The BBQ Joint — Restaurant in Oak Harbor

The BBQ Joint has a nostalgic charm to it with a great atmosphere, friendly staff, good smells, and decor that was at least made to look like it was from a bygone era. The prices were fair, the appearance of the food was very attractive, and the portion sizes were generous given the prices. The ribs had a nice smoke ring and were decently tender and juicy. Unfortunately, for me, flavors were a bit of a miss. The “Sweet Hickory smoke” flavor was almost too subtle to notice and the rub which should have been a prominent feature on the “Memphis ribs” lacked any kind of a punch and was applied to sparingly to matter. The end result was meat that had to speak completely for itself, but just didn’t. The pulled pork was on the dry side and also lacked the bold smoky flavor and seasoning that one would have expected based on its appearance. The single sauce available was good but a little overly sweet and not my style. The honey cornbread was baked well and maintained good moisture, but fell short in flavor, especially with a title that included the word honey. The baked beans followed the same trend with more sugar than spice. It is possible I am overly critical, but I feel like this place has a good deal of potential and these are fixable problems. I want to like you more, I just need more flavor and smoke. With all of that said, I am willing to try it again thanks to the atmosphere,...

Ok so we went in here for lunch today we had heard good things and I read stellar reviews . I'm gonna do the positives first . The staff, two ladies, I didn't get their names lol ! but very very friendly and welcoming ! The place was clean and had a bbq joint feel ... if that's even a thing lol ! Ok now I'm gonna go with the what I thought of the food. It was cold ! and the buns were not toasted so it felt like cafeteria type of sandwich. I had the chicken my wife had the pork . The chicken was cold mushy and fairly tasteless. my wifes pork was a bit better but cold and flavorless as well. We got two sides each so we could try a bit of everything . The beans were ok but tasted liked canned beans. The macaroni salad tasted bland and a bit sour so honestly we didn't eat anymore of it. The potato salad was lacking as well and didnt seem fresh . My wife said the Cole slaw was ok but wouldn't order it again. The mac n cheese was cold as well again just no love in the flavor .I did eat my pickle lol ! When I go to a bbq joint I should be wanting more ! I am a fat man who loves to eat lol ! but based on our lunch today I dont think I'd go back. If the owner reads this I'm sorry I'm not trying to be mean or anything I'm just stating how our lunch was. Maybe we hit an off day...

Poor pricing due to lack of advertising.. it looks like a cafeteria with upscale pricing... no? Curtains and lighting and plates would help. Table service and ordertaking would also be a plus. The amount of workers I saw there would have easily made this a possibility. All and all its an overpriced cafeteria. I can almost guarantee that the majority of product cooked is tossed because of how little traffic this place gets. The food should be cooked in a slow cooking grill. And outdoors when the weather permits. Utilize the parking lot and make sales there! Its easier to approach a street vendor for lemonade and pulled pork than to sell bbq inside... and even at premium prices people tend to buy more often from a street vendor because of the "here and now" factor. And setting up shop outside of the shop is a good thing because it also draws people in and the advantages are that you will be backed up by the main store as well as have seating indoors. Just my thoughts... the area is a high traffic area but this store is failing? The bbq joint could make dh a ghosturant. better advertisements = More customers = better pricing = more customers = more profit = funds to be able to ditch the cafeteria style dining and move to conventional bbq +...