I would easily give this place 5 stars for the food alone, but it was not a full service restaurant. I'm a chef with a background in butchery and have worked for 2bbq operations, so I am very knowledgeable about this food.
First impression of this place: as I walked in, I could smell smoke. If you are walking into a bbq joint, and you don't smell smoke, it's a red flag, and you're probably gonna get sub par food. This place is also a meat shop and a store.
So the ribs are absolutely perfect. They weren't mushy like a lot of restaurants serve them, which is something I despise. "Falling off the bone" is a huge misconception regarding ribs. That's overcooked. These ribs pulled clean off the bone, but not overcooked.
The brisket was amazing, but there's 2 parts to a brisket that has the grain going in 2 directions. Usually I would sperate the two, but half of my brisket was sliced with the grain. That said, it was still amazing and pleasurable to eat. I would give it 4.7 or of 5 stars because it was cooked properly.
The chicken was great, but I'm not a big chicken eater. No complaints here, it was a large portion, had a nice smokey flavor and it was cooked well.
The sides were definitely better than average. I got to try the mustard potato salad, the red skin potato salad, and the Mac and cheese. The mac was decent, but not much different than any bbq place. I personally like a mac that isn't so creamy, but rather with whole cheese, and not just cheese sauce. The mustard potato salad had an almost fermented element to it, as it had a weird tang. That one was okay, but the red skin potato salad was very good. It was creamy, tangy and zesty from the addition of red bell pepper.
They had a cooler with a bunch of squeeze bottles of sauce. There must have been a dozen and a half, different sauces, and I tried a few. The sauces I grabbed were; ghost pepper, chipotle, and a gold mustard based sauce. Gold is always my favorite and this one was on point. The ghost pepper was good, and it wasn't overly spicy. My favorite of their sauces was the chipotle. It was pretty mild heart wise and it was a perfect red sauce.
Now here's my only critique: this is not full service restaurant. They had tables where you could sit and eat, but they didn't really have a server. We had to go up to the register to order, and the lady working the cashier seemed to have other responsibilities, than working as a waitress. We were told to pick whatever we wanted to drink from the cooler, and I had to go back up to get condiments, because this place was also a meat shop. I honestly didn't mind any of this at all, because the food was so great. But when we grabbed the sauce and brought them to the table, the lady told us that we were supposed to fill up souffle cups because other people ordering food could have access to them. I wish that they had multiple bottles of sauces, and pre portioned sauce cups for takeout orders to prevent this from becoming an issue. There should be multiple bottles of sauce for dine in dinners to take to tables.
That being said, this was by far the best bbq I've had in mid Michigan, and I say that as a person who worked for a pop-up bbq vendor that works in the area. They would be very successful full service restaurant, if they tried. I will DEFINITELY be getting food from them again. I do wish they were on GrubHub or door dash, but I do understand why you wouldn't want to deal with them, as they gouge restaurant operators. All in all, I highly recommend them because they actually cook real bbq, and that's the most important thing!
Food: 5
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 4
Holy schnikes!!! This place is amazing- the staff is friendly, the food is amazing, I got suggested the life changer, and it was -the coleslaw is a must, kfc ain't got nothing on them. I can't wait to come back. Asked the staff the place has been around since 1976....
Don't forget to get a salad and J poppers... 😀
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
$50–100
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Sandwich
Wow. We stopped here on a whim while passing through and we were blown away. Top notch service, everyone is so knowledgeable about their products. They were very helpful in accommodating my boyfriend’s allergy.
The food was incredible. The best bbq I have ever had. I only wish I could give them more stars! Thank you!!
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
On our way to Northern Michigan we stopped to eat some BarBQ and Wow!!! Meaty’s you got an A+ for the Bratwurst and Brisket Burger Sandwiches and Onion Rings!! Delicious is an Understatement! You Don’t Need extra sauce….. Very Moist and Flavorful!! Onion Rings were perfect, Crispy!!! Yummmm Keep up the Deliciousness!! 👍🏻
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Lunch
Price per person
$30–50
We ordered the Brisket Tacos... TOTALLY YUMMY!
Loaded with meat & fresh veggies. Came with 2 Tacos & a side. A bit on the pricey side... our 2 orders came to $39.00! (No drink, 1 taco was more than enough, we took home leftovers.)
Although the parking lot has plenty of Handicap accessible parking, there is no reserved handicap parking. NOT all of the outdoor seating IS WHEELCHAIR accessible; as most tables have seating without spaces in-between.
I asked the guys to clean up a little so I could take good pics of the kitchen area & bbq. Unfortunatly-they did not do so.
Knowing that the food prep area is in full view of the customers; the cleanliness of the kitchen and coverings over food/food prep area leaves something to be desired here.
Although the food was excellent; I won't be eating here very often at all.
The prices and the state of the prep area ultimately make this place a no-go for me.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Lunch
Price per person
$20–30
Food: 5
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 3
Recommended dishes
Brisket of Beef
Got this place recommended to me on Reddit. I really wanted to like this place. Friendly staff, killer menu, cool location and store. Ordered ribs, brisket, baked beans, and fries.
Ribs were way overdone. Ok grilled flavor, not so much smoked, and sauce was ok but they were “fall off the bone” and that shouldn’t be the case.
Beans were your standard GFS canned beans with some old meat thrown in. Not great but edible.
Brisket should have been better. No bark unfortunately and the fat wasn’t rendered well. Eh.
The fries were good! They shook on some extra zesty seasoning and they were fried to perfection.
For the price I paid it should have been better than the chain bbq places like Dickies. Would I give it another try? Sure. If I’m ever in Bay City again.
Amazing bbq with a large menu. I ate the chicken tacos - the portions were large and it came with a choice of a side. I enjoyed that I could sit outside at the picnic tables while waiting. Also there were so many sauce choices to choose from, I wanted to try them all.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Lunch
Price per person
$10–20
An amazing place for a quick bite while in the road. The shop was unique and the staff was friendly. We liked the food but what made it a great experience was the outside seating area.
Amazing BBQ. We had the ultimate sampler with Chicken, Ribs, Brisket, and Kielbasa with fresh cut chips and onion rings. Amazing! All of the meat was smoked perfectly.
Meat was high quality - lots of moist meat with out being too fatty). And the chips and onion rings were just how I like them, crispy but not burnt. Excellent service, nice outdoor seating area. Highly recommend!
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
$10–20
Haven’t been here since around this time last year. Was riding past & didn’t realize they were opened so soon! The first day I went it was later in the day so they were out of warm sides so I tried the fries. They were amazing! Food was super hot & fresh. They had plenty of bbq sauces & dips to try. Nice selection of drinks like water, juice, & beer! Even though I usually go for the cheesy potatoes .. had to go back a week later to get them & everything was just as good as usual! Will definitely be back throughout the summer. A+
