The Joint — Restaurant in New Orleans

As somebody who knows good Q, I was disappointed.

We had driven 5 hours from Panama City Beach, FL for the weekend, and this was going to be our first stop. I'd researched "Best BBQ places in Nola" on Google, and this place kept appearing. Their volume of reviews, and consistently high rating made me think I'd found the right place, so I was really excited.

The service was fast, and the place has a lot of character.

The outdoor seating area is nice, although we were unlucky enough to be there on a day with a fly invasion, so we were constantly swatting them away - but that's not why I was disappointed.

I'm a hobbyist / back yard griller myself, and take great pride in having friends and family around for smoked pulled pork, ribs, beef brisket, etc. So I do come into a restaurant like this expecting a higher standard than I can do myself. I can honestly say, with no ego, that this was just no better than anything I (regularly) do myself. I wanted to see how "it should be done" and step up my own game, and left without that.

The burn ends were the least impressive. Dry, and I felt like they had actually sliced up the flat end and recooked it instead, because it was not nearly as fatty or moist as the point should be. So I can say with some confidence that they "dilute" their burn end with flat meat as well.

The ribs were average at best, and while they had a good smoke ring, the rub didn't add much flavor.

I requested the brisket to be the fattier (point) end cuts, not the leaner (flat) end. That clearly fell on deaf ears, despite being assured I'd get that.

The pulled pork was the star of the show - very moist and juicy. In hindsight (and if I ever went back) that's what I'd get.

Bottom line though, as somebody who knows good Q, this just doesn't cut it. And it was a sad way to get a weekend in Nola...

Stopped here for an early dinner. We got there about 3:30. Handfull of people in front of us to order and a handful came in after us, pretty normal flow. I grabbed a beer at the bar and went and sat down at our table.

The 3 of us ordered a 2 meat combo plate and a full rack of ribs. The 2 meats were brisket burnt ends and pulled pork. We ordered the mac and cheese, cornbread muffins and green salad as sides. We were very excited to receive our food and knew we would have leftovers.

One problem... our food never came. The handful of people in front of us and behind us, some with larger orders, were either gone or eating. Eventually I went up and the owner was at the register. I showed him my ticket and he went to check on it. He came back and apologized profusely, apparently the kitchen lost our ticket.

It happens! I get it. The owner did the right thing, he went back into the kitchen, got the ship righted and got our food out there hot and fresh. He threw in a slice of each of their 3 different pies for our trouble!

The food was fantastic and the 3 of us got 3 different meals out of it! Pulled pork was soft and full of flavor. The brisket had a little too much sauce on it for my taste but it was perfect brisket burnt ends. The ribs were fantastic and everything was just as good if not better over the next couple of meals.

As far as the sides, spot on again. But those cornbread muffins?? I've never had a more buttery explosion than biting into on of those. Everyone agreed that those muffins are addictive!

The Joint is well worth the trip into the Bywater! The bar is well stocked and the bartenders are very good at what they do and very inventive as well! Highly...

Ok, i saved my review of this place until i got to try the "best bbq in nola" (aka Blue Oak). let me say, blue oak is not even in the same league as the joint. its disgusting. The Joint is a place you walk in and it FEELS cozy, and the outdoor seating is gorgeous. it feels like an authentic southern bbq place. as for the brisket, its delicious. its properly fork tender, and its flavourfull. my usual sides are mac and cheese and coleslaw and i also get an extra order of cornbread muffins. all absolutley delicious. proper mac and cheese thats been baked and had that southern style, the coleslaw is about as good as coleslaw can be (but i really enjoy coleslaw and this is definitly one of the best), and the cornbread muffins. let me tell you, i was a dedicated cornbread hater until my buddy convinced me to try the ones here. with hesitation i did and my world changed. these cornbread muffins are THE BOMB. delicious, moist, and they dont have that awful dryness that usually accompanies anything cornbread. as for deserts, the keylime is sublime. honestly, best keylime pie around. get yourself some of the brisket and ask for the white mustard sauce they have. mix the mustard sauce with the bbq sauce they have on the table and thats the strategy. honestly, in conclusion, blue oak isnt even a competition for this place. the joint does bbq properly, blue oak is where the tourists go, let that be your determining factor when deciding. yes, the joint is further out, but its 100% worth the...