We were excited to have lunch here after reading all the great reviews and it was part of our Fruit Loop tour. Had a difficult time locating it because it's tucked back between a couple buildings and the sign was rusty. The building just didn't stand out for us. Had to turn around, still didn't find it and had to stop at a restaurant two doors up. They said it's on the other sided of this brown building. Awwwhhh..guess we really weren't looking hard enough but the picture on line showed a bright colored building. This one is a darker blue and is difficult to find.(lost one star) Ok enough about finding the place. We sat outside, it was a nice day to do so. Inside was clean and the help was very friendly. The spinach salad was delish but for $11 you would want a mound of salad and all that was on the plate was a layer to cover the dinner plate. (lost one star). My dad ordered the meatloaf sandwich since he LOVES meatloaf sandwich's and the waitress said everything is made here homemade. Well the two thin slices of meatloaf were like pressed and dried hamburgers from a bad fast food hamburger restaurant. (lost one star). The pear coleslaw was good. I Â believe you'll probably be happiest if you stick with the recommendations such as the pulled pork sandwich and the spicy green beans.
Review Source:After a stop at the Apple Valley Country Store in Hood River (for pumpkin milkshakes), we were told about Apple Valley BBQ (the owners are behind both places) as a possible destination for lunch. Â Sounded good to both of us so away we went.
There honestly aren't many places to eat in Parkdale as it is a very small town. Â BBQ sounded good on this rainy weekend day. Â BBQ sounds good to me anytime actually so you probably shouldn't listen to me. Â Lately Sue and I have been trying to eat a bit less so with that in mind we ended up splitting the Pulled Pork Sandwich ($9 and comes with choice of one side) and getting a second side to go with that.
The Spicy Green Beans are amazing. Â They are made with one of the jams that they had for sale at the Country Store. Â I believe it was a Habanero Jam. Â Not super spicy, but definitely super flavorful. Â The Garlic Parmesan fries were very good as well.
The Pulled Pork had a nice smokiness to it. Â You can tell that some care went into making this BBQ. Â Nice BBQ sauces on the table to pair with it. Â A regular and a spicy. Â Wasn't spicy to me, but still very good.
I would come back here solely for the green beans. Â They were that good. Â Nice that Parkdale has some good BBQ. Â I can absolutely see myself coming back here again.
Perfect BBQ. Â What else do you need to know?
I found Apple Valley by accident, as we were driving through Parkdale on the way to Laurence Lake. Â My car window was rolled down, and I smelled fruit wood smoke combined with pork. Â I yelled, "That's BBQ! Â Turn the car around!"
We turned around and got sandwiches and dessert to go for our day at the lake. Â We were hooked and have since returned so many times that I have lost count.
Obviously, the pulled pork is great, smoked with wood from the local fruit orchards. Â I have also tried the chicken sandwich with an outrageously delicious pepper jelly. Â Their mac & cheese dinner is great with a side of the pear coleslaw.
Dessert is a necessity. Â Order extra dessert to take home, especially the spice cake. Â It is all freshly made in large portions of sugary goodness.
The staff is great, friendly, and gracious. Â The drive from home in The Dalles is 50+ minutes and well worth it.
If your only experience here has been on a train stop  (and the abbreviated train-stop lunch menu), come back at dinner for the full menu.  Very family friendly.  They are open in winter, so stop for BBQ on your way back from the mountain.
Nice surprise in Parkdale. I saw set on Solera brewery next door for lunch but we saw this BBQ restaurant across the street and a couple buildings to the west. Â We first had a beer at Solera and then went for BBQ. Â
I feel that we made a great decision over just plain old pub food. Â I noticed that both places must work together as monday thru friday they have a deal that if you eat at Apply Valley BBQ and take your receipt to Solera, you get a $1 off a beer. Â Too bad they cannot just be side by side and combine good beer with great food.
I will be coming back after my next ski adventure on Mt. Hood.
This is really a 2 star restaurant but I am giving it 3 because the service was great and our server was fun to talk to. Â We had the pulled pork sandwich and it was tooooooo dry. Â Frys were really good. Â Spinach salad had too much dressing and the bacon bits tasted lie they had been around for a while.
Review Source:Having heard a couple of other friends praise this place, I decided to check it out last Saturday evening. The BBQ meatloaf was intriguing, so I ordered that on a sandwich. It came with a shallot glaze, and some spicy BBQ sauce. The meatloaf was smoky and moist, and the sauces worked well together.
As a side I had some of their pear cole slaw. I got it more out of curiosity than anything else -- pears and cole slaw? It works. The mild sweetness of the pears goes great with the flavors of the slaw. Definitely recommended.
Spent the morning picking apples out on the Fruit Loop and the afternoon at the Hood River Hops Fest. In between, we stopped here for some lunch. Some BBQ sure sounded good and as we pulled up to park, this little BBQ joint SMELLED good. Got my tastebuds revving instantly.
Unassuming little dining room. There was a model train circling the perimeter. I always wanted one of those--in my house. I think it's a residual Mr. Rogers thing. Anyway, we were given a very friendly greeting right when we walked in. We were told to sit wherever we like.
Prices weren't exactly cheap, but that seems to be the case with just about every BBQ these days. I ordered a 1/2 rack of pork ribs for $16. My wife got a prime rib sandwich for $14. Mine came with two sides, the sandwich came with one. I opted for BBQ beans and cornbread. My wife went with the cornbread salad--a unique menu item that turned out to be pretty tasty.
My ribs were really good. Very, very meaty and tender. The meat literally fell off the bone. I would have preferred a bit more spicy bite in the BBQ sauce, but that's a minor gripe. The lady loved her prime rib sandwich. It was really just a nice, big slice of prime rib atop a piece of Texas toast and smothered with onions and mushrooms.
We ate every bite and topped off the meal with a slice of coconut cream pie that we had to share.
This place is really getting a 4 1/2 star rating from me. Wish Yelp let us do that.
The man-folk and I headed up to the Mt. Hood area for day trippin'. We knew we'd come back to Apple Valley BBQ after dining her on a Mt. Hood Railroad trip.
I had the BBQ meatloaf, baked beans and cornbread. It was pretty good. The man-folk had the ribs and pulled pork and the spicy green beans. Â He loved it.
The service was EXCELLENT. Love our waitress. Â
It was a beautiful day and the perfect place to stop. We'll be back again, I'm sure.
Twenty minute drive from Hood River and WELL WORTH IT! Â Six of us went and every single person was absolutely thrilled with their food. Â Prime Rib sandwich was out of this world. Â You must try the raspberry/huckleberry pie. Â To die for. The waitstaff was fantastic... will absolutely go back!
Review Source:I was looking forward to some tasty BBQ but was craving beef brisket instead of pulled pork. So, in lieu of beef brisket (which wasn't on the menu), I ordered the prime rib sandwich. Â I will admit that as far as BBQ goes, that wasn't the most logical selection on my part. That said, it was a tough, boring piece of meat on a cheap white flour bun, and it was also the most expensive item on the menu. Additionally, my side of green beans was drenched in an overly sweet and unidentifiable sauce that was also a disappointment.
Review Source:I believe this is one of two cafes in the town of Parkdale, OR, one of the stops if you are riding on the Mt. Hood Railroad. The pulled pork sandwich was oh, so good. Â Food prepared quickly so we had time to enjoy the meal before getting back onthe train. Â Service was really good. Â No complaints here.
Review Source:First we stopped by Apple Valley's Country Store - very cute and lots of yummy enticing samples of jellies, jams, syrups, spicy mustards, etc. Â They have a tire swing and comfy benches around the nice yard to relax and eat your ice cream.
There we learned of their BBQ location in Parkdale, and since it was time for lunch, we headed down the road to visit this truly one-horse town. Â Very quaint, picturesque and peaceful place. Â The BBQ joint was comfy with indoor and outdoor seating. Â Service was warm and friendly. Â Food was decent - I had a burger that was rather bland, but the pie was great. Â Maybe next time I'll try the pulled pork.
After a punishing 10 mile uphill hike, we drove 30 miles so my man could taste what I heard was the best barbeque in Oregon. Â He had the pulled pork/pork ribs combo with spicy green beans and fries. The pork fell right off the bone and the pulled pork was amazing. Â One thing...the spicy sauce was spiced with pepper and that was about it. Â I think they need a better signature sauce. Â I had the mac n cheese, bubbling from the oven and tasty. Â Berry pie to go which was just okay. Â Unassuming restaurant, great service, friendly folks. Â We would definitely drive out of our way again. Â What an adorable little town!
Review Source:Straight FIVE STAR.
We went on a Sunday Night for an unplanned evening and was suggested by the locals to stop by. The weather was cold, rainy and windy but upon entering the restaurant we were  greeted with a lovely smiling waitress. Not sure if she was the owner either, but she was amazingly friendly and helpful.
Settled on ordering the Baked Mac & Cheese Dinner entree with two provided sides of garlic mashed potatoes and Spicy Green Beans. Our waitress even gave us a free side of the Cornbread salad because I couldn't decide which side I wanted! Good thing she did though, because ALL OF THEM tasted amazing!!! My boyfriend ordered the Prime Rib Sandwich, and we thought it would be more of a pulled pork sandwich, but seriously it was a FREAKIN' SLAB OF DELICIOUS MELTING MEAT on top of a burger bun. WHAT?! WHO DOES THAT?! A PLACE THAT'S FREAKING AMAZING DOES THAT!!! Yah. The food was delicious yet amazingly homely. The service top notch.
Hidden spot in an unknown area for me, but definitely set the standard in visiting here.
Best BBQ I've ever had in Oregeon.
Baked beans, cornbread salad, pear slaw... It's all awesome. We cold actually smell the joint before we could see it.
Everything is made in house, using simple ingredients.
We live in Sherwood (South of Portland) and we would drive to Parkdale, just to eat at AV BBQ.
So the comparison to Podnah's pit is more then a little overblown. However, this doesn't mean that this isn't a BBQ joint far above the majority of places in Oregon. Caveat: I've only gone this one time but the rest is my opinion of it.
Darling and I ordered the barbecue dinner plate and half rack of smoked pork ribs respectively. Between them we got to try the ribs and the pulled pork. The smoked pulled pork is above average and the ribs were good and not overdone. They were however very smoky flavored so if that's not your thing, don't get them. Amusingly, the part that takes the place from a 3.5 to 4 are the really tasty sides. We had the pear coleslaw, the cornbread salad, and the spicy green beans and they were far above traditional barbecue sides. The pear coleslaw in particular needs to highlighted, as its an addition other places should look into copying. It's that good. The combination of these really tasty sides with the above average meat at reasonable prices makes me hardily suggest coming here if you're heading up the gorge or out to Mt. Hood.
We took my dad on the Mt. Hood Railroad trip back in August and saw this BBQ place when we were walking around town. We instantly made a note to come back over here to try them.
Glad we did, we piled into the car and over the mountain we went. They have an easy to get to location, if you are headed to Lost Lake, this place is right on the way. The waitress greeted us right away, there were only two other people in there.
I was a little disappointed to see a very limited menu at first. You were either going to get pork or chicken if you wanted BBQ. I am not a fan of the pulled pork but decided not to be too picky about it, this after all was for Yelp research, right?
We started out with an order of wings, they were the run of the mill standard wing, fried, hot sauce poured on. The waitress kept coming to check on us and kept the refills coming. The food came up quickly and we all took bites off the side dishes, since the lunch plate was pretty standard with pork ribs and pulled pork. I had the corn salad and I could have just had a giant bowl of that. It was basically cornbread, very moist, mixed with red peppers and onion. It had such an addicting quality to it, I am glad they are not up the street from me. I was thinking smashed up hush puppies almost.
I have never finished eating pulled pork, but this time I was temped to lick the plate it came on. WOW who knew pulled pork could be that good and not choking dry. The ribs were not overly pork-ish as some can get, they had a good smokey flavor and I didn't use any BBQ sauce they were so good.
The waitress was very cool about dessert because when I asked about the bread pudding, I wanted it cold and she said it was normally hot, but she would be happy to pull some from the fridge and not heat it up for me. Everybody was happy with the pie choices, which were apple and bumbleberry.
I would say if you are on the way to Hood River, or heading to Parkdale for any reason, this place is a safe BBQ bet.
Parkdale is an idyllic little hamlet nestled on Mount Hood's verdant north slope. Apparently I'm not the only one to have noticed this because the 5 or so businesses that engage in service have really spruced up over the past couple of years. I think I've driven by Apple Valley in the past and felt that there was something culturally wrong about a bar-b-que joint in rural Oregon. However, this time an emergency forced me to overcome my prejudice, and I consider it a serendipitous fluke.
The prices are reasonable, bordering on cheap,the ambience is country kitsch, minus the clutter and dust, and the service is sweet, but professional. The food, it hits some and misses others. We had the smoked prime rib with salad, baked beans, and garlic mashed potatoes and the roasted chicken with habañero peach sauce, pear coleslaw, and spicy green beans. The sides were great. The baked beans may have started life in a can, but if they did they bore little resemblance to their tinny, cloying selves by the time they made it to the plate.
The meats weren't exemplary, but they weren't offensive either. The prime rib was less than absolutely tender and lacked the advertised smokiness. The accompanying demi glace (starch thickened? house made? I have no idea. What is demi glace doing in Parkdale anyway? maybe it's gravy) and horseradish sauce helped a lot. The chicken also suffered from general neglect. Underseasoned, only lightly sauced (problematic in that it was advertised as jerked), and slightly tough. It was, however, a real half chicken and not the BSB (boneless, skinless breast) that I was half expecting.
I recommend Parkdale, and while you're there I recommend Apple Valley BBQ.
Opened in April 2011, the Apple Valley BBQ restaurant in Parkdale is owned by the same folks as the long lived Apple Valley Country Store in Hood River (on Tucker Road). Although the meat is smoked at the Hood River location (this I say from first hand experience having visited the Country Store on a day when that was happening :-) ), the BBQ is only served here at the Parkdale restaurant.
We stopped in for a first visit during late afternoon last week for a slice of delicious warm Bumbleberry pie as baked at the Apple Valley Country Store and served here.
We loved the sparkling and spacious interior (no "sardine can" seating here - woohoo), the outdoor tables on the front patio that took advantage of both shade and sun, the warm welcome we received and the very friendly service.
We don't eat meat very often but the aroma of smokey barbecue was intoxicating. So we took home a half rack of meaty, lean ribs which, along with the two sides of pear coleslaw, turned out to be plenty for two of lighter portion meat eaters to share. The tender meat was literally falling off the bone, although perhaps a little smokey for our preference. At only about $15 total, including the sides, we also thought this was a fair price.
We'll definitely stop at Apple Valley BBQ again. But this time we'll probably be more inclined to stay in our lane, which veers to vegetarian eating. Although this is a BBQ place, vegetarian eating seems easy to do here. Because in addition to the yummy pear coleslaw, there was a great sounding house-made veggie burger on the menu along with mac n cheese, spicy green beans, macaroni salad, cornbread and some green salads. For omnivores, meat options abound from meatloaf to burgers to ribs to pulled pork to chicken. So something on the menu for everyone to enjoy.
The menu also showed beer options and a few wines by bottle and glass from local vintners. (This MAY be the only restaurant in Parkdale to offer adult libations?) Among the wines were several from Hood River's Marchesi and Wy'East vineyards. From having had them before, we  can recommend them all; in particular the Italian varietals from Marchesi.
Open Wednesday - Sunday from 11am to 8pm, this restaurant serves lunch and dinner (dinner starts at 5pm). As you might imagine the place can be hoppin' for lunch on days the Hood River excursion train is running and drops off riders in Parkdale for an hour layover at just about 11:30. You might plan your visit with that in mind.
PS - Save room for the pie!
Note - If the train passengers have Apple Valley BBQ backed up, most  possible during the Fall season, another fun and good place only about 6 miles north, towards Hood River, is Sawtooth Roadhouse. <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/sawtooth-roadhouse-hood-river">http://www.yelp.com/biz/…</a>.
Okay, so I have just finished dinner at AVW BBQ and I have had to let a
few notches out of the old belt thanks to the AMAZING meal I just had at Apple Valley BBQ! Â What makes this place awesome is the simplicity of the menu and the care put into each of these simple items! Â Can't go wrong on the pulled pork, BBQ chicken....but the ribs with the spicy sauce won the day on the meats. Â
Let me close by telling you how much the side dishes actually rivaled the meat! Â You must try the spicy green beans, the baked beans and the pear slaw. Â It was from the overeating on the sides that has made my gastronomic chambers stretch to capacity.
It is the locals who keep this place open I learned tonight, but if you're a tourist visiting Hood River or a skier on the way up or back from Mt. Hood, sneak your ass in here and act and the eat like a local! Â Bottom-line, Apple Valley BBQ rivals Pod'nahs now for the best BBQ in the state of Oregon right now.
A solid 3.5 stars for Apple Valley Westside BBQ, but I'm rounding up since Yelp doesn't officially let me give "half stars."
Food: 4 stars
Cost: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 2.5 stars
Service: 4 stars
I took the Mount Hood Railroad to Parkdale and knew Apple Valley Westside BBQ was in town. I'm not sure why my fellow travelers opted for train food rather than local flavor but their loss. As soon as I hot off the train I could smell the pit going and I followed my nose to Apple Valley. I took a peak around the corner at the smoker (just to make sure it SW the real thing) and then headed inside. Much to my delight this place was empty. I was immediately greeted with a friendly hotel. The server was able to answer all of my questions about the menu and was fast to delivery my soda and lunch to the table (as she should have been with only about six other patrons in there). The BBQ was good but the real star of my basket was the coleslaw! I was expecting ordinary coleslaw but Apple Valley's had pears in it and it was delicious! I know pears in coleslaw sounds kind of odd, but it works, and well.
If you are taking the train to Parkdale, skip the train lunch and head over to Apple Valley for their delicious coleslaw and BBQ.
The only pure BBQ joint that I know of in the Hood River Valley, I was excited to check it out for lunch before I did a hike in the area.
I chose the bbq plate so I could try both the ribs and the pulled pork. Â Im usually a pulled pork person, and it was good, but not amazing in my book. Â I actually enjoyed the ribs more. Â They were not fall off the bone, but still very tendor and had a good flavor. Â With the plate you could choose two sides from a list that included pear coleslaw, cornbread salad, cornbread, fries, seasoned green beans, baked beans, & macaroni salad.
You pretty much must save room for pie or cobbler. Â They are the delicious pies from the Apple Valley store and are fresh and amazing. Â The crust is delicate and fantastic.
I would still like to check it out for dinner or on a Fri/Sat night for the smoked prime rib.
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