After driving past this restaurant for years, my girlfriend and I finally stopped in this afternoon for early dinner - it’s a solid experience; I’ll break it down:
Billed as “Southern” food, I’ll say that while there are certainly a lot of Southern-style options, this is more of a “SoCal Southern” than serious Southern venue. And there’s nothing wrong with that!
I got the meat plate combo, which consisted of smoked link, Memphis ribs, and brisket. For the sides, I got the mac and cheese, and beans. My girlfriend had the brisket plate, and got the mac and cheese and creamed corn for her sides. We both had sweet tea to drink.
Since it was our first visit, the staff offered us a complimentary cornbread appetizer (which we were planning on ordering anyway), which is about a $10 value. It’s served in a cast iron skillet, and comes with honey butter and jalapeño jelly, which is sweet and has very little heat.
The cornbread is very good - I preferred the honey butter, while my girlfriend loved the jalapeño jelly. We’d definitely recommend this.
We both thought the mac and cheese was great; by far, the strongest of the sides. Her creamed corn was very good, too. Unfortunately, my beans were my least favorite part of the meal. They had a smoky bite that wasn’t sweet as you’d maybe expect, but rather, it was acrid; overpowering and unfriendly to my palate. I won’t get them again; they weren’t horrible - just not my thing.
The brisket - she loves her steak, etc. well done, so she loved this brisket. For me, it was very dry - way too lean. I like my brisket to be somewhat fatty and definitely juicy; this is definitely not that. It’s not bad - the bark is very flavorful, and the meat IS good - just not the way I like my brisket. So this is subjective to how you like your brisket done.
The ribs were solid; meat came right off the bone and was flavorful and not overcooked.
The link was probably my favorite thing on the plate. The sausage is very flavorful with just a slight kick - it is great with or without BBQ sauce.
There are multiple sauce options at each table; I loved the Kansas (spicy) sauce, as did my girlfriend - super tasty with just the right kick to it.
Our sweet tea was great - refreshing, not TOO sweet, garnished with mint. Super nice.
The service was outstanding; our drinks were constantly refilled and everyone kept checking on us throughout the meal. Top notch.
I can see us returning, for sure. The venue is three-in-one: a diner-style area with counter, a restaurant style section with booths and tables, and a bar tucked away in the back. It’s been there since the mid-1940s, and it feels that way. It’s aged well, and is definitely worth a visit.