A diner from Evansville, IN
Aug 7, 2012
Ok… so I heard on the news that last week a presidential candidate was in town and was taken to eat at The Bar-B-Q Shack here in town. I love good barbecue and am always hoping to find it in Evansville, especially close to home. It was a Monday and I was ready for lunch. I found the restaurant’s website and checked hours of operation to be sure that they were going to be open for lunch. To my satisfaction the restaurant was open Mon-Thur 11AM-8PM and I drove out to North Park Shopping Center and parked next to the restaurant. I walk up to the door and it was locked, so I located a sign that listed hours of operation… MONDAY CLOSED. Ok, so I wasted my time driving out to the place because they were closed. I returned Tuesday because I was really hungry for some barbecue. When I entered at about noon the restaurant was busy, which is normally a good sign. It was seat-yourself which is fine by me. The table was clean and the waitress was prompt in taking my drink order. I ordered sweet tea and it was delivered right away. When I eat at a barbecue restaurant for the first time I always order the same thing which is a pulled pork sandwich. The menu was pretty wordy and I could not easily locate “pulled pork sandwich” so I went for the next best thing, the Pulled Pork Platter. [Slow smoked for 16 hours our pulled pork is “Fall Off the Bone GOOD” served with two of our homemade sides, rye, pickle, onion and a sweet pickled tomato slice...$9.29] For my sides I ordered a side salad and to eat with the barbecue slaw. My wait time for the food was very reasonable. Right away I was impressed with the meat coming out bare without sauce and that it looks appetizing. I enjoy adding my own sauce to just the barbecued pork. When trying anyone’s barbecue for the first time like to fill up my fork with just the meat and give it a taste. So, I filled up my fork and took my first bite. What I had was a fork full of fat residue (which tastes awful and has a terrible texture). This residue occurs when the meat has been refrigerated and then is warmed up prior to being served. This dry/chalky residue was throughout the meat and covered up any barbecue flavor that might have once existed in the meat. Cooking the meat for 16 hours is probably a great thing. However, the combination of refrigerating the meat and then just warming it up prior to serving is probably not a good idea if you are wanting to deliver “Fall Off the Bone GOOD” barbecue. The salad was adequate. The slaw was bland and boring. Overall, not worth $10+ dollars for lunch (including the drink and tax). Would I recommend this place as a good place for barbecue? NO [P.S. – I always go back a second time to every restaurant that I review, so stay tuned for visit #2 when I try to ribs that everyone seems to enjoy so much.]
