Review: VA BBQ Manassas

Well, I wanted it to be good.

We entered a little after 7 p.m. and were told it was almost closing time. But the gentleman at the counter was very friendly explaining the menu and helping us all. I ordered the 1/2 ribs with 4 ounces of pulled beef brisket (I wish I'd read it was pulled, I was expecting sliced, but my fault). I got two sides and ordered baked beans and hush puppies. My sons both had pulled pork sandwiches, my daughter had chicken strips and my wife ordered the ribs/beef combo with potato salad and mac & cheese.

First the Q, since that's why I wanted to go. Ribs were well cooked, tender, juicy, but slathered in a non-descript sauce, cold and there was no detectable smoke. The super-salty beef came in a little foam cup and tasted fresh from the microwave. It was swirling around in some juice, but no smoke either. There's an Arby's in the parking lot and  I think the beef there would've been much better.

The beans were super hot which told me they were fresh from the microwave as well, but the hush puppies were good. My oldest son said he saw frost on his pork sandwich along with a hair which he neglected to report to us until after we left. My daughter said her chicken and onion rings were pretty flavorless and my wife ate only part of her meal before searching around for some Tums.

The restaurant is in a strip center amongst a sea of strip centers. Inside, it's very casual and you order at the counter (very friendly staff, btw). The soda machine's ice maker was broken on our visit and the sodas all tasted flat. The sauce bottles were covered on the outside with sauce making a sticky mess and I spotted an ant crawling across a condiments table.

Aside from the friendly staff, I wouldn't recommend. That's a shame because it's relatively close to my house and there are a couple of other very weak bbq restaurants in the area, but it turns out those are better than VA BBQ.