Parker John's BBQ & Pizza — Restaurant in Menasha

this is an updated review about 7 months after my first review Up until the last time my family and I went here, I loved this place. They had good food, usually good service, and decent prices. This past time we were all very disappointed though. To start with we waited a total of an hour, 15 minutes of which were waiting for my whole family to get there (you get put on a list until your whole party arrives). There was an empty table with 6 chairs (could definitely fit more), the manager told us that they could fit 8, but not 9 (7 adults and 2 small children). About 45 minutes later, I see the manager ask the other large group waiting if they wanted to sit at that table, they said they wanted to wait for a different one, and the manager told us he could have us sit at that table. We waited 45 minutes for a table that sat empty. The hostess was very nice and apologetic, we did not hear anything from the manager after offering us the table. Our waitress was okay, we've definitely had better waitstaff (my normally generously tipping brother left 10% for a tip). The last time my brother, mom, and I got wings we all debated on what 2 sauces we were going to get (the whole reason we get sauce on the side), apparently there's no way of getting more than 1 side of sauce now. The wings were good, sauce was good, so I finished off my first order and ordered another this time a smaller order with the second sauce I wanted before. I didn't finish my second order and neither did my mom, so I asked for a box for both of us (I knew we could get a box, because my brother GOT ONE the last Wednesday we were here), our waitress told me that they don't give boxes for Wednesday wings. I wasn't rude, but I wasn't nice when I sarcastically said "okaay", as I thought about how I was going to get these wings that I paid for home. My brother mentioned that it's such a waste of food, all I heard from her was "I don't make the rules" as she stood there awkwardly for a few minutes before walking away. My whole family and anyone that I've told about this think it's kind of ridiculous, the few wings I didn't eat were going to be thrown away anyway, why could I not be allowed to take them home? All around it seems Parker John's has made quite a few changes, and kind of like the iPhone 11, a good amount of those changes are bad. I usually only leave a review if the place is really good, or really bad, Parker John's is kind of the exception. It WAS really good, it's not really bad, but I'm just really disappointed after my latest experience, which sucks. My family and I will be visiting Appleton's BBQ and soul food places...

Allow me to preface this review with the fact that I've moved up here from the south, so I know a thing or two about good barbecue, and I can be quite picky when it comes to this subject.

With that out of the way, I'd like to praise this chain (and this location in particular) for becoming my new home away from home. Do not let the name fool you; this isn't just a generic pizza place, but a genuine, southern-style barbecue restaurant that happens to also offer pizza. Not only do they serve sweet tea, like every restaurant honestly should, but their tea is also genuinely great! My wife loves the mango-flavored one, whereas I go for the standard version, as I tend to. Seriously, this is one of like five places in northeastern Wisconsin where you can find genuine sweet tea (unless we count the other locations, of course).

That being said, of course I have to talk about the food as well. I've read about on their history a bit, and it would appear the people who started this chain (in Kiel, WI, I believe) actually used to work in Kansas City, slinging up smoked meats and the like, and let me tell ya: you can absolutely taste it. The ribs in particular are great here (arguably top 3, but definitely top 5 I've ever had), and we also like to get the brisket as part of our shared platter. Now, I won't lie to you; the brisket isn't quite as consistent. While I'd rate the ribs 9/10, the brisket ranges from 6.5 to 8 out of 10; they have their good days and their bad ones when it comes to that, but it's not bad enough to where I wouldn't recommend it, as it still gets the job done, and I'm frankly somewhat of a brisket fiend. And even when it's not as good as I know it so often can be, it's nothing their sauce won't be able to fix, which I'd also like to point out: is amazing. I'm always a huge fan of Memphis and South Carolina styles, and they're both fantastic. The rest of the sauces are good, too. My wife really likes the pineapple habanero one, which I wish was spicier, but does have a nice sweetness to it.

My one criticism would be that I feel that every barbecue restaurant needs to have either collard, mustard, or turnip greens, which I love to have as a side. But I do like their baked beans and mac and cheese well enough.

Overall, great place to have within an hour of where we live. Southerners, this is the one! This place is authentic, right down to the wonderful atmosphere it provides. And the price...

I have been regularly patronizing Parker John's since they opened in downtown Menasha, and generally speaking, have had good experiences (as well as good food) there. My wife and I even had them cater a recent gathering of about 60 people for us, and we were very satisfied with the food and the service we received. However, every late summer/early fall, when I want to sit on their deck and enjoy my meal and/or a couple of adult beverages with friends or co-workers, I get "static" about it, because the yellow jackets that commiserate out there have seemingly become too much to bear. In order to be seated where I want to sit, I literally have to promise the person seating me that if the bees get too bad, I won't ask to be moved.

Yesterday (8/19/2021) was no exception. I wanted to sit on their brand-new, multi-thousand dollar deck and enjoy a couple of cold brews while people watching at the Twisted Pistons car show. Per usual, I had to convince one of the women at the cash register that I was well aware of the fact there were bees out there, and that I'd be just fine sitting amongst them. I was eventually told I could order inside and take my food outside, but that a server would absolutely NOT be sent out there to take my order or bring me my food when it was up. I'm not sure what the heck has happened to customer service in this area, but it sure has gone downhill over recent years! Not only is the customer never right anymore, but most places don't seem to care if you're even their customer at all! My wife and I ended up successfully dealing with the few yellow jackets we did encounter (I think I even got one of them drunk), and were able to enjoy a few cold ones and some sunshine, but we decided to take our dinner business elsewhere.

I'd like to say I won't be back to PJ's anytime soon, but the list of restaurants I used to love going to but won't anymore seems to get longer every year. Perhaps I'll only make Parker John's an option when I don't mind sitting inside. Maybe that or I'll start carrying my own hornet traps with me when I go there! Or better yet, Parker John's could put some traps out there, so people could sit on their fancy new deck if...