Grill and Barrel

The 4th of July weekend usually consists of me spending lots of time tending the cooker and enjoying some time out of the office.  However, this year we had a last minute change of plans and headed out of town.  So, for July 4th BBQ I found myself at a BBQ restaurant that I located based on an advertisement I saw on a billboard.  Turns out, the billboard was better than the BBQ.

I found myself in a restaurant called Shorty Smalls.  They have a handful of restaurants around Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas & Oklahoma.  I ate at one of their two locations in Branson, MO.  I can’t tell if the down home décor is typical of all their restaurants since nearly every eatery in the Branson/Ozark Mountain area employs a log cabin motif with the accompanying décor.

I was surprised to find a menu with lots more than BBQ, and I should have been suspicious when there was no BBQ sauce on the table.  It seems that these days every BBQ joint I see has an assortment of sauces on the table.  Nonetheless, I let the waiter talk me into having the ribs.  In fact, I ordered a combination plate of ribs & pulled pork with sides of slaw & baked beans.

I guess it’s a good thing I took the waiter’s advice and ordered the ribs because I couldn’t eat the pulled pork.  It might have been good, but I couldn’t tell because it was drenched in their BBQ sauce.  The ribs had no smoke, rub, or sauce flavor but they were tender.  But then again, there are lots of ways to prepare ribs that makes then tender but they don’t all make them BBQ.

Side dishes?  The beans didn’t seem to be much more than canned pork & beans and the slaw & fries were just average.  Luckily my family had a better experience, but then none of them had the BBQ.

I can’t recommend Shorty’s for BBQ, but if you’re looking for sandwiches & pasta they might be worth a shot.
Here’s how Shorty Small’s stacks up:

•    BBQ – D
•    Side Dishes – C
•    Atmosphere – C
•    Value – B
•    Overall – C-

Cheers,
Braddog

While noodling around with Google Maps on the iPhone, I discovered that there was a BBQ joint not far from my office that I hadn’t tried yet.  So on Friday, I set out to give it a try.

The place is called Dickey’s Pit BBQ and it turns out that they are a rapidly growing chain.  I hadn’t been there before, but my previous experience in a BBQ chain wasn’t all that great.  So with a little apprehension I stepped up to the counter and ordered my lunch.

They serve the usual BBQ fare of pulled pork, brisket, sausage, chicken and ribs.  I ordered the two-meat platter of brisket & pulled pork with a  couple of sides and a glass of sweat tea.  The food came out quickly and it looked promising enough, but it didn’t much of a smoke flavor and there was little to no additional flavor in the bark.  Having said that, the meat was tender and the portions were generous. 

The side items were probably my favorite part of the meal.  The green beans with bacon and the BBQ beans were very tasty.  And, I can’t say no to a hunk of sweet cornbread.  I also enjoyed their sauce which is served warm from a steam table by the salad & drink bars. 

Overall, it’s the best chain BBQ joint I’ve eaten at and they do have a pretty large presence across the country.  So, if you run into one of their locations I wouldn’t shy away from eating there.

 Here’s my breakdown:

• BBQ - B
• Side Dishes - A
• Atmosphere - A
• Value - B
• Overall – B+

Cheers,
Braddog