Alas, I should have heeded more the rating than the enticement of the business' name. And then we…read morewalk in on a Sunday night and it's completely empty, not one table with patrons. I would have walked out and gone somewhere else except I had two disabled folks with me and one ornery sibling who would have balked.
That being said, the place itself has been designed pretty great. Excellent tables and chairs and even some high top ones. Very, very clean. Area where there was BBQ sauce and some garnishes was alone by itself and coulda been dressed up a bit more to look more enticing.
Now, the food.
The burnt ends, unbelievably, were not true burnt ends, at least in my book. They were cubed meat with either side burnt but they were not ends. Burnt ends need to be almost all burnt around except one edge. There were only SOME of them like that. But, ok, fine, how's the meat, how's the cut? Most of my pieces were very tough. Cut wrong or with some gristle. Not a tender bite. But I also ordered brisket. Although not as good as I'm used to, at least it was tender and flavorful. But it was sliced thin and shoulda been thicker slices with more burnt edges. My sister liked.her chicken although it looked a bit dry, my uncle seemed to really enjoy his ribs. My brother didn't seem to be as picky as me about his burnt ends, he said it was good. So perhaps my standards are too high.
Sides of Mac & Cheese, creamy Cole slaw, rustic fries, and loaded mashed potato were decent, but the charred corn wasn't at all as I was expecting, just corn in a lot of spicy sauce and I would skip it. The toasted bread on the side was altogether uninteresting.
My uncle did like his Breckenridge Beer Amber Ale.
And the fellow at the front was really nice, although interesting it was just him, and then two cooks in the back, not what I'm used to at most bbq places which usually have a bustle of people behind the counter. But then, again, the place was empty, although had a decent amount of "to go" business.
This place feels like it may not last -- it's in a great location and should have had way more people dining in -- and I think the owner needs to invest in another bbq chef who can bring a bit more magic to the food, especially the burnt ends, the brisket and the sides.
I was torn between 3 and 4 stars -- were it just me it would be 3, but with the rest of my party, a 4 -- plus the cleanliness and bright atmosphere and great service, a 4 is deserved.
