BubbaQue's-Chiefland,FL

I had heard lots of advertisements for this new chain which now has locations from Lakeland to Cross City. The Chiefland restaurant is the one I tried. It's located in a newly remodeled shopping strip on the south end of town. Just that fact that it's new would seem to give it an advantage in a town where every other restaurant is showing it's age.

The atmosphere is what I would call loudmouth country. The walls are covered with hunting, sports, and beer memorabilia, a little more than is necessary in my opinion-sort of like a Cracker Barrel on steroids. I tend to think any place that tries this hard to look genuine will fall short of the real thing. Anyway, you order from the misspelled menu at the counter on the way in, then find a seat and wait for your meal. I ordered the pulled pork which came with two sides and garlic bread.

I could handle all this plastic cowboy kitsch if the food was up to par. It was not. The meat was a little dry and basically flavorless. There was no hint of smoke that I could find. Fortunately there are 6-7 different sauces on each table that
you can try and they saved the day. With interesting names like "Ol' Yeller" and "Tire Lube" you've gotta try 'em, and most are really good. The sweet potato fries I got as a side were excellent. Other than that, the food was disappointing as well.

Not what I'd hoped for, but I would try one of the other locations just to see if they can pull it off any better than this place.

FOOD RATING: 2.5 OF 5

OVERALL RATING: 2 OF 5

Stick a fork in it-it's overdone

Bar-B-Q Bills- Chiefland, FL

Despite the grand exterior, this is just an average run of the mill spot. (Isn't that usually the case- the fancier looking places are almost never as good as the hole in the walls?) Anyway, it's got your standard wood tables, average salad bar, normal menu etc. I ordered the sliced pork and covered it in the spicy sauce. Along with beans, fries and cole slaw it made a decent meal, but nothing to write home about.

FOOD RATING: 2.5 OF 5
OVERALL RATING: 3 OF 5