Billy Bob's Bar & Grill

A friend of ours suggested we stop here on the way out of Minocqua.  It was a bit out of the way (even for the Northwoods) but worth the visit.  Everything seemed to be homemade.  The fries had the skins on.  The Sunday fried-chicken special was outstanding.  The chili was just like my mom's.  We did get that "your not from around here" look when we walked in, but we really weren't from around there.  We were the only people without Packer's attire on.  This place is good...for the Northwoods its great!  I will definitely stop back when I am up that direction again.

We have been to Billy Bobs several times for drinks and/or food. Normally We order a salad because they were huge and good or so we thought. the last time we were in there my mom and I ordered salads which we were looking forward to all day and what came out on the plate was disgusting. The lettuce (if you can even call it lettuce) was brown around the edges and it felt more like a peice of fabric than a nice peice of crunchy lettuce. The mushrooms were turning brown and tasted like they were dipped in a bath of chemicals along with some of the not so fresh vegetables! So when the bartender/waitress came to ask how things were we told her about the things listed above and her response was "well that's how our produce comes in and that's how the mushrooms taste when they come in." So we sent the salad back with maybe a few bites taken out and we were still charged full price!! We were so angry! If there produce comes in like that and they are willing to serve it then what else are they willing to serve that shouldn't be. We have not been back since and don't plan on it!!

For the area, Billy Bob's has some of the better food around - granted, the Northwoods is by no means known for fresh ingredients, innovative food, or even utilizing salt appropriately so that's worth a little but certainly doesn't make it great.  Sysco rules most Northwoods restaurants, although Billy Bob's does appear to cook many dishes from scratch and even makes their own fries so at least they try.

Unfortunately, the food is still hit or miss at Billy Bob's - the pulled pork "po-boy" is a stringy mush of pork which is eminently forgettable.  The pizza always looks good and some of the sandwich specials such as beef with blue cheese & onions have been good but in general the food is average or maybe a little better - the place is always packed however so that is usually a good sign as long as they can handle the crowds.  Service, unfortunately, is generally below par and it turns out they apparently can't handle the crowds so if you see a full parking lot I would recommend that you keep on driving if you're remotely hungry at that moment.

On my first visit service in a fairly empty restaurant was quite slow but friendly enough and at the low end of the acceptable range.  My second visit was sitting at the bar when the restaurant was virtually empty and the food was slower than I would have expected but fine because I know they're actually making food rather than just throwing stuff in a microwave.  On my third visit during a somewhat busy lunch (about two thirds of the tables were full), our server was horrible and the wait times were ridiculous - we placed an order 10 minutes after sitting down, then waited 30 minutes for our cheese curd appetizer to come out and another 30 minutes after that for our sandwiches to be served (while we even saw some people who were seated just before or even after us being served, eating, paying, and leaving ).  We also overheard the waitress complain to the bartender (who I believe is also an owner) after 45 minutes about the slowness at which point the bartender loudly berated the server and told her that "it's not fast food" and "let them wait".  Honestly, the server let us sit there with empty glasses for 5-10 minutes at a time and studiously avoided eye contact for the first 45 minutes so she did an overall poor job and I suspect the food delay (due to a "mixup in the kitchen") was her fault but at least after we asked about our food she finally tried to do something about it.  If the bartender/owner feels it is acceptable for an Italian Beef and a Chicken Sandwich to take 60 minutes to be served (and this number is not exaggerated, at all) then apparently there is a major issue at Billy Bob's that will never be fixed.

There aren't a ton of options in the area, but I still don't have any expectation of returning to Billy Bob's after multiple visits with average to marginal experiences.  And based on their attitude it appears they are fine with that - if they're making money and have a full parking lot much of the time then it's certainly their prerogative to turn away business.  For their sake, I hope their business continues to be successful but I certainly won't recommend Billy Bob's to anyone based on my experiences.