I really want to like Stan's. The atmosphere is cool, they have a great bar and I love the Kansas City Chiefs theme throughout. The food however just...isn't good. I've now eaten here 3 times and I can't say it's a coincidence anymore. Dry, flavorless BBQ. Compared to what else is available in the area, this is at the bottom. Even the sides are bad. It's hard to f**k up cole slaw and they managed to do it. I am sitting there eating this dry bad food thinking "when is the last time anyone who cooks here actually tried to eat this?" - my guess is not often and certainly not daily. read more

As a Kansas Citian ExPat I'm always looking for good KC or Texan BBQ. The PNW is mostly full of Southern BBQ. This place is great & true to it's name. I think it's the best KC Style I've had in either WA or OR & I try every place I come across (literally stopping sometimes to just grab a sandwich from some place I've stumbled across as I'm going about my day). We catered Stan's for our wedding rehearsal dinner as I knew it would have slot of other ExPat KCitians who would be just as desperate as me for good BBQ. read more

We had baby back ribs, pulled pork, and brisket; all were fairly poor examples of BBQ made worse by how they presumably keep food warm. Props for having Shiner Bock on tap and friendly staff, but the food wasn't worth coming back for. The ribs were dry-rub but were kept warm in a very steamy environment to keep them from drying out. This obliterated the rub which must have all washed off and left what little bark was left soggy and grey. The cut of meat was pretty poor on my ribs with little edible meat, and the meat that was there was chewy. Very little smoke ring. Pulled pork was dry and required quite a bit of sauce to make it passable. It was not easy to pull apart further. I'll give them a break on the pulled pork because how moist or dry is easily controlled by the chef, so I assume this is a personal choice to serve it dry. Which brings me to the brisket which is my personal barometer for BBQ. Briskets take patience to cook, but there are any number of ways to cook a moist fall-apart brisket. What Stan's serves as brisket is stringy, dry, chewy. There was zero fat on my brisket which might explain some of the lack of moistness. I suspect this brisket was undercooked and not given the time for the meat to really get tender. They also served the brisket "pulled" in case you prefer slices. The only good news were the service, sides and aforementioned Shiner Bock on tap. Seattle doesn't have a lot of good BBQ, but Stan's is the worst I've had. read more

Another Groupon Nightmare, I have a Groupon, that expired 12/16/20, I went there to pick up my to go order and come to find out, the Groupon was only good for sit down, eating in Dinners, so I paid for my dinner, so the worker said the Groupon, would have no expiration date, because they didn't know when they could offer dining in because of Covid. So i go there tonight, 4/8/21 and showed the worker the groupon and he said they would only Honor the original purchase price, WOW!!!, I said, when i tried to use this in December, the worker told me, it was good indefinitely, Wrong. Then he goes on to tell me, they were only honoring the Groupon Through February, at full price. Well if i remember correctly, we still weren't sitting in restaurants then. I did not make a fuss, my first time getting shut down in December, but I got a little upset this time, there were people behind me, i whispered a little BS word to the workers and they said, if that is the way I fell to please leave. Well Stans, you are getting a really Bad YELP Review, I sure hope it was worth the 10 buck you saved by not honoring my Groupon, at Full Price, yes all my friends will be told, 10 of there friends and so on, I will Not Be Back, EVER!!! PS wish there was a Negative Scale for this Dump!!! read more

The service was great and the food was good for the price. I highly recommend the ribs. I haven't had ones as good in a long time. The only tiny disappointment was that the brisket was a tad dry. read more

Happy that Stands BBQ remains open during this difficult time. I fully enjoy the atmosphere and food served. Service could be better, but for the money it's worth a visit. The BBQ is good, the sides are missed opportunity-especially the Mac & cheese. Despite the shortcomings, Stands is a definite stop in Issaquah. read more

Passing through and decided to stop for lunch. We parked in a local lot and decided to walk around and see what was available. The incredible BBQ smell wafting through the air drew us in. I ordered The General at the recommendation of our waitress. It was perfect! Meat was so tender! I asked for all of the BBQ sauces. The hot was my favorite mixed with a little sweet. I ordered a side of cream corn and it was super yummy. I will definitely make this a must on my next trip up to Washington! Let me also add that I'm a southern woman and my dad runs a mean BBQ and this was just as good. That's truly saying something. read more

This place is super cute and for real the brisket is so tender. Like butter my friends. I would totally come back. I ordered a large cesar salad with brisket and I shared it. It wasn't huge but a good amount especially if you're saving room for dessert :) read more

Stan's Bar-B-Q - Chill atmosphere - Barbeque Near Me - Issaquah, Washington

I've eaten at Stan's several times and have always been satisfied. Today, I ordered a delivery meal. It was delivered an hour earlier than I asked, there were no rolls included as I'd ordered, and the brisket was all fat. It was pretty awful. I don't know if delivery orders get the bad meat since you can't complain or what but I'm not sure I'll be going back. read more

Standing at Stan's now. Good food, but disorganized. Super Bowl order was to be ready at 2:30, now it's five to three. Heavy caution on catering events with this crew. They need to get it together in the leadership and efficiency department. Add insult to injury and just got home to realize part of the order was not included. Too late now as kick off ready go. It's a shame order was paid in advance too. Beware, check your order and plan way ahead if used for catering. read more

Stan's Bar-B-Q - Behind the counter chaos - Barbeque Near Me - Issaquah, Washington

I'm not even sure if this restaurant deserves one-star. I was so disappointed with our GrubHub delivery last night that I felt compelled to write a review especially when paying just shy of $100 for dinner for two! When we received our order I was surprised that I did not receive the baked potato that I ordered. It was not listed on the items I was to receive and I was not charged but at the same time I was not aware it was not coming or offered a substitution. I was disappointed that I did not have that as part of my dinner. The worst part about this barbecue restaurant is the food itself. Nothing is homemade at best! The "special" smoked meatballs were ones you could buy in any grocery store and add sauce to them. The sausages were just any ones you could also buy at a store. The ribs were dry and definitely needed the sauce that they provided which was not at all exciting. But I will say the worst thing that we received was the macaroni and cheese that we paid $5.49 for 7oz serving. To our surprise it looked like it came from out of a box, and tasted like it too! I was in disbelief and very disappointed too so I felt compelled to call the restaurant to let them know I wasn't very happy with my order, especially that mac and cheese! The manager did not care at all and confirmed that the mac and cheese is in fact Kraft macaroni and cheese from a box. I couldn't believe it! He says that his customers love it. Really? If I had known I could have made that at home! And saved a whole lot of money! He didn't offer any compensation or any remorse for their mediocre food or their overpriced box macaroni and cheese. I told them I will not be coming back and he didn't seem to care. If I were you, I would not waste my time or money with this restaurant. There are other great barbecue restaurants around! read more

If you're marketing yourself as a chiefs bar you shouldn't be turning people away who come for that very reason. I'm sure they pissed a lot of people off today. Next time post on your website if you're making your bar a private party for the game. read more

I was extremely disappointed in this place. We got the Who's Your Daddy which is basically a plate with everything: brisket, ribs, sausage, and pulled pork. Creamed corn and beans for sides. I liked one thing: the corn. The brisket was dry and had no flavor, the ribs were the juiciest, but still no flavor. The sausage actually had flavor but it wasn't a good one, and the pork was a little too pulled to the point where it was quite crumbly. There's one thing that can always save bad BBQ and that's homemade sauce. Unfortunately this was the most disappointing thing about this place. It's barely even BBQ, it's like crappy salsa. Yeah. Salsa. The only thing we could do was box it up and take it home with the hopes that store-bought BBQ would make it better the next day. The verdict is still out. read more

We haven't been in this area for several years, but we remembered how good the food was and made a purposeful stop. We had "The General" sandwich. Pulled pork and brisket combined. Excellent choice. They are know for their creamed corn. It didn't disappoint. The baked beans and potato salad were yummy. Jared was amazing and attentive from the moment we walked in the door! Service was excellent and the food came out quickly! Good job everyone. Thank you! read more

The only reason it is not five stars is the because of the BBQ sauce. Normally, sauce can be make-or-break but this place does so many other things right. Fantastic service, quality meats, and the look and feel of what BBQ joints in the south and Midwest actually are like. I'll somewhat repeat myself but the ribs are amazing, the sides are impeccable, and the service is great. The sauce tastes a little bit like salsa. I've had BBQ in KC and Memphis (juggernauts in the BBQ culture....lol)...and this sauce just left me wondering what happened. I'd eat here again anyway, still a great place overall. read more

Pretty good barbecue place. My coworker drives hours to get here! I don't love it as much as he does but overall a good meal. A little pricey. Parking is challenging as a disabled person. Staff friendly. read more

Disclaimer: I've come to the conclusion I dont like Kansas bbq That being said there were things about this place I liked. We looked at Stans to cater our wedding. They were very reasonably priced, the gentlemen we met were super accommodating and we had a complimentary tasting. Literally the only reason we decided to go with someone else was the food was only okay. The meats were all smoke and no flavor, the sauce wasn't really anything write home about either. Beans were weird. If you like kansas bbq then this may be for you. Personally, I'm a Carolina girl myself ;) read more

Disclaimer: I'm a Texan with discerning taste in barbecue. Much like every other barbecue joint in the Seattle area, the food was ... mediocre at best. We ordered the "Who's your daddy" plate and split it. ribs: way too salty. sausage: practically inedible. pulled pork: practically no flavor. brisket: decent, at best. It was the only meat that had any flavor to it. I appreciated the char on the outer edges. beans: decent, standard stuff. potato salad: decent, standard stuff. the sauce: decent, standard stuff. The smokers in the kitchen area are the vertical-rack smokers. I'm sure there are regulations that prevent them from having any other type of smoker in that kitchen area, but it's a sub-par smoking method. There was only a very, very thin smoke ring on the brisket and pulled pork. Service was very friendly, and the photos throughout the place had a very warm, Southern appeal to them. To the people who say the brisket was as good as the stuff you've had at Salt Lick BBQ in Texas: STOP LYING! Look, I used to live 15 minutes from that place, and shame on you for LYING and misleading these poor unsuspecting folks who just want to find some damn good barbecue in the Pacific Northwest. You jerks. You need to go back to Salt Lick and try it again because obviously it's been way too long since you've had Salt Lick! No. Just... no. I can't highly recommend it. Sorry. read more

Who's your daddy combo plate is a must share for date night! Sit bar side to see ALL of the invested servers. Wonderful hometown bbq shop. Yum! read more

Went here because it was mentioned on wta.org as a place to go after hiking. Upon entering, you are hit with the intoxicating smoke promising that this is a real bbq joint. Sadly, that is the high point. The menu says they use a dry rub and smoke for X hours. There isn't any evidence of a rub in the flavor and no smoke ring on the ribs or brisket. The exterior of the meat also showed no evidence of being smoked. I use a Weber Smokey Mountain and after a few hours in the smoker, the exterior of the meat definitely changes color...but not here. The ribs had grill marks but the meat still retained a light beige like when I grill pork chops on my gas grill...no bbq bark formed on ribs or brisket. Bland - no evidence of seasonings. Brisket was not tender or moist. Brisket should always be served cut across the grain. Half the serving was and the other half was with the grain. I've never seen this before and I hope to never run into it again. Ribs had good chew factor, they shouldn't be fall off the bone but they should have been a little more tender than they were. BBQ sauce is a must. You simply can't eat this stuff without sauce. Too dry and bland. Really disappointing. Wife and I agreed this was one of the worst bbq places we've been to and we've visited hole-in-the-wall as well as famous bbq joints across the country. I should state the service was good read more

At least I had a groupon. First off, what kind of self-respecting BBQ places doesn't make their own iced tea? Panera even makes their own iced tea. It's like the easiest thing in the world to make. Stan's charges you $3 for Nestea Iced Tea from the Soda Fountain. I am sorry, that is just not acceptable under any circumstances. The food? Well, I guess you can call it food. We ordered the "Who's your daddy" platter for $25 with the intention of taking leftovers home. Well, we left half a plate of meat there. That meat couldn't handle being re-heated anymore. I am guessing they just make a bunch at once and re-heat it day after day? Everything we had was dry, and flavorless. We tried ribs, brisket, pulled pork and sausages. The ribs were at least edible. The Hot Link at least had some spice and flavor to it, although the meat itself was gross. We ordered baked beans and potato salad as our sides. They literally tasted like the stuff you can get at the grocery store. They are obviously not even bothering to make these things themselves, which is sad, because once again, they are easy. We were also routinely ignored. Multiple tables got beverages before us, despite them getting seated after us. We had to ask repeatedly to get a re-fill on our Nestea iced tea. Our server just disappeared. All in all, no, just no. Yes, in case you were wondering, I have been to Kansas City, and I do know what Kansas City BBQ should taste like. read more

Went to Stan's BBQ in Issaquah in search of a closer place that could possibly be comparable to Rhodies in Preston. I heard about Stan's BBQ for a long time but somehow never managed to eat there. We were really impressed by the tender meat - the meat truly fell off the bones! I recommend getting their large sampler plate $24 (3 ribs, pulled pork, 3 sausage links, beef brisket, 2 sides). I am excited to try more of their meat selections. It is a really fun and casual environment; a place to grab some beers, watch a game and eat amazing BBQ. The only complaint is that their hot sauce is definitely not "hot", it's more of a mild to medium sauce. The waitress brought us buffalo wing sauce for something hotter but it did not bode well with the smoked meat. I highly recommend Stan's BBQ and I will be using them to cater an upcoming party. I'll update this review based on their ability to cater 12+ people. read more

Came here today with my son - wanted BBQ and had planned on Rowdy Cowgirl or whatever it is called now, but we had to go to Maple Valley and Kent to pick up Wheat/Gluten Free items for Pizza Works. I am up in the air about stars. We got the "Here's your daddy" sampler with a bit of everything. For 23.95, the waitress said it would be enough for 2 - well she lied! We had enough to doggie bag and take home for my wife. And that was not because it was bad or anything. We both got FULL! The baby back ribs were like a 6 out of 5 - delish! I am reappraising the brisket and pulled pork. I don't know if it was the wonderful smoke smell inside or what, but the flavors were more prominent out of the doggie bag. The brisket - great - not as good as the ribs and it was the first time I have had brisket. The hot links, I agree that they were NOT that hot, but they were tasty. The pulled pork was excellent, a very nice smoky, seasoned flavor. I liked the sauce on the side. Like several others, the hot mixed with the sweet is a good combo. They offer Hot, Mild and Sweet BBQ sauce. The waitress siad the hot wasn't that hot and she was right. That would have been a mild at Pecos Pit or Jones. We had a side of baked beans and potato salad. Both were tasty. I liked the potato salad and the beans, they were some of the best baked beans I can recall. So far 5 stars but . . .But what is with the WHITE Bread? Not a bun, not a roll, not wheat, not special - 4 slices of the whitest, white bread you could find. A Pulled Pork sandwich on WHITE bread, WTF?? OK, It might be traditional in NC or somewhere, but give me something with real grain in it. They definitely lost stars for that. 2 servings of white bread - minus 1 star. If you order a sandwich, you get a choice of a bun or white bread, but no choice here. But guys, have a clue. . . . .find an alternative for that white bread! At least ask with the "Here's Your Daddy" or the Rack of Ribs. read more

9/3/09: Had to cater another luncheon today where the manager specifically told me to go to Stan's. Told him OK, it's your budget. The lunch was for today. I typically will call several days in advance to do a sizable order, but this time I forgot. An hour before I needed it, I called, explained my dilemma, and the young lady on the phone told me absolutely no problem. Placed my order; got there a little earlier than I thought I would, and even though I told them I would wait, they started throwing my order together most efficiently. The biggest surprise? They no longer charge that automatic 18% on orders over $100 :o) Very nice. And because they were so sweet to take my somewhat-large order and put it together so quickly, I did tip 20% anyways - I was that impressed. And the luncheon? Total success - the team loved the food. No leftovers here! PREVIOUS REVIEW: 1 star - I don't know how their food is; I didn't get to try. I work in the area and was going to cater a business lunch, using Stan's, as my boss loves a good BBQ. Interesting that they say no delivery, cuz they will, but for $50. We work right up the street. A little steep for a couple minutes' drive, I think. So I thought, OK, I'll go pick it up. After I placed my order, which came to nearly $200, the young lady on the phone informs me that all orders over $100 automatically gets 18% slapped on it for gratuity. I told her that was unacceptable. We were not dining in (if we were, I'd have no problem with that - I would even tip a little more; my customary 20%) and not even having it delivered. I was picking it up myself. So 18% for what - for throwing it in a bag for me to haul away? I generally tip for takeout service as well, but never 18%. She said that this was carved in stone; no way around it. Told her that was unfortunate and to cancel my order. I took my business elsewhere that day. Pity, too - had my boss like it, they would have gotten a lot of repeat business from me. read more

Huge portions! The ones to try are the ribs! It's a Kansas City BBQ style and I have to say it tastes great!! The sauces are very good, not too sweet which makes it perfect for you to still be able to enjoy the taste of the meat! read more

Stan's Bar-B-Q - Barbeque Near Me - Issaquah, Washington

The food at Stan's isn't bad, it's just not very good. I lived most of my life in the South and I have a certain expectation for BBQ and Stan's just isn't it. If that were it, I'd probably give them three stars. However, the last time I went there, I found a chicken feather in a number of the hot wings. It's not the end of the world and I let the waitress know and sent them back. However, instead of handling it properly, they informed us that they would make them 1/2 price because we had eaten 1/2. Wow. Talk about poor customer service. They lost far more money from me not going back than they saved from not taking off the other 1/2 (or don't take off anything, I certainly didn't ask them to). Because of that, I'm lowering my review to 2 stars. Again, if you are stuck in Issaquah and need BBQ, this place isn't bad, but there's much better to be had. read more

For the money this BBQ joint is way below my list of "good" BBQ! Their meats are smoked alright, BUT they lack in flavor and sauce. I was very very dissapointed after hearing good things about Stans. We spent $60 on lunch and I felt like we threw a flame to three twenty dollar bills!!! Sorry Stan's, you just did not impress me! :o( read more

Im not much into BBQ so it has to be rockin to impress me. This was not rocking and not impressive. Again, this is decent BBQ but not amazing. The portions are huge and the price is ok for the amount of food. I would say the best item there are the ribs and the beef briscit (sic). The sides (potato salad, pork & beans) are nothing to write home about. The wait staff is friendly and on the ball. read more

I normally start the review by pointing out the good things first, but a few things bugged me so much that I gotta spit it out - ASAP. The brauts, how the hell can you make so horrible?! It is dried, like no juice dried. The meat is tough, as they just ran out and placed a new batch in 1-2 hours prior... and everything tastes like liquid smoke. It raises concern for me that a bbq place not smelling like bbq... ok, now on to the next things on the menu... The meats are alright. It might be that I got there at a time where the meat is just sitting around too long, but honestly, it was dried. We were a party of 6, and ordered most of the pit items, and highly disappointed. The prices were fair for what normal BBQ would expect, actually a bit lower than a few, but taste wise, no way. read more

This is the WORST food let alone BBQ food I have ever eaten. I am a BBQ fanatic! I have also had BBQ in Kansas City, this place doesn't even stand a chance to KC BBQ! I find it to be false advertising that they even compare themselves to KC BBQ! These people do not even use a real smoker! What a joke! Way over priced for grocery store potato salad, dry, fatty filled brisket, and bland tasting ribs! What a waste of money. read more

Happened to be in the neighborhood today, and I'm always up for BBQ. I had the beef brisket and pulled pork sandwich with hot BBQ sauce and beans. The meat was tender and tasty, and the sauce was fine, even if it leaned a little on chili spice for my taste. What takes stars away was the price. Ok, I'll accept that the buy-24-in-a-package supermarket hamburger buns is the economical way to go. For $8 for what I got, it'd even be a bargain, and I'd rave about it. For $13.50? To start, I want better bread. Safeway will sell you a fresh-baked Kaiser Roll for $.59, and there's two in town. Sure, they'll go bad after a day (that's because they're made of food, not preservatives), and you can't just load up the truck with a whole month's supply of cheap buns. The beans were kind of blah, too, but they were fine. The place had a decent amount of customers for mid-afternoon on a Saturday in February, so I guess I can't fault them for charging high prices. That's Business 101. Customer 101 tells me that Jak's Grill next door serves a burger cheaper that might be a better experience overall. Again, the meat was good, the sauce was fine, and the service was friendly. Seemed like a nice place to hang out, if your wallet can manage it. read more

Just stopped by this afternoon to give this place a try with a few friends of mine and can honestly say it was the nastiest BBQ I've ever had. I ordered the beef brisket sandwich and had to double check to see if it was actually beef. It was so greasy and every bite of meat had big chunks of fat on it. My friend seemed to like his so I don't know if I just got a bad order or something else was wrong but it's safe to say that won't be returning to this place. read more

I have high expectations for barbeque. Moist, smokey meat that is a little tangy and definitely savory. Stan's BBQ does a "dry" style of barbeque that frankly, I'm just not that into. For me, Stan's is 3.5/5, but if you spend any amount of time in there you end up exuding the scent of delicious smoked meats for hours. And thus they get 4. I had the great pleasure of having a girlfriend who worked here, so I got to sample the entire menu more than once. The meat is consistently flavored with a vaguely mustardy but light smoke which works well for the beef and pork briskets but is a little lacking on the ribs and chicken. The sides are generally well done, the cole slaw and potato salad are great and the baked beans has a good home-cooked taste. The creamed corn, which is great to mix with the beans, is more soupy than creamy, but still tasty. For the price, some plates don't quite deliver on value, such as the chicken. The portions are generous and usually leaves enough to share or save for leftovers. The ambiance of Stan's is excellent, a modern Western theme with all of the charms of history, lots of wood and old photos combined with friendly and efficient staff make for a great dining experience. One thing I really like about coming here is that it feels like I'm visiting an old friend's home with how welcoming the staff are.There are paper towel rolls at every table which is essential for good BBQ. KC style BBQ fans will love Stan's, but for folks like me who were spoiled by Memphis style BBQ, we will merely be temporarily satisfied in our lust for decadent smoked meats. read more

First time I walked in, I got excited. The smells were just right, the atmosphere was a little too neat, but still BBQ appropriate. The menu items even lead me to believe I finally found a true BBQ place in the Seattle area. But I was quite disappointed. I've been a couple times to try the items, but nothing impressed. The pulled pork had no smoke rings (and thus no smoke flavor) and the ribs seemed to be overcooked. Even the sausage links seemed mediocre at best. And to top it all off, the sides tasted like something you'd get at a grocery store deli counter. Stan's looks great, but doesn't deliver. It's yet another place that believes BBQ involves just smothering sauce on your meat when it should be about the whole BBQ process from the rub to smoking and all they way to your plate. read more

You know when something is so dry that you can feel it suck the saliva out of your mouth? That's how the brisket is at Stan's. :( Excited over the possibility of good Kansas City BBQ in Issy, I stepped up to the front door. I saw the menu posted outside, which is usually a "we're expensive" warning--and it sadly was. My eyeballs were hurting at the sight of the $25+ price tag on most combos. I settled on a half pound of brisket with one side. For $15, I got: * half a pound of the worst, dryest, blandest brisket, * a side of "creamed" corn, * a tiny container of mediocre BBQ sauce, and * no bread. The brisket was the worst I've ever had--no exaggeration. It was so dry that not even the BBQ sauce could save it, and I had to keep taking sips of water because the meat would cling to my esophagus. The "creamed" corn consisted of tough corn kernels swimming in a nearly water-thin white sauce. You're supposed to be able to eat creamed corn with a fork, but this was so close to soup that they actually served it to me with a spoon. I don't know if bread was extra or not, because the waitress never offered me any. For $15, they could've surely spared a slice or two. I really, really wanted to like this place. The atmosphere is great, they have Shiner on tap, and service was good. However, the prices are a joke and even Dickey's has better food. read more

I'm originally from KC, and the best way that I can put this is as follows: If I lived in KC and this place were there, I'd go occasionally (due to there being an onslaught of amazing bbq places there). Being that I live here (where people knowing what to do with meat and a grill and smoker and sauce is a bit of a rarity), I'm a huge fan. Not only was I a little teary-eyed at all of the Kansas City memorabilia, but thankfully it's not just a shrine to the Chiefs, but to the greatness of KC bbq as well. I think they represent pretty well. I got the KC platter, which included some great, smoky short ribs, and a ton of tender brisket that fell off the fork. All of their sauces are pretty on point (although the spicy sauce was a little tame for me). Their baked beans were every bit as good as my mom's (which are about the only baked beans that I really like). The prices were a bit much (bbq should never really be more than 10 bucks for a huge plate, IMHO), but the flavors were worth it to me. The only thing that could've made it a 5 star experience would be to have some Boulevard Wheat on tap. Also, it's just not a BBQ joint if you don't walk out smelling like smoked meats, and sure enough, I had the stank on me for a good few hours after leaving. Highly recommended for any native Northwesterners who want some true Midwestern BBQ. read more

Make no mistake, this place is good. And if you're in the mood for some solid BBQ you can't miss here. They make a big deal about being "Kansas City" BBQ, which I totally understand, that's some good Q, but they manage to contradict themselves in one important area related to that. Which I will go into hopefully without contradicting myself... I'm also going to see how many times I can work "Kansas City" into this review. There's also apparently a cornbread related rant, sorry... So for food alone this place is a 4-star rating, good, but not the best BBQ I've ever had. Since I'm rating the whole business and not just the food, it gets 3 because there's some issues... I'm a fan of ribs, I make a mean rack of ribs myself, but honestly I'd rather have someone else do it for me. The ribs here are delicious, but generally too dry for me, not as in the dry rub, but as in the meat is dried out, likely from sitting for too long before serving. They make a big deal out of the ribs being "so good you don't need sauce", and seemed to have drilled this into the wait staff because believe me you'll get some dirty looks and sneers when you ask for more than one tiny cup of sauce with your ribs. And when they grudgingly bring you more sauce? Its another tiny cup... fail. Kansas City BBQ is saucy BBQ. Making sauce is cheap, really cheap, just put a squeeze bottle on the table and let your customer decide how much sauce goes on their ribs. Kansas city gets them in trouble one more place... Cornbread. You know what goes really well with all kinds of BBQ? Cornbread. What do they not have at Stan's? Cornbread. Heaven forbid you should ask if cornbread is available, I've made this mistake, and one of my friends made this mistake before I could warn him. I'm not sure if it was the same waitress or not, but when asked if cornbread was available we were both told, with way too much attitude from someone that works for tips "This is Kansas City BBQ, and in Kansas City BBQ there's no cornbread." Well... excuse me for being so ignorant... but guess what, this isn't Kansas City. I'd much rather have cornbread than a slice of Wonder-bread, authentic or not its gross. Cornbread rants aside this place really is good, you might catch some attitude from the wait staff, but just don't question their mantra and it should be smooth sailing. Oh and if you were counting, including this next one there's only eight "Kansas Cities" in this whole review. Less than I thought there would be... read more

4 stars for the food. The ambience is awful with some of the worst restaurant lighting I've ever seen (I try to go during daylight hours when the natural light fills the place). It's like a flourescent dimness that feels like a government (or food bank) facility. The staff is hit or miss, with slightly more misses than hits. Too many times, I felt like I was being served by a spoiled Issaquah princess that just left high school and to whom reality of the workplace has not yet set in. The other ladies (usually the older ones) are great. Fortunately, I like the food, so I return. The pork can get on the dry side sometimes, but usually, I like it. I would say, however, to skip it and go for the brisket. Meaty, juicy, flavorful. Hot links are so-so. Ribs, I like, but I prefer good beef ribs instead of the the baby back pork that everyone else seems to love. They are very serviceable. My favorite item is the meatball which is only served on Friday and Saturdays. Good stuff if you like meatballs. The smoky flavor makes them stand out for what is otherwise a normal meatball. The prices aren't all that bad. The $25 per person platter is about 5 pounds of meat. I've had 4 meals out of it, easy. It's much more reasonable if you get a sandwich for around $12 which is more than we, as Americans, should be eating at a single sitting. read more

Upon walking in, I immediately got the American country vibe with big exuberant flags, sports on the screens, and beers flowing out of the taps. +2 points for creative menu options We ordered the "Who's your Daddy?" & "Who's your Momma?" combination. Which featured 3 ribs, 1/2lb beef brisket, 1/2lb pork, 2 links, 1/2lb turkey, 1/2lb chicken and 4 delicious sides. Potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans & recommended creamed corn. *drools* Meat= heaven. But only when it's cooked right. I was a little bit disappointed not knowing that the 6 little plastic ramequins of sauce was supposed to be for all 2+ lbs of meat for us. That was shocking. Those crazy Kansas-ites! I could taste a difference in the meat than what I could make, but nothing was "OH MY GRAVY" good. I liked the zesty link....and hickory flavor to the pork. Must be an excellent rub. I think, sadly, the best part of the experience was the company. Couple of crazy Yelpers. And Peter. Oh and Rebecca's bloody mary was delish. As was my Pyramid Hef's but you can't go wrong there =) read more

Came here from Everett because we had a Groupon. Getting out of the car at 4pm for an early supper it smelled amazing as we walked towards the bar. Ordered ribs and chicken x2. The meat was cooked to fall off the bone PERFECTION! We did not like either sauce they offered so we picked the meat off the bone and got to go boxes. Sweet Baby Rays will taste amazing on this meat. We wish one of the sided would have been Mac N cheese but the potato salad was good enough. Plate came out a slice of bread but when I asked for butter they had to bring out a little bowl of melted butter. So no butter pats available apparently. Drinks, my wife and I prefer fresh brewed iced tea but we had to settle for Coke products. Do this place isn't for us but we loved the meat. read more