Famous Dave's

This place is quite a bit smaller than most Famous Dave's, and is located in the end of the Normandale Village strip mall. I only came in for a beer waiting for my buddy to get off work from the Wells Fargo across the way. The bartender was nice and polite, but I didn't really try the food there either. I'll probably come back again sometime because it is pretty much the only bar/restaurant within a mile and a half of my friend's apartment.

We used to love Famous Dave's. We usually go to the Linden Hills location which is always very good. Now I'm thinking we are done with FD. their Full Rib platter keeps going up in price. was $19.99, then $20.99, then $21.49, the $22.49, now last time it was $25!!! Ribs are a cheap quality of meat, which is why they slow cook them for hours. I can get a good Ribeye or even a filet or prime rib at other restaurants for $20-$25. I make better pulled pork in my crock pot for cheap.

This last visit at this (Bloomington) Famous Daves on W 98th street Dec 2012. (yes this address is in Bloomington, not Mpls) anyhow. last visit price was $25 for the full rack platter. the ribs were the worst ribs we've ever had - Anywhere. there was very little meat. the outside of the ribs meat seemed old like they've been sitting. they were too dry. and there was also some odd extra bone or whatever in what is usually the most meaty part of the bones. and it was along the whole rack. it was the worse rack of Ribs I've had ANYWHERE.
also later in the evening we realized they never gave us the corn you usually get with it. just some fries (which seemed like a smaller portion than usual) and a cb muffin and drunkin apples.  For the Money, even if we got GREAT rack of ribs, they are just getting too expensive for what they are. a cheap cut of meat. unless they have a $10 coupon or something and even then we will not go back to this Bloomington location. the Ribs at the Bloomington location never as good as other locations. this last time they were horrible.

I've been to this location three times now, each time with a large group of people. While the host will frequently give us a little bit of an issue when we try to reserve a spot for our group in advance (their policy is no reservations), they always accommodate us. The service is generally friendly and mostly attentive. For that part I give them 4 stars.

The food, however, gets 3 stars. It's funny since most chains are consistent when it comes to their food. However, almost every time I'm here the ribs are just too salty - once it was nearly inedible. Considering how infrequently I get to enjoy Famous Dave's, I'm always very excited for the opportunity. Unfortunately, this is almost always a disappointment.

I'm rounding down the 3.5 average.