Pauly's BBQ — Restaurant in Arthur

I’ve eaten Pauly’s ribs four times. Recently, my wife and I ate there and I ordered a slab of baby back ribs. The waitress asked if I wanted the “extra meaty” ribs but I opted for the regular ones because the last time I had the “extra meaty” variety, they were tougher than I like. I prefer rib meat to separate from the bone easily and be sauced with some caramelization. That’s just my preference. When our plates arrived, a portion of my ribs looked like the “extra meaty” variety with no sauce and they were a little dry, but another smaller portion looked like regular baby back ribs. The smaller portion was sauced and fattier. I was disappointed but decided not to say anything thinking, “maybe they’re different this time”. Their ribs are good but not the best in my opinion. They’re a little on the fatty side. The “extra meaty” aren’t as fatty but they’re not as tender either. I had to remove some large chunks of fat and tough membrane from them.

Pauly’s has a good selection of sauces on the table. The baked beans and cornbread are good and the coleslaw is decent. Their restaurant is small and quaint. Only one restroom. The waitress was friendly and attentive.

Overall I enjoyed the ribs despite them not being what I was hoping for. I took half of them home to eat later. My wife enjoyed the “Piggy Mac”. Would we eat there again? Yeah, but probably...

I'm not sure what happened, but I ate recently on 6/2/2022 in the evening and it was really a very mixed experience. I ordered the salmon and sides of hobo potatoes and green beans. The salmon was likely the best I've ever had anywhere. The green beans were black in color and severely burnt and bitter. The "cornbread" was actually badly burnt vanilla sheet cake. The hobo potatoes contained no onions, green peppers, or bacon as usual and advertised and were very old and slimy. See the attached pics of the burnt vanilla sheet cake passed as "cornbread" and the black green beans.

The young, brunette male (presumably high school or college age) working the counter was atrocious and had a severe attitude throughout my visit, even before I pointed out the issues with the food. He claimed the green beans are always black and the vanilla sheet cake was cornbread and then walked away flippantly. Not a single other word from him. He, alone, is reason enough I will not return or recommend visitors dine here. Better options...

Great food and amazing service. The staff are so friendly and helpful. I went for lunch with my wife and twin 4 years olds. And for any of you that don't have kids, much less twins, let me tell you visiting a restaurant is always a crapshoot. Will they behave, will they eat, will they force us to flee in shame... anyways the staff was friendly, helpful, and understanding. On hand with fresh silverware before I could even ask, when my done dropped his on the floor. When one of the staff overheard my conversation with my son explaining that they don't serve eggs here, and hearing the disappointment my son expressed they spoke with the cook and he offered to make him some scrambled eggs. The only thing better then their open friendly and helpful staff, is their food! I had their special of half a BBQ chicken and two sides for 12 dollars and I ate every bite! They also serve amazing homemade deserts! If you are anywhere near Arthur Illinois stop by, you won't...