City Barbeque — Restaurant in Fairlawn

My visit on Friday was a tale of "almost." We dined in, and the dining room was almost warm (actually it was pretty chilly; we dined with our coats on, a lack of heat rather than over-air-conditioning the space.) Our ordering experience was pleasant and efficient, the restaurant was almost empty, with only one group ahead of us at 6:30pm on a Friday. Our sampler order was prepared in about 15 minutes, but the meat was left on the unheated counter for a fair amount of that time while the fries were being prepared instead of parking under the heat lamps. As a result, everything on the platter except the nice hot fries was almost cold to the touch.

Once back at our table, I observed that the platter was attractively plated, but also noticed that the 3.5 slim slices of brisket were taken off the point of a new brisket out of the warmer; The slices were very small, and being straight off the point end, extremely dry and crumbly. The 6 pork ribs were tender, nicely sauced and tender but rather chilled, and the generous quarter white chicken was plump with a bit of color from the sauce. The pulled pork was a ball of pork threads, dry and was barely hydrated by the cold swine wine sauce at the table, which chilled the pork further. Would it be possible to keep a bit of warm swine wine in the kitchen, portion up the pulled pork, toss it in a bowl, lightly dress and toss with the swine wine before plating? It would make a world of difference, put a little shine on the entrée. Texas toast and cornbread were nicely done and tasty but should never be the best-prepared item on a BBQ platter.

Before writing this review, I took a minute to see if I had a similar experience from other reviewers, and it turned out that I had. Pulled pork never needs to be dry when a good vinegar sauce is available, and if a cook is presented with a new brisket to slice, starting from the dry point end is not a good look for a $40 plate; Work that dry brisket silliness into a $9 sandwich under some nicer slices later on.

Every member of staff with whom we interacted was friendly and responsive to guest needs, really nice and pleasant. Our issues on this visit were likely related to a lack of coordination between team members rather than a lack of caring by the staff.

In my observation, there were just a lot of details that were missing from my visit; Cold room temps, customers' shoes sticking to the floor and making a "velcro" sound as they walked through the concrete-floored dining room, and I can't get behind the rolls of kraft paper towels placed directly on the table surface to accumulate greasy table scraps and moisture on the bottom of the roll. If the roll is flipped over by seated diners, all the debris on the roll becomes apparent very quickly. I know that paper towel roll holders were present on the tables at one time, and they're really needed.

In closing, food would have been a hit if it was hot, staff needs a little guidance, and nail down some of the details so my review...

I like this restaurant and often order carside. However, City BBQ is one of those restaurants where it depends on who is cooking the food. Unfortunately, I guess I went on an evening with the wrong staff and crew.

The manager was super rude. The catering/larger orders of sides are expensive. If someone cooks them wrong, it won't taste right. The Green Beans with Bacon were improperly prepared. It appears someone made a mistake and poured a full cup of pepper into the beans. They were littered with pepper! It made you sick to taste the side, and I ordered a quart of several sides. The meat and onions in the beans were semi raw and/or under cooked. I tasted a piece and spit it out to avoid getting sick.

The manager said, "we are closing she needs to pick up her children and does not have time to deal with me." I politely asked her if we could swap out the Quart of beans, and I would take them cold.

The manager was complaining about heating up items. She became angry and this scared me, because she was yelling at my car window. I was afraid to ask for a refund. Her behavior and foul mood frightened me, and I started feeling like she would spit in my food when she exchanged the items. I got scared. So, I just lost my money, because I knew it was best not to eat the food and leave.

The manager started screaming, "What do you want me to do? She came out to my vehicle angry and threw the same quart of beans at me. These days, you have to be very careful! My life was more important, and the individuals that would have to eat the beans.

I would only advise eating their after they have been open for an hour or several hours before closing, if you eat there at all. They may also have some personal issues with regards to customers, be careful.. I am not sure if I will return. I have to give it some thought. They are not very welcoming.

I attached some photos of the larger sides. I took them in the parking lot because it was that bad. They did not even care if they made customers sick. I was going to serve this to others, but I could not.. I hope this review helps. They are not very kid friendly even when you eat in...

My boyfriend ordered online & I picked up after I got off work. Order to be picked up @ 830pm. He ordered a 2 meat dinner ( brisket & uncut ribs with a side of mac & cheese, baked beans & green beans, 2 different sauces, a Nashville hot chicken sandwich, side of potato salad, hush puppies & requested utensils.Got there @ 820 & was told my order was being currently made. I don't mind waiting. After 10 minutes of waiting, I'm informed there's no more brisket. Not unexpected, it is now 835 & they close @ 9, so there's a good chance they'll run out of something. I called my boyfriend & he said he'd just take all ribs. When I got called to pick up my order, I asked the gentleman at the counter (the shift manager) if the extra sauce, utensils & sides were there. He assured me they were. It was about 850 when I left the parking lot & almost 915 when I got home. Imagine my frustration and disappointment as I'm unpacking our food and I find that all the ribs are cut rather than left in one piece as ordered ( which, I can understand with the brisket replacement order), there was no potato salad ( which happened to be the side for the Nashville hot chicken sandwich which was my dinner) and only one container of barbecue sauce. It is now almost 9:20 and when I tried to call the phone only rang. Very frustrating, especially considering I had asked while he was bagging it before I left the store. I guess shame on me for not tearing the bag apart while I was there. Very disappointing.

UPDATE ** After leaving my review, I was contacted by Kelsey from City Barbecue. She was very kind, apologetic & said I "should never have to check my bag" - which I felt was taking responsibility for the mistake. She also asked if she may have an opportunity to invite us back & give them another try by offering a gift card. I thought that very considerate. I explained it was my boyfriend that paid for the food, so if there was to be any rectification, it should go to him & gave her his mailing address. I accept her apology on behalf of the company and appreciate her trying to rectify the situation....