Timeline Saloon & BBQ — Restaurant in Town of Hartland

People who know me, know I am kinda a barbecue “aficionado.” I’ve eaten at over 100 bbq joints in 27 states, 3 countries, and 2 cruise lines. Timeline Saloon & BBQ is right in my backyard, and the only thing that has disappointed me is that it took me so long to get here!

I settled on the two meet combo (ribs and sliced brisket), a side of beans, and the Texas Toast. Although I found the beans very average… Similar to Vande camps, pork and beans in consistency and flavor… the meats, however, were extraordinary!!!

Although they do not sell their ribs as “fall off the bone,” mine certainly did. They were juicy with a nice, firm bark. More than I would’ve expected on four small ribs. The brisket was unbelievable! Firm yet fatty with a deep, smoky and salty flavor. It can definitely stand on its own without any sauce… which is a true testament to a good meat! At times, maybe a little “too” salty, but that’s definitely what I like!

Although everything was so good that I didn’t want to add sauce, I felt obligated to try the flight of sauces. “Doc’s Original” did not disappoint. it was a perfect blend of mild and flavorful. The true star of the show though, is the “Captain Morgan” sauce. It as a dark hickory flavor with hints of jalapeño… a slightly sweet base the leaves an ever-so-soft “burn” on the pallet and tongue. I would not hesitate to use it again.

The restaurant is part of the Doc’s Harley Davidson complex. There is so much to do here that, as a destination, it’s hard to separate the restaurant from the total experience. Overall, I would rate the empire experience as a 10… But if I have to separate out just the restaurant and its food, I would give it a 9.5. Incredibly respectable the barbecue restaurant scale! The only reason I’m deducting a half-point is because the server didn’t ask to refill my drink, though she was incredibly attentive, helpful, and joyous otherwise.

If you don’t have this on your radar, you definitely should. It’s not very far from Green Bay or the Fox Cities and is definitely worth a quiet afternoon drive...

We ate here today around 12:00 noon -- party of 4. This was our fourth visit. We had Rainn as our sever. The food was good, as always. The service was slow, painfully slow, but they were pretty busy which we totally understand. We are a pretty chill bunch and very polite and accomodating all around.

I took one star off because our server was clearly annoyed when we asked where our cheese curds were (and annoyed each time we asked for something). I specified during ordering that they were an appetizer, but Rainn admitted someone forgot to put them in. They came after our meal. Accidents happen--ok. But I took another star off for that as she seemed upset when I asked about the curds as she brought our meal, and curtly told me they were coming.

She also gave both my kids the bottled soft drinks without asking if we wanted bottled SunDrop or unlimited tap. (We wanted the bottomless tap. We didn't bring it up because she didn't seem thrilled whenever I had a question.) I asked if we could have a pitcher of water and glasses so she wouldn't have to keep coming back. She seemed annoyed and said she didn't know if they could do that. Ok, not a problem. We each got a glass of water, and my husband let me have his because he didn't need one. So that was fine.

She came over at one point and said if we need anything to just call her by name. We tried to minimize our requests so as to not be one of "those" customers. So my husband flagged our server down to see if we could get the check and a to-go box, and she again responded in annoyance that she would get it.

I do understand that she also had a table of 14 that she was serving at the same time. She was awesome to put in our order before theirs, and told us she would do this. I give her props for that.

We will be back again. Hopefully the servers won't be upset with us for making their...

Unbelievable experience with the wait staff there. The first couple times I've been here it's been okay. But this last visit this morning (8-22-2020) was absolutely the worse. The food is always delicious..but the service was horrible. Our waitress was completely incompetent, first she took forever, then when she got our drink order, she messed that up and took forever again. Then, as she took our order, she kept forgetting everything we jus told her! SMH I have never been so upset at a waitress the way I was today. Our food comes, so we think..n NOTHING given to us was right except our side of ham..when we told her that she continually got upset at us because we told her it was all wrong n then stormed off after we asked for someone else because this was ridiculous n not what we ordered. The manager came over and told us she gave us the wrong tables order, honestly at this point..we were over it n jus wanted to eat, our correct order came shortly after but the other table would have to wait again for their our because they couldn't just give them what was served to us. If it wasn't for that manager fixing everything I would have given this place one star, but that manager earned one more. To TIMELINE SALOON: Please hire better people, some people r just not meant to be waitresses n waiters. But please thank your Saturday morning manager who made this right by compensating us n the other table that had to wait. She...