Final Thoughts: 2.00/5.0
Looks to be a barbeque place that just opened up within the Evergreen Area. The crowd here had me believe that I would love the food and I really did want to. There were just a few factors that contributed to this experience overall though. Will have to be a 2 star for me today.
Food:
Combo: 3 Meats + 2 sides and a slice of bread
My friends and I decided to get the 3 meat combo. That, combined with 3 other sides was an optimal sized meal between my two friends and I.
Pulled Pork: 3.0/5
This meat was very tender. These cuts of meat are quite nice. For the flavor, I thought it was a little too salty for my liking. Also seemed very one dimensional with the flavor because it seemed to just be salt? May have just needed another item to be eaten with it, but alone, it was very plain.
Tri-Tip: 2.0/5
Hmm...kind of dry. The meat looks lean, so I'll attribute some of that to the cut of the meat. Perhaps this meat just isn't for me because it was just so much lean protein and maybe it would have been better with another starch or carb. The temperature seems to contribute to this too because our whole tray was just warm at best. Nothing seemed freshly made, but mostly pulled from a warmer after being cooked there for a while. Seasoning didn't impress me either. It felt like just some salt seasoned on top, which isn't very ideal for my taste and flavor palate.
Pork Ribs: 3.5/5
My favorite protein on this tray. Sauce was good and like this barbeque sauce. The flavor leans more on being on the sweet side, which is how I like it. Meat was tender and easy to take off the bone. Slightly messy, so have the napkins ready. I used a fork and it was also quite easy to just take off. It's not falling off the bone or anything, but no concerns with it being tough.
Mac & Cheese: 4.0/5
This was also something that I enjoyed. Perhaps I prefer the sides and the carbs more than the meats. The flavor of the cheeses used were nice and sharp, but not too overpowering.
Potato Salad: 3.8/5
Their potato salad had a nice seasoning to it. I liked the fresh onions added. It wasn't too overpowering, but complimented the remainder of the potato salad well. The flavor was quite nice and balanced. Had some umami and saltiness to it. Something I like are the seasonings and herbs that are added to it. There's this freshness and is much needed as a starch when there's this much protein and meat on a tray.
Garlic Bread: 2.0/5
This bread looked so sad on the tray. I thought this item was so simple, but it tastes amazing. Not the case here. It was somewhat crispy, very warm, and lacking in flavor. Garlic seems to have a strong flavor profile to it, so for this bread to lack on flavor, texture, and all other fronts is quite disappointing.
Menu: Always Missing Something
There is always an item missing from their menu. I've only been here once and I was excited to try everything that other people have advertised and hyped up. When we got here, they really didn't have any of those items. This included the corn bread, burnt ends, or brisket. My recommendation is to at least cross out those items on the menu or have a sign noted at the front on the items that are currently out of stock. You don't find out until you pay and that slows the flow of traffic. My friend has been here multiple times. From what I've heard, you might want to have your choices and plans from A to Z because their menu has never been fully stocked any time he's gone there.
---------
Quality: Warm
When the food came to the table, they were just warm and not hot at all. It seemed like everything wasn't even sitting inside of a warmer or on a tray line. Not the best first impression. Perhaps they were busy this day. My friends have had a "better" ish experience before, so perhaps I can give them the benefit of the doubt on this day.
Price: Varies
Will depend on what you get. For the meat combo that we got today, the price was fairly affordable. Large price range of $20 to $30 for the mains plus around $4 for sides.
Service: Limited Interactions
You just order in the front and then they'll call for you to get your tray in the front. Something I do note is how long it takes for a table to be cleaned so that other customers can sit. They have a decent amount of customers and this seemed to be quite a popular place, so I would expect more attentiveness with clearing tables for the upcoming customers.
Ambiance: Backyard BBQ
This place is giving me a backyard BBQ vibe. Very lively inside and out, which I like. The crowd is nice, music choice is right, and the food is just very fitting for this kind of environment.
Location/Parking: Small/Optimal Parking
This plaza is in a relatively more secluded area. It's in the plaza on San Felipe Rd and Yerba Buena Rd. Plaza is quite small and the parking is within this space. Seems to be enough given this plaza size. read more