Mark's Feed Store — Restaurant in Elizabethtown

So I was fairly new to Etown, and I’ve heard so many rave reviews and recommendations about this place that after my now wife moved up here, we decided to give it a try.

Now keep in mind I am originally from Memphis, Tennessee, and so I am accustomed to superb BBQ, so when I moved up here to Kentucky I didn’t have the highest of expectations because this state is not well known for being a bbq destination, but we gave it a try anyway.

What should have been the biggest red flag to me was when we got in the parking lot there were two things missing, the sight and smell of smoke! When you arrive to a restaurant that it’s main claim to fame is bbq, you would expect there to be the sight and smell of wood burning, but there was not.

So we get inside and are greeted by the manager, who was a wonderful manager by the way but I will divulge more on that later. We get to our table and look at the menu, I decided to get a sampler platter of pulled pork, pulled chicken, and a half rack of ribs. The wife ordered a burger (she is not a bbq fan so no harm there). We also got an order of their “Famous Honeyjack Wings” as an appetizer.

So we get our wings, and as soon as I take one bite I realize why their supposedly famous. Apparently Kentuckians like their wings and their dessert at the same time because they were the most overpowering sweet wings I’ve ever had in my life. All you could taste is honey. So in order to finish these disgustingly sweet wings I drenched them in their bbq sauce. If there was only one redeeming quality about this place it is their sauce. I loved that sauce! Mustard and vinegar based so it’s super tangy which is what I like. Thank God I can buy it at my local Kroger because I’d rather not have to go back in there just for their sauce.

So our main entrees come out and I look at my platter and it doesn’t even look very appetizing to begin with, but I first try the ribs. As I take my first bite I realize that these ribs have no smoke flavor at all. Furthermore they have no bark or char at all. Folks these ribs look like they came out of an oven and they just slathered some sauce on them. So I try the pulled pork, it’s the driest, tasteless pork I’ve ever had, and if you think the chicken was their saving grace you’d be wrong, it was shredded sawdust. Potato salad and Mac and cheese I ordered as my sides were mediocre at best. My wife said the burger was good but nothing to rave about.

So our waitress came to grab our plates and noticed I had barely eaten anything off my plate and asked if it was wrong and I politely told her I did not enjoy anything on my plate.

I was just ready to pay for this meal and get the hell out of there but the manager came by and wanted to speak with us about our experience, I was honest about everything, and she was kind enough to understand our frustration and then came back and gave us two slices of pie and a free bottle of sauce since I told her that was the only thing I enjoyed.

So I will not be coming back here. Service was top notch here, Manager was excellent, it’s just their food that was terrible.

It was this experience that spurred me to buy a smoker for myself and start making bbq for myself as I do not trust bbq in this...

Unfortunate. We had really high hopes coming into this place after reading some of the reviews.

Starters/Appetizers:

Started off with the sweet cornbread and "Bird's Nest" as appetizers. The cornbread muffins were borderline cold and did not taste good (most likely pre-made or old). We asked for a fresher batch that was warm, or dare I venture to say, hot. They brought out a new batch that had an almost identical taste and temperature as the first. DNF. The Birds nest onion strips were very good. Perfect fry and quantity. The wings on the other hand were very sweet. Some people might enjoy how sweet the honey and syrup combination is, however, nobody at my table did. Perfect cook on the wings (hot temp), but an unfortunate and unavoidable sauce.

We got multiple combo #1s:

Meat: The brisket is what we came for and were sadly disappointed in that as well. It was dry and bland. Tasted old and was hardly warm. Their signature barbecue sauce (vinegar base) was also not a saving grace. We were pleasantly surprised by the pulled pork. It was hot and fresh, tender and juicy. The ribs from the combo were not "fall off the bone" but that's not a deal breaker. The deal breaker was the over-application of barbecue sauce that was used and the obvious low quality in the meat. Was looking forward to the ribs, but now the dogs are eating them as I write this review.

Sides: The macaroni and cheese is my usual go-to. The macaroni and cheese was incredibly cheesy. I felt like I was eating a cheese soup with macaroni bits inside. I used to think too much cheese was never a bad thing, but I discovered I was wrong. The sweet corn on the cob was good. It was warm and has some really nice flavors going on. Someone at my table got the fried sweet apples and said they were delicious.

Overall: The quality of food was subpar to usual barbecue places who pride themselves on having the freshest and juiciest cuts. The staff (especially Jack) was friendly but unfortunately they have little to do with what's going on in the kitchen.

We will not be returning.

TLDR: Friendly/helpful staff, terrible cornbread muffins, good onion strips, overly-sweet wings, dry brisket, overly-barbecued and mediocre ribs, good pulled pork, overly-cheesy Mac-and-cheese, good fried sweet apples, and...

1st time visit passing through Elizabethtown KY. The atmosphere and comfort was excellent as well as an incredible table service staff. Menu was very nice with various meals to pick from. We had a half order of onion stings\straws with dip sauce both we excellent tasting but like their other sauces, they were very runny to the point of being difficult to eat. Sauces were a drippy mess to enjoy dispite the flavor. Other sauces just as watery in consistency. Husband had ribs which he said had a good flavor and tender but a bit dry. He didn't care for the BBQ sauces on the table and asked the server if they had a sweeter sauce available. She returned with a sample of their white sweet BBQ sauce. Husband loved it but this sauce will cost you extra! He did enjoyed the mac and cheese. I had chicken fingers which were good along with greenbeans that had wonderful seasoned flavors. Texas toast complimented the meals. Attentive and friendly server kept soda refills coming before we had a need. She offered to go cups for when we left. She offered dessert but we were full from our meal. Mark's was a pleasant experience overall. I must add that they offer plenty of parking but a horrible flow to get in and out of. It was also difficult to find the road to get to it. Just a very unusual setting to come in behind the plaza that the restaurant is located in. Very strange and not at all friendly for travelers who don't know the area...