Wild kingdom BBQ — Restaurant in Manistee Township

We felt like we were in an episode of Kitchen Nightmares. Literally. The restaurant was clean. It’s advertised as BBQ but the menu was more Mexican and BBQ. Which should have been fine. The service was excellent. But then we got our food. I won’t even say it was bad. It was horrifying. My husband ordered a pork chop and ribs. I knew we were in trouble when it came out so fast; You can’t grill a fresh pork chop in less than ten minutes. The pork chop was dry and the ribs looked like they were a week old. The meat was brown. Not from sauce, just brown. It looked like the ribs had been made a week ago and sent back multiple times. He refused to eat them. Thank god. The Mac & cheese that came with it was cold and clearly not fresh. I ordered a quesadilla that was not even cut, it was just folded in half. Did they really serve an uncut quesadilla?! The meat in it was stringy and old. The veggies in it were cut so lazily I had to break up an onion chunk with my fork. (Like a whole inner onion core uncut). There was so little cheese in it that the filling just fell out. And that was after cutting it into slices with a butter knife. It was disgusting and cost us $50.00. The service was great, however, he didn’t ask how the food was… I think he knew it was bad. He clearly didn’t cook it, so it’s not his fault. We’re on vacation and we’re hoping we don’t have to hit every rest stop on the way home....

We ate here last night for the first—and likely last—time. The atmosphere felt off as soon as we walked in. There were hardly any decorations, and surprisingly, no mouthwatering smell of smoked meats or BBQ, which you’d expect given the restaurant’s name.

Once seated, we looked over the menu and were surprised to find it didn’t feature the traditional BBQ options we were expecting. In fact, it leaned more toward Mexican-inspired dishes than classic smoked meats and sides.

We started with the fries of the theone appetizer, which turned out to be the best thing we ordered all night. I had the smoked ribs for my entrée, while my friend ordered the ribeye—and was very disappointed. The menu didn’t list the steak’s size, which was misleading. What arrived were two thin slices of beef that looked more boiled than grilled or pan-seared. The caramelized onions were raw, and the broccoli was also raw and dry. Definitely not worth the $20.

My ribs were decent—tender and flavorful—but the mac and cheese was watery, and the fries were just okay. The pulled pork on the appetizer was flavorful, juicy, and paired well with the white queso, which was delicious.

All in all, we paid about $70 for one appetizer, two entrées, and a Diet Coke (before tip). We did leave a proper tip, but unfortunately, we left feeling like not much had changed since the last restaurant that occupied...

Visited while in the area for work. Staff was friendly and quick to provide service which was great and food came out in a reasonable amount of time (which it should have for what I ordered). Food bland and uninspired. I ordered the Emperor's Pork. Nothing was seasoned. Macaroni was absolute mush (waaaaaaay overcooked noodles) with no depth of flavor in the cheese "sauce", which just seemed like a watered down (from the oversaturated noodles) Velveeta, or something similar, and sadly the worst I've ever had (sorry). Mashed potatoes were cooked well but complete lack of seasoning; salt and pepper go a long way. Broccoli cooked well but again zero seasoning. Nothing BBQ about the pulled pork except that it was tossed in BBQ sauce. It was tender and not dried out, which is great, but there is nothing noteworthy about it. The addition of BBQ sauce does not qualify it as BBQ. Add a rub, smoke it for a bit, anything would help. Had I not gotten a to-go order, I would have likely sent this back, which I NEVER do. I'm leaving this review as constructive criticism as you all have just opened and I want to see you do better with the food. I can't speak for anything else on the menu but I'd have a hard time returning with what I was served today. Pulled pork and mac 'n cheese should be staples of any BBQ place. Lose that mac n' cheese "recipe" yesterday, please. I'm...