I was really looking forward to this place. We had heard alot of good things. When we arrived, the line was wrapped around the counter to entrance of the door. First great sign! The line was moving along so I had no complaints. The music was upbeat and a little loud for me but other than that the vibe was nice. Let's get to the food.
I specifically went for the jalapeno cheddar sausages and brisket. They were out of sausages for the weekend [we went on Friday]. So I settled for extra brisket for me. The brisket was juicy and Dripping when he pulled it out of that brown wrapping paper from heaven. When I seen it jiggle I knew the fat to meat ratio would please my pallet with all its delights. Now moving on to all the other options... my husband ordered the beef rib. That monster was 1.6 lbs. When I seen it, I knew it was going to be a hefty price just based on size alone. This beef rib was more of a temptation to the eye rather than the pallet. It was a bit dry and was more fatty than usual. I know that beef ribs do come with a fat cap on top and that is to be expected, but when you take a bite and expect the meat to slide off with the fat only to see more fat underneath, it was disappointing to say the least. Especially when paying $52 for 1 rib. But I digress , moving on to the pastrami.
The pastrami had a decent smoke ring and when combined with their spicy mustard was a pleasure to my taste buds. Not a finger pressure tender piece but was more of a pull apart tender.
My father ordered the pork ribs and truly enjoyed them. He was able to take a bite from the side of the rib and had the meat slide off the bones for him. The seasoning on the pork ribs was not spicy but very flavorful. I reccomend it with the house bbq sauce.
The sides Mac & cheese needs work. The noodles were very soggy. Not holding up well, not creamy and not alot of flavor aside from smoke. I understand it's a bbq spot but all items sold should reach a flavor standard no matter how big or small they are on the menu. The one thing we did enjoy was the cheese crust. Some pieces of the crunchy cheese were delicious!
The potato salad was nothing to write home about. More of a mustard flavor than any type of seasoning. I enjoyed the fact that there was egg in the potato salad which added to the creaminess of it but once again, there was not much seasoning to help it along.
The coleslaw was delicious! A vinegary & saucy slaw that had a great crunch! Some pieces of the Cabbage were more along the lines of thick slices with the core still in place but I didn't mind since the flavor and crunch added some texture with the smoked meats. This slaw was a highlight to my plate.
My favorite side was THE FRIJOLES!! There was chunks of different meats mixed in and it tasted like a bbq sauce was added or something sweet but either way it was delicious. The fact that they were whole beans instead of refried smashed beans made the experience better. Let's move to desserts.
My father got the banana pudding which we all ended up sharing. That was great and totally worth the $6 dollars. The pudding definitely tasted like they made the custard themselves and not from a box. It was BOMB!
The peacan pie was meh... the filling was very thin. Not to sweet. The crust was dry with more of a burnt flavor then a smokey flavor. It was not worth it.
Over all, I would rate this place a 3.5 but since Google does not allow half star they get a 4. Our over all bill was $152.19. Reasonable for everything we ordered. If we did go again I would just get a sandwich and hopefully some sausages. Give this place a try if your in the west valley and looking...
Ā Ā Ā Read moreThis 5 Star Rating is for two things only, but will be updated as I AM GOING BACK TOMORROW FOR MORE MEAT! That is... IF THE GOOD LORD IS WILLIN' AND THE CREEK DON'T RISE. Okay... The fellow on the phone that took my order was pleasant, friendly and knew exactly what I wanted when I ordered it, and THAT is refreshing and a huge 5 stars plus for sure! Now... the second thing that earned them 5 stars is that their smoked brisket is right there near the top of what is currently available here in Arizona, period. (All of the eaters that judged agree) (Using a High Quality Offset Smoker is a MAJOR advantage, trust me on this) Okay... ratings from our 4 very experienced (and picky) brisket judges are: (FYI they have judged brisket from most every highly rated restaurant in Arizona, as well as many of the others too and getting a 5.0 Overall Average is actually special, trust me as most BBQ joints don't even have a clue what good bark is... case in point Lucky's BBQ in Dewey AZ)
UPDATE: Okay, today I bought a half pound of brisket flat for lunch. (My second visit, ate it all) Very surprisingly, it was quite moist. MORE surprisingly, the fat on the edge was rendered perfectly. This means it was NOT white, but amber and translucent. It melted in my mouth like gelatin does! Wow! I do NOT like to eat fat but actually enjoyed this 1/4" of fat! Flavorful, and I WANTED to eat it! SO weird! This time was better then the last for me and the quality of the FLAT REALLY says just how good the brisket and the Pitmaster is. (Aaron Franklin will tell you this too)
The best time for lunch at Eric's Family Barbecue is from opening (11-11:45 am). Once the clock strikes 12 be prepared to wait for some great barbecue. 2 of us had the Back Yard Burger. Made with chopped brisket, it has American cheese, mayo, and pickles. What a great juicy burger. Even the bun holds up well with juices dripping off the sides. The sides are great too. Mac and cheese, BBQ beans with meat and juices, and the star side was the banana pudding. Creamy and silky. The rest of the group had the Pulled Pork Sandwich, Brisket Sandwich, BBQ Turkey Sandwich, and a Combo Brisket and Pulled Pork plate. All of us enjoyed our outing and are looking forward to a near future visit.
Several weeks ago my friend noticed that Eric's Family BBQ had hours 6 am to 10:30 , then the normal 11 to 7pm lunch ,dinner hours. I gathered up my lunch buddies and asked if they wanted to go to Eric's for breakfast. With that , 5 of us made the pilgrimage on a Saturday morning at 8 am. We had the restaurant all to ourseleves. Normally that would not be a good sign for eating in the prime breakfast hour. The menu consisted of a Breakfast Burrito, Breakfast Sandwich, Omelette, Pancakes, and Hash browns. Brisket , Pulled Pork , Turkey , Pastrami, and not on the menu Bacon were your meat choices. We ordered 2 Omelettes with bacon and cheese, 2 Omelettes with Brisket and cheese, and a Breakfast Sandwich with Brisket. All orders come with arugula, green onions, tomato, and red and green sauce. My Omelette only had the arugula added on , plus and order of Hash Browns. Everything was top notch. The Omelette was cooked perfectly . The Brisket was its usual. Fantastic. The Hash Browns were great. The order of Hash Browns was big enough to share with another person. It did. Your order come out on a metal try with white paper that holds the food. Way different than a plate and silverware. We did have to wait about 1/2 for the food. Plan accordingly if you need be somewhere else. The staff is very informative and friendly. I claim Eric's is great for any meal of the day. They have all the...
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