I came here on a whim alone on a Sunday afternoon after seeing the overall positive reviews on yelp. I was expecting good food and top notch service based on those reviews, but unfortunately I did not receive either.
For service, I did have 2 servers in total. The first server was fairly attentive and was happy to give me some recommendations when I asked, but overall the service quality wasn't what I would describe as top notch. After getting my food, my server left for a lunch break and introduced me to a 2nd server who will be attending me on their behalf. For context, I was sitting in the outside patio area. The new server did check on me once, but for 20-25 minutes, the server did not come over to my table or any of the other customers. Once I saw him come outside, I had to call him over to get my check and a to-go box.
I can forgive bad service if the food made up for it. I ordered the 2 meat combo and the brisket sammy. Altogether, I tried their pulled pork, brisket, St Louis ribs, coleslaw, and bacon Mac and cheese. The combo also came with a butter brioche roll and some pickles.
BBQ Sauce, 1.5/5: It honestly tasted like something you could buy at a supermarket. The flavor had little smokiness or much nuance from spices. Best way to describe it is "spicy" ketchup.
Coleslaw, 2.5/5: Tasted refreshing and better than fast food coleslaw (e.g. Raising Cane's) but otherwise nothing remarkable.
Pickled veggies, 2/5: Forgettable. The pickled jalapenos had no heat. They had mild tang, which wasn't enough to balance the fatty meats.
Bacon Mac n cheese, 2.25/5: The sauce was creamy but quickly tasted one note. Most likely the sauce only used cheddar. The noodles had good texture, and the sauce clinged to them well. There was so little bacon I almost forgot it was supposed to be included. If it was just regular Mac and cheese, I would give it a 2.5 or 3 out of 5.
Buttered brioche roll, 0/5: Wasn't buttered at all. Dry. Tasted like something you would expect from a wholesale bakery.
Brisket sandwich, 1/5: Like the roll, the brioche bun tasted was dry. No buttery rich taste from the bread. The brisket was covered in BBQ sauce, which I already described my disappointment with. The pickle and onions added texture, but their flavors were too mild to notice. There was a generous amount of meat, and some fell off while eating, but that also made eating messy. The meat itself was honestly bland. If there was any flavor, it was covered in the BBQ sauce. The texture and taste is comparable to brisket from a grocery store freezer aisle. This sandwich is effectively a grown up version of a McRib, and I don't mean that as a compliment.
St. Louis ribs, 2.75/5: The best thing I had here at Domestic, which isn't saying much. It wasn't literally "fall off the bone," but the meat came off the bone fairly easily with my mouth. The ribs had flavor and were moderately savory and smokey. There were different textures thanks to the bark. There were, however, some unpleasant, overly salty bites, and the fatty portions were grease bombs.
Pulled pork, 2/5: Greasy and came with BBQ sauce on top. The BBQ sauce did not do enough to balance the grease. The bites were inconsistent. Some were decently moist and savory while others were dry and bland.
Proportion wise, the combo didn't feel like a lot of food. If it weren't for the flavor fatigue, despite the variety of options I had, I could've finished everything.
To add insult to injury, when I did get my bill, I found they charged an "Optional Kitchen Gratuity." It was a small amount, and after I left the restaurant, I found out this gratuity is technically mentioned in the menu's fine print and could be asked to be removed. But I was not aware of the find print when I paid, and neither of my servers mentioned this gratuity fee earlier to me. As a result, I felt "tricked" into paying the fee.
Shortly after I left, I felt my mood dropped and felt exhausted. I attributed this mood swing due to how greasy the pulled ribs were and the highly processed carbs.
Tl;dr: This meal has convinced me to go vegetarian for the next few days. read more