I have driven by this restaurant a few times and been eager try it out. The first time I saw it the smoke pit beckoned me to turn my head as I was going into a nearby store. I thought, "OOOH! That smells good." Today Husband needed to watch football. So, we made BT's Southern BBQ our hang out for a game. I noticed BT's Southern BBQ had televisions during an online search. What is better than football and barbecue?
As we walked toward the entrance there was no smoke billowing over the building as I saw the last time, but I knew fire had been there in the past and was hoping to smell the familiar smoky smell as we entered. Just inside the door a faint smoky aroma was detected. Hooray!
The counter was taken up by chatty patrons enjoying one of the many locally brewed beers on tap. The feel was a casual corner bar. Husband and I headed to the counter to decipher the menu. I noticed pulled port, pulled chicken, beef ribs, baby back ribs, and pork ribs. No offerings of fried catfish or greens were seen on the menu. However, I was excited to see the choices and trying to be open minded with the choices of hot links, black, beans, rice, and tri tip on the menu. My true joy was found when seeing fried okra on the menu. I had not see fried okra on a menu in quite some time. Some strange thing are on the menu, too. Things like New Orleans BBQ Shrimp, tacos, and corned beef can be found on specified nights of the week. Brisket is only available two days weekly.
I ordered the fried okra and a pulled pork sandwich with baked beans. Husband chose a rib plate. The rib plate comes with pork ribs, baby back ribs, beef ribs, two sides, and a biscuit. After we order the waitress tells us where we could find the sweet and spicy barbecue sauces. I bring one of each to the table and taste. The flavor is not like any barbecue sauce I have tasted before. The sauces look nearly identical and taste more like salsa than barbecue sauce. I was inclined to request tortilla chips. Most barbecue originates from Memphis, Carolina, Texas, Kentucky, or Kansas City. I am wondering which region the BT's Southern Barbecue sauce represents.
Our food arrives in good time and I look over the plates to see what we have. The okra doesn't come with a traditional horseradish sauce but ranch. The okra was good on without the ranch. The beef rib had quite a bit of fat on it. The biscuit has looked like it was dolloped with an ice cream scoop. Interesting. The pulled pork does not taste of smoke and is dry. The baked beans had little flavor. The only thing I could takes for sure was onions and creole seasoning. The pork rib was smoke and had good bit to it. The beef rib was fairly dry but not as dry as the pork. The black beans were uninspired and tasted mostly of bean. The coleslaw was lackluster. The biscuit was a deal breaker. It was heard and heavy. Since there was not butter or honey to help aid the biscuit down, I tried one bite of it and was not interested in digging in further.
As I was finishing my meal I began to pay attention to the patrons around me. The table beside me had ordered mac and cheese. The dish did not appear to be made in house but appeared to be a Kraft Macaroni and Cheese dish. I over heard a fellow diner stated to his eating companions that they would need to add sauce for the meal to taste good. He was right. The meat could not stand on its own and was not enjoyable solo. I did notice another group who must have been regulars ordering sauces not offered to other clients. The sauce was described as 'hot enough to peel your face off.' I am not certain how that description matches any barbecue style I am familiar with. I drowned my food in the publicly offered sauce the best I could and left unsatisfied.
I am unimpressed with BT's Southern BBQ. If you ware looking for a local beer hangout, this is not a bad choice. If you are looking for real barbecue, try somewhere else. It is not here.
My suggested improvements would include: smoke the meat and the beans. Choose an established barbecue region and update the menu accordingly.
Ambiance: 4.0
Food taste/quality: 0.5
Overall review: 2.25
The above rating is based on overall appeal of the ambiance, food quality, and food taste on a scale of 0-5.0. 5.0 is the best rating possible
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