Stringtown BBQ — Restaurant in Washburn

I grew up in Washburn and was happy to return to Central Illinois to visit my Mom for a few days along with my wife. There are some very old and established restaurants that I wanted to revisit from my youthful days but Mom said we should try the new BBQ restaurant in my hometown. Always listen to Mom. This was a great meal. I now live in Kansas and spend a lot of time in Texas as one of my sons lives in the Lone-Star State. In fact, I was in Fort Worth less than a month ago. We cherish BBQ. The BBQ I have had in TX is NOT ANY BETTER than what we enjoyed this evening in my hometown. We started with ice tea—-sweetened just right…not as sweet as in TX…and that’s a good thing. I ordered Pulled Pork which was truly outstanding. The portion was larger than I’ve ever received at a BBQ restaurant…Smoked perfectly. The cole slaw was very good…cole slaw is one of my favorite side dishes when made right…this was. I was a bit disappointed in my fries…just sort of bland. I would suggest trying to use more seasoning (maybe even season salt). Texture was fine…just needed more punch. My wife ordered the Wednesday evening special…Meat loaf. She was thrilled. Wrapped in smoked bacon (the meat loaf…not my wife), the flavor was simply great. Fortunately, she let me have a bite…wow. The mashed potatoes were “ok” according to her review…I’m not a big gravy person so I could easily pass on those. She LOVED her baked beans…I can see why…sweet and loaded with meat as well. Mom had brisket. I’ve never seen it presented this way…a thick slab rather than thin slices or pulled. There’s was, appropriately, a bit of a vein of fat (the best flavor was near there) in the cut…no problem with that…it’s the way it should be. I have to say that I thought, from one of the bites I had, that it had perhaps just a bit too much pepper in the crust. I see what they are going for here…I just think it over powered the brisket a bit…but, still great. Mom had the beans as well…she savored every bite. She also enjoyed her Cole slaw. All of us had a corn bread muffin…just fine. We had no room for dessert as we were more than full and even brought some leftovers home. These were some of the largest portions I’ve ever had of meat at a BBQ restaurant…take that, Texas. So, now I have another reason to visit my hometown. As a child, fried chicken was about the only kind of food you could get in my hometown at a restaurant unless you ordered up a hamburger or cheeseburger at “Jack’s” (which is long gone). I saw on a neighboring patron’s fast that the chicken at Stringcity looked super a swell…maybe on my next trip home…unless they decide to deliver about 550 miles away. Oh, the service was excellent tonight…we felt so welcome (especially from the owner who was attentive and friendly…wouldn’t have minded talking to him for hours…but he had work to do. Our server answered all our questions and was fun to chat with. Central Illinois has been gifted with a wonderful addition to the restaurant scene. Thanks to the new owner and chef for doing such a great job. We are very happy travelers. ...

It was our first time at Stringtown, which we nick named Stingtown. We were there about 4:30 pm on 3-19-24. I looked around and I could see some local patrons at the bar, and a few others sitting at tables. By my count I observed 14 guests at bar and dining. We waited an extended time for appetizers, it was about 20 minutes. Our wait staff came over twice telling us it was coming soon. We were trying the Mac cheese bites. I wouldn't think that deep frying an item should take so long. Once we received our item a gentleman, whom I am guessing was the owner came over and asked us if everything was ok. He was in his best festive St Patties day garb and friendly. I did ask why it took so long for the item to arrive. Not sure if he heard me or not, but I had no response. It took another 18 minutes to receive our meal. Once our meal came the festive gentleman came back over and asked how things were. He apologized for the delay and stated he had a new cook. I found that interesting, as he, the owner chose to mingle instead of managing his kitchen. But, it is his business not mine. I ordered the Reuben sandwich 9.95 and my guest had the brisket dinner 19.95. We also had lemonade. Our lemonades tasted like watered down sugarless water. It was not pleasant at all. I did make our server aware of it yet did not get any response. The sandwich was good but the meat had a lot of gristle in it. The brisket was tender, and well cooked. The taste was bland except for the overpowering taste of wood which took away from the meat. As we were finishing our meal I was presented with our bill, I asked how I was to pay for it and asked for a box. We sat for another 15 minutes having a conversation and our server approached again. I asked for a box (number 2) to which he said oh yeah let me get you one. Our box finally arrived and I felt like I had just climbed a mountain. Our bill came to over 45.00 which the math did not work out for me. We paid table side and I noted my comments.

Sadly, we won't be returning. Good luck to you Mr. Owner, I hope your festive day went well.

I also find it very concerning that some of the google comments are coming from local friends, but that is...

This was our first time here under the new ownership. Overall it was pretty good. I kept 4 stars because I know they had some staff illnesses and shortages the night we went (it was posted online). And I know they're still establishing a menu. First off, our pretzel appetizer.... absolutely amazing! Best pretzel I've ever had, hands down. It was gigantic in girth and circumference. Our entire family of 4 wanted to eat the whole thing but stopped ourselves and asked for a box. It was also fantastic reheated later. I was looking forward to the tacos they seem to post about all the time, only to be told they're only a special on some nights. So, I ended up getting the tenderloin (something I don't normally get) mainly because my picky palate didn't like much else on the menu. My tenderloin was a bit different than what I've had other places, and I ran into a few bites that had what seemed like chewy fat or skin that I had to spit out. I'm also used to it being crispy and it wasn't. The fries seemed very under cooked, to me. My husband got some sort of meat dinner platter. He really liked it. Zero complaints. He would give 5 stars. He liked his mushy fries. Lol. The kids menu is rather lacking. My son didn't want any of the kids choices... so he got a cheese burger but then claimed he didn't like it. I ended up eating half of it and wishing I ordered the burger instead of my tenderloin. Lol. It was good and juicy, just lacking flavor in my opinion, but that could be because he ordered it pretty plain. My daughter got the kids chicken nuggets and also wouldn't eat her chicken. She ate her fries though. And my son ate some fries, he normally never eats fries, he appreciated they weren't crunchy. I seem to be out numbered on not liking the mushy fries. 😂 Overall, it was a very mixed opinion night. The pretzel was weirdly the saving grace. We'll be back some time to give...