Firebox55 — Restaurant in West Virginia

I don't write reviews...ever...but after my experience this seemed necessary. I’ll do everything in my power to document a negative experience without violating Google’s review policies.

This was my first time ordering from this place. I spent $44.52 on February 18 on my order, check #104.

I ordered a family platter for 5 adults for takeout. That included 1.5 pounds of pulled pork and 3 sides. That comes out to about 8 bucks per person, which seems reasonable. A sandwich costs 9 dollars and has about 6 ounces of pulled pork, which amounts to 2.5 pounds. It's kind of steep for a pound and a half, but doable if the taste is good enough, since I was supposed to get the sides as well.

Pulled pork was just that. No bread for sandwiches (which would have been nice, as other barbecue places I’ve ordered from provide bread for large quantities of meat), but it tasted OK and was not the end of the world.

They asked if I wanted barbecue sauce. I asked for sweet spicy and Texas style. I purchased food for 5 people and was given two takeaway containers 1/3 full of sauce. That's the equivalent of about 4 Ketchup packets. That's not enough sauce for 5 people.

Next...the sides. The Mac and Cheese is out of this world delicious. I would likely have given this place a 4 star review if I’d been able to order 3 sides of Man and Cheese. But I couldn’t. I tried to call in my order but nobody answered the phone, and the online order form did not let me order multiples of the Mac and Cheese. So I improvised. I got bean soup, which was OK but didn’t travel very well (I guess it’s better hot), and potato salad, which had too much mayonnaise. I wish they had a more diverse selection if they didn’t allow multiples of the same side.

Finally...the experience. I ordered curbside, so I needed to call. The line was busy. Called again in 5 minutes. The line was busy. I headed inside. It took nearly five minutes to flag down somebody to ask about my to go order. I understand this is a popular place, so they're busy, but I spent much more than I’d like to and I got nothing but lackluster food that I didn't want because of a horrible online menu experience, nowhere near enough sauce, and the trying task of letting the staff know I had arrived to pick up my food. I didn't yell. I was polite. I sat quietly alone by the door.

In a word: Get Fast Food Instead. Your wallet will thank you, you won't wait as long, and you'll get a much bigger bang for your buck.

So, like I said, get fast food instead. This food isn't any healthier than fast food, the taste is arguably comparable, but the experience is vastly superior given what...

It's a miracle, I've found acceptable brisket. For those that know what good brisket is supposed to taste like (and very few do), and are in search of it in the DMV region, its hard to find, if not impossible. But today I managed to find it here at Firebox55. Is it Franklins/Goldees/Blacks level? No, not really, but.... it's still good. I asked and they use rotating natural gas smokers with wood added/side loaded, so it isn't a natural wood/offset like you see at the aforementioned Texas staples. It is cooked and rendered perfectly, the smoke and bark are a little on the lighter side. With that in mind they still make a good brisket. If you need that fix, you are safe coming here.

The chicken was awesome too, perfectly cooked, moist and falling off the bone.

Pulled pork was pulled pork, it's good as well, again on the lighter side of smokiness.

Sides i had were fires and mac and cheese - fries were standard and good, mac and cheese was alright.

Overall the place is good, its incredibly difficult to find good BBQ in this area, i mean really hard. Many try, lot of parking lot operators, some brick and mortars as well but they mostly all fail, or their patrons haven't had the misfortune of going to a Goldees. I say misfortune as once you've climbed to the mountaintop, its difficult to ever go back to garbage BBQ. Not here though, this is a safe bet...

To start off the food was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!!! Prices are decent for what you get. The chef here really knows what he is doing when it comes to BBQ! With that being said... the service is horrible! Upon entering the establishment there is a sign that says please seat yourself. Not one person greeted us, so we had a seat. After waiting for 10 mins, we got up to get menus. The bartender or server (not sure who was who) gave us the menus and after another 10 mins a server finally came to our table. We ordered our food n after about 15-20 mins the server brought it out. Had to ask for napkins, silverware, salt, pepper, etc. We ate n it was some of the best BBQ I've ever eaten. But we never seen the server again. Got up to ask for boxes, to which another server brought them n handed us our check. I took the check to the bar bc the server never came back. As I was paying at the bar all the employees were on the phone and talking. I had to get the servers attention to ask a question bc she was in the phone w another server. We then asked for a bag, which was never brought to me. So we just left. I would definitely recommend getting the food, but I'd get it to go. The atmosphere is also wonderful, but I won't be dining again until the service is better, but will definitely be back for...