Kojak's House of Ribs — Restaurant in Brandon

1st time at Kojak's. I read online that it was closing in several weeks and wanted to give it a try before I left town. Restaurant: Quaint older home environment. Inside dining with tables and chairs. Spacing is close and the restaurant was full. Outside dining available on the front porch.

Placing order: My order was placed over the phone. The gentleman who took my order was quite kind and patient considering I couldn't make up my mind which item to pick. I told him that it was my first time getting something from them. I ended with the larger rib combo that had 6/7 ribs and two sides( parsley potatoes and green beans). Apple cake a la mode was my dessert.

Order pick up: I arrived around 1pm. There were many people in line waiting to check out but the line went quickly. My order came out immediately once it was my turn to pay.

Food: The ribs were expertly seasoned and very tender. I asked to try 2 sauces ; mild and sweet. Didn't need them but I tried them to see how they tasted. Sauces good too , nice accompaniments to the flavor of the rib. Did I mention that the rib itself was so flavorful that one didn't need a sauce? So I ate the remainder without sauce. As I am writing this , I am thinking that I don't think I have ever had a rib where I chose to eat it wo sauce except for a couple of times.

The parsley potatoes...red potatoes in a buttery parsley sauce. Very good. Some will complain that it is too oily. Not me!! Loved them!

The green beans were just okay. I get it that when you serve large quantities of people that the beans must be canned. And with all the other competing flavors that are on the plate one must be careful of the seasoning. I just found them to be a little bland. But would I order them again? Yes. I'm a person who does not feel it's a meal without a vegetable. At least they were not mushy like some restaurants that cook grean beans into a mushy state great for toddlers.

The apple cake a la mode reminded me of the look of the apple spice cake my mom baked when I was a child. The taste of this apple cake is different. Because it is not advertised as a spice cake. It is an apple cake. A very delicious apple cake!! Every bite was moist and flavorful. I liked the carmelized sugar top(?)....it may have been something different than what I described but whatever , this cake is good!! Yes, I got ice cream for the a la mode. Frankly, after I tasted the first piece of cake,.I skipped the ice cream. I'm sure it is good either way. I bet this cake tastes wonderful slighly warmed with ice cream on the side!

Pricing...reasonable Quantity: see pictures

So there you have it. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to others. Unfortunately, you have three weeks only to try it. They will be closing after 43 years in business.

I could tell why they have been in business for so long. And that is not an easy feat to accomplish in the restaurant business!

Yes, the food was very good but there was something else I noticed. When I got my food the man behind the counter remembered that it was my first visit. Then another man , maybe the owner?, held the door for me and walked me out. He said that he was told that it was my first time and that he hopes I enjoy my food. He and I chatted for a bit and he wished me a good day.

Think about it. The restaurant is closing soon. Neither gentleman had to be cordial nor friendly. The latter gentleman did not have to take time to chat with me about the restaurant. He will be retiring! Personalized service, friendly and patient attitudes along with a great food and a convenient location kept this place for 43 years. Too bad I just discovered it for when I return next year I would have come right over for more of the same!

Congratulations Kojak's for staying committed...

TERRIBLE - FIRST and LAST visit. Obviously I didn’t like this restaurant and here’s why. First off you order your dinner at the counter, then find a table and they bring your order. You also have to break away from your friends or family if you want a drink refill (self serve drinks, plastic ware, napkins and salt & pepper packets). The food was subpar, possibly some of the worst BBQ I personally have ever had and I eat a lot of BBQ. They serve your food on a cheap plastic compartment style plates. I ordered the three meat combo as you can see in the attached picture, chicken, brisket and ribs with half corn on the cob and beans for my side items. Sorry, they don’t offer Mac & Cheese or French Fries here! My chicken tasted like a Publix rotisserie lemon pepper chicken and lacked any flavor beyond the skin. The brisket couldn’t be tasted because they smothered it in bbq sauce and what little meat you could find in the sauce was very dry and lacked bbq/smoke flavor. The ribs were even worse! They tasted like grease or two day old ribs that were reheated. My baked beans tasted like plain old Campbell’s Baked Beans and the corn on the cob was not sweet corn. For bread you get cheap dry dinner rolls straight out of the bag and the worlds nastiest butter I’ve ever had. I then tasted my wife’s pulled pork which was “okay” but nothing I would order. It too was dry and lacked smoke flavor and in my opinion shouldn’t be called bbq pulled pork, a better name which describes it would be dried out pork. I also tried her coleslaw, and macaroni salad, yuck! Even my wife and our friends said their dinners were not good. None of us finished our meals and were very disappointed. We all agreed we would never come back. Trying this place based on other peoples Google reviews was a big mistake, especially knowing Hungry Harry’s BBQ was across the street. I have eaten at Hungry Harry’s many times over the years and I have never had a complaint and would recommend them over this place. I should have known this place was going to be terrible after seeing the plates of food coming out of the kitchen and seeing that you had to order from counter and serve your self drinks. For the price this place charges I don’t think you should have to fetch your own drinks and tableware. This restaurant seems to care more about making a profit then making good food or giving their guests a good dining experience. 👎...

So, I paused on my “diet” again [snickers to self at the notion of ME dieting], and we went to Kojaks for dinner last night. We were going to go to the BBQ in Brandon Mall but I realized I only wanted to go there for the dranky dranks. We considered going to the OTHER BBQ joint in Seffner, but we decided to try something new. In the history of food decisions this was like Epic (kinda like my 50th bday party but not as expensive!). The host/cashier was this absolutely colorful dude with his tats and piercings. We were hemming and hawing on what to order. Hubby said, “We don’t know what we want this is our first time here.” Mr. Colorful asserted, “Oh I know! That’s why I’m helping you!” For which we are forever grateful. He recommended the roasted potatoes, the baked beans, the Mac n cheese, and finally the collard greens. In that exact order. We took a seat by the window looking out at the beautiful full moon showering us with the reflection of our sun’s light. We hadn’t even got a chance to start bickering on rather The Joker can be considered a Batman movie, when our food was brought to us along with three BBQ sauce options. OMG. Everything was delicious. The ribs are dry rubbed so you can try the different sauces. I’m partial to the sweet while hubby likes the Carolina. The pulled pork was delicious on its own but with the sauce - great Zeus! The Mac n cheese didn’t come from a box or pouch (unlike mine)! It was delicious. Everything was delicious. The potatoes - I ate them all even though they weren’t on my plate! Technically what’s his is mine and that’s that. I told Mr. Colorful, “You didn’t tell me that I was going to have the best meal ever.” “You need to try one of our desserts! Our apple cake is the best, our key lime pie is great…” “Is it better than Publ (can I mention another business in my review. F it! I’m going for it!) better than PUBLIX key lime pie?” Without hesitation he pronounced that their key lime pie was the best and that “people from Key West even say ours is better.” “We’ll see,” I thought. Well slap my mouth and call me Nancy!” That is the BEST key lime pie I’ve ever had. So I promptly ordered one for our upcoming Christmas. New favorite joint! Thank you Mr. Colorful and Kojaks for the...