The BBQ Shack — Restaurant in Town of Jerusalem

This is a review for both catering and the normal restaurant as I have experience with them in both. In both cases the summary is that their food and service are amazing and I would recommend them for anything from a bite to eat on a road trip to catering a wedding.

I will start with the food. I am not a New York or Finger Lakes native, I married into the area. My only experiences with NY BBQ were the famous Cornell chicken recipe, but I did have experience with other BBQ. I grew up a very short trip away from Kansas City. Home to one of the best BBQ cultures in the country, and BBQ Shack would comfortably survive and thrive in that market. They are not only the best BBQ I have tried in New York, they stand toe to toe against some of the best BBQ restaurants in the country in my opinion. The chicken is unlike any I have tried, much greater depth of flavor profile than I have found with most BBQ chicken, almost like a Carolina Vinegar based sauce and Cornell recipe were intertwined into amazingness. The pulled pork is very well seasoned and cooked, and a very good amount of smoke flavor and juiciness. The brisket can range from a pretty good brisket to the best brisket you have ever tried in your life, and the sandwich pairing with the pulled pork is heavenly. The sides we loved the most in descending order were chicken wing dip, mac & cheese, salt potatoes, baked beans, and coleslaw. All of the sides were good, those were just the ones that stuck out most to us, with the chicken wing dip being something we crave on a weekly basis as we do not live in the area.

The service, while this is not as important to me as the food, they still delivered in every aspect for us. If you are dining in it is a wonderful atmosphere where they start preparing a person’s order before they walk in the door. This is what a smaller town restaurant should feel like, and it does. If you are catering you are done looking, you will not find something with better value and taste than them in the area. I recommend going in and getting at least one sampler platter and another meal to be able to try all the sides they have to offer, then make your selection based on personal preference, but there will be hard choices. They will communicate with you throughout the way, and are very good at...

We decided to stop here for dinner on a Saturday afternoon in early June while in the Geneva area and after reading the good reviews. Seating inside is a bit limited to just five or six tables, but most of their business is take-out any way, so we were able to find an empty table easily. We ordered a pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw and salt potatoes, and a half-rack of BBQ ribs dinner with salt potatoes. Very friendly service and our meals were served up in just a few minutes. The pulled pork sandwich was good; tasty and a generous portion. The half-rack of BBQ ribs consisted of five ribs with meat on them that were overcooked, dry, a bit chewy, and not much flavor. Definitely not the best ribs I've ever had. Very disappointing after reading the good reviews and expecting something much better. The cole slaw was good and the salt potatoes were OK. Our total bill with beverages was a bit over $41 plus tax, with the ribs and salt potatoes dinner making up $25 of that total. Definitely overpriced for the quality and quantity of ribs that I was served. Maybe the ribs that I received weren't the norm for here, but we don't plan on...

I am from Pennsylvania. I and my family from home along with my cousins were traveling and we ate here one day in the afternoon. The food lives up to its reputation and hands down I have all the respect for the quality of hospitality these people offer. Everyone there really nice :) x5 and the owners way of thinking stands out. The owner gave us free donuts (an actual dozen!?) just because they were the last batch of the day and he didn't want to put them to waste. Nobody else does that!

These people are like your talented friendly everyday neighbors and they definitely in my memory and families have been remembered when we reflect on our trip. Hospitality is the service to strangers in a corteous way I learned in Culinary school and these people sure lived up to it! Hands down, no question about it! They're awesome. Oh and their donuts are no joke, these are better then any other brand out there. There frech fries taste like actual potatoes and live up to their title of being fresh. The BBQ? Is just really delicious, I can't stress any of this enough. Next time you're in Northern New York...