Big Daddy's BBQ — Restaurant in Meridian

First time at Big Daddy's BBQ this evening. I have been waiting for my opportunity and today was the day. I scanned through previous reviews, both good and bad. The bad ones I was able to see right through, so I wasn't scared away.

I ordered the small family platter which comes with brisket, tri-tip, pulled pork, chicken (thigh meat I believe), sliced turkey breast, two different sausages and 4 corn muffins. The two sides I chose were the baked beans and the smoked green beans. I added a 1/2 rack of ribs because I judge a BBQ joint based on their ribs and their brisket. This could easily feed a family of 4.

My order was to-go so I can't attest to their service or their kitchen to table food temps. The staff was pleasant while I waited, which was less than 5 minutes. I sat at the beer bar, but didn't get anything to drink. They had a few local beers on tap, some in bottles and a few of the every day selections. All I can say is my sides were still hot when I got home after a 25 minute drive and the meats were still moist.

Let me give you the high points. The brisket was tender, moist and had great flavor. The pulled pork was also moist and was seasoned very well. The tri-tip was medium rare and very tender. The chicken was what was a pleasant surprise. It was cooked just right and the flavor blew me away. It was great flavor up front with a perfect heat on the back end. Now for the turkey. First off, it takes a lot of confidence to put turkey breast on the menu. It's probably the easiest to screw up and they killed it. The slices were full of flavor and they were perfectly cooked. Moist and tender is an understatement. The sausages had great flavor as well, but one (I believe cheddar & jalapeno) was just a touch too spicy for my liking. Still, both were smoked perfectly.

I'll give the ribs their own paragraph. If you are looking for ribs that slide off the bone, then this BBQ restaurant is not your spot. Big Daddy's serves competition style ribs which has a slight tug off the bone. If you want tender meat that slides off the bone, then stay home and boil your ribs before putting them in your electric oven. If you want pork ribs done like they're supposed to be, then order a rack and enjoy. They are seasoned right with a light sauce which was caramelized just right. Not burnt on like many others I have tried.

The baked beans had a perfect balance of sweet and spicy. They were a great compliment to the meat platter. The smoked green beans were as I had read. Really amazing flavor and a must when you order your sides.

The cornbread muffins were good, but I definitely want to try them again when they are fresh. I warmed them up in the microwave and brought them back to life the best I could. Like I said, this was takeout, so it was my fault.

There were two different sauces provided, a sweet and a spicy. The sweet was my favorite and complimented most of the meats quite well. The spicy had good heat, but I would reserve it for their chicken wings (which I will get on the next go around). It had more of a buffalo sauce flavor to it.

Overall, Big Daddy's is a great place for BBQ in the Treasure Valley. I will return for an on-site food experience in the near future. I have traveled the US and have eaten in some of the best BBQ spots in the country. Places in Texas, Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee. Big Daddy's can definitely hold their own. Oh, and as far as the complaints about price, BBQ isn't cheap folks. Good luck finding a good spot anywhere without spending $20 or more per person for all their meats on a platter...

1st visit & just let me say...yay! some good bbq finally. it's different from my fave back home but very good in its own way. not to busy today, gave me plenty of time to look over the menu & ask a couple of questions just to make sure i was sticking with my first choice. i got the big daddy sandwich, coleslaw, iced tea & mixed berry crunch. tried all 3 sauces & a sample of the potato salad. the potato salad bite was good on first bite, love that it's made with red potatoes, but it had a little to much going on. was that egg in it? it wasn't bad just busy. will try it again next time i go in. liked the coleslaw very much not bland at all. thought the iced tea was going to be really weak because it was so light in color, but it was about average (i know it's wrong, but i drink unsweet tea not very texan sorry). will agree with other reviewers, the sandwich roll was a good choice. the pork on the sandwich didn't have a lot of flavor, the brisket was a little bit dry, but good flavor & the hotlink was not hot for people that love hot, but for me it's plenty hot enough & made my nose run just a tad. tried the sweet sauce first way to sugar sweet for me. the spicy was good, just not my type of spice. but the carolina sauce wow. loved it. do wish it was a thick sauce so it won't make the roll soggy, but the flavor was an absolute win for me. just shake it up really well & don't dump it on till ready to take a bite & it doesn't sog the sandwich. the mixed berry crunch is very good & not overly sweet. i like that very much. was surprised it was served cold. not a complaint because i had to bring mine home i was to full for it than, but just thought it was going to be hot, not fridge cold. the brandy sauce they gave with it is also good & pairs well with it. a little bit goes a long way. so on the whole i am happy with bd's & will go...

I expected so much more from a BBQ restaurant🤤😕😒. I could smell the smoke in the air and thought my food would have that flavor. We were seated quickly and had to use the 👨‍💻menus👩‍💻 to keep the flies off of the table. This being our first time there we didn't know what to order and everything seemed very good. The waitress suggested an appetizer and left to put that order in come back a few minutes later and suggested we try the prime rib so we took her suggestion and asked to add 2 side salads I'm not exactly sure how long we waited possibly 15 minutes and our meals came out then the tater tot appetizer came out and finally our salads. I love a good prime rib but this one was over cooked, dry and not very flavorful. The garlic mash tatters were just bland flavorless potatoes the slaw was good (possibly the best part of the meal) The appetizer was cooked just shy of being burnt🔥. The green salad had more of the white ends of the lettuce but was otherwise good. About this time I had to remind the waitress our dinner rolls didn't make it out to the table. She did immediately go get out rolls and then she asked if we had left room for some 🥧🍰🍨dessert, By this point of the evening I had enough disappointment for one night and politely declined. I did like a couple shirts and wanted to purchase some but just like the dinner rolls our waitress forgot I had asked about them. 🗣 The employees were all friendly just not on their game that night. The restaurant was not busy as it was later in the evening. I hope this was just a off night and not...