Archie's Bar-B-Q & Burgers — Restaurant in Hoover

While various SUV nameplates have won and lost favor with consumers' changing tastes, the Toyota Camry's popularity has remained constant over the last decade. There's good reason for this, as the Camry has never wavered in its mission to be the perfect American family sedan. It's not perfect, of course, but the current Camry rates highly in most of the areas mainstream buyers will consider important: It's roomy, comfortable, safe and easy to drive. And when it comes time to sell it, you'll get a nice price for it.

The 2008 Toyota Camry represents the second year of the nameplate's sixth generation. Although the car retains a midsize classification, this is the largest Camry ever and that fact is immediately apparent when you get inside: Headroom, shoulder room, hiproom and legroom are abundant in both the front and back. This is also the most powerful Camry ever by a wide margin. The optional 3.5-liter V6 engine develops 268 horsepower, and using the services of a smooth-shifting six-speed automatic transmission, propels the sedan to 60 mph in just 6.5 seconds -- as quick as some sport sedans and coupes. It also returns fuel economy that's not far off from what you'd get with the Camry's base four-cylinder engine.

In spite of the current-gen Camry's speed, performance is still not among its major selling points. Instead, buyers are likely to notice how easily this family car executes passing maneuvers and maintains utter composure and serenity when going over just about any road surface. Handling is also sharper than on any previous Camry, although the car's abilities are masked by its ride-biased tires and lack of steering feedback. Truly, those seeking a truly sporting drive in a midsize sedan will continue to be better served by such cars as the Mazda 6, Nissan Altima and Subaru Legacy.

However, for most consumers, it's cost rather than a lack of athleticism that tends to be the chief sticking point when they're shopping for a Toyota Camry. Properly equipped, the Camry usually ends up more expensive than most midsize sedans. That's hard to overlook when value-packed and worthy rivals like the Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Fusion and Hyundai Sonata are available. Also making things tougher for Toyota's big seller is its longtime chief rival, the Honda Accord, which has just been redesigned. The Accord may not be as hushed at freeway speeds, but it handily beats the Camry in terms of driving enjoyment and overall cabin refinement. Considering the amount of strong entries in this class, we suggest back-to-back test drives before making an automatic decision for the 2008...

What a great family restaurant tradition. It’s a throw back to restaurants of old where food was prepared on the grill behind the counter, and the wait staff was very friendly and helpful. Our waitress Karen has worked there 13 years and patiently answered our questions about the menu and the restaurant’s early days some 45 years ago. Note to owners- Karen is a Keeper!! What a great representative of your establishment. The menu is simple and full of goodness with selections like BBQ pork sandwiches, hamburger steak with gravy and grilled onions, turkey slices, various plated meals and more. They also have a good selection of sides. We had the grilled hamburgers today and every bite was delicious. We all agreed the fries were some of the best we have had and the prices are extremely reasonable. The menu says everything is prepared fresh and there may be a wait. The wait was worth it and while we waited, we enjoyed looking at the memorabilia on the restaurant walls. The menu is attached in this review so you can take a look and plan your own visit.

One word of advice- if you eat too much during your visit and don’t have room for one of their handmade fried pies, get a few “to-go”. You’re welcome! They are made fresh daily and the crust is to die for! I was going to make a photo of a piece of the apple pie but once I smelled the apples and that buttery crust, I forgot and ate it! Sorry, not sorry. When you are in Hoover… or you’re just up for a drive to the city,...

I'm visiting a town known for good bbq, and I see this cute place from the 50's that has to have a great pit right? Wrong! They might have a good pit, but the management of this place doesnt have a clue what they're doing.

The pork is served either chopped or sliced, pulled is not an option. When your cue is this bad thats what you do....you chop it or slice it, sort of like Sonny's. Anyway, I had the chopped sandwich, the meat was extremely dry, I'm talking Saharalike here, it was overcooked and overchopped. Actually what they do is mince the pork which makes it dry out faster. I had one bite of the sandwich before giving up and moving on to the baked beans. Have you ever taken a heaping spoonful of brown sugar in one bite? Thats what those stupid beans taste like. they are horrible.

But even worse than the beans and the "pork" itself is the sauce these clowns claim to be so famous for. Are you kidding me????? The sauce is nothing but glorified ketchup. In fact, the ketchup they serve which I saw waitresses pouring out of plastic bags (yes, plastic bags) has more flavor and tastes better on the crappy bbq than the sauce does.

There was an 8 top next to where I was sitting, they all but one got hamburgers or hamburger steak. I guess they already learned their lesson the hard way. I wont go back, and I implore you to stay away from any of the dozen Golden Rule chain stores in Birmingham. This location is the original, and if its this...