Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que — Restaurant in Roseville

UPDATE AT BOTTOM. Please give them another chance, they have changed in many good ways from the past few months!!!

I have been going to this location for a few years now and I was always good bar b que. The vibe was good and service was great. But something must have changed in the last few months...

First of all, they got rid of the basket style dinners where everything was put nicely on that checkered paper and put into a big basket/platter thing that made sense for this kind of food. Now they got rid of those and have these cold, white, rectangular sushi plate things that just don't make sense for this kind of food. I mean really? Who thought that would be a good idea to change it to that?

Second, their portions are smaller with these new sushi plates. They also got rid of the black side dishes for when you get beans or mashed potatoes and replaced them with smaller white dishes that are only about an inch or so deep. (so less amount of each side)

Third, their food is still the same quality, but their prices have remained the same or increased even with the smaller portions.

Fourth, they no longer play blues music!!! Why am I listening to modern rock at a bar b que joint?!?

Fifth, they only have 2 sauces on the table and you have to go to this little cubby shelf thing that has all of them there for you to pick. Why not just leave them where they were?

This has been a frustrating experience as a whole because as I was growing up, I fell in love with famous daves. It was the best darn food you could get in this type of setting/price range. Now something happened that has made me have mixed feelings about it. They still have the great quality food for the most part, but those five things I listed just ruins the experience. It used to be a warm, homey, fun place to eat. But now it doesn't have the same feeling that it used to. I don't know if this is happening to all of the famous daves but it defiantly has happened to a few already. (I have been to other locations near by and they have the same problems) The only place that seems to not have changed is the Mall of America location on the 3rd floor. I have not been there recently for dining, but I have looked inside and they still have the original vibe and the original basket of food with larger portions. So, I hope they don't change.

UPDATE: I just went back to this location for dinner tonight and it was a huge difference!!! The food was amazing! The pork was super tender and flavorful, the corn bread was out of this world and the service and atmosphere was back to normal! I was so happy and surprized of the difference from a few months ago and had to tell the manager. We talked for a little bit and he said that they had some rough times with a previous CEO and his decisions. Now they are all for going back to the way things were originally! Big portions, delicious, fresh, fast, all the goodies just like I remember it! I hope they will keep this up and will be going back...

April 11, 2014 I went to Roseville Famous Dave's for an early dinner. It was around 3:45PM. There was a young woman behind the order counter. She checked my ID when I ordered wine. I am nearly 60 years old. I ordered something for myself and wanted an order to go that would be put into the kitchen when I asked her to get it ready. She said, "just let me know when you're ready for your to-go order..."

Everything tasted good. I decided to have another wine and ordered it at my table via a nearby waitress who was doing sidework at the time. I paid cash for the second wine. When I had finished my meal and almost finished my wine, I had thought I would visit the restroom before ordering my to-go meal and then drive home. Before I had finished my 2nd wine, the young woman who originally took my order came over to the table and let me know that my to-go order would be out shortly.

Well, I hadn't asked for the to-go order yet, and I still needed to visit the restroom. She made the decision to prepare my to-go order before I was ready for it. When I came back from the restroom, my to-go order was sitting all by itself on the table. She had just grown tired of waiting for me to let her know when I was ready for the to-go order.

There was only 1 other table of customers in the restaurant at this time. I left feeling pushed around. I will not return to this restaurant because this overly-eager young woman did all my thinking for me. Didn't...

This is a counter service Famous Dave's. Just like all BBQ places should be. There are a few sit down Famous Dave's and I try to avoid those.

With that said, and I've eaten at all the Famous Dave's in the greater Minneapolis/St. Paul area, this Famous Dave's has the best ribs. I've been to this one many, many times and have never gotten a bad slab.

You may ask, "Why are you reviewing a CHAIN? You never do that." Yes, Famous Dave's is a chain. BUT, it is also the standard. I've eaten BBQ everywhere I've been in the US, and everything gets compared to Famous Dave's. Specifically this Roseville Famous Dave's.

The ribs here are always falling-off-the-bone delicious. There are multiple sauces for nearly every taste. The beans and slaw are very good also.

When it comes to ribs, because it is such an expansive meal, I want consistency. This Famous Dave's delivers that every time I've been there. The service is fast. The call-ahead takeout is faster.

The only bad thing I have to say about this place is the price for a slab meal keeps creeping higher. When I started eating here a long time ago, you could get a slab meal for about $22. Last night I found out the price has crept to almost $28. Without a drink. For me, that's an expensive meal. It'll definitely limit how often I eat there.

But since I know I'm going to get quality BBQ, I'll still treat myself a few...