Good, but....
Attempted to go here twice only to find it closed. Closed Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. Open for lunch 11-2, then closed a few hours and then reopen for dinner 5-8, except open until 9 Friday and Saturday. A recent post on their Facebook page said they reopened at 3 the days they are open, but that clearly isn't true, as we showed up at 4:00 on a Friday, and it was locked up tight. Confusing? You bet. Burned some time and went back, waiting outside in the sweltering heat for about 15 minutes as a throng of other guests continued to arrive awaiting the opening. Pretty much every table was filled in a few minutes. (There is an outdoor patio dining area as well, but the sweltering heat we have had this week did not make that even remotely a viable option unless you were accustomed to living in the Sahara.) That was good for a new business (open only 2 weeks). Simply and nicely decorated. Not too noisy, even though there are a lot of hard surfaces and there quickly wasn't a vacant table to be had (including several unconnected couples sharing a long "communal" table, and people waiting for a table to open up. We were waited on fairly quickly and drink and food orders placed. So far so good. We had some doubts about our waitress, but in reflection, it had more to do with the volume of costumers she had to cover (only three order taking servers). Then the waiting began... other service staff was good about circulating and checking on soft drink refills, as well as "adult beverages" (beer/seltzer) on request. However, getting our food seemed to take a congressional act... an hour passed... no food. While others were getting food before us, we did note every table seemed to be waiting a long time for food items. There were tables that seated about the same time as us that were served, finished, and departing, while we still sat waiting...waiting...waiting. Unfortunately it took our server WAY too long to check on why we had not received our order. She later revealed that the kitchen had lost our order... Not good! Plus it also had become very clear the kitchen was also putting too much priority on carry-outs over the in-house patrons/customers. Food arrived finally 1 hour 30 minutes after admission (doors opened a few minutes before 5pm). Ample quantities and delicious, but the waiting frustrations had worn on my elderly parents, so the enjoyment was significantly diminished. We had ribs that were meaty and nicely seasoned with both a dry rub and "wet" barbecue sauce.... BUT... with the dull "butter knives" offered with the place settings, and an unusual rib cut (more on that in a minute), the ribs were difficult to cut apart to eat. About the cut.... You could see the ribs sticking out of one end, but unlike ribs we have grown accustomed to, you could not cut in a straight line between the ribs to separate them and eat. The rib bones in reality were deceptively short, but actually continued on with a long "tail" of gristle that went in many directions - sometimes curving left at the end of the rack, sometimes right, often curving back along the other side of the slab to a point several bones further away before you could fully separate the rib! But, boy, what a lot of good eating once you got one free! Onion rings were delicious. Sweet potato fries also great, but had we known how huge the basket of fries would be, we would have only ordered one, instead of two (for two people). The cheesy hash browns side were perfection, but again a more than ample portion for a side (FYI - sides are not included with the ribs - you order ribs, that's all you get is the ribs, but really with the quantity of meat on those ribs, you don't need a side). After finally paying the bill, our dining experience had spanned almost 2 1/2 hours, and not by choice. The food was worth giving this place another try, but the owners need to make some serious corrections in their service and prioritize their focus on the in-house customers over carry-outs. Lots of other things on the menu that I would like to try, but not sure how soon we will try to go back after the service fiasco of this first experience. read more