Momma's Mustard, Pickles & BBQ - St Matthews — Restaurant in St. Matthews

TLDR: Do yourself a favor and try the Half Chicken.

Full review:

The Half Chicken might be the best bbq chicken I've ever had. Everything else was solid, but the chicken really stood out. I've been here a couple times now and can review the items we had dish-by-dish.

Highlights:

The Half Chicken was out of this world. The dry rub was delicious and the meat was tender and juicy. It's really easy to overcook chicken breast as there is hardly any fat leaving room for error. I'm not sure if they slow smoke the chicken, but whatever they do is working. Chicken is usually the last thing I think of getting at a bbq place, as I think pork and beef is usually superior. You will be tempted to try other stuff. But trust me just this one time.

The Chicken Wings were great as well. The skin comes out a bit crispier on the wings. But I imagine they cook it the same way they cook the Half Chicken. I prefer the Half Chicken, though. It's meatier and as I mentioned earlier, it's rare to have chicken breast cooked to perfection.

I liked the green beans. They were a little sweet and vinegary. I also doused them in pepper instead of bbq sauce and that really took them to the next level.

The ambiance at this location is kind of cool compared to the other location, which is just in a strip mall.

Room for improvement:

The Bologna I thought was unspectacular. I think if they had fried it more, it would've had the chance to be crispy like fried spam.

The pulled pork was pretty standard bbq. Nothing special. Needed bbq sauce to not be too dry.

The Burnt Ends were a bit inconsistent. Some pieces had fat, and those were pretty good. A lot of the pieces had no fat and were pretty dry. I almost wonder if they ran out of Burnt Ends and just gave me brisket...

The baked beans weren't anything special. They were ok if you're looking for a healthy side.

The mac and cheese was underwhelming. But I think a lot of people enjoy bland Mac and cheese, so ymmv.

At this location in particular, the service was painfully slow as they had one person working the entire upstairs section when a huge party was there. Not a knock on her, I thought management should've had 2 people to give her the...

A friend and I are at the beginning of our Cross Country road trip and Louiseville was our first resting stop. We got to our hotel and asked the lady at the desk what's good to eat around here. I told her I was in the mood for barbecue and she recommended Momma's and a few other restaurants. I am SO glad my friend and I decided to go to this restaurant l. I have been craving real barbecue (not grilled food) for the LONGEST (years) and Momma's satisfied my cravings. This restaurant exceeded my expectations and everything I had was a 10/10. My friend had the burnt ends, which were delicious! Brisket can sometimes be dry, but these burnt ends were so tender and juicy! And the mashed potatoes he had a side were delicious as well (and I'm not a huge fan of mashed potatoes). I had the smoked chicken wings and I can definitely see why they are labeled #1. And the fried pickles?!?! I'm not going to lie, I wasn't sure if I was going to like them because we were told they were bread and butter pickles, which I never really cared for BUT those pickles may have changed my mind. And the house made ranch made them even better!! Oh, and the food came out super quick! No long wait time at all. Damon said the service was quick and he did not lie! And let's talk about our waiter Damon. He was very attentive and really sold us on the menu. We trusted his word, went with his recommendations, and I can honestly say he definitely knows what he's talking about. Definitely earned his tip. We have decided that this will be out go to spot whenever we find ourselves back and Louiseville. Thanks Momma's, your food really made the first day of our road trip a good one. Kansas City is our next stop and I hope they don't disappoint because you definitely set the standard!

Update I arrived to Kansas City and ate at Q93 which was highly recommended and had great reviews. The food is average and was close to what you would get at any chain bbq restaurant 😒. I'm sure there's better bbq restaurants in Kansas City though. However, Momma's has truly set a standard that will be...

Review of Momma’s Mustard, Pickles, and BBQ

I recently had the opportunity to visit Momma’s Mustard, Pickles, and BBQ, and my experience was a mixed bag. The service started off quite slow; it felt like the staff were not busy, yet it took longer than expected to get our orders taken. However, as the meal progressed, the service did improve, which was a positive turn.

Unfortunately, the food left much to be desired. The fried pickles were bland, lacking any real flavor. The highlight, surprisingly, was the homemade ranch that accompanied them; it was creamy and delicious, making the pickles somewhat more enjoyable. However, the breading on the pickles was flavorless, which didn’t help the overall dish.

Moving on to the pulled pork, it was evident that it had been cooked in an oven with liquid smoke added. There was no smoke ring, and the flavor was virtually non-existent, requiring generous amounts of sauce to make it palatable.

The baked beans were disappointing as well, seemingly just poured straight from a can with a sprinkle of BBQ rub. I even found pieces of stock pork in mine, which was not a good sign.

The potato salad was bland and unremarkable; it’s a pet peeve of mine when celery is included in potato salad, and this one did not escape that fate.

The burnt ends were another letdown, as they were overwhelmed with liquid smoke and lacked tenderness.

Lastly, the cornbread and salmon were both dry and devoid of flavor.

In conclusion, I left Momma’s Mustard, Pickles, and BBQ feeling underwhelmed. It’s hard to call this a true BBQ restaurant, as the authenticity seemed to be missing. The only saving grace of the evening was the bourbon slushy, which was refreshing and enjoyable. If you’re looking for genuine BBQ flavors, you might want to...