We were driving the Great River Road and needed a lunch stop. We kept saying "the next town" but…read morethe towns were small and very depressed with few open businesses. When we drove into Wickliffe and saw lots of cars and trucks parked at a little roadside place we stopped. You order at a window and get to-go or sit out at one of two tables. A woman in front of me asked if I'd been there before. Then she told me she and her husband drive a couple hours just to get the BBQ. The woman that took our order was very friendly. We had a pork sandwich and a turkey breast sandwich. Most people came to get takeout. The staff knew everyone. Our sandwiches were so good we got ribs to-go. This place should be on Diners, Drive In's and Dives!

Efficient, friendly order and preparation. The brisket was tender but I think old age cow. The bbq…read moresauce too vinegary. The hashbrown more milk & cheese than potatoes. The baked beans (half beans, half goopy sauce: sweet, vinegary with jalapeño and onion. Ended up w stomach ache cuz of vinegar. I wish I had just bought smoked chickenn or turkey to go and no sides.

I aint even gonna lie man that shit was fire!! Highly recommend. Great service great beer!!read more

The food tasted amazing! Especially the wings were perfect. Perfect combination of sauce and crisp!…read more10/10. The brisket wontons were also very great! The only thing to consider is that it was brisket flavored cream cheese. Which was good but texture of just cream cheese that tasted like beef was a mental adjustment! The service was incredible as well as the atmosphere! Plus If you're from Minnesota the souther accents are awesome!

We have been to a lot of BBQ restaurants. This one is very good. Waited in line for 1/2 hour on a…read moreFriday evening memorial weekend. Took about 15 minutes after we ordered. Some tables inside and a big pavilion outside. The menu has a lot of options and they have great specials. I feel the price was good. All of the meats were great! So flavorful and tender. The jalapeño sausage was also very good. The sides were not the plain old salads and I assume made in-house. The potato salad sweet and creamy. The slaw has apple slivers in it to give it a sweet crunch. The beans had a little spice to them. The bread pudding is good with no shortage on sweetness.

Picked up a little carry-out BBQ from Blazing Trails Texas BBQ in West Frankfort. We ordered the…read morePit Master - 1lb ribs, 1lb brisket, 1lb pulled pork, potato salad, BBQ baked beans and buns. We added 1/2lb of burnt ends. It was absolutely delicious. The ribs and brisket were as tender, juicy and tasty as one could possibly hope for. The potato salad and beans made nice contrasting sides. Best of all, we have plenty of leftovers to eat all weekend.

I always get the pork bbq sandwich with Apple City Red sauce and coleslaw…read more Really like the vinegar slaw on occasion. I almost always call it in and pick it up at drive through and they always get it right.

Great food and service! Always try to get something different each time we go and their "magic dust…read more" is amazing on everything that they have! And fresh pork rinds are incredible!

Stood in line for 20 minutes at the Sunset Concert tonight to get brisket, because the sign out…read morefront advertised brisket. They even had a flier advertising brisket with seasoned fries and beans. Got to the front of the line, and they said they had no brisket. I missed half the first set. This is the second time that's happened to me, and the last time I bother with them. It's a shame I have to even give them one star.

Excellent BBQ! Place was busy at lunchtime when I visited. Took a few minutes to obtain my to-go…read moreorder, but worth the wait.

Great food! Great Prices!! Friendly service and fast! I would suggest getting extra sauce though!!…read moreBut overall excellent food and sauce and portions!

We visited Paducah for the Quilt Show, and my wife, a quilter, expressed a desire for barbecue…read more Following a recommendation from a local merchant, we went to Starnes BBQ. The restaurant was quite busy. We secured a table and ordered two sandwiches, an order of coleslaw, and shared an iced tea. My wife is particular about sauces; we both tasted a small amount, and found the sauce to be excessively hot, with the consistency of watered-down hot sauce and lacking in traditional barbecue flavor. While the locals seemed to enjoy it, we did not find it to our liking. Having sampled barbecue in various regions, from California to the Carolinas, we found this to be the worst sauce we've encountered. We did not use the sauce on our sandwiches. The meat was adequately cooked but lacked flavor. The coleslaw was very good, as was the iced tea. The service was excellent. The restaurant is quite small, as evidenced by the previous photos. If you are seeking authentic Southern barbecue, Starnes BBQ falls short of expectations.

Popped in for Thurs lunch favoring Pat's with fewer but better ratings and less expensive option in…read moreMurphysboro. First time...so went withh the sampler at $18 and most of their meats are included except the pork steak (makes sense to me since that's usually a separate feature in these parts along with Kentucky). It was three of us and we were given the heads up that the sampler can feed two. Figured we could start with that and order more. The order was a very generous helping of two large rib tips, two pork rib bones, two wing pieces, and pulled chicken, pork, and chopped brisket. Our choice of two sides were slaw and mac & cheese. Three buns were thrown in given the three of us in the party (thanks for the flex). Local bottled Big Muddy root beer is the same $1.50 as the can sodas in the case and it is made with honey and cane sugar. Of the things I tried, I thought the rib tips were excellent - smoked pink and moist - got a meaty piece with only a small piece of cartilage. The chopped brisket isn't my thing - I prefer sliced. My daughter said the ribs were great (figured would be as good as the tips). The wings I believe were smoked too rather than grilled and the taste from the rub/marinade wasn't something I was familiar with. Tender and not dry. Pulled pork and chicken were solid. We still had leftovers - so I'll get my chance to try the ribs and focus on the flavor of the wing. Will have to get the pork steak next time and order plates next time focusing on our faves. Roomy dining area with some tables near the windows. It was getting warm out there so having plenty of indoor seating on a quieter Thursday lunch was welcome over overflow seating outside at the covered picnic tables.

I live in the Midwest, in a small city. Our BBQ places are easy to find: look for a big, shouty…read moresign; the owner's $120,000 extended F250 taking up a space right in front of the door; and an ambiance that includes corrugated steel walls, self-consciously Texas-y lamps over closely huddled booths, and servers all wearing the same hat and shirt. Oh - and the food is usually fine, except no fried okra. Pat's is not in a city. It's outside a small southern Illinois town. Pretty far outside, in fact, which is where true BBQ is supposed to be located. The parking lot is gravel. The only pickups there belong to customers, and their worth is more in the range of $12,000, except to their owners, who use them as trucks. And the sign is a sign. It tells you where you are. Oh, wait - there are BBQ competition trophies in the entryway. Stand and marvel. There are more inside. Marvel more. Because other than these and some pics of family and locals and celebrities I didn't recognize on the walls, that's about it for decoration. Stare at the menu, menu board and signs. Pay attention to the happy person behind the counter when she tells you what they're out of, because the best BBQ places are out of something you want. Note the teasing banter between local customers and the kitchen staff, because everyone knows someone back there. And order. We got the pulled pork plate. My sister got potato salad and green beans. I got the fries. I got the local(?) root beer. They don't do fried okra, but this IS the Midwest. It all came to our table in a reasonable amount of time. The BBQ sauce came in a cup on the side. Ketchup was brought to us. So why only four stars? Everything was perfect, right? And prizewinning? Yeah, but BBQ is personal. Everyone has an opinion. I lived in northern Alabama, which styles itself as BBQ Country. As does Texas and Kansas City and Memphis and everywhere. Pat's, much beloved by regulars for its mild smokiness, juicy juicy soft texture and other features, seemed a bit too mild and even soggy to me. I know - I have no taste. And it was good. Just not five stars great. And not enough sauce in the container, though I could have gotten up to ask for more. And the potato salad was fine and the fries a little too starchy, but only a little. That said, the beans were the wonderful dark green juicy soft salty ones that are too ... wonderful. Get those. The root beer, brewed with honey, y'all, was the best ever. Get that, too. The dessert was what they were out of, dang it! Overall the experience was just great. Someplace to go back to. And you should go there.

Wow, what a difference a few days makes. I decided to give Bandanas another try but this time I…read moreordered online and got the ribs instead of the brisket & burnt ends. The ordering process was simple, the girls behind the counter were on it as I was greeted immediately and my order was ready when I got there. She made sure I had utensils, sauce and some wet naps. To be honest I didn't really even have to have the sauce for the ribs because they were so good they didn't need sauce. I used the sauce to dip my bread. The up charge on the Mac & Cheese is worth it and the fries were still good by the time I got them home.

Food: delicious, every item, every sauce Service: super…read morefriendly Ambiance: it was pretty chilly, bring a sweater if you need to

What a perfect little spot! Traveling through town we stopped in for breakfast by doing a quick…read moresearch in the area. What a little hidden gem! The staff was very friendly and helpful, food was served perfectly and the dining area had plenty of seating. You order at the counter, pour your own coffee from the coffee station and seat yourself. Food is brought promptly and served warm! Eggs were cooked perfectly, bacon had an amazing crisp to it and the biscuits were soft! A lovely gentleman walked around refilling coffee at the perfect time as well.

3 - Got full breakfast plus order of hash browns got breakfast no hash browns as a matter of fact…read morethey didn't get ordered at all. Had to go back up an pay again. 2 waitresses had quite a nice long chat while I was waiting almost 10 minutes later food was cold but had hash browns, finally arrived. And they weren't crispy as I ordered for a second time. Pretty sure we paid twice for them. So if you go make sure they get everything check ticket before you leave the counter. Service definitely needs work.! Food was actually not to bad.

3.5/5 Solid Bbq joint. Got the brisket plate. Good portions…read more The brisket was good- nothing too crazy flavorful though. The baked beans were good. Did try the chocolate pie and that was really good. Overall good bbq place

Brisket was the star for me. Bbq was good. Ribs was not doing it for me today but good n tender…read more First time having smoke Bologna it's was very delicious n Smokey. Quick service on drive thru.