Let me preface this by saying 3-stars is a bit generous, but there is great promise here…read more
The story behind this place is a great story, and you should check it out in the local papers (I think both Janesville and Beloit covered it). This being said, it doesn't save the disappointment of the food.
While there is some indoor seating, the goal seems to be primarily take-out. I believe only about four stools are in the place.
The service was pretty slow, but not bad.
I got the rib sampler tray, or something like that. I tried to look up the exact name, but their online menu is a picture of their paper menu, and completely unreadable, so I could not.
It came with two bones, cut St. Louis style, and about a dozen rib tips.
For sides, your only options are onion strings or fries, for anything else, you have to order separately, or pay for upgrade, which I found odd.
This being said, I added the coleslaw to my meal to see how it was.
The ribs came out doused in sauce, which isn't necessarily bad, but the sauce was. Lacking any sort of flavor, other than tomato, the sauce was a huge drawback. Atop this, the ribs were no particularly special, which made for a poor 1-2 punch. The meat was pretty well smoked, but lacked the quality needed to account for the other shortcomings. It has great potential however.
On the other hand, the rib tips had almost no redeeming qualities. Both skimpy on meat and flavor, the sauce bath also did them no favors. Very disappointing.
The onion strings were pretty good, but an awkward pairing. However, if I ever am in the area with a hankering for onion strings, I'll definitely stop by.
The slaw was unremarkable, and warrants no further comment.
Two final notes:
1. While I certainly prefer my meat to need no sauce, let alone be coated in it, Backyard went a step beyond. No sauce is served on the counter, or even on the side. In fact, if you want more, you have to pay for additional cups of sauce, which I found quite odd.
2. Despite a huge disappointment and a very small desire to return, this place does have great potential. The meat is well cooked, and only hampered down by the additional factors. Fine-tuning the sauce (or starting entirely over) and getting some better cuts of meat will go far.
With the low prices and convenient location to South Janesville, Backyard Barbecue certainly has a great potential, and I look forward to stopping by again to try the pork and see if it can make up for this experience.
