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    Phenomenal Ribs

    3.3 (57 reviews)

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    Old school 55gallon drum smokers
    Bill N.

    My first visit, after reading the reviews we felt the need to check this place out. Driving up, this place is not even remotely appealing at least until you exit your vehicle and seen&!smell the 55gal drum smokers. Walking in the service counter is covered with what appears to be bullet proof glass with a rotating carousel to conduct business. Then the door at the end of the counter was wide open. Security obviously being a concern stopped at the wide open door. We ordered a large tip and wing combo and a couple of sodas. The lady behind the counter said "we don't have any pop, we're waiting for the boss to bring us some." After a short wait the Food came out fresh, hot with large portions and amazing aroma. There are very few seats so without something to drink we took our orders back home. Opening the container revealed a mountain of goodness. The Tips and the wings were very good, super tender and the sauce was very tasty.

    Great marketing technique! Save people from salads for lunch!!
    Arline S.

    Busy intersection, 3 smokers going, phenomenal ribs indeed. Friendly staff, big menu, great prices.

    2 miles off I-94, this is a detour worth taking. We ordered a rack and some rib tips, both with sauce on the side. This was clutch. You could tell they put a dry rub on and let it penetrate for hours. The meats were salty and had a delicious cured flavor. The meat has just the right amount of chew. The fries are homemade, and could have used a little salt. But the shop isn't called phenomenal fries so don't worry about it. The sauce is a little sweet for my taste, so ordering it on the side allowed me to dip in as I pleased. There were many people that called in orders and this was the rib supplier to seemingly the entire neighborhood. We placed our order at the window, but calling in would have been faster. (The wait was not long though). All in all phenomenal and well priced.

    Restaurant front
    Rob S.

    Don't let the appearance fool you. This place would be the poster business for hole in the wall. But, there is no comparison......best ribs ever! Seriously, they are doing themselves an injustice settling for the name Phenomenal Ribs. We arrived around a normal lunch time and had one person ordering in front of us. We glanced over the menu, but there was never a doubt about what would be getting ordered today! Ribs...Ribs...and more Ribs! Our order took about 15 to 20 minutes to come out. While we waited there was a steady stream of customers coming in and placing orders. Note: there is very limited seating available, this place is primarily set up for take out. But, there are three or 4 tables that seat 4 people each, Our food comes out and immediately we are hit with the smell...Amazing! As i tear apart the ribs for my first bite the first thing I notice is these don't have fall of the bone meat, but it's as close to fall of the rib as I have ever seen. As your teeth sink into that first magical smokey bite realization hits that you are in for something special. Perfect blend of smokey flavor to sweet BBQ. At this point everything else that came with the meal (fries and bread) has been forgotten. Nice sized order at a reasonable price. You leave very satisfied from a taste and fullness standpoint. Really my only problem with Phenomenal Ribs is that there isn't one in Birmingham. Thanks to the Yelp community of Gary, Indiana for all the great reviews of Phenomenal Ribs. Without you we would have never found this hidden gem. If you are ever in Gary, Indiana or within say three states...make the trip, it's well worth it.

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    6 years ago

    Food was good,check them out! It's actually really good so go head and give them a try!

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    5 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    9 years ago

    The most tasty ribs I have ever eaten! Especially the appropriate smoked! God I love it!

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    7 years ago

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    9 years ago

    Excellent food fries are fresh cut sauce is great have been going here twice a week. Service is very friendly.

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    7 years ago

    The meat was seasoned really good but the sauce to me was a little too sweet but I would definitely go back.

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    9 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    8 years ago

    i wish they would take phone orders, they know how to bbq that ribs. All worth the wait and the commute

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    9 years ago

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    8 years ago

    I had their turkey tips yesterday they were dry and sauce was horrible!!! will not recommend this place to any of my friends

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    9 years ago

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    Page 2 of 2

    Ask the Community - Phenomenal Ribs

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    Tequila and Tacos

    Tequila and Tacos

    4.2
    (74 reviews)
    0.2 mi
    $$

    My wife and I dined at Tacos Tequila tonight and honestly it was a less than acceptable. When we…read morearrived though what I believed to be the front door, there was people waiting but no sign to show if you were the front was. We did find it, put our name down and was told it was a 20 minute wait. No problem, it was Friday and the place was packed. It was exciting because that meant the food had to be great. We get seated and then.. nothing. No one comes to greet us, no one is taking our drinks. I finally had to grab someone and I told him we as well as the people next to us haven't gotten drinks. I repeated it three or so times, pointing to the other table as well. He only came out with waters for us. The other table, which was seated as we were, waited 45 minutes for drinks and had to request them twice. 10 minutes after that, I was finally able to flag someone down to put our order in. The man taking our order stood awfully close to us and it was an uncomfortable experience. But we got our food order in. I think another 20 minutes later the table next to us finally got to order after they also grabbed the waiters attention. We waited another 45 minutes for food. No one came to check on us, tell us there was a wait and apologized. I even called another server over to say hey, people are not getting taken care of. He kept ignoring me and asking me if I wanted them to check on my food. I repeated no, I want people to get service, a table that was across from us hadn't even had their order taken and they were sat 10 minutes before us! He said that the kitchen was backed up. I said that wasn't the issue, that no one was even being served until we flagged them down. He kept going back to asking if I wanted him to check on our food. I repeated no and said Nevermind. Our food finally came and we were so hopeful. I ordered the Steak Mexicans, which comes with grilled peppers, onions, tomatoes and mushrooms. No mushroom. The rice and beans had no flavor whatsoever. It was also cold. Steak was fine, it wasn't my favorite. It was very tough and I ordered it rare. My wife had the Quesabirria. There was no abundance of cheese. The meat inside was sparse and dry. The consume was meh. She couldn't get the meat to soak up any juice, it was so dry. Her whole meal was cold. It looked like maybe our food had been sat there for a while. As soon as someone came by, I asked to pay. I'm unsure if anyone else is trained on the device they used to take order and pay, but the same man was there. I had read a review that the man stood close while paying, I'm guessing in a way to put pressure on the guest for bigger tips. We got up shortly and we heard someone shocked that we were done because they for their way before us. Also, the table diagonal to us JUST ordered their food. The table that was sat 10 minutes prior. I understand this place is new and that's why it's important to say this. I saw who I thought might be the manager (he was wearing a different shirt) for a total of 15 minutes during my meal. I saw a lot of walking back and forth in a very quiet kitchen. It had no idea if we had a waiter assigned to us, or even our section. The service was terrible and no accountability was taken for how "slow the kitchen was". Based on how cold our food was, I wonder if the kitchen was pushing out food and maybe the wait staff was too overwhelmed? Overall, extremely disappointing and I am hopeful that in the next few months, things turn around and we can actually enjoy a meal, not our whole evening, at this establishment.

    This place was hopping. We decided to eat outside. The inside was a little noisy. The drink menu…read morehad more than just tequila drinks. My group all ordered different drinks. They were a little heavy on the pour. Now let's talk about the tacos. I ordered the chicken and salmon. What a perfectly made tacos. My friends had the jerk option. They thought they could have been a little bit more spicy. Check them out. So good.

    Photos
    Barbacoa and chicken tacos! Delicious, highly recommend the barbacoa
    Barbacoa and chicken tacos! Delicious, highly recommend the barbacoa
    The pico is beautiful! And so yummy
    The pico is beautiful! And so yummy
    I saw the sign.

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    I saw the sign.

    Phenomenal Ribs - bbq - Updated August 2026

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