Today's review is Rusty's BBQ located at 7484 Parkway Drive in Leeds, Alabama. They are a family…read morerun business and have won several awards over the years since opening in 2009.
Rusty's is hands down the best BBQ in Alabama, I drive over 50 miles at least three times a month or more to eat here. They offer up pork sandwiches, plates, ribs, brisket, cheeseburgers, a vegetarian BBQ, chicken, sausage, world famous collards, homemade pies and more along with a variety of sides. I don't eat vegetables so I double down on the fries, I cover them with their sweet BBQ sauce, which I also love on the meat. The serving size at first glance looks a little small but don't be fooled, it will fill you up along with the generous helping of whatever side you order. The last time Julie was with me she ordered the ribs with okra and mac & cheese, both were enough to feed a family of four. The ribs were fall off of the bone and cooked to perfection, not burned like some rib places around the area. As for me, like I said, I always order the pulled pork plate with double fries, sweet BBQ sauce all over both. I have tried the spicy BBQ sauce and at first taste it was a little hot for my taste buds, but over time I kept dipping my fries in it and once I got used to it, it was pretty good, I would not put it directly on the meat or fries. I also tried the house sauce, it was just a sauce, kinda like if you didn't want your BBQ plain, best I can describe it is like drinking water instead of anything with taste, it's something to wet your throat. They offer a white sauce but I did not try it. The sweet tea is also very good. The service is good as well, someone came out and checked on me as I was eating, they play the blues on the radio but not too loud, the decor is local with lots of hometown football and area sports decor. The only thing I did not see that makes a great BBQ joint a legendary BBQ joint is a picture of Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, all of the legendary BBQ joints in Alabama have a picture of the Bear. Rusty's offers ample indoor and outdoor dining and plenty of parking with handicap parking available. Now to the only negative, when I order I always emphasize that I want NO pickles on my plate, I can't stand pickles or pickle juice. Several times they have put pickles on my plate, it's just a couple of small pickles and I remove them but it's the fact that I point it out plainly when ordering and they still get it wrong. I don't let little things like that slide when reviewing restaurants. If you are a local and eat here alot be sure to put your phone number in when paying to earn points for your reward, it's only 5% off, but every little bit counts. Overall Rusty's hits a home run when it comes to BBQ in the state of Alabama, it's worth the drive.
5/5