Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que — Restaurant in Apple Valley

Best Famous Dave's I've been too! The cooks are great and better than cooks at other Famous Dave's locations! I go in almost every week and drive a half hour instead of going to the closer cottage grove location because the cooks and staff are better in apple valley. My favorite is the bacon cheese burger and corn bread! The people who have been complaining about the service being slow/having to ask for a table wiped down have most likely never worked in the food industry. The workers have many priorities to get done before they close along with waiting on customers and if it is a busy day then it takes time to get to those other chores. All you have to do is ask for it to be wiped down, and they will gladly do it for you, the staff is always very very nice- not that it matters, what matters is the food! and the food is always five stars! i have never had my order messed up and the food is always hot off the grill. The price is also not high considering what great quality the food is! You could go to McDonalds and get two cheap and unsatisfying meals or go to FD and get a filling and flavorful meal from the best BBQ place in MN! The price is also not high when it is the same amount as meals from applebees, green mill, tgif, and is better quality.

I feel that a lot of consumers now a days are very entitled and think that they should be the first priority when it comes to the staff, but you are not! As long as the food is great who cares if you have to ask to have a table wiped down. The staff are humans...

Past 3 times I've been here I put in an order (nothing fancy, just basic meal and dessert) and our order just gets lost in the void each time I guess. We sit with our number placard on full display at our table usually for 35-40 minutes before we have to get someone's attention or go up to the counter to ask about our order. I should set a timer next time so I don't lose track. Tonight at 35 minutes I went up and no one seemed to know we had just ordered bread pudding and that was it. At about 43 minutes after ordering is when we got it. In the tail end of 2021, we came to eat (wife, daughter, myself) shortly after our son had died because I guess famous Dave's was comfort food for me as we lived closed to one during college and would eat there quite often. We waited 35 plus minutes before anything then too. And this was with what seemed to be a manager standing at the table next to ours and talking for 25 minutes or so. Why do I keep going back after all this? I guess it's the bread pudding and this is one of the few locations still open around us. I just don't get it though; our orders seemingly disappear the moment we leave the counter. Tonight was an attempt to have a quick normal birthday treat in a long time and it just turned into the same thing...

So I left a review a few years ago giving them a solid 4. I can't say the same these days. My last visit there, takeout, was not enjoyable at all. When brought to his attention the manager was very gracious and apologetic. I went almost a year or so before I went back. I'm not sure whether it's a corporate decision, just today's food or a change in recipe. But the brisket and ribs left a lot to be desired. The cornbread Wilbur beans coleslaw all the trimmings are still top shelf. The brisket is almost as if it has been brined. The texture is more like a ham than a brisket. There was little to no spice added, and little to no smoke flavor. Same with the ribs they were very Bland and no barbecue/smoke flavor at all. Almost like they were oven baked. This is very disappointing as the original Famous Dave's produced some excellent food. I suspect , and it's only a guess, that this is all in the interest of profit and that the food is just not flavored and slow smoke the way it used to be. I think Mr Anderson would be sorely disappointed. I want to add this was take out so I cannot comment on customer service. I know the restaurant used to...