What is the BIBbq Group?

At work we have a group of guys that enjoy to go out to lunch every day. There had been several debate to which is Atlanta's best BBQ restaurant . We decided to hit up a different BBQ restaurant each week and rate several aspects of the experience to determine what is truly the Best In BBQ in Atlanta. Thus the BIBbq group was born.

Each week the group will visit a different BBQ restaurant. We are currently located near Perimeter Mall, so we are starting off with the restaurants within a 10 mile radius. We will rate the restaurant on the following categories: Main Dish Taste, Main Dish Tenderness, Sauce, Side Items, Service, Atmosphere, Cost and an Overall rating.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Sam's BBQ1

Date: Thursday, April 15, 2010
Restaurant: Sam's BBQ1
Location: 4944 Lower Roswell Road
Marietta, GA 30068-4321

URL: http://www.bbq1.net/
Recommended By: Matt

8.5

The walls of BBQ1 are covered by their competition BBQ trophies. Starting off we knew we were going to eat some award winning BBQ. They have good lunch specials. $6.95 for a meat, side and drink.

The sauces are served in a pumping station. KC, NC Vinegar and Mustard were available. The KC and Mustard were excellent, but most were not fond of the vinegar based. It was too vinegary.

The pork, beef and ribs all had a great smoky flavor and were pretty tender. The beef could have been a little more tender. All very delicious.
The mac and cheese was excellent. Fat noodles, cheesy and a thick crust. The Brunswick stew was thick and tasty. We also got tater tots, fries and fried okra, all were good.

You can tell that BBQ1 knows how to cook BBQ. All of their dishes were very good and worthy of competition

An additional note. Sam offers a BBQ cooking course called PorkU. This class teaches techniques for BBQing for your back yard or for competition.

Sandwich with 0 Sides - $6
Lunch Sandwich with 1 Side and a drink - $7
Plate with 2 Sides - $12
1/2 Rack Ribs - $14

Matt
Overall Score: 9
Main Dish Taste:
      Beef – 8.5
      Ribs - 9
Sauce:
      Mustard – 9.5
      KC - 9
      Carolina -7
Tenderness: 9
Sides Taste :
      Brunswick Stew – 8.5
      Mac & Cheese – 9
      Fried Okra - 9
      Tater Tots – 8.5
Service: 7
Atmosphere: 7
Cost: 8
Comments: Meats were very good. The beef was a little tough. I like that the sauces are served in a pumping station and you mix them as you please. They were all pretty good.
The Mac and chees was great, big noodles and nice cheesy taste. The Brunswick stew was good.

Mason
Overall Score: 8.5
Main Dish Taste:
      Pulled Pork - 8
      Ribs – 8.5
Sauce:
      Mustard – 9
      KC – 8.5
      Carolina -1
Tenderness: 9
Sides Taste :
      Brunswick Stew - 8
      Mac & Cheese - 9
Service: 7
Atmosphere: 8
Cost: 8.5
Comments: BBQ1 had a catering-like van outside that had "Competition-Style Southern Barbecue" written on it, so my expectations were raised at that point. And rightly so, this place was excellent. They had trophies on the wall of competitions that they had won. The lunch special was great, BBQ sandwich, a side and a drink $6.95. It took quite a while to get our food, but that really was the only negative thing about BBQ 1. They had a whole station set up for sauces. Their sauces were excellent, with the exception of the Carolina. Extremely vinegary! Just not my style. The ribs were very smoky and delicious. The pulled pork had a great smoky flavor as well and was very tender. The mac and cheese deserves a mention, it was very good! BBQ 1 is the real deal when it comes to southern BBQ and I will be going back when I get the chance.

Dan
Overall Score: 8
Main Dish Taste:
      Pulled Pork - 8
      Ribs - 8
Sauce:
      Mustard – 9
      KC – 8
Tenderness:9
Sides Taste :
      Tater Tots -8
Service: 8
Atmosphere:6
Cost: 8
Comments: Definitely enjoyable. The service was a little "shacky", literally, but all in all a very solid spot.











Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Atlanta Magazine - Atlanta's Best BBQ


Atlanta Magazine's July addition rate's Atlanta's Best BBQ.

Here is their top 5
1. Hickory Pig - Gainsville, GA (63 miles north of Atlanta)
2. Sam's BBQ1
3. Swallow at the Hallow
4. P'cheen - Monday Night is BBQ night
5. Blind Pig BBQ - Jackson, GA(50 miles south of Atlanta)

I do agree that both Sam's BBQ1 and Swallow at the Hallow are both good BBQ joints. Swallow at the Hallow is overpriced and abuses the use of sauce. BBQ1 is just good, maybe not the best but very good. The rest are either too far away or only serving BBQ on Mondays.

The article also has a one page BBQ DIY article. It is based on Sam Huff's PorkU. (Sam is the owner of Sam's BBQ1). Matt attended PorkU a couple of weeks ago and a write up is coming.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

This Is It

Date: 3/24/2010
Restaurant: This Is It
Location: 2776 Cumberland Blvd, Smyrna, GA 30080

URL: http://www.thisisitbbq.com/loc.html
Recommended By: TV Commercial

Score : 2.5

If this is It, We don't want "It". Most of their food is ready and waiting, cafeteria style. Somehow it still took us 15 minutes to move up 3 people in line and another 10 minutes to scoop our food out of the warming trays.

You can see all the items soaking away in sauce. The beef looked like beef soup, except the soup is BBQ sauce. It was also ½ fat and cartilage. The Ribs were over cooked and then covered in sauce. The pork was OK if it wasn’t soaked sauce. They have a special of 3 wings for a dollar, not a bad deal. The wings are fried wings sitting in the warming tray, when you order, they are drizzled in sauce.

Speaking of sauce over everything, you can’t pour your own. They add it when you order. There is plenty of hot sauce to add, I guess to cover the taste. The mac and cheese was the only item that tasted good, lots of good spices. The fries came straight from the freezer into the deep fryer.

If you are reading this, do not go to This Is It. You may find out why we nick named it “Loose Stools.”

"Lunch Special” Meat, 1 Side and drink - $5
Meat 0 sides - $5
Plate 2 sides - $7
4 Ribs - $10

Matt
Overall Score: 4
Main Dish Taste:
      Beef - 6
      Ribs - 5
      Chicken Wing - 4
Sauce: 5
Tenderness: 5
Sides Taste :
      Brunswick Stew - 6
      Mac & Cheese – 7
      Fries - 4
Service: 3
Atmosphere: 3
Cost: 8
Comments: If this is It, I don't want "It". We got there right around 12 with 2 people ahead of us in line. It took 20 min to order and then 15 more to get our food. The best part is most of their food comes cafeteria style and is all ready to serve. They messed up 3 of our orders.
The beef was full of fat and catilige. Covered in sauce. The ribs were dry and covered in sauce. Their wings were pre fried and sitting in a warming tray. When you order them they soak them in sauce.
The mac and Cheese was probably the best item and it was just OK. Good pepper taste. The brunswich stew was 1/2 stew and 1/2 BBQ sauce. Tasted pretty good but way too much sauce.

Mason
Overall Score: 2
Main Dish Taste:
      Pulled Pork - 6
      Ribs - 6
Sauce:6
Tenderness:6
Sides Taste :
      Brunswick Stew - 3
      Fries - 5
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 2
Cost: 5
Comments: Oh boy. It doesn't get much worse than this. We started with the worst service i have had in a long time. There was probably a 5 minute gap between each order at the register, and there were people in front of us. We didn't sit down with our food for 20-30 minutes. Their menu looked like something from a cheesy fast food joint. The cost seemed good, pork sandwich, fries and a drink for like $6. But when i got it, it was like 5 forkfuls of pork. The pork was actually ok, nothing great but i expected the worst. The ribs were ok too, big spare ribs covered in sauce. Speaking of sauce. You had to ask for sauce from behind the counter, but their was like 2 bottles of hot sauce per table. Hot sauce is not as important as bbq sauce at a bbq joint. The stew was terrible. It came on a Styrofoam plate and tasted like something that may have been good once but got old. This place was so bad that it got a long review. I would be completely embarrassed if someone from out of town got their impression of Georgia bbq from this place.

Dan
Overall Score:2
Main Dish Taste:
      Pulled Pork - 4
      Ribs - 4
Sauce:5
Tenderness:4
Sides Taste :
      Fries - 7
Service: 1
Atmosphere: 1
Cost: 6
Comments: Terrible, Terrible, Terrible. There is no other way to describe it. I thought Rib Etc. was as bad as it could get, but no, this was MUCH worse, We stood in line for 30 minutes, and no, it was not busy. After waiting so long to get my food, I was hoping, boy, this food better be great. But much to my dismay, it was not. The pork was dry and the ribs were disgusting. Someone there said, "This is NOT it", they were certainly right.

James
Overall Score:2
Main Dish Taste:
      Beef- 1.5
      Chicken – 1.5
Sauce: 4
Tenderness: 1
Sides Taste :
      Fries - 2
Service: 1.5
Atmosphere: 2
Cost: 10
Comments: I wanted to give my feedback on the “BBQ” place we visited for lunch. I can’t remember the name of it but I’ll refer to it from this point forward as “Loose Stools”. I would like to offer that it is definitely on my list of “off limit establishments” and not the way I imagined my first re-introduction to Georgia BBQ. The chicken I had brought me back to the days when I was dating my wife, I had this annoying rooster that used to crow outside my window every morning way before I ever wanted to get up, so I “took care of him”, it was a clean shot through the head so I thought I would make him for dinner and spent most of the day preparing the toughest piece of meat you’d ever eaten in your life – my then girlfriend wasn’t impressed. Anyway, the positive takeaway is at least “Loose Stools” reminded me of my youth… I’m sure I’ll be reminded throughout the evening as well.













'Cue

Date: 3/10/2010
Restaurant: 'Cue
Location: 13700 Highway 9 North, Milton, GA 30004-3645
URL: http://www.cuebarbecue.com/
Recommended By: Keith / Jacob

Score : 8

Overall Cue has good BBQ. The restaurant is a little small but does give you a modern country feel (You feel like you are in Alpharetta). Their beef and pork are both good but nothing special. Their ribs are really good, if you don't get a dry one. They do have some very good sauces. That may be their strongest point.

Their Brunswick stew was very tasty as well. Their Mac and Cheese was just OK, not very cheesy.

Overall I was satisfied with Cue. If you are in Alpharetta, we would definitely check it out. You may not want to make the drive from Atlanta.

Sandwich, no sides - $7
Plate, 2 sides - $10.50
½ rack ribs - $10

Matt
Overall Score: 8.5
Main Dish Taste:
      Beef – 8.5
      Ribs - 8
Sauce: 8.5
Tenderness:8
Sides Taste :
      Brunswick Stew - 9
      Mac & Cheese - 7
Service: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Cost: 8
Comments: "Good Beef. Very Tender. 1st rib was a little dry but the 2nd was great.
Mac and Cheese was very good but could use a little more cheese flavor. Stew was one of my favorite. Very thick.
All 3 sauces had a good kick. Vinegar, KC, Mustard. "

Mason
Overall Score: 7.5
Main Dish Taste:
      Pulled Pork - 8
      Ribs - 8
Sauce: 8
Tenderness: 8
Sides Taste :
      Brunswick Stew - 8
      Mac & Cheese - 7
Service: 8
Atmosphere: 6.5
Cost: 8
Comments: Cue was a small place, more modern feel. The ribs were really good, but it could have been the sauce that i liked more. The sauce was great, i mixed their mustard and original together. The mac and cheese was average. The stew was great. The pulled pork was a little above avereage, very tender. Although nothing at cue was done wrong, nothing seemed to stand out either.










Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Smoke Jack

Date: Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Restaurant: Smoke Jack
Location: 29 South Main Street, Alpharetta, GA
URL: http://www.smokejackbbq.com/
Recommended By: Matt

Score: 8.3

We headed up to Alpharetta for lunch today. Smoke Jack fits right into Alpharetta as a fancy BBQ restaurant. A place where you can take a date and have a nice drink. On the menu they have the JACK. A combo plate with 6 meats and 2 sides, all for just $30. The menu says it can feed a really hungry person or 2 people. It fed 3 of us just fine.

The Burnt Ends were a big hit, they had a good smoky flavor and were fairly tender. The beef was not as tender as the burnt ends but still tasty. Pork was very good, tender, full of flavor, especially when you add the mustard sauce. The ribs could be ordered either Memphis style (dry rub) or KC style (thick sauce). We got the spare KC and baby back Memphis. The both were really good.

Smoke Jack also has several sides and appetizers to choose from. The fried pickles and Corn Bread Pudding are a must. The pickles come with a spicy dip and the Corn Bread Pudding has little bits of jalapenos in it, but not really spicy.

The sauces they bring depend on what you order. We recommend just asking for all of them up front. The Carolina Mustard is really good with a bit of mustard and sweet. The KC style is pretty good. The Citrus KC was not our favorite. The orange flavor is not the best in a BBQ sauce.


The Jack Combo 6 meats - $30
Beef Plate (2 sides) - $9
Sand (1 side) - $7.50

Matt
Overall Score: 8.5
Main Dish Taste:
      Beef – 7.5
      Burnt Ends - 9
      Chicken - 7
      Pork - 9
      Spare Ribs (KC) - 8
      Baby Back Ribs (Memphis) - 8
Sauce:
      Carolina Mustard - 8.5
      KC - 8
      KC Citrus - 6.5
Tenderness: 8`
Sides Taste :
      Brunswick Stew – 6.5
      Mac & Cheese – 8.5
      Corn Bread Pudding - 8
      Fried Pickles - 9
Service: 8
Atmosphere: 7.5
Cost: 7
Comments: Ordered the Jack Meal for $30.
Beef a little dry
Burnt Ends - Awesome
Chicken - Good but not Smokey
Pork - Very good with the mustard sauce
Spare Ribs (KC) - good. A little chewy
Baby Back Ribs (Memphis) Good.
Mac and Cheese. Very good. Burt crust.
Corn Bread Pudding. Unique flavor with bits of jalapeno
Stew - too soupy. Potatoes not cooked enough. Lots of chunky bits
Fried Pickles - Very good and good dipping sauce

Carolina Mustard was a mix of Mustard and vinegar. Very good
KC a little sweet. A little spicy
KC Citrus. The citrus flavor just threw it off

Mason
Overall Score: 8.5
Main Dish Taste:
      Beef – 6
      Burnt Ends - 9
      Chicken - 8
      Pork – 8.5
      Spare Ribs (KC) - 8
      Baby Back Ribs (Memphis) - 8
Sauce:
      Carolina - 4
      KC - 8
Tenderness: 8
Sides Taste :
      Brunswick Stew - 7
      Corn Pudding - 9.5
      Fried Pickles - 9
Service: 8
Atmosphere: 6
Cost: 8
Comments: The atmosphere is a little more modern. It didn't really have a BBQ feel to it. We started off with the fried pickles. Very good quality, huge. Came with a spicy sauce for them that was awesome too. Then we opened the menu and there it was, THE JACK. 6 meats and 4 sides for 30 bones. It said it would comfortably feed 2, but it comfortably fed 3. The beef was a little on the dry side, the pork was great. The burnt ends were very tender and some of the better I have had. Chicken was good. It came with spare ribs and baby back. You don't get that often! They were both great. A little small, but done right. The corn pudding they serve is a must, it is amazing. I live fairly close to smoke jack and will be making this a regular stop.

Dan
Overall Score:8
Main Dish Taste:
      Beef – 4
      Burnt Ends – 9.5
      Chicken - 6
      Pork – 9.5
      Spare Ribs (KC) - 7
      Baby Back Ribs (Memphis) - 8
Sauce:7
Tenderness:8
Sides Taste :
      Fries - 6
      Fried Pickles - 8
Service: 8
Atmosphere:7
Cost: 7
Comments: Try a little bit of everything, which was AWESOME. If only every place had the Jack on their menu, that would be great!! To me, the burnt ends and the pork were the stars. I had never had burnt ends before, but I may have to start trying it after this experience. The ribs were also very good. The chicken and beef were alright, but nothing to write home about. All in all a top 5 BBQ experience and I would definitely go back again.








Saturday, April 10, 2010

Best In BBQ

You have asked for it, here are our current rankings:

Visit Date - Restaurant - Group Score
12/2/2009 - Fat Matts - 9
3/3/2010 - Smoke Jack - 8.5
4/15/2010 - Sam's BBQ1 - 8.5
10/14/2009 - Spiced Right - 8.17
3/10/2010 - 'Cue- 8
11/16/2009 - Old Brick Pit Barbeque - 7.83
12/9/2009 - Swallow At The Hollow - 7.8
1/6/2010 - Pig and Chick - 7.8
12/29/2009 - Fox Brothers - 7.5
5/19/2010 - Dreamland - 7.33
1/27/2010 - Shanes - 7.25
11/24/2009 - One Star Ranch - 7.13
1/20/2010 - Old Hickory House - 6.75
1/11/2010 - Slopes - 6.6
12/15/2009 - KC Pit - 6.5
10/27/2009 - Ribs Etc - 5
3/24/2010 - This is It BBQ - 2.67
12/9/2009 - Bennie's Barbecue - Closed


Still to come
Five Star Barbecue
Lowcountry Barbecue Restaurant
BBQ Corner 2
Woodys
Rolling Bones
Dusty's
Community BBQ
DBA Barbecue
Williamson Bros Bar-B-Q
Rib Ranch
PR Barbeque
Harold's Barbecue
Bobby & June Country Kitchen
Daddy D'z
Sam and Dave’s BBQ2
Hometown BBQ
Jim N’Nick
Old South BBQ

Friday, April 9, 2010

Shane's Rib Shack

Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Restaurant: Shane’s Rib Shack
Location: 123 Perimeter Center West
Atlanta, GA 30346-4205

URL: http://www.shanesribshack.com/

7.25

Shane's rib shack is not really a shack, but they still have pretty good BBQ. They are a chain with several locations and their meat tastes like it was made for the chain and not made on location. The Beef was very very dry, had to stop eating it. The ribs were a little tough but pretty good. They did a fairly good job with the pork.
They seem to have one of every kind of sauce. The spicy has a really good kick, Carolina Vinegar not enough spices, but had an apple vinegar taste. One of their best items was the Brunswick Stew. Nice and thick.
Shane’s Rib Shack is good for what it is, a convenient chain BBQ restaurant. Stop by if there is one around, but don’t go out of your way.

Full Rack - $19
1/2 Rack - $12
Plate (2 Sides) - $9
Sandwich (1 Side) $7

Dan
Overall Score: 6.75
Main Dish Taste:
      Pulled Pork - 6
      Ribs - 8
Sauce:8
Tenderness: 6
Sides Taste :
      Fries – 7.5
Service: 7
Atmosphere: 6
Cost: 8
Comments: For a chain, it was fine. The ribs were good, but the pork just wasn’t anything special. I wouldn’t rush back to go to Shane's, but the price aint bad and the service is pretty quick.

Matt
Overall Score: 7
Main Dish Taste:
      Beef - 4
      Ribs – 7.5
Sauce: 9
Tenderness: 6
Sides Taste :
      Brunswick Stew – 9.5
      Mac & Cheese - 7
      Fries - 8
      Fried Okra - 8
Service: 7
Atmosphere: 7
Cost: 8
Comments: Chain. Meat seems to be reheated. Beef Very Dry and chewy. Ribs need a knife to separate but tasted good. 5 sauces to choose from. Spicy has a really good kick. Carolina vinegar not enough spices, but had an apple vinegar taste.
Stew, one of the best. Very thick; Fries good seasoning; M&C decent cafeteria style; Okra good

Mason
Overall Score: 8
Main Dish Taste:
      Pulled Pork - 8
      Ribs - 8
Sauce: 9
Tenderness:7
Sides Taste :
      Brunswick Stew – 9.5
Service: 6
Atmosphere:6
Cost: 8
Comments: Even though Shane's is a chain, it was a great BBQ. The stew was excellent. Pulled pork was great. The ribs were definitely on the tough side, but great flavor. The sauce was excellent, many to choose from. The only negative i could point out is the atmosphere, very chainy. But i have to say it excelled where other dives failed. I will be going back here a lot.