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.

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.

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.

Fox Brothers

Date: 12/29/2009
Restaurant: Fox Brothers
Location: 1238 Dekalb Ave, Atlanta Ga 30307
URL: http://www.foxbrosbbq.com/
Recommended By: Peter Drive By, Guy at Poker

Score 7.5

At first glance Fox Brothers looks like a great dive BBQ joint. There is a separate smoke house next to the restaurant, old signage all over the walls and the menu looks like an 1800's news paper. While you are waiting for your food the Tomminator is a must. Tater Tots covered in thick Brunswick stew smothered with melted cheese. The fried pickles or jalapenos are really good as well.
The ribs come out with a slightly burnt sauce. Pretty good, but they were not very tender. The outer ones were more burnt an the inner ones were slightly tender. The beef was not very tender. The pulled pork had a strong bitter smoky flavor. The chicken wings are smoked wings, the meat has a good kick to in and they are covered in sauce. A nice sweet and spicy combo.
Over all, Fox Brothers has a great BBQ atmosphere and some of the best BBQ appetizers around. Their main dishes need a bit of work.

Beef Sand (1 Side) - $10
Beef Plate (2 Sides) - $13
1/2 Rack - $15
Combo 2 meats - $15
Half Tomminator - $4

Peter
Overall Score: 6.5
Main Dish Taste:
      Chicken Wings - 8
      Ribs - 6
Sauce: 7
Tenderness: 6
Sides Taste :
      Tomminator - 9
      Mac & Cheese - 6
      Collard Greens - 9
      Fried Pickles & Jalapenos - 8
Service: 8
Atmosphere: 9
Cost: 7
Comments: Fox Bros looks great from Dekalb Ave. When I walked up and saw the smoker house next door and then the menu, I was very intrigued and excited. I ordered the Tomminator to start. Tots piled high with cheese and Brunswick Stew. It was very good, but more bar fare than bbq. The ribs and chicken wings combo looked really good when set in front of me. But, it failed to impress where the rubber hit the road. The ribs were tough. The flavor was okay, but I could tell that Fox Bros. lost focus somewhere along the way when it comes to translating their original concept with ribs into the finished product. The current execution is poor. The wings were interesting looking. Smokey and spicy buffalo flavors present as well. The Collard Greens were also good, But I won't be planing to come back again. That would require some reason other than the food.

Matt
Overall Score:8.5
Main Dish Taste:
      Beef - 7
      Ribs - 8
Sauce:9.5
Tenderness:7
Sides Taste :
      Tomminator – 9.5
      Mac & Cheese - 6
      Brunswick Stew – 8
      Jalapeno Corn Bread - 8
      Fried Pickles & Jalapenos – 9.5
Service: 8
Atmosphere:9
Cost: 7
Comments: When I first walked into Fox Bros I got really excited. They have a smoke house next to the restaurant, the restaurant was packed and the menu looked like a western newspaper.
We started off with the Tomminator, fried Pickles and jalapeno cornbread. The Tomminator is one of the best side dished I have had, tater tots topped with thick Brunswick Stew smothered with melted cheese. Wow. The fried pickles and jalapenos were excellent too. The breading was perfect. The corn bread was not sweet, I prefer mine sweater.
For the main dish I got a combo beef and ribs. The beef was a bit dry and not the most tender. The sauce was great, sweat and spicy I picked up a bottle on my way out. The put the sauce on the ribs early in the process with gave it a burnt sauce taste, pretty good but they outer ribs were not that tender. As I worked my way in they got more tender. The Brunswick stew way nice and thick, with a sweater tomato flavor. The Mac and chees was very cafeteria style, just OK.
Overall I would say the atmosphere, sauce and sides are amazing. The meat was OK. It may have been excellent at one point, and I see the potential but not our day.

Mason
Overall Score:7.5
Main Dish Taste:
      Pulled Pork - 5
      Ribs - 7
Sauce:8.5
Tenderness:6
Sides Taste :
      Tomminator – 9.5
      Mac & Cheese – 3
      Brunswick Stew – 6.5
      Fried Pickles & Jalapenos – 9
Service: 8
Atmosphere:9
Cost: 7
Comments: There was a 15 minute wait for Fox Bros. It was packed and we couldn't find parking. There was a seperate smoke house on the side that had BBQ smoke puring out of it. During the wait we scoped the menu and it was very impressive. All kind of BBQ creations and different kinds of plates. We ordered some fried pickles and The Tomminator while waiting for our food. Wow it was all amazing. I was thinking that this could be the best BBQ yet....and then I got my plate. The ribs were ok, a little tough. The pulled pork had a very odd taste to it. Like some type of weird wood chips were used during smoking, and it didn't turn out well. The mac and cheese was very dry, I ate about a fourth of it. The brunswick stew was ok. Overall, they excell in the areas that don't really matter with BBQ. I would go back for the appetizers only. They need to revisit

KC Pit

Date: Thursday, December 17, 2009
Restaurant: KC Pit
Location: 6317 Roswell Road Atlanta, GA 30328
URL: http://www.kcpitbbq.com/

Score 6.5
KC Pit has recently changed locations. The new building made KC Pit change from a dive BBQ joint to an upscale dining experience. Jazz music, waterfall behind the hostess stand, fancy linens, BBQ sauce in mini silver containers…. If you are going on a nice date but still want to eat BBQ, then KC Pit is the place for you. Some may call it "GayC Pit".

Over all the food was pretty good but not the best. The beef was very good. Ribs and pork were good. None of the meat had a smoky flavor. And none of the meat came with sauce, so you can eat it without the mess. They all came platted fancy with garnishes. The sauces were both really good KC style sauces. One thick molasses (without the strong molasses flavor) and the other was a ketchup base with spices (without a strong ketchup taste).

Mac & Cheese was very good; it too was platted all pretty like. Brunswick stew extra meaty. Sweet potato fries were a nice touch.

Pork Sand (1 Side) - $5
Beef Sand (2 Sides) - $8
1/2 Rack - $13

Mason
Overall Score: 6.5
Main Dish Taste:
Pulled Pork - 7
Ribs – 6.5
Sauce: 7.5
Tenderness:7
Sides Taste :
Brunswick Stew - 7
Mac & Cheese – 8.5
Service: 7
Atmosphere:1
Cost: 8
Comments: This is the first time I have ever heard contemporary jazz being played at a BBQ joint. This was a very confusing place. Very contemporary atmosphere, even the menus. Then you open them up and everything looks the way it should at a BBQ joint, even the prices. The food came out and was good. After about 3 bites it just began to have this very chainy taste to it, as if it was not cooked with care. No smoked flavor in the pulled pork or ribs, which were about the same quality. The mac and cheese is the only item which I can say was worth the trip. I also must mention the fact that the BBQ sauce was served in a little silver pitcher-like container that looked like it would come out on a platter to some rich kid being served breakfast in bed. And we had to beg for it, our waiter had to bring more about 4 times due to the small amount. I do like that fact that this place is unique, even if it is not what I am looking for. Overall, I say pass unless you like eating BBQ with a silk shirt on.

Matt
Overall Score:7
Main Dish Taste:
Beef - 9
Ribs – 7.5
Sauce:8.5
Tenderness:
Beef – 9.5
Ribs – 7
Sides Taste :
Brunswick Stew – 7.5
Mac & Cheese – 8
Sweet Potato Fries – 9
Service: 8
Atmosphere:4
Cost: 8
Comments: This KC Pit BBQ is definitely not the same KC Pitt it was 2 years ago. I felt like I was walking into some hit midtown restaurant/bar. Even the menu screams, "we are fancy". The beef was very tender and tasty. It did not have any sauce on it, but it didn't need it. They served two sauces. One a thick KC style, sweet and thick, but it was not too sweet. The other was more tomatoes based with bits of species. The ribs were OK. They didn't have sauces either, but they needed some. Neither meat had a real smoky flavor, it seems they were both mostly cooked in the oven.
The stew was thick, but did not have much stew flavor. Most of the taste is the meat. The Mac & Cheese was very good. It is cafeteria style but much better. I also had some good sweet potato fries.

Dan
Overall Score:6
Main Dish Taste:
Pulled Pork – 6.5
Ribs - 7
Sauce:6.5
Tenderness:5
Sides Taste :
Fries - 8
Service: 7
Atmosphere:2
Cost: 8
Comments: The place was clean, the menus were very sturdy and well put together, the service was courteous and polite, and there was no chance of me getting dirty at all during my meal. This is NOT what I want from my BBQ experience. The restaurant was high scale but the food was low scale.
All in all, the food wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t memorable. The ribs were tasty, the pork was ok, and the fries were good. However, when the French fries are the best part of the meal, that’s not a good thing. We may need to try the "low class" KC Pit to give it a real chance.

A Little off Topic - Burgersaurus

Today I met 4 of my friend at the Burger Club in Vinings.

4300 Paces Ferry Road Northwest
Atlanta, GA 30339-5703

http://www.greatfoodinc.com/The_Burger_Club/Home.html


We ordered the Burgersaurus. Total of 8 lbs of burger
- 5 lbs of Meat
- 1.5 lbs Bun
- 1.5 lbs Lettus, Tomato and Onion
- 8 Slices of Cheese
Plus 2 side (enough for 8) Mac & Cheese and Onion Rings.
$60 + $4 for cheese. Not bad split 5 ways.

It came out served on a pizza dish and was about 6 inches tall. The waiter was nice enough to slice it up for us. The burger was very tasty. The meat had some mild seasoning that made it taste great but did not overwhelm the taste of the meat. The burger was cooked medium, through and through. The cheese was nice and melted. One of the sauces on the table was a mix of KC style, Carolina vinegar, and Carolina mustard BBQ sauces. Sweet with a little kick; a great added touch.

The mac & cheese was very creamy. Pretty good but more cream and not enough cheese flavor. The onion rings had a thick batter. As soon as you bit into one 1/2 the batter would fall off.

The 5 of us finished the whole burger, minus a few toppings here and there. I will have to go back and try a regular sized burger, but no more food for the day.

I give the burger a 8.5
Overall score a 9