Was excited to find a new bbq place in the Poconos, especially with the great reviews I've been…read moreseeing on social media. Unfortunately, this place didn't live up to the great reviews I read. Maybe it was just a bad day? Or maybe I should've heeded to the bad reviews?
I was contemplating about whether to give this place 1 star or 2 stars, but I decided to give 2 stars because the person working at the counter was super nice and super patient.
***In a rush? Skip to the end for my tips.***
First of all, there was so many items not available. Many items were crossed off the menu, which was fine because we were there for the bbq. But then, for the ribs, they only had rib pieces for combos, no half racks. They didn't have collard greens. They had briskets, but they were cold, so they wouldn't have been good.
So, we ended up ordering the Pitmaster combo, but had to substitute the brisket because it was cold. So, we got 2 pieces of ribs instead. Luckily, we were able order and get the pork belly. And then, we were accidentally charged for half a chicken, but they don't do refunds. So, we decided to just eat the chicken, but they didn't have any chicken left, so we patiently chose to substitute it with ribs, but then, they ran out of ribs, too, so we substituted it with pork belly.
Also, the sides were not good at all. The cornbread was dry and crumbly. The mac and cheese was horrible. It was simply undercooked pasta with lukewarm cheese sauce poured over it. It was almost inedible. And, the coleslaw was terrible. These are all important sides that you would expect to be good at barbeque joint, but they were all disappointing.
If the bbq was amazing, all would be forgiven, but the bbq was just okay and what made it worse was that the food was at best lukewarm, not hot at all. Supposedly there was something wrong with keeping the food hot? But this definitely didn't help to alleviate the already bad experience. Maybe if the food was hot, it would have tasted better.
The person working was super apologetic and was trying to be super accommodating, so despite our frustration, we tried to be understanding and patient. The same thing happened to another customer and she also tried to be less frustrated because the person working was so apologetic.
One good thing were the sauces, especially the one that starts out sweet but ends up being spicy. All their sauces were good, especially if you mix them all together.
And, we went at lunchtime on a Saturday, which would normally be a busy day and time for businesses, but there were so many things unavailable. They said that there would be more food available for dinner, so hopefully the dinner crowd were able to order what they wanted.
Supposedly they opened recently and it seems like they are still working out the kinks. Maybe I'll give this place another chance a year later when they get everything figured out, but for now, will have to continue the search for a good barbeque place in this area.
Tips:
- They don't give refunds, so please make sure that your order is correct before you pay. Or even double check that they have what you want before you pay if you don't want to be thinking of substitutions.
- Or you should call ahead of time to see what food is available beforehand.
- You get free refills for the fountain drinks.
- For ordering, you order at the counter and then, they bring your food to your table. It seems like they also have a pager system that they might use when it's busy.
- It is a bit of a wait to get your food, so please be patient and hopefully you are not in a rush. It even says on their receipt "Please be patient due to staff shortage its not the employees fault and its not the restaurants fault, Thank you for your patience."
- There is outdoor and indoor seating.
- They had 3 sauces, but they were not labeled. The red one seemed to be hot sauce and the brown one seemed like barbeque sauce. And, the sauce I liked the best (sweet and spicy) was also red but had pepper seeds in them and was labeled with an X.
- Chicken and Rib Combo includes a quarter chicken and 2 pieces of ribs with 2 sides and cornbread
- Just the Pork Combo includes pulled pork and 2 pieces of ribs with 2 sides and cornbread
- Pitmaster Combo includes brisket, pulled pork, 2 rib pieces, and a quarter chicken with 2 sides and cornbread
