This is the best barbecue in Central Indiana. The ribs, brisket, and pulled pork are outstanding…read more Make sure you try the habanero cole slaw. For lunch, I often get the teriyaki bowl.

Big Hoffa's was A-OK in my book! Came to Indy for a bball tournament and had some time to kill in…read morebetween games to grab some lunch. Hubby and I ordered a meal for two and it came with your choice of 2 meats plus ribs, and 2 sides along with bread rolls, and pickled veggies. We decided on the pulled chicken, brisket, ribs, with sides of Mac n cheese and bbq beans. Everything was delicious and very filling. Kinda sad that I didn't get to order dessert as we decided too late and didn't want to get back in line. Restaurant is set up where you're in line to place your order and pick up your order at the other counter. Line can get a little long but it goes by pretty fast. You then seat yourself and all the condiments, sauce, and drinks are all at different stations for self serve. There are plenty of seats inside and even a bar inside the restaurant. Very casual and kid friendly atmosphere.

The food was good. Some staff were down right hateful to the customers even when they were in the…read morewrong. The really sad thing was the Chef/Owner could care less that the staff was hateful with the customers. He would side up with his staff when it was their fault. He never tried to make anything right with customers. No wonder they closed. i hated it closed because the food was so good but I stopped going when one of the staff people got hateful with me and my friends and the Chef/Owner came over and could care less about the customers and told us we were wrong and go somewhere else.

This is a new spot for us but decided to try the barbecue with friends as close to the house and…read morewho doesn't love Barbecue?!? It is a bit hard to determine where to order given the large space once you walk in, but they have a counter with a chalkboard menu to the left along the wall. They have a TON of choices and a lot of great sounding sides. The best deals are either platters or meals, as they come with sides and drinks. But they also offer specials during the week which makes things interesting. We got fried chicken breast (as out of all other chicken options almost) with a side of coleslaw. Tasty but a bit dry on the chicken. They do have at least 6 sauces to use (self serve) so that helped but I'd probably try another option next time. I'm more of a heavily seasoned preference if going to go for chicken, so found it also a bit bland. But well cooked and fresh! The sides of several others were great with a lot of variety so you can mix and match. Everyone ate the majority of their meals, so I think it went over well as a new option. The portions are large for the price so you won't go away hungry for sure! It is worth checking out and I appreciate their commitment to Barbeque.

Love discovering fast local lunch options along a road trip, and this was just that! Pulled meats…read moreand brisket with sides are ready just as quickly as any fast food place you can find, but with cozy log cabin vibes and the smell of bbq smoke infusing your hair and clothes as you dine. We ordered: Pulled Pork Piglet Sandwich w/ Green Beans, Cole Slaw, & Sweet Tea $10.75 ($11.61 w/ 8% tax, $13.22 w/ 15% tip) *Lighter and more mild flavors in all of these Beef Brisket Piglet Sandwich w/ Corn Casserole, Mashed Potatoes w/ Beef Gravy, & Lemonade (same prices as above) *All of these were favorites and the most flavorful of the day The food was ready in under 6min after ordering and we were in and out in under 30min while sitting down for lunch and taking our time to eat around noon on a Friday. If you're unsure of the spicy, they have spicy sauce on the table to try, but I'll say it was a mild spice (Indiana doesn't do lots of spicy things) so the heat doesn't rise above red pepper flake spice. You could add more heat with Tabasco to get it to a spice that makes the tongue actually feel hot. The ladies running the kitchen and clean up were fun and delightful and made us feel like we were home in someone's house being taken care of. Not sure when I'll ever be back in this area, but worth a stop and skipping all the other fast food nearby to try this local spot!!

the staff is nice. food has significantly declined. used to be super good now it all tastes funky…read more pickles are bitter, corn casserole tastes like how old peoples breath smells, the meat to the pulled pork sandwhich has a green tint. Ive given Bird's multiple tries hoping it was just a bad day in the kitchen. unfortunately i think this is just how it is now.

Was in the area and when Yelp shows me a BBQ joint nearby, I have to give it a try…read more I stayed with a benchmark of a pulled pork sandwich and baked beans. The pork was very good. The baked beans were more average to good. My dining partner had the brisket, mashed sweet potatoes, and baked beans. She said the brisket was very generously portioned and delicious, as was the mashed sweet potatoes. It's a counter service setup, but they did bring out our drinks and make sure we had refills. Staff was very courteous. Restrooms were clean. Parking was easily accessible given the strip mall setting. Overall I would eat here again if I was in the area and would look to try some additional menu items. Please excuse the pulled pork Pic as I had already waded in and started eating before I took the picture.

You will find this gem in a little strip mall off of 135. Being that it is in a strip mall, there…read moreis tons of parking available. This appears to be a catering service that offers take-out or dine-in lunch and diners. You can buy bulk or al la carte. The restaurant has a decent sized dining area with a couple of televisions for patrons enjoyment. The dining area is decorated with 80s movies posters and has a somewhat rustic vibe. There are also a few small tables outside, in front of the restaurant that you can sit as well. The woman working there was very welcoming, friendly and helpful. They serve barbecue, fried chicken, burgers, steaks, salmon, nachos, ham, brats, salads, sandwiches and wraps. I order the 3 piece fried chicken platter, which came with two sides (french fries and collard greens). I came on a Tuesday, but I should have came on a Friday because the fried chicken is buy one, get one free on Fridays. Oh well, now I know. The fried chicken is made to order, so it took about 20 minutes for me to get my meal, but it was fresh. I will admit, at first, I was a bit skeptical because the chicken was a lot lighter than I was used to. However, it was love at first bite. It was so crispy and delicious. The collard greens had a sweet vinegary taste to it and I liked that as well. You will find a sauce buffet here, with a bunch of different sauces and condiments that you can put in small containers that they provide and you can get them to-go or use it in the restaurant, like I did. I put some on the sauce on the already delicious chicken and it made it even better. I really like this place, It is kind of tucked away, so I am glad that I found it. If you looking for a place with a variety of good food, look no further. This is your place, I highly recommend checking this place out.

Four of us had lunch here yesterday. Fantastic is all we can say! Brisket was awesome and the Mac…read more& Cheese is the BEST we have ever had. Will be back...

I hate writing this because about a year ago Trax BBQ had some of the best brisket around. Back…read morethen the brisket was moist, flavorful, and you could actually request fatty or lean cuts. The fatty brisket especially was incredible. Tender, juicy, packed with flavor, and honestly didn't even need sauce. This recent visit felt like a completely different restaurant. Apparently you can't request fatty or lean anymore, and the brisket I received was so dry it literally crumbled apart like beef sawdust. There was basically zero fat left on it, which also meant very little flavor. For the first time ever, the sauce wasn't optional... it was rescue equipment. The ribs were okay, but even they weren't what they used to be. They used to have that perfect fall-off-the-bone texture, and now they were just kind of there. Not terrible, just disappointing compared to how good this place once was. I'm not trying to trash Trax because I know how great they can be. That's actually what makes this frustrating. It feels like the brisket went from "Texas smokehouse masterpiece" to "beef jerky with a college degree."

Brisket great. Ribs good...a tad burned. Service lousy. It took a long time to get my food and they…read morescrewed up a couple of orders before me in line. They weren't friendly. It's a to-go only restaurant. I won't be going back.

Bah gawd this place. Highly recommend…read more I've been meaning to try this place and just hadn't found my way over. Finally made the pilgrimage today and it was very worth it. Great friendly staff. Had us try some brisket and corned beef. Will be back for the corned beef but I had a mission to accomplish. I got the brisket dinner, which is a sandwich with 2 sides. I went Mac n cheese and baked beans. It was all fantastic. The brisket is perfect. My buddy got the brisket potato and it must weigh 5 pounds. Really really good. Can't really eat inside so grab some and take to a park! Recommend grabbing a brisket potato, half pound of corned beef, and some sides to split. Has been added to rotation.

I had a great experience attending a recent Tinned Fish Tasting at Public Smokehouse. I checked in…read morewith the young woman tending the register and she gave me the lay of the land as well as a souvenir tasting fork of my choice. There were a few designs to choose from: a lobster, an oyster, and a fish, from what I can recall. She also introduced me to our gracious host for the evening, Nolan, who was running the show. Nolan is a big ball of energy and a joy to be around. He set the vibes to light, fun and whimsical and I really appreciated that. Everyone moved around the room freely, visiting all of the tasting stations that were set up with whimsical, hand-drawn decorations on the paper tablecloths (much like that seen on the Pinterest commercial). There were 6 different ones, all with multiple options at each station. I tried sardines, razor clams, pickled ramps, an entire array of Fishwife tinned items, mustards, seafood dip that is made in-house, oysters, the list goes on. They also introduced me to an Indiana-based soda company call Bollygood, with Indian-inspired flavors. I love, love, love the Lime Basil Cumin flavor. I wasn't too sure about that combo, but it was delicious and super-refreshing. It smelled like a taco...but didn't taste like one! The Lemon Mango Turmeric was really good too. I also enjoyed the demonstrations lead by Chef Amber. She also has a light that was a pleasure to witness. I could just tell that she really loves what she does. While she does not work there, she still gets to come back for the fun stuff (her words). She has been a huge influence on the whole tinned fish movement at the smokehouse and develops recipes and curates these events alongside Nolan and the team. I loved both recipes that were shared with us and her enthusiasm to show us how we can elevate the tinned fish beyond the can. We mingled. We made friends. I spent a pretty penny on several of the delicious items that I was introduced to. I look forward to attending more events here in the future.

Attended their Behind the Scenes Charcuterie Tour and Tasting event last weekend. This was a great…read moreexperience. The retail market was small but packed with a lot of products. Here are my takeaways: Tour: Once we got our health and safety standards attire, we made our way through the warehouse tour. So interesting to see each step of the process. Affordable way to spend a Saturday morning and you can try some cool charcuterie meats like a fancy person. Shop/Product Reviews: As mentioned before,the retail shop is packed with products. Plenty of items to make a gorgeous charcuterie board and tasting plates. I did try a sample of the gin and juice salami, which I did not like. I found 4 great items that I will probably purchase again in the future: Big Red Salami made with Wagyu, Soprosseta, Tulip Tree Trillium Cheese and the amazing confection...Miso Bacon Caramel Bar. That and the Soprosseta stole my heart. Go there, try samples, buy what makes you smile, and live each day to the fullest!

I was at the AMP for a house music event and was a little hungry. A friend shared her rib tips and…read moreI immediately made my way to Garretts for tips. They were so good and tender. I got a mix of hot and sweet bbq sauce and it was a good sauce. It was thick and really stuck to the tips and the white bread. I also got peach cobbler. It was good but I had more crust than fruit and I prefer a little more fruit.

My review of five stars for this location is incorrect. I am unable to rate the location because…read morethey have moved. Unfortunately I had to indicate a rating in order to post a picture of the sign and information about their move to a new location. See below. This location has moved as of December 21, 2025. The new location is scheduled to open January 12, 2026. The new location is at AMP at 16 Tech. The address is 1220 Waterway Blvd., Indianapolis, IN, 46202. They will be open Monday through Saturday from 11 AM until 6 PM. See picture of sign posted on the door for the old location on Emerson Way.

Sorry to make this update because I had high hopes for this place. The last two times I went here…read morethe meat was so dry you could not add enough sauce to make it good. The place was completely empty at 1pm. Maybe this is why, I don't know. Also, their limited hours are a deterrent to a lot of folks.

No one answer the phone number that was provided in there advertisement for information. When we…read moreleft a message on FB messager on there page and you can see that they read it and still don't respond. You can't get info and you never know when they are actually open. It's very poorly ran business. I really wish Rushville would actually get a for real smokehouse. Till then I will continue on going to Greensburg Carriage on the square, it might be a 30 minute drive, but at least we can get people to answer the phone for info and there food is the absolute best. And the only reason why Rush County Smokehouse got 1 star is because I had to give them at lest one to be able to post.

Guess what? I ate the bone!!! LOL. Those Turkey tips made me dance honneeyyy. They are SUPER…read moretender, you don't need teeth to eat them. TENDERISM!!!!!!! The sides are nasty though.

My favorite BBQ joint (excluding brisket) they don't have brisket but do have Turley Rib Tips! And…read moreyes they fall off the bone! I love that they don't use pork in the greens or beans. They have sa smoked salmon with a light teriyaki glaze that is out of this world! Tender fall off the bone chicken wings, dirty fries and fabulous creamy macNcheese. Husband a wife owned and staffed. They have always been friendly everytime I've ever been. The ONLY drawback is they are only open Thursday Friday and Saturday. And if you want the salmon, come early on Thursday and Friday or you might not get any. Strictly carryout and a little pricy but oh so worth it. The on