Shoeless Joes BBQ Pork

Shoeless Joe's BBQ Pulled Pork

While at the National Halloween trade show hosted at the Rosemont Chicago convention center, the host had a “Taste Of Chicago” evening for the exhibitors and buyers in the Hilton Hotel on Friday evening. Inside the great hall, many of Chicago’s top restaurants had set up temporary stations and were cooking their best dishes for all to taste and sample. Of course we were there. The first station we stopped at was Shoeless Joe’s Restaurant.

After finding a table, we made a bee line to shoeless Joe’s. I sampled the pulled pork sandwich and their BBQ ribs. The ribs were the “Fall off the bone” variety. (The best kind!) The BBQ sauce was tangy and perfect. The taste, well, the ribs were exquisite. If there weren’t 9 or 10 other restaurants to sample I would have went back for a full slab of ribs.

After the ribs, I moved on to the pulled pork sandwich. Again, a very tasty BBQ sauce smothering tender pulled pork. The hard roll was a perfect combo.

I was really liking this “Taste Of Chicago” event so far. I couldn’t wait for the next restaurant.

The Grassy Knoll Institute scores 5 out of 5 shots and recommends Shoeless Joe’s of Chicago for dinner.

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Marcs BBQ Grilled Chicken Take Out

Marc's Grocery Store in Boardman, Ohio is my usual place to stock up on Coke Zero. Marc's runs some deep discount deals on pop every so often and that's when i stock up.

The other day after loading my cart with Coke Zero, I spied in the cold section some packaged grilled chicken breasts with BBQ sauce. The cost was $3.09 for the package. Feeling saucy, I decided to try a pack.

After loading the Coke zero in the basement I fired up the microwave and warmed that chicken BBQ up. I wasn't expecting much, (It was cheap, in a plastic container, and it was from Marc's) but I was hungry. The portion was generous with the cost at just over three bucks. I cut a small piece off and tasted it.

WOW! I was impressed. The chicken breast was juicy, tender, with no fat. The BBQ sauce was tangy and flavorful and complimented the chicken perfectly. It tasted really good. Not just plastic wrap take out from a grocery store good, but from a respected BBQ restaurant specializing in BBQ chicken good. Shocking! I rate this BBQ right up there with the Outback, Calhouns, and Texas Roadhouse. Yes, it was that good. And it was cheap.

The Grassy Knoll Institute scores 5 out of 5 shots and recommends Marc's Grocery Store BBQ Grilled Chicken take out for dinner.

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Smoky Bones Restaurant - BBQ Combo

Smoky Bones is located on South Avenue, a very busy highway in Boardman, Ohio. Today, we decided to stop driving by and instead pulled into the parking lot.

We were seated quickly as it was not very busy and our waitress came over to take our drink order. We ordered diet Cokes. She returned with our drinks and took our dinner order.

I ordered the pretzels as an appetizer as they looked intriguing. Fifteen minutes later, the pretzels arrived at our table. I asked the waitress for plates, napkins, and utensils to eat the pretzels. After asking three times, I never received them.

As I stated earlier, it wasn’t crowded leaving no excuse for lousy service which we were receiving. It took our waitress 30 minutes after she delivered our pretzel appetizer to deliver our dinner.

Triple Combo Platter

Finally, our dinner was served. I ordered the triple combo and selected BBQ pulled pork, BBQ chicken strips, and BBQ grilled chicken. A baked potato and garlic bread completed the dinner.

Inspecting the plate, I noticed the pulled pork was not the BBQ variety. Nor was the chicken strips and the grilled chicken. Luckily our waitress returned with refills on our diet Cokes. I informed her I ordered BBQ and she said for me to use the tubes of BBQ sauce kept on the table. I then noticed she had given us iced tea instead of diet Cokes.

I once again sternly asked for napkins and at least a fork to eat my dinner. I also pointed out that we ordered diet Cokes and not iced tea. She said she would be right back with them. Instead of waiting, I got up and found an empty table and took the napkins and utensils and returned to our table. Our waitress never did bring us any.

I also noticed in our thirty minute wait patrons that came in after us and serviced by another waitress were served their dinners before us. There were four other tables served before us.

Side Note: As we were eating, the table behind us had a problem with their bill and it took the waitress (Our waitress) several trips to the cashier to remedy the problem.

Still want to read the critique?

OK, the baked potato was cold, seriously, it was cold. Not hot, not warm, but cold. It was not baked all through and the center was hard. Score for the potato, zero.

The pulled pork was maybe warm, tasted OK but was bland as Hell. I was afraid to use any of the sauces our waitress directed to use on the table. Some of the tubes were oozing several foul-smelling odors and the sauce was dried and chunky on the tubes. Score, zero.

The fries were also cold. See the trend here? I really think our waitress forgot about our order. I hate cold fries. Score, zero.

The chicken was adequate at best, and could have been better if hot, at least warm.

Our waitress should be fired.

The Grassy Knoll Institute scores 0 out of 5 shots and DOES NOT recommends Smoky Bones for dinner.

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C Staples - BBQ Chicken Dinner

Charlie Staples Chicken And Ribs

Charlies Staples BBQ restaurant has been around Youngstown for many years serving his own special blend of BBQ Ribs, Chicken, Pulled pork, and even Fish. This evening I was in the mood for chicken.

The restaurant was crowded, must have been a party happening that evening. (Wink) I made my way to my table and was quickly approached by our waitress who asked us for our orders. Very nice waitress and very fast service. I commend them for such service on such a bust evening.

The dinner consisted of four pieces of chicken smothered in a tangy BBQ sauce, two pieces of bread, and french fries. I received a breast, leg, thigh, and wing. The breast was the main part, and was fair sized and meaty. All the pieces were well cooked. The BBQ sauce just tangy enough to let you know you were dining in a BBQ restaurant.

The fries were surprisingly good. Well cooked and crunchy enough. I left the white bread alone.
The cost was just under $10 dollars with a diet Coke which was very reasonable.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 3.5 out of 5 shots and recommends C Staples Restaurant  for dinner.

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Alliance Texas Roadhouse - BBQ Chicken And Ribs

Texas Roadhouse - Alliance Ohio

I was introduced to the Texas Roadhouse years ago in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The food was great and became one of my favorite places in Gatlinburg. To my surprise I found a Texas Roadhouse in Alliance, Ohio, just a mere 35 or so miles from my home. We had to go.

The Special Rolls

We got there around 4pm and it was crowded but not to bad and we were seated right away. The building interior was exactly the same layout as the one in Gatlinburg. I was pleased to see that the famous cinnamon rolls were also the same. Fresh baked, hot, and with a cinnamon butter spread to die for.

Coke Zero

I was also impressed that Texas Roadhouse carried Coke Zero, the best tasting diet cola on the planet. The waitress refilled my glass twice. Did I mention that Coke Zero really tastes good...

BBQ Chicken - Ribs - Bacon Cheese Fries

The Texas Roadhouse offers a combo platter of BBQ chicken and BBQ ribs plus two side dishes. The chicken was tender and with the tangy BBQ sauce, it was fantastic tasting. I couldn't wait to get to the ribs. Let me tell you, the ribs were worth the weight. They were fall off the bone tender and bursting with flavor. The BBQ sauce as I said before was a perfect blend of flavor that complimented the ribs, not over powered them. They were excellent.

Mac And Cheese

The side dishes selections were bacon cheese fries and macaroni and cheese. The fries were plentiful, the cheese melted perfectly over them with plenty of bacon pieces. (Not bacon bits the fake kind, but real bacon) The fries were well cooked, not soggy, not crunchy, but a good blend in between. The macaroni and cheese dish was very generic. I'm thinking Kraft right out of the box. A little pepper sprinkled on top and they were adequate.

The service was very good, the food excellent, and the price was nice, under $20 for the entire meal with bottomless Coke Zero, rolls, and roasted peanuts. 

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 5 out of 5 shots and recommends the Alliance Texas Roadhouse  for dinner.

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Calhoun’s - BBQ Ribs And Fries

I Did What The Sign Said To

Calhoun's of Gatlinburg is famously known for its BBQ ribs. Naturally, I had to order them. It was November, during the Smoky Mountain Gift Show, so the city was crowded, and Calhoun's had about a 30 minute waiting list. We mulled around outside until our name was called.

We were seated and a minute later our waiter came to our table and took our drink order and appetizer order. I went with a diet coke. A few minutes later, he took our main dinner order. Or course, I went with the famous BBQ spare ribs with a side of french fries.

The service was incredible for a busy evening, my coke was refilled, and my ribs were delivered to my table in under 10 minutes.

Calhouns Fall Off The Bone Ribs

As you can see, the ribs were plentiful, and this was the half order. The BBQ sauce was just spicy enough and the ribs, well, they were hot, tender, and juicy. The meat almost fell off the bone. The fries were good as well, but pretty much forgotten due to the taste of the ribs. And yes, the waiter brought plenty of napkins as they were needed.

The cost was $13 dollars for the half slab without tip. The price included fresh bread and rolls and one side which for me was the french fries. All in all, a good experience.

The Grassy Knoll Diner scores 4 out of 5 shots and recommends Calhoun's of Gatlinburg for dinner.

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1. 
   

   Longfellow said

   April 6, 2009 at 8:30 am e
   I have eaten there and agree, the ribs and service were darn good. I was there in the summer though, not when it was busy.
   Reply
2. 
   

   Gumby said

   April 7, 2009 at 12:52 pm e
   I love ribs. The hotter the better sauce.
   Reply
3. 
   

   Bitzky said

   April 7, 2009 at 7:24 pm e
   Oh dear , you just gave me the biggest cravings for ribs! They really look delicious.
   Reply
   • 
     

     LOTGK said

     April 8, 2009 at 8:59 am e
     I wasn’t surprised, they looked and smelled delicious.
     Reply
4. 
   

   Wraak said

   April 8, 2009 at 5:30 pm e
   those french fries look marvellous too. me wants.
   Reply