Brisketexan
1,000+ Posts
First, the good news. They ARE still open. Went for lunch today.
The bad news -- they are obviously having a tough time of it. Drink cups -- they didn't have the really big ones anymore. The ice machine desperately needed cleaning. The tea buckets had been filled, but tasted like crap -- still had a taste of bleach in them. There was ONE person working the lunch rush. ONE. So, the line moved really slow. No butcher paper -- just paper towels, and small sheets of foil, to set your food on. They hadn't made a bunch of the sides. The condiments (onions, pickles, sauce) didn't have the little cups to serve them in -- instead, they just had small styrofoam coffee cups. They used to have a nice TV for watching games -- it was gone, and a little 9-inch on a table was in its place.
Now, none of these things really matters to me when it comes to a bbq joint, BUT -- all of those things changing tells me that they are not running a tight operation. That's not good.
As for the food -- the brisket was still the tastiest around, BUT -- it was overcooked, and a bit dry. The ribs were very good, and the sausage was very good. But the brisket is their strength, and what I saw was an error in craftsmanship -- not being able to manage the process led to a quality control issue.
I'm not really sure what's going on, but it does not bode well.
The bad news -- they are obviously having a tough time of it. Drink cups -- they didn't have the really big ones anymore. The ice machine desperately needed cleaning. The tea buckets had been filled, but tasted like crap -- still had a taste of bleach in them. There was ONE person working the lunch rush. ONE. So, the line moved really slow. No butcher paper -- just paper towels, and small sheets of foil, to set your food on. They hadn't made a bunch of the sides. The condiments (onions, pickles, sauce) didn't have the little cups to serve them in -- instead, they just had small styrofoam coffee cups. They used to have a nice TV for watching games -- it was gone, and a little 9-inch on a table was in its place.
Now, none of these things really matters to me when it comes to a bbq joint, BUT -- all of those things changing tells me that they are not running a tight operation. That's not good.
As for the food -- the brisket was still the tastiest around, BUT -- it was overcooked, and a bit dry. The ribs were very good, and the sausage was very good. But the brisket is their strength, and what I saw was an error in craftsmanship -- not being able to manage the process led to a quality control issue.
I'm not really sure what's going on, but it does not bode well.
