Clem's Cafe — Restaurant in Blairsville

Honestly, where to begin.

Let's first clear up a few things, as it's quite easy to assume.

It is Clem's Cafe, NOT, Clem's BBQ. It is clear as day on the huge pig sign atop the building, you may even be able to see it from space. Ok, probably not and that will be the last bit of hyperbole you'll read from me.

The fact of the matter is, I fully suspect I know why this isn't "Clem's BBQ" however I'll digress. Clever though, "hardwood cooked", "BBQ sauce", etc. and so on. To be clear, this is NOT a BBQ restaurant. I assure you, there is no low and slow smoking going on here and face it Pennsylvania, low, slow and rolling a perfect smoke is the only true form of BBQ. Period, I said it.

I've had BBQ from, more places than I care to count, aside from making my own proper BBQ. Kansas, Memphis, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, alright, so the East Coast, and I can say unequivocally, Clem's is not only NOT BBQ, but, was perhaps the worst prepared food I've ever had. That's a bold statement I realize, but a true one never-the-less. So let's dig into the details:

First, no "meat sampler", this is all too often a sign of either a great BBQ place or an awful one, for Clem's, the latter. I suspect why most awful places don't offer this is, because for first time visitors that wish to give a place a whirl, will find out with just one 16 dollar sampler, that the food stinks. Perhaps? So it cost me $29 if memory serves, to order a thigh/leg chicken, half rack of ribs and half pint of pulled pork.

Second, to the taste and texture, what a horrible experience. If you like falling off the meat ribs, just put some baby rays in a crock pot for a few hours, and you'll have fall off the bone [what's the point in the bone then] ribs but with much better taste and it will be throughout the ribs. Not at Clem's though, the ribs tasted as though they were cooked in a basting pan, covered, cooked in water like a new york hot dog, the consistency/texture matched. The "BBQ sauce", tastes of a hunts ketchup, white sugar with a dash of vinegar. I tasted no molasses, chili's, nadda that would have made this sauce worth writing about, but here I am. The chicken, was dry...dry. it's all dark meat, so how? Again, just dump a laddle of sauce on it, that'll fix it... and now the pulled pork, it tasted as though it had come from the rear of the pig and I mean the rear, not the cut of meat. I know this because I managed to get a quarter sized clump of pulled pork without it drenched in sauce. I almost refrained from writing this review, as I knew how I felt about thr food, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I was out nearly 30 dollars and someone like myself may come by thinking it was a real gem of a place.

The locals seem to like it. I guess?

Here's the topper and seems to be all too common with PA "BBQ" places. The lack of sweet or unsweetened tea, and I don't mean that Lipton or Brisk fountain junk, I mean brewed. It's sacrilegious not to offer a proper tea with anything even trying to pass off as BBQ. Does Clem's offer it? If so, I was told no and I didn't see any tea dispenser.

Third the people/atmosphere. I really liked the hometown feel once inside. Outside is a tourist trap, at least that is my perception now having eaten here. The service was fast and kind.

Normally I always try something twice before leaving a review, but I left so disappointed, not to mention, of all I ordered, I took only one bite of each item, ok three bites of the chicken because it was three bites palatable and I was hungry, the rest, went in the trash bin.

What I did enjoy just a bit, was the potato salad, though the potatoes were just slightly under done for my liking in a salad, it had a nice taste, albeit familiar, nothing truly remarkable or different, similar to Sam's brand if I'm being honest. Unfortunately, I cannot consume carbs, so having already eaten more of them than I should, I still had to waste half of the "side order" size. In short,...

Bad BBQ. Really, really, bad. I can't believe the great reviews. Wow, maybe it was a bad day yesterday (Thursday, April 11 around 4pm) but I spent $35 on a rack of ribs, small country ribs, and small pulled pork. First of all, I'm pretty sure I was overcharged but I was already 20 minutes down the road when I figured that out.

Ribs - Edible but overcooked, over-smoked, over-sauced, and bland. The membrane on the bottom was black with creosote.

Country - Edible but chewy and over-sauced.

Pulled Pork - OMG, this stuff was BAD, BAD, BAD. So tough that I couldn't even swallow it. The taste was foul. Except for the pinch I tasted, I had to throw the whole thing away. Pictures of it before and then in the trash are included. I hope the pics do justice to how bad it looked, let alone tasted. I wish I would have taken a pic of the ribs.

As a side note, I used to go to Clem's roadside on Rt 220 all the time. It was very good. This place can't be affiliated. ...

Been wanting to try this place for several years and finally had the chance...

My wife and I had dinner here on recent late afternoon. I say late afternoon as the place closes everyday at 6pm. This alone isn’t a big deal though it is a bit strange to me. I am not a local and from where I’m from, I can’t think of any place that closes so early.

Anyway, this is fast food barbecue. I liked it but my wife was not as pleased. Where I found the choices commiserate with a fast food bbq joint, my wife did not. Where I thought the food was good, she thought their chicken was too dry. Needless to say one of us walked away feeling good whereas the other won’t be looking for a return trip.

Service-wise, no complaints. The staff was friendly, patient as we decided what to order and helpful through-and-through. Overall, it’s a decent place, the portions are big and I thought the food was good. My only nit is with closing time. It sure does cater to the early-bird crowd,...