 10 minutes. Service is fast and hospitable. Don't be fooled by the look of this place. I don't go to restaurants for ambiance. I go for the food and in this case you won't be disappointed. Their BBQ sauce goes good on ANYTHING!! One of my favorite spot in the Twin Cities.

Service was great the guy was super happy and made the best burger i have ever had! the 1990s…read moreAmbiance was Great great resturant.

What a great experience! I went with a friend and we split the sampler plate, which included pulled…read morepork, ribs, pork belly, and sausage--everything was absolutely delicious. I honestly can't say a single bad thing about the food and I'm already looking forward to my next visit. From the moment we arrived, the customer service was excellent. They don't take reservations, so coming during off-peak times may be a good idea. We were promptly taken to our seats, and once settled, our server explained how to use the QR code for ordering and filled our water glasses right away. There were lots of fun drink options to choose from, and the food truly exceeded expectations. Such a great overall experience!

We went at 430 on a Sunday. It was a Viking gameday and was absolutely packed, but we were still…read moreable to get in within 10 minutes. Food 5/5: We are big BBQ fans, and I believe this is the best BBQ in the twin cities. We had the chips and queso, St. Louis style ribs, pork belly, mac and cheese, dilly beans, beans, apple pizza, peanut butter pie, and both old fashions. The chips are homemade and so good! Lightly salted and the perfect amount. Of crunchy. The ribs and pork belly were warm, tender, and spiced perfectly. Everything we had was well spiced, and overall high quality with exception to the Mac and cheese, not much flavor but would be perfect for a kids meal but didn't match their overall level of the other food. Service 5/5: they use a QR code ordering system. Everything we ordered came within 10 -20 minutes of ordering. Silverware and all other essentials are located at your table, but there were people around to ask if you needed anything. Ambiance 4/5: when this space is full it is very loud. If there is a band playing you won't be able to hear table conversation. Something else to note, you may share a table with another group, so if that's a deal breaker to you know that is their style. They have a kid space which was packed, but overall an amazing thing to offer. Overall if you're ok with a loud and crowded space, this place is great. Overall we loved this new location. The food was great, the service was fast, and the ambiance was inviting but loud.

This feels like the bbq place I've been looking for! The tables had bins with sauces and the…read moreseating was very open. They have a good variety of bbq sauces. Nothing was all that spicy, but I enjoyed the blue alot. The service was great, as they let us sub sides as needed. We didn't want the beans and rice, so we had Mac and cheese and dill potato salad. Bother we're amazing. I really like the ribs and especially the hot links too.

This is the second Old Southern BBQ we have stopped at on our trip to Minneapolis to go see Paul…read moreMcCartney in concert. This restaurant just happened to be right across the street from our hotel in Arden Hills, Minnesota. The other Old Southern BBQ we went to was last night in Hudson, Wisconsin. Now we have been to bbq joints all over the country. Both of the Old Southern BBQ's we've been to are absolutely amazing! The brisket is moist and has a wonderful smoke flavor. The ribs were great also. They were meaty and again, had a really nice smokey flavor to them. The service was great! The workers answered questions about the menu items and were very helpful in making our decision on what to order. The restaurant was very clean and has some really cool bbq decor. Again, the food is amazing! We arrived here at lunch time. We had a great brisket sandwich, and then came back at dinner and had some sliced brisket and ribs. I really can't say enough about Old Southern BBQ. It's that good. We will be going through the area again in a couple of months and we will definitely be stopping here again

I gotta stop believing yelp reviews. People want quantity over quality on this app and this place…read moreis a great example of that. There's nothing redeeming about this place. Yelp reviewers have no taste. They just want a slab of meat and they're all happy. I should've tried their sauces before I bought anything. The barbecue sauces were all ketchup based. They added in too much apple cider vinegar and the sauces were too viscous and runny. A good barbecue sauce has molasses, brown sugar, and tomato sauce not ketchup and white sugar which is what these were made from. I'd have been better off bringing in my own bottle of barbecue sauce from the grocery store. We ordered a half rack 6 ribs and two sides of coleslaw and potato salad. The coleslaw was runny and too liquidy. It had zero buttermilk in it. It was also made with apple cider vinegar which is a HUGE NO, NO. The potato salad was meh. No mustard. Just white potato salad. THEY HAD NO CORNBREAD! How much does a box of jiffy cornbread cost?!? Seriously, this business should NOT be in the rib business. The half rack of ribs: DRY, DRY, DRY. They were baked way too long. The ribs were flavor-less. I would not go back again. It's a huge shame for a rib joint to be this bad. The ribs were such a huge disappointment. Not even a smoked flavor was ever detected. I hope they don't go down the liquid smoke route either because that's just driving off a cliff at that point. I'm DONE listening to yelp reviews. Yall have no clue what you're talking about.

The prime brisket was delicious as was the pulled chicken and Mac and cheese. The potato salad…read morelacked flavor. The bbq sauce was a great complement to the smoked meats. This was a catered order so I can't speak on decor and ambience.

We had dinner before a show in downtown St Paul. The location made it easy to get to downtown with…read moreplenty of time to park and get to the venue. We had reservations and were seated immediately. I chose the spare ribs for my dinner and Husband had the pulled pork sandwich. The ribs were served with a zesty dry rub and sauce on the side. They were nice and tender. The meal came with Texas toast which I didn't try because the ribs were sitting right on top of it. It also had a piece of corn on the cob. Wish my meal would have been a titch hotter in temp but the food was tasty. We finished with the smoky crème brûlée which was delicious. The layout was cozy and dark with the bar at the center. I could see it being lively and loud on a busy night. Service was excellent. We took our time ordering and never felt rushed. Our food came out super fast. The staff worked as a great team.

The food was great! Crab cakes 9/10…read more Friend green tomatoes 9.5/10 (awesome flavor, sauce on the side is a great pair with the tomatoes - overall my favorite thing on the menu) Tennessee Hot Chicken Sandwich 8.5/10 (good flavor but would like more heat personally. Overall it was a good choice despite my desire for more spice.) Service great! The bartenders are always great and make some of the best drinks in the cities. Daniel is my favorite! Ambiance: Chill more relaxed vibe.