I'm going to give this place 5 stars just because of the ribs…read more
Q&J's qualifies for "hole in the wall"; it's a little run down (but what place in South of the Border isn't?) But, to our shock and amazement, the bathrooms were sparkling clean. Kudos!
Q&J's is also a bit of a one trick pony. Looking around (and reading some of the reviews) I was shocked to see people eating things like hamburgers and chicken sandwiches. Honestly, these people should get their heads checked. It doesn't take being a rocket scientist to see the sad, flat, pre-made patties to know that burgers are going to majorly suck here. Also, you don't need to be an Einstein to look at the grill and see that this place doesn't serve an acceptable chicken sandwich.
So, you might ask, what is the "trick" that this one trick pony does? Hint: It's called "Q&J's BBQ Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiib House". Ribs. If you come to a rib house, you should order ribs. Not rocket science here.
That said, the ribs were seriously A+. The ribs are grilled, not smoked, so expect charred, crispy, crunchy ribs, not fall-off-the-bone butter. What I really liked about the ribs is that they had charred and crispy outside skin, with soft juicy meat. Whoever is cooking these ribs became an expert through repeated grilling. I fancy myself an expert smoker and a better-than-average griller, and whoever cooked this obviously has more skill than I do. These grilled ribs are heaven on earth.
The BBQ sauce was somewhat mild, but honestly, spicy BBQ sauce (and rubs) go better with smoked meats, not grilled meats. But, I suspect, some people may be disappointed with the lack of intense flavor. In *my* eyes, putting on an in-your-face sauce on grilled ribs is a little like drowning salad in salad dressing. Some people love that sort of thing but it's not my thing.
So if I love the ribs so much and am willing to overlook the awful burgers, why did I give this place 4 stars instead of 5?
Two reasons, really. They didn't have much offerings to go with the ribs. Some rice would've been good. Some collared greens. I dunno. Would've been nice for the ribs to have some "friends".
Secondly, we did order a side of tater tots. It became abundantly obvious that the tater tots were fried in oil that was re-used too much. I know all restaurants reuse oil, but this oil was reused much too much. The tater tots had a rancid aftertaste, indicating the oil was too old. If it weren't for this, I would've gladly have given this place 5 stars.