BubbaQue's Has a Few Misses, But Several Hits
04/09/2009 - By Trent Rowe PIERRE DUCHARME/THE LEDGER
The baked beans are one positive thing going on at BubbaQue's in Lakeland
BubbaQues, a new barbecue restaurant on East Memorial near Combee Road in Lakeland, goes too far with the hokeyness on the menu. They would be better off spending their time on the food than the phrasing.
BubbaQues, a new barbecue restaurant on East Memorial near Combee Road in Lakeland, goes too far with the hokeyness on the menu. They would be better off spending their time on the food than the phrasing.
Josh Reeves is the partner you're most likely to see in the restaurant that opened Nov. 19 with a barbecue theme that seems to be spread throughout the two other Florida restaurants in the chain.
The place isn't big, and a lot of time went into the decorations. Some are quite clever. Seats at tables along a wall are truck tailgates. Diners on the other side of the tables sit on long, white coolers.
Music is country, played too loudly on a small boombox.
For $1, you can buy cooked pork bones meant for dogs. Please don't feed your dogs cooked bones (splinters). Put the bones in a pot of beans instead.
As well as paper towels, each table has eight sauces with fun names and a decanter of really hot stuff. Read the menu for a description of what each sauce is — hot, sweet, mild, mustard, etc.
Service is a little disorganized, but that should smooth out.
I can't pass up Brunswick stew ... until now. For $2.99 I got a bowl of thin broth with a piece of crinkle cut french fry, barbecued pork and a couple of chunks of flabby fat. It was hot. Horrible, but hot.
Rocky Mountain Oysters are supposed to be mini Reuben sandwiches, deep fried and sold six for $5.99. They look like big hush puppies, have liquid centers from the dressing and don't taste like Reuben sandwiches. They do taste good. Keep the product and change the description.
Combination plates seem pricey. An 8-bone strip of baby back ribs over a heap of pulled pork with two sides sets you back $17.99. You could bite the meat off the bones — that's good. It tells me the ribs are not overcooked. And with eight, you can try a sauce on each of them. But, you have to eat the ribs to get to the pork underneath.
The pork needs the sauces. It's tasty, but it needs something.
Pulled pork and half a barbecued chicken is $11.99. How can chicken can come off a pit with the skin soft and almost pale? Someone can make a fortune if they breed a bird with breast meat and dark meat that cook at the same time so the white is not dry when the dark is done. Slather a sauce on the dry white meat.
The pork here was not as moist as what hid under the ribs.
BubbaQued Beef SammyWich ($6.49) included a side. The menu says it's brisket, but the thick bread held chunks rather than slices of meat — more like a pot roast. And it lacked the typical brisket flavor. It was tender and tasty but somehow wouldn't knock your socks off —iff'n yu wus wearin' eni.
A chicken salad sandwich couldn't happen because there was no chicken salad.
Macaroni and cheese is a reason to go back, thanks to the great cheesy flavor.
Crinkle fries are better from the fryer than in the stew.
Desserts are cookies and cobbler, but the list could include the baked beans. Ooh-wee, are they sweet! Full of pork ... and sweet.
Nothing is outstanding from the latest inspection on March 13.
Some things they can do to improve are:
Fix the stew.
Crisp the outside of the barbecued chicken.
Turn the music down.
Put tongs in the lemon so the server doesn't have to pick up pieces with a small, handleless container. (It's illegal.)
Slice the brisket.
The restaurant has a lot of potential for a fun place to eat. BubbaQues earns two and ½ stars.
Trent Rowe can be reached at trent.rowe@theledger.com or 802-7512.
