Brother John's Beer Bourbon & BBQ — Restaurant in Tucson

To start, I only rated it a 4 star vs. 5 because they were out of burgers the night we went.

We visited on a Friday evening at about 6:00 pm. The first thing you see as you walk into the dining room is the most impressive wall of international whiskeys, ryes and bourbons I have ever seen. Over 500 to choose from and they will pull a ladder and climb if needed. At the center of this wall are 50+ tap handles - 2 wines, a house margarita and the rest are beers. The What's On Tap board is to the left of the taps and shows the details for each brew. There is at least one beer here to meet any beer drinkers needs and they will gladly pour a 'taster' before you commit to a three ouncer, a pint, a 20 ouncer or growler. I had two Porters and one Nitro Stout and sampled numerous others. Prices are very reasonable for these craft beers.

Our server informed us that they were all out of hamburgers which really disappointed us as we were looking forward to trying a couple of their unique burgers. We started with the Fried Buffalo Cauliflower Florets appetizer. Plenty of crisp tender florets with buffalo sauce. Not too spicy and very tasty. For dinner, I ordered one Hot Link, one House-made Goat Sausage Link (neither of which I have ever had before) and a large basket of Tater Tots. My wife ordered a Half Smoked Chicken with a Large Southern Collard Greens side. Our food order came out in a reasonable amount of time and dinners are served on metal trays lined with butcher paper, garnished with some pickled onion and jalapeno rings. Everything was piping hot. The Tots were a crispy outside and tender inside. We have had collards all over the USA and these were the best. The greens had the usual slightly bitter taste which was complimented with bits of smoked bacon bits and probably a little butter in the broth they were cooked in. Best of all - they were not salty like most places. The goat sausage is made and smoked in-house and is quite lean and unique. It's goat, not beef nor pork. Not spicy, not fatty, not over smoked, a casing that snaps and you can see herbs ground into the meat. I found it tasty. The hot link is probably a blend of seasoned pork and beef with just the right amount of cajun heat. Also a snappy casing and tasty. My wife's half chicken was a nice size chicken, seasoned just right, lightly smoked and juicy. The salads that we saw were plentiful and loaded with goodies. A group next to us ordered cobblers and they raved about them. We will definitely visit Brother Johns again to try other menu items and indulge in a few more of their huge selection...

Short version: They want cover charges, not dinner guests... Friday night 8:10pm... The place was at best half full, staff was NOT busy. We were asked if we were there for the band (scheduled for 9:30pm), we said no we were there for dinner. We were then asked if we had reservations (lmao)... no... so we were asked to wait 20 minutes (at the bar)... It took more like 35-40 minutes to get seated, and only after we asked. Then we waited another 5-10 minutes to even be approached by a staff member. We had our order ready, though we had to switch it up a bit since they they were out of chicken(?!). As we were trying to get through our food before the music started, we were then approached by some kid shortly before the band started, asking us to pay $12/person cover charges... but again; we were not there for the band, and did NOT plan on staying... we asked for to-go-boxes during the first song, and by the end of that song the kid came over and said that now he HAD to add the cover charges for our group of seven to our order, since we had been there for one song! We refused, and he stomped off... a manager stopped by and asked why we were refusing to pay the cover, so we explained that we already had asked for to go boxes, and had to wait for well over half an hour for no apparent reason, apart from their attempt to make some money on cover charges... He read the mood and left, then came back a few minutes later and apologized... But frankly; too little, too late... it was incredibly obvious that they had zero interest in providing service to their customers, only interested how much they could make on their cover charges. As we were saying our goodbyes in the parking lot, another group of 6-8 people came out... same deal... they had been there for 5+ hours, drinking at the bar, dining... and were likewise tossed out because they didn't want to pay an additional $12 for a band playing... as one of them said "I've been kicked out of better places than this". We've been to BroJo on and off for several years, we've had parties there and brought out of town visitors there several times... This experience was however an absolute disaster, and the worst possible representation of this establishment... The band sounded like it could be have been good, and the food was ok, but neither was worth the wait nor the hassle... Too bad... This place used to be pretty good... we probably...

Location: Off Stone Ave located in a nice building The Skinny: Go if you need a barbecue fix, but I wouldn't go out of your way unless you're looking for more of the happy hour scene The Restaurant: The restaurant itself was beautiful. Very open space with great outdoor seating. The bar area was huge and the dining area was very spacious. Restrooms were clean. The food: Most of the food was pretty good including the staples like beef brisket and pork but I felt the sides were just so-so. The brisket (which was the overall best part) was great in texture but didn't have all the flavor I expected...still really the only thing I liked there. All the sides are A La Carte so don't expect really anything to come as a "meal". The "pit beans" were not as good as I've had but they were just okay. The worse was the Honey Drop Biscuits. The biscuits came out and were very "chewy" and did not even include anything resembling honey. I do have high expectations being from the South but I felt that some of the other "hole in the wall" BBQ places in Tucson do a much better job on their BBQ. Overall: I love the inside of the restaurant and the brisket, other than that, I would stay for the happy hour. I will probably never go back unless its for that. Should you go: Give it a shot if you're a brisket fan just to say you did, otherwise there are other places in Tucson that have been BBQ (and I'm not just referring to a "Fire" that's just been "Brushed") Cost: We had Brisket, Pulled Pork Sandwich, Three sides to split and two kids meals and it came up to $51 before tip. I do consider this place to be pricey for BBQ also. It seems you did not get much for your money. Tip: Look for another BBQ place Kids: The kids...