Being a native Texan who was raised on something on the smoker most of the time, good BBQ in this…read moreregion is hard to come by. I have found a few places and now I have another great choice with Shorty's BBQ that is good enough to curb my barbecue cravings when I want some delicious smoked meats. I will be sure to give them many more visits and try other items on the menu but for now it's a 5 star BBQ spot for me.

Have tried Shorty's 5 times, each is a different experience and varying quality. Overall, the smoke…read moresignificantly overpowers the meat, well beyond what we find the normal Texas, Memphis and even SoCal BBQ. It's not a pleasant experience. Latest attempt, the brisket was so incredibly firm it was inedible, a heck of a waste at $18. Service is always meh at best, IDK why staff is so unhappy. Hopefully this is a call to action to make serious improvements as it would be nice not to drive to Bottos etc in Portland.

07/23/20 UPDATE: 5-stars solid. I see on their FB page they've been holding steady at the Hwy 99…read moreYard n Garden from 11a-2p on Thursdays. I accidentally ordered crinkle cut fries today, which normally I generally despise, but they were perfect with my Double Steakburger. Delicious witchcraft. Don't get me wrong, those fries back in the day? What were they, hand cut? THOSE were fries my guys (or gals and peeps). Did I mention they'll sell you a half gallon or quarter gallon of their famous Steakburger sauce? Because I bought a quarter gallon of sauce as well. No regrets.

The food is delicious, but their prices leave a bad taste in my mouth. They've finally gone too far…read morefor an extra buck. I also love their onion rings, but you'll have to pay extra for a little dish of dipping sauce. We had them come to work and serve about 60 employees. Everyone liked their burger, but pretty much everyone agreed the pricetag wasn't worth it. Sorry Steakburger. You're good, but not that good.

We celebrated our son and daughter in law wedding at "The Black Pearl on the Columbia" which is an…read moreincredibly STUNNING wedding and event venue. "Mad Hatter Catering" provided a great menu selection which exceeded our expectation; appetizers included fresh meats, cheeses, dips and fruits, that were beautifully presented. This was followed by a buffet dinner allowing guest a selection of foods as desired. The end of the ceremony was completed with a beautiful 3 tiered cake. They say the proof of the quality of the food served is in the eating and we received countless positive comments, not only with the food but also being impressed with the food display. Matt and his staff were extremely professional, kind, courteous, knowledgeable, and very easy to deal with. Matt proved to be caring to our needs, proactive, great communicator, easily accessible and provided clear and complete information about the menu. After looking around other catering, we found "Mad Hatter Catering" to be the ideal. He was overwhelmingly recommended by many who used his catering services in the past, and we were confident in his services. He exceeded our expectations and all guests were very impressed with the food quality, taste, and presentation. I highly recommend "Mad Hatter Catering" for your future event! I am sure we will always use his services for all of our future events. Nely Berea

Matt and his wife provided 3 party meals for my moms 87th birthday. The food was delicious and the…read morewhite chocolate cake and tres leche birthday cakes were oh so light and tasty. They made two deliveries very promptly and set up was effortless. We appreciate so much how flexible and accommodating they were because of the weather. We will definitely hire them next time.

Dorothy did our catering event for our mom's celebration of life. Food was excellent, presentation…read morewas beautiful & service was beyond our expectations. She goes above and beyond, will use her again, highly recommend her!

I love Dorothy's shrimp and grits, her fried chicken wings s as we the best too, I look forward to…read moreeating there again!

Chef Ceejay provided myself and 9 guest an excellent gourmet meal for my wife's 60th birthday held…read moremid-July 2020 on a hot day with only 6 days notice. I asked for a New Orleans-flavored menu of beef, chicken, corn-on-cob, fruit salad, coleslaw and shrimp skewers and man did he deliver. Everything was fresh, heated or cooled as needed, cooked just the way I asked. One of my guests from NOLA brags about his bbq and smoker skills and he wanted Chef Ceejay's contact info/business card for a future event he's planning. At my request, I met him at Cason's Fine Meats and paid cash for the food +$ and saw the high quality of protein he chose and met the fine staff there. The balance was paid on delivery. Next time, if he asks, I'll use VenMo. He can use me as reference. Larry C.

This is a solid lunch stop. It was just one person working when we came in so he was multi-tasking…read morelike crazy. We put our order in at the counter and had our sandwiches about 7 minutes later. Pretty quick for all the work he had to do. I had the Santa Maria. It was a nice tri-tip with garlic butter. The variety of sauces at the table helped add a personalized flavor. The bun was soft and fresh, and this sandwich was bigger than I was expecting. I got a side of Mac and cheese, it was creamy goodness! Good service, good food!

I've tried dozens of bbq joints around the country and this one stands out for the great flavors. I…read moreordered the two meats/two sides dinner, choosing brisket and pulled pork with potato salad and coleslaw. The meats were great, the coleslaw was fantastic, but the potato salad was uninspiring. Brisket had a great bark on it but was very moist inside with an excellent smoky flavor. The pulled pork was amazing as well but could have had a little more care getting the chunks of fat out. They had plenty of sauces available--they bring you a basket with four different flavors in extra large bottles. Apply liberally! I loved the horseradish in their coleslaw. I've never seen that done before but it's my new favorite. I'll definitely be trying to replicate that at home. My biggest disappointment was the potato salad. It seemed like it was just scooped from a Reser's tub. Maybe not, I don't know if they make it in house, but that's what it reminded me of. I'm giving four stars instead of five because despite being the only person in the restaurant, it wasn't very clean. I had to wipe down my table and there was a big chunk of brisket lying on the floor. I was also pretty unimpressed with the constant foul language coming from the kitchen staff. I realize I'm in the minority on this but I still believe in keeping the atmosphere of a public place professional and family appropriate. So, all in all, top-notch food with one star off for cleanliness and atmosphere. I would definitely pick up here again but might not eat in, depending on the situation. If you enjoy bbq, give it a try!

My now Husband and I tried setting up a meeting with this catering company. Emails went back and…read moreforth setting up a weekend meeting, the caterer emailed the day before and said he was ill and would have to cancel. Totally understandable, I wished him to get well and to please let us know when we could set up another meeting. He ghosted us, we didn't hear another word from him, it was very disappointing. We have now hired a food caterer since then and the communication and follow through has been fantastic. I hope all goes well for him.

We recently engaged Fork It Catering for our wedding reception, and it was the best decision of our…read moreentire event! I will start by saying that we have a diverse group of friends, with all different kinds of dietary needs. For some caterers, this would have been burdensome, as I have learned from talking to other couples. But Ron helped us with how we could include elements that would satisfy everyone's dietary requirements. As my husband and I were new to all of this, we weren't sure what we needed to do, and this is where Ron excelled. He helped us plan things that weren't even part of the catering part of our event, guiding us through the important decisions that had to be made, and even giving us the 30 day out plans, 14 day out plans, 7 days out plans, and what we needed to do the day of the event (which was really nothing except to bring the wine and beer that we were bringing from our private collection to share with our friends and family). Throughout the event, there were two overwhelming themes that people told us. They enjoyed the space that we had chosen, a little hidden gem in Southeast Portland. But the praise for the food was what people kept raving about - and I joined in with that praise. Everything was fresh and delectable, spiced perfectly, and the presentation was gorgeous. Not only did Ron and Fork It do our catering, but they did our cake, as well as a separate dessert for our vegan and gluten free friends. People raved over BOTH, and there were several people that had both desserts! In all, the day was beautiful, and made all that much better by Ron and his staff. We couldn't have made a better choice in caterer!

What a fantastic place- many years ago I used to come here for fine dining during Proms and…read morethings!! I'm so glad it's still available for events. My daughter is having her Baby Shower here in July- and although we haven't had the event yet...we feel confident it will be a success!! The staff is super helpful and supportive to making your experience a memorable one! I will keep you updated after the event in July!!

Adding an update since they are now a catering & private event space as of 7/28/22. More details…read moreare in the pic I've added from their Instagram post as the are open as a restaurant at least once a month, if not more, to the public. I recommend following them on Instagram to get updates on when they are open to the public & what the menu will be. They seem to usually be open to the public at least once a month (First Fridays), if not 2 or more times a month and their food & service has always been great.