KG’s Smokehouse LLC at the Bourbon Barrel — Restaurant in Decatur

We love trying out new places and today after a wrestling tournament in town we came here for lunch. It was confusing to find the location as besides a yard sign at the entrance, there is no signage letting you know where to enter. After walking around the building we spoke to someone who let us know it’s in the brewery. We ordered a full slab of ribs-$27, large side of corn (2ct of 3” cob) small order of Mac n cheese, small order of Cole slaw and an order of waffles.

The good- the bar is really a cool looking spot with a giant mural on the wall. It’s clean and well organized. The workers were very friendly and gave recommendations. You order from the counter and unfortunately the majority that we wanted from the menu-they didn’t have. We changed our order and it was delivered quickly. The waffles had great flavor and tasted like Cinnamon Toast Crunch. But without the crunch. Very soggy. (Are they premade and reheated?) The Mac n cheese honestly tastes like premade from the store and reheated as well. Maybe I’m crazy but when I go to a mom and pop bbq joint I guess I expect some fresh southern style Mac n cheese- nothing tasting premade. Overall nothing to rave about- Same stuff you get at a buffet. The corn was 100%frozen corn that was halved and boiled until its life gave out in bad tasting water. Just mush. Zero seasoning.

My partner liked the coleslaw- it had a tiny too much of a vinegar tang for me but he did like it. (I think he likes the slight after sugar taste to it, but again I didn’t like the vinegar hit to it) The rib rub is very yummy along with the sauce they give. There was a great smoke bark on them and that part I did enjoy. However, they were very tough and chewy. I know they were fresh because as we were ordering the chef came inside with them and said, “ the ribs are ready now”. I think about 30min-1hour cook time would have made for a more tinder rib. The $80 we spent for our lunch unfortunately did not meet...

We were in town for the Cross Country IHSA Sectional Meet and needed a bite to eat. Found this place through Google and decided to go for it. What a great decision! While it is a small place in dining capacity ( only two four tops that I could see) it was huge in quality and hospitality. We we were greeted immediately by by our host and co-owner of the restaurant and introduced to the menu. There were a wide variety of choices and sides with a few delightful (try the smoked potatoes) surprises. Between the four of us we sampled both the smoked turkey and the brisket sandwiches. Even though they were handling what seemed to be quite a few takeout orders our food was served to us in a very timely fashion. The food arrived in unassuming styrofoam clamshell containers, this however would be a classic case of not judging a book by its cover. The food inside was exceptional. Everyone was very satisfied by their meals which was evident by the lack of conversation at the table. It was overall an enjoyable experience and I am saddened by the idea that this gem is so far from home for us. Here's to hoping my youngest child takes up running and we...

Best BBQ experience I’ve had in the area. No reason for anyone to go hungry as the portions were large enough for 3 people to eat from 1 meal. It was Sunday afternoon about 3 pm, they close at 5, so I didn’t know what to expect. The owners were on hand and running everything, they treated us as if they knew us for years. They were able to treat us good as well as taking care of other customers and take-out and deliveries. The dining area is small but very clean. When we ordered, they give us the option of having whatever we wanted on the side or mixed which was good because I knew I would be taking a lot of it to go. Bottom line was they cared more about our dining experience than we did. Only drawback I noticed was having a small dining area, as more people could enjoy the dine in service that we had. The BBQ sauce was very good, not too much of anything, perfect. The meat was fall off the bone tender and the sides were great. There were 4 or 5 deserts to choose from all looked amazing, but I knew I wouldn’t have room for any desert for...