ShortE's BBQ — Restaurant in Johnston

Updated...best sliced brisket I've had in DSM.

TLDR: Generally bland but nothing falls into the bad category. Loved the cornbread!

Service was great and the portions are filling, but generally speaking (and keeping in mind my initial impressions of the meats are without sauce) the meal was bland and the price vs quality isn't competitive for the local BBQ scene.

Since it was my first time at the restaurant, I tried to sample a variety. I had the pulled pork, sliced turkey, green beans, cheesy corn and potato bake.

The cornbread was sweet and moist...my favorite kind, so I'll give them points there!

The pulled pork was moist but had little flavor, once I poured on the Texas BBQ (3 times) it was okay.

The turkey was actually pretty good and I'll recommend it to my turkey loving friends.

The potato bake was again bland, but I enjoyed it more than the other two sides.

The green beans came across with little flavor even though prepared with bacon. I derived this from mouth texture and digging through the beans. Also, I noted that they tasted oddly sweet.

The cheesy corn would have been much better with a more flavorful cheese. As it the side came across like a sweet corn putty where the contribution the cheese real made was as glue.

In closing, the best thing on my plate was the one piece of cornbread...which honestly ia probably the best in...

Summary: Friendly, fun (had an outstanding, live musician there) place with an extensive, appetizing menu ... just too bad the food wasn't better.

I ordered brisket tacos w/mac'n'cheese; wife ordered the beefmaster sandwich with tots; ShortE's fries for appetizer.

If you like a juicy, moist brisket (I confess, I like mine smoked longer and a bit drier), then I would recommend the sliced brisket. That was the highlight. Good stuff. Worth trying if that's your taste.

But the fries were limp and underdone; the sauces were thin and lacking flavor; the mac'n'cheese was a major disappointment. The flavors were a bit bland and uniform. The chopped brisket in the tacos was meh. It just felt like they put a lot of creativity into making tantalizing dishes (kudos there), but with inferior ingredients.

I might return to try the Bacon Bomb, but there are a lot of other, tasty restaurants in the Des Moines metro that would surpass ShortE's on my next...

In the past year, my opinion has drastically changed. We have given it a try 3 more times, with last night being our last visit. First they took away most of my husbands favorites. Over the past three visits, things got worse. Last night my burnt ends were swimming in grease. My husbands brisket sandwich was so greasy he couldnt pick the bun up. His fries were terrible. Our waitress was visiting with someeone at the bar, so we had to wAit to be seated. We were done eating and had to go to her to pay. Still talking awAy at the bar. No seconds on drinks. She served the food and never came back. My husband almost always laves at least a 20 percent tip or over. He left a dollar tip. Our bill was high, food sucked, and service was awful. Used to be my favorite bbq ....not anymore....we wont go back.

My fav. BBQ anywhere! Burnt end melt in you mouth. Love the broccoli salad too. My husband always likes everything he...