During the early part of our road trip, we were going from one family members home to another and were passing through Livingston. We were starving and realized as we passed a Jack in the Box on the opposite side of the road, that we may have missed the turn to all the food options.
I brought up the Nearby option on Yelp which told me there was one place a mile away... and that was it... for a really, really long time. Thank God for Yelp, we would have passed them for sure. As you are driving by, it resembles a garage- I probably wouldn't have even looked at the sign!
That certainly makes this a last chance oasis for those heading east out of Livingston on 190! I really dig this place and I'm so glad Yelp led me here!
The place had an old school diner setup and a super welcoming staff! The décor and atmosphere was fun. They have a specials board by the front door and a really solid lunch menu.
We arrived about 10 minutes before the lunch rush and they were about a third full. By the time we were eating, every table was taken. Wow!
The servers here are excellent! They work as a team and are very attentive, I would come here for the service alone if I lived in the area.
I ordered the chopped beef sandwich with coleslaw and potato salad for $8.95 and my husband ordered the cheeseburger and fries for $7.95. No picture of his because he was hungry, lol.
About a minute after our food came, the table next to us received the exact same meals we ordered, down to the sides. For a first visit here, I felt pretty accomplished. If you're ordering like the locals, you're probably in for a treat!
The portions and cook were great! This perfectly hit the spot and was a nice break from our road trip.
My chopped beef sandwich was huge and filled to the brim! Of course, as soon as I picked it up to take a bite, half of it fell out. I was about to get bummed when I realized it was easier for me to hold and now had the perfect amount for me, lol! So I guess it comes in uber big appetite size and then you cut it down to your preference! :)
I found everything to be tasty, and I believe my husband did too, but he wouldn't stop raving about their BBQ sauce! Now, to be honest, I probably wouldn't have tried it on my own because I believe that good BBQ doesn't need sauce and my chopped beef was already seasoned nicely.
But who could resist with the person across from you raving like that? So I tried it and I have to say that it's a very interesting and complex sauce with layers of different flavor profiles- starts off sweet, has a little smoke for a sec, a rich boldness towards the end. Sigh, it's very hard to explain, you'll just have to try it.
When we were good and full, we asked a server if they bottle and sell their BBQ sauce. She sent out the owner, Franky, who is in the midst of bottling the sauce! He has the permits, the labels and the sauce, just waiting on the bottles to arrive. He was a very sweet man and offered us a big cup of it for free!
This seriously made my husbands day- when we arrived at our destination he made everyone in the house try it, lol! I know we're coming back because my husband was complaining last week that we were running low on sauce.
I would come just for the down home cooking and great atmosphere! The menu options don't hurt though- I want to compare the pulled pork to their chopped beef, try a burger for myself, check out their jalapeno corn fritters... well, you get the point. Check them out if you're in the area! read more