Ridgewood Barbecue — Restaurant in Bluff City

I have seen friends of mine posting pictures of this place for several years now and talking about how good it was. I was working in the area and decided to stop in for supper. Being a foodie and from Texas will definitely have a bearing on this review.

The first thing that caught my eye was the sign in the front window that said it was voted the best BBQ in the state of Tennessee. Now I have already eaten at some pretty great BBQ joints in the state so it was going to have a lot to live up to.

It started out well as it was race weekend in Bristol so the place was packed and I got to sit at the table next to Parker Kligerman and his #75 Camping World Truck Series Team. But sadly that would be the highlight of my visit.

The slaw was brought out first. It was sweet but also had a vinegary kick to it. I like sweet slaw but this was not to my liking. The plate of BBQ that came out was very large and probably enough for most couples to share. The pork and beef were both sauced in the kitchen. Both meats were sliced very thin and would have been dry were it not for the sauce. The sauce is very sweet and had a very distinct flavor that I couldn’t seem to put my finger on. I was not a fan of the sauce and felt like I could find better in the grocery store. The meats had a decent smoky flavor but didn’t wow me with quality. They do give you a huge pile of fresh fries though! They brought some plain white dinner rolls to the table but they where nothing special. As a Texas boy, I couldn’t help but think that place wouldn’t have lasted on a street in Texas.

So finally let’s talk price... My plate was $16.99 and once tea and taxes were added it came to smidge over $21. This was not $20 quality food.

The food was not good enough to make me want go back and with the high price was the nail in the...

Today I called to place an order for pick up for January 3rd for my mother’s 60 dinner party. Upon calling a guy answers the phone, I tell him what I’m calling for and he states he isn’t sure they will be open on the third. Puts me on hold while he ask someone. As he gets back on the phone he ask me what I would like to order. So I began telling him, that I want barbecue pork which as I’m speaking I have a hard time getting out what I’m trying to say as I do often do to past seizures that’s caused short term memory damage. Well this guys can’t give me a minute to say what I need before he interrupts with, if you don’t know what you’re ordering then I’m going to check out these customers in front of me. As he lays the phone down he states to the people in front of him, I’m going to just lay the phone down since she doesn’t know what she wants to order. I told her there are people in front of me and laughs. I have ate in this establishment many times, my family has ordered from them many times for large dinners at home. And I am very upset at the disrespect this man just showed on this phone call. First off if you’re to busy to take orders, don’t answer the phone. And if you do, maybe ask someone to hold until you are ready to speak to them without cutting them off then making fun of them while they can hear you. Since this is a very popular spot and the food is good I’m sure this review will not matter. But for myself and my family I will make sure we never eat...

Very frustrating experience. Went by the restaurant several times with the intent of taking family from out of town to experience some good BBQ but always a long line which should be an indication of a good place. on Saturday the restaurant is closed from 2:30-4:30. We arrived at 4:20 and there was already a line but we decided to go for it. There were 8 of us but we told the hostess that we would be willing to split up if necessary as the restaurant is small and not set up to handle large groups. We were told the wait would be about 20 minutes. After 1 hour and noticing other large groups that arrived after us getting taken before us, we questioned what was going on and reiterated that we were willing to take separate tables. About 10 minutes later half of our party was seated at a table for 4. A few minutes later the remaining 4 were called to be seated and we were lead to a table for 8. Very frustrating but it did not end there. The waitress in our section was very busy and was trying hard but as this place is always busy, you would think there would be appropriate staff. Would not have been a problem except our table was very sticky and needed to be wiped down and we were missing items like silverware. Food came reasonably quick though and well it was good, it was not worth what we had to endure. Sadly we will probably...