Hot Off The Coals BBQ — Restaurant in Easton

We've been here twice before and it was very good! April 19th 2024, we ordered a brisket sandwich. Alegedly, four ounces of sliced brisket and it came with fries. The guy taking the order made a weak attempt to upset to the eight ounce for $2.50 more and I decline, thinking for $15.99 it should be eight ounces! Got a couple beers and we sat at a table to wait. I got some catsup for the fries, but was taken back that there was no sign of real Barbarque Sauce? They did have a spicy aisian glaze, that should have been a clue! We were hungry and the food did come out quickly! The fries were good! Fresh cut and deep fried! Then I opened the brisket sandwich to find four thinly sliced pieces of dry, dull looking beef brisket, dry! No mayo, lettuce, tomato, au jus, nothing but dry looking meat. I went to the counter and ordered some cole slaw from the same young man, telling him it was quite dry. He charged me fifty five cents and said it'll be right to your table! I waited five minutes then went back. He was on his phone and no one else cared. Finally the woman that appeared to be in charge saw me standing there-again-waiting and asked if she could get me something. My cole slaw, I told her, oh she said and she went into action! Finally the slaw appeared and my sandwich was cold! Clue, like number four, right! Then, in an attempt to provide a service on her part asked me if she should "....warm my sandwich up for me?" I agreed and as she walked away regretted somehow allowing it! She returned and gave me my plate back explaining how she pre-empted another's order "...from going in the MICROWAVE before my sandwick!", my heart sank! Now, the dry sandwich was worse! The meat was now tougher than it was before and the bun was a soggy squishy mess! Even with the cole slaw it remained the worst bbq sandwich I could possibly have ever gotten from an actual brick and morter restaurant! Never will we return and I would dissuade anyone from getting anything there but fries to go! What made it even more disappointing was the way they seemed to think my experience was a success, as they stood around doing nothing at the counter in the all but empty restaurant, at five thirty on a Friday! Now, as I look back and read their reviews almost all are years in the past, which I think this place will soon be relegated to! It exists by innocent folks expecting greatness to simply pay for mediocrity! Just say no, and get...

Our first time here and I was encouraged by the wonderful aroma of real live wood smoke but unfortunately the food didnt live up to the expectation. Let me start with the good. The place was clean and well kept. The service was polite and efficient. The prices were reasonable - about what I would expect for BBQ in the region.

On to the food. We ordered our food to go and sampled some of almost everything on the road since we had about an hour drive back home. I ordered brisket, half chicken and half rack of ribs, grilled chicken thighs, collard greens, coleslaw and boardwalk fries, and a slice of key lime pie. The key lime pie was the star of the show. Excellent balance of sweet and tart with a nice crumbly crust. The fries were decent but didn't taste very fresh. They were kind of limp like they had been in the warmer awhile. The chicken thighs, while flavorful, were very dry. If you've ever grilled or smoked chicken thighs you know that it's one of the most forgiving pieces of chicken. You almost have to try to mess up a thigh. These were either left on the grill way too long or had been in the warmer all day. On one piece I had to literally pull the meat while biting it in order to get through the skin. When I opened the container of brisket and saw a mound of pieces instead of slices I knew what was next. The smokey flavor was good but the pieces had little body left. You should be able to pull apart a slice easily but it shouldn't fall apart. They weren't completely dry but they weren't very moist either. Again, I wonder if it was just held too long. The coleslaw was very good but the collard greens were just ok. The half chicken and ribs were ok as well

If I'm in the area again I would be willing to give the brisket another try, perhaps earlier in the day. I might even try the pit beef or the smoked sausage. I wouldn't make the long drive just to come back...

Hit or Miss. I mainly go here for the pit beef, sometimes its slicked too thick and is very chewy and other times its thinner and more tender. For me they probably can't slice it thin enough. However there are signs in the restaurant that say something along the lines of "you don't need teeth to eat our meat". This just simply is not true - the pit beef is sometimes sliced so thick its hard to bite through it, and I have all my original teeth! When its tender and thin it's a pretty good sandwich but its a gamble if you are going to get that or not. You also can't order medium, medium well, well, etc. you just get what they have to give you. I have gotten medium to well done. A guess is they probably cook it to medium in the center and if you end up with meat from the center you get medium, if you get from the edges you get well done. When I tried to specify what I would like I was told it only comes one way. They also changed their cup sizes so you can't get a large drink anymore :( It's one of those places I want to like and want to support and are even willing to pay the higher prices but half the time I am disappointed in the tenderness/thickness of the meat. I did try the hamburger once, not really sure what it was though. The flavor was there but I had never seen meat of that consistency before, it was a very odd texture and filled with a lot of visible fat. The restaurant is a great idea but the amount and quality of the food doesn't quite match the prices. But when you get one of the good pit beef sandwiches it's totally worth it, even if a bit small. There have been times that I was planning to go here but ended up across the street at Arby's because I didn't want to gamble spending $15+ for...