Wire Mill Saloon & Barbeque — Restaurant in Redding

Visited on April 20th with my wife for our 35th wedding anniversary lunch (a day early!). The aroma of the pit was quite appealing as we walked to the door. Of course, I had to sidetrack to view the smokers and check out what kind of wood was being used. I think it was cherry and oak. Took about dozen images with my phone! As we entered, we were greeted promptly - The Wire Mill had just opened for the day. We chose a table near the bar.

We started off with appetizers - Hazel had the Memphis-style 1/4 rack of ribs that was served with their White BBQ Sauce (ranch-based with the tang of horseradish). They were very flavorful and smoked just right with hints of cherry and apple woods. Just enough firmness to hold it on the bone, but it pulled away with ease.

I had Bootsie's Brunswick Stew, which was very well made. It had a great flavor with plenty of chicken, pork, okra, corn, spice and a little heat on the back end. I highly recommend it.

We then ordered a combo platter to share for lunch. We selected the 1/4 pound of beef brisket, 1/4 pound of pulled pork, two sides (we chose curly fries and macaroni and cheese. The Mac and Cheese was white with a creamy, multi-cheese sauce) and corn bread. And we added another 1/4 rack of ribs!

Their style is dry-rubbed Memphis-style BBQ. The brisket was sliced and showed off its nice smoke ring. I found the brisket to be slightly under-flavored (rub and bark) for my liking, but that is personal preference.

The pulled pork was very flavorful and tender. They have 3 varieties of BBQ sauce on the table - Vinegar, Honey and their house-made traditional. The vinegar tang of each complemented the meats.

The staff was very cordial and helpful. The manager Matt, told us the story behind name of The Wire Mill. We boxed up the leftover slice of brisket and pulled pork and ribs to take home.

My overall opinion of The Wire Mill BBQ is it was very good. All the meats we tried were smoked nicely. The ribs get a 9.5 on a scale of 10 – delicious! The Pulled Pork very flavorful also rated highly at 9.0. The brisket was good, but as I mentioned above, I think it was a little shy on rub. We definitely plan to return and try the brisket again as well as some of their other options. Wire Mill...

I'd heard this restaurant served delicious, authentic, pit-smoked barbecue, and I'd waited weeks to find the time to try it. The smokers were hard at work outside the restaurant, and we grabbed a table outside and sat down on what turned out to be extremely hard, rigid wire-mesh chairs that pretty much scream "don't stay long!". The servers were cordial but not particularly welcoming or friendly, and they seemed rushed: there were only two servers for all the outside tables, so that might have been why.

We ordered smoked wings and a combination platter of ribs, brisket, onion rings and baked beans. The wings had the oddest texture I've ever experienced in a chicken wing: rubbery and difficult to pull apart or chew, not crisp or tender at all. They were also shockingly bland: we could taste the smoke, but they needed salt at the very least to bring out some kind of flavor. The texture was unappealing and the flavor didn't make them any better. The horseradish cream sauce didn't make a lot of sense and didn't complement the wings.

The brisket and ribs were just as bland as the wings. More tender, but astonishingly flavorless: it appears that whatever is smoked doesn't receive any additional treatment/seasoning, so there's a lovely pink smoke ring but no distinct flavor. The BBQ sauces were unremarkable and didn't taste very distinguishable from one another.

The best part of the meal was the onion rings, which were excellent: very lightly battered, hot and crisp and the right amount of salty. The beans were standard-fare sweet baked beans with some pieces of bacon mixed in. The cornbread was fine but nothing special. I hate to make that old joke, "the food was terrible, and the portions were so small!", but for $33, the tiny squares of cornbread, 4 small ribs and 3 slices of brisket seemed a bit stingy.

We drove over half an hour to get here, and I'm disappointed to not...

Visited today for the second time, and just as last time, today was a big success. We came in for lunch and were fortunate to get seated right away. The staff was friendly and the the atmosphere was comfortable and inviting while maintaining a BBQ style.

My son and I couldn't pass up the pork belly taco appetizer, so we split that. They NEED to make this a meal offering...maybe 3 tacos and a side of rice and beans or something. A generous portion of delicious pork belly in a warm corn tortilla, topped with a nice undressed slaw. A squirt of provided lime wedge adds a nice bright pop of citrus to cut through the richness of the belly. I will no doubt order these again and again.

For my meal, I opted for the smoked chicken salad sandwich and upgraded to curly fries. Served on a toasted sandwich roll with lettuce and tomato, it was a satisfying twist on a classic. The side of slaw was refreshing and well dressed, and I think the sliced pickles are homemade (so good!)

We will definitely be returning when in town. It's a great spot for a great quick meal at an affordable price, or a relaxing night out for cocktails and sitting by the fire pit. Highly...