What can I say? I've been a patron for years, and I try to go once a week. I've had several birthdays, and most celebrations really, at the original Marlborough location.
Great BBQ and great comfort food in general... A great variety of sauces and styles. I'm partial to a Memphis-style pulled pork platter with a side of mac 'n cheese and and sweet potato pecan pudding. I'd also recommend the pork'd mac 'n cheese, the fried pickles, and pork nachos.
That said, they've gone down hill recently. They dropped Coca Cola for Pepsi, lowered the portions on their platters several times while raising the price, changed some appetizer recipes, and have started playing weird reggae music instead of the classic rock/country they used to. Coupled with the fact that the other two locations, I'm worried for their future.
1) Order the sweet potato pecan pudding!
2) Do the wing challenge!
These guys catered for a work event my company threw a while back. Â The coworkers and I thought the ribs were really dry, but since it was a larger outdoor event instead of ordering fresh in the restaurant I didn't hold it against them. Â I wanted to reserve judgment until I tried the food in house. Â
I came in on a weeknight and ate with my gf who lives nearby. Â There were a fair amount of customers but it wasn't packed to the point of chaos. Â The servers were really nice and attentive.
I had the fried chicken dinner and she had the pulled pork. Â Both the chicken and pork were insanely dry and disappointing. Â Just cutting into the chicken was a difficult task. Â I took two bites and gave up. Â My gf nibbled on the pork a bit but ended up just leaving it. Â
I wish I was better at writing because the words here can't even begin to express how dry the meat was. Â I've had store bought microwaved dinners that have come out better than this. Â I'm not a very picky eater. Â When I'm hungry and faced with not so great food I usually just shrug it off and eat it anyways. Â Their fried chicken was so dry I just couldn't do it. Â
There was a really awkward moment at the end when the server realized neither of us ate any of our food. Â She stared at our plates and looked puzzled like she kind of wanted to ask if anything was wrong with it. She asked if we wanted it boxed up to go and I almost told her not to bother, but she was really nice so I didn't want to be too much of a jerk. Â We boxed it up and I just threw it all out and stopped at a fast food joint on the way home. Â Such a waste of $45(we had drinks too).
I'll throw in a star for the servers being nice but I can't see myself coming back anytime soon.
Very inconsistent. Sometimes the food is great, sometimes it's really weak. There's not alot of BBQ places around so I end up goign here alot anyways though.
The problem is I never know what I'm gonna get when I order.
Sometimes I get the fried chicken and it's perfectly crispy and juicy and sometimes it's have soggy breading a dry chicken.
Sometimes the mac and cheese will be gooey with a nice crust, sometimes it's be watery and unpleasant.
Sometimes the nachos will be loaded with stuff with cheese on every chip, sometimes it's badly put together with hardly any cheese at all.
Sometimes the ribs are big and juicy, sometimes they're tiny and overcooked.
I have rarely had anything there that was amazing or bad every time.
There are just two exceptions. Their pizza is great with the royale with cheese pizza being one of the better cheeseburger pizzas I've had.
The actual burgers though are always underwhelming and one time I ordered i medium rare and got it burnt to a crisp. I sent it back and the next one was better (though not great) but now they had burned the bacon to a crisp. I'm just not gonna get burgers there anymore I guess.
When the food is good, it's a very good place and the service is quite nice as well. It's just overall I wish it was consistent which is one of the keys to a truly great restaurant.
(EDIT: Â Since I wrote this, I did finally hear back from Steve, and got a very generous gift certificate, as promised. Â It is against Yelp rules for me to comment on comped dinners, though, of course. Â I will pop in again, on my own dime, sometime in the future and see if things have changed for the better.)
Steve, the owner, contacted me saying he "was back", as I pleaded, and offered a comp dinner if I emailed him. Â I did so, and never heard back. Â
I've been three times since then. Â On the first visit the aforementioned mac & cheese was still horrendously overcooked and underflavored. Â The next time, at the buffet, it was perfect, and Steve was wandering around the dining room. Â I assume he made it. Â The final time, it was meh. Â Not horrible, like a few previous times, but not like it was when Steve was in the building. Â Other offerings lacked consistency, as well, so I can't offer any more stars. Â I got a huge gift certificate for Christmas, so they pretty much have one more chance before the free dining runs out. I'm going to have to be very impressed for anything to change, including my rating. Â So sad to think this used to be a solid 5 star place, for years before I started yelping.
Love Firefly's.  Have been coming here for years (either Marlboro or the now closed Framingham location), and have had them cater my husband's 30th birthday party at our house.  All great experiences.  Best BBQ in Metrowest!  Last night, had the beef brisket, along with the fried dill pickles, and  candied bacon appetizer shared with my group of friends.  Mouths watered and plates were cleared.  Great beer menu.  Chocolate waffles for dessert - delicious!
Attentive waitstaff and a friendly owner who visited all the tables to make sure he had happy customers.
Nice touch: Complimentary valet parking! Â See you soon, Firefly's!
This review is negative, but it should be noted that it's very specific to their dessert item availability.
I enjoy the banana bread pudding at Firefly's. That's why I go there. I had a foodie friend in from out of town, and I hyped her up about it. We went and sat down. We were told that "you're lucky, we've just got two left." Okay, we'll take 'em! She comes back a moment later to tell us that "I'm sorry, it turns out that we don't have any after all." We leave sadly.
The next day, the last day of my friend's visit, we return. This time we're told that there isn't any because the manager who came up with the recipe left the company, or something to that effect. "So, we haven't been making it." What?? One guy was responsible for making a menu item?
We left again and my friend is legitimately saddened because she won't get to try the banana bread pudding. We wasted a decent amount of time and gas for a menu item that is frequently just not there. This was in fact the third time I've gone there for the pudding and found that they just didn't have it.
Disclaimer: This review isn't even about the food because I refused to stay in the restaurant long enough to try it.
When Firefly's had a location in Quincy, I went a few times and was pleased with the food, so the location and its reputation had stuck with me. I am now in the middle of planning a private event with a bbq menu and thought Firefly's would be perfect as they had the space and of course, the menu. I emailed a few times this past week with Renee, the catering assistant, and she sent me great information, but I wanted to check out the Marlborough location before booking since I had never been there before. I asked her if there was anyone I should get in touch with when I visited this weekend and she said Melissa, the general manager would be in today.
We arrived around 4:30 and the restaurant didn't seem terribly busy. I asked the hostess to speak with Melissa and after explaining the chain of events (planning a private event, been in talks with Renee, was told to ask for Melissa), the hostess went to get her. When Melissa arrived at the front, she looked visibly annoyed and did not even greet me. *I* had to extend my hand and introduce myself and explain again why I was there. She very reluctantly shook my hand and after hearing Renee's name said, "You talked to RENEE," as if she had no reason to talk to me given that I had already talked to another member of Firefly's staff. She then sharply told me that she "was in the middle of a meeting right now and [the hostess] could show me the space" before turning and leaving.
At this point I was quite taken aback by what, to me, felt like blatant disrespect. I recognize that Renee may not have told you to expect me or your hostess may not have explained what I told her, but I was very open about why I was visiting and was nothing but polite, even after being given the once-over (rude) and was not asked how I could be helped today. The hostess brought us into the private space and explained the features and capacity of the room before turning and leaving herself, so now we were alone in the room with no one to answer any questions we had.
We stood for a few minutes trying to move past the interaction and discuss if the space would work for our event and in that time, Melissa walked into the space, past us and toward her staff seated in the back hallway, said something to them and then turned back to us. We made eye contact with each other and she continued to walk out of the room and over to the bar where she stopped, in view, to speak with the bartender. This was the last straw for us and we promptly turned to leave, crossing the venue off our list of options.
I am honestly APALLED at how we were treated. Without knowing how large our intended party is or what catering package we were considering, Melissa literally let thousands of dollars of revenue walk out the door and hopefully this Yelp review adds to it. Whether or not you were expecting someone to ask for you by name tonight, as a general manager in a customer-service driven business, SMILING and asking "How can I help you today?" would've gone a LONG way -- not to mention that a meeting at 4:30 on a Saturday afternoon (arguably just before your biggest meal of the week) seemed a little fishy. I'd believe it (because I don't know everything about the restaurant business, of course), but when she walked past us again to speak with the staff and then ignored us to go lean over the bar and have another conversation, that was inexcusable. If she had apologized for not being able to speak with us directly or had explained her meeting would be over in X minutes if we had any questions, I wouldn't be writing this review. I have literally never been so disgusted with a restaurant's customer service in my life.
I came back to update this even though my original post was quite a few months ago. Â The manager did send me a gift certificate that we used for dessert on another visit, but that's not why I'm changing my rating. Â We have been back to Firefly's quite a few times since my last review, as it's one of my husband's favorite restaurants. Â
Generally the food is good (I get the southern tacos every time and I love them, my husband likes the ribs and brisket, and my kids like the waffles and mac and cheese but LOATHE the smiley fries). Â While sometimes the service is slow, the servers always seem to be working hard.
My tip for everyone who mentions this restaurant is this: always ask for a booth or a table up against the wall. Â Something about the set-up of the dining room means that there are a bunch of 4-top tables lined up down the main walkway of the restaurant. Â If you are seated at one of these you will be bumped into and tripped over for your whole meal. Â It's really uncomfortable while I don't know a good resolution- I think the room just isn't wide enough for the tables it need to fit. Â I would still caution any first-time diner to make sure they're NOT seated at one of these tables!
Anyway. Â I have never again had a bad experience like I posted about earlier this year, and we do frequent Firefly's. Â We don't regret it ;)
Firefly's is a local favorite for BBQ. Â You can go there and get all your favorites (ribs, pulled pork, chicken, brisket, the list goes on). Â There menu is very large, but I usually go with a huge group and we end up getting the picnic baskets. Â The picnic baskets come with a combination of all things BBQ, and it is delicious.
I am a huge BBQ fan, and I must say it is not the best BBQ I have ever had, but it is a very good option (only option) in the greater Boston area. Â They participate in BBQ cook offs, and have won quite a few awards.
With 4 main sauces, and a wall of hot sauce, they do not disappoint in flavor and options. Â A nice cold bar adds some fillers and sides. Â The cornbread is actually some of my favorite too.
Service is always pretty good.  Beer is always cold  and refilled when needed, and soda refills are never a problem. Â
I would certainly recommend eating here on any night, but you will over order, no matter what you do!
I have mixed feelings on this place. I've had really great experiences, but also really mediocre visits. Considering I almost always order the same thing (pulled pork sandwich with mac and cheese), it's kind of weird to have such a varied experience.
Sometimes the food is awesome- well seasoned, cooked to perfection, and a good selection of sauce to top your entree with. Other times, it's not- the food is bland, cooked poorly, and the sauce is lacking. Not sure why there's such a difference in quality.
The service (well, delivery of the food) tends to be a little on the slow side, but nothing outrageous. Sitting outside on the deck is a must in the warmer months. Their drink selection isn't bad, though I always find the beer a little warm. We've gone for trivia, as well, and that is well run and fun.
I'll probably keep giving them more chances because the food is never out and out bad, but I wish the quality was more consistent.
I like Fireflys' the service is good and friendly. Â The atmosphere is fun and the food is good. Â I have had the ribs (of course) and they are always tender, juicy and full of flavor. Â The chicken and waffles are tasty and the homemade sauces are good as well. Â
It's usually crowded so expect a wait
Sadly, this great BBQ joint has gone way downhill over the past couple years. Not only have they strayed away from a BBQ focus, the quality of the food is now consistently poor. I have been here dozens of times over the past many years and always left happy. But not lately. There are now major flaws regularly. Pulled pork, a staple here, is now consistently dry or has chunks of fat or not very pulled. Mashed potatoes even were hardly mashed and the huge chunks inside were hard and not cooked. My wife's plastic soda cup was dirty. Have tried many times to give another chance but cannot anymore. Once a five star, now a one. I wish it weren't so.
Review Source:OK, I've reached the end of the road with regards to dining at Firefly's. Â 3 consecutive sub-par performances, and the last visit was the crowning (drowning) achievement.
So let me begin with the first 2 visits... Â Visit 1, the fried chicken tasted like fish, and were clearly cooked in old, fishy oil shared with seafood items. Â The ribs were also horrible that day, chewy and dry, and all 4 diners complained immediately. Â No big deal, a one time occurrence, right?
Visit 2... Â tried the buffet. Food was buffet quality, nothing special. Â The fried chicken, however, another story. Â People were complaining there was no white meat chicken on the buffet, so the waiter went back to check the status. Â He returned to tell us that there would be no white meat on the buffet, and if we wanted it we would have to order the fried chicken meal, as there was an apparent "shortage" in the kitchen. Â Not a huge deal, but a bit aggravating...
Visit 3... Â we noticed they changed the menu. Â Weren't thrilled, as my wife typically got the grilled chicken sandwich, which no longer exists? Â Instead she got a burger, which was overcooked and generally BLEH. Â I, silly i know, ordered the fried chicken dinner. Â With all white meat, comes in just under $20. Â Seems steep, but if its good then so-be-it. Â I get the chicken, and was horrified to see I had ONE chicken breast, cut into 2 small pieces, and 2 wings. Â Are you kidding me?! Â Whatever though, 3 strikes we are clearly done with this place, right? Â So I eat the first piece of chicken when I notice a 6"+ black hair on my food. Â Right on the chicken... Â The waitress is called over and to her credit was extremely apologetic, Â The manager then came over and did a nice job of comp'ing the meal, and again apologized for the mishap.
Bottom line, this place is overpriced, and generally has gone downhill steadily over the past 2-3 years. Â We used to enjoy coming here (and to Framingham) frequently, but this was the last straw. Â
One more thing.. that new mac & cheese? Â Revolting. Â If it isn't broken, don't fix it.
I've been here a few times now (I try not to review a place after just one visit). Â Each time it's been really good. Â I hit Firefly's when I'm in the area and Labareda's is closed. Â (Labareda's isn't exactly the same but is a DELICIOUS and inexpensive stop for a carnivore!)
Anywho - the food is great at Firefly's! Â The fried chicken, ribs, pulled pork - YUM! Â Could eat it all day long. Â The cornbread was really good, moist and delicious. I'm a carb guy - the mac n cheese was pretty darn good (not the best I've had but far better than a lot of restaurants I've been to and the potatoes (though they looked funky) were really tasty. Â The sausage was a bit dry but I guess it happens! Â We were all too full for dessert though they sounded great.
The downsides (not huge ones, but). Â A couple of times they've run out of certain meats - but I go there towards the end of the night so I really can't complain. Â They're kitchen is open later than most places, and I'm sure they have to throw everything out at the end of the night, so I don't blame them for not starting a new brisket an hour before they close. Â They have plenty of choices, just don't have your heart set on 1 thing and stroll in an hour before closing.
The service is a tad bit spotty. Â Friendly, but spotty. Â Hard to get refills, got the famous 'here's your check' and then everyone disappears (hate that! lol). Â It seemed everyone working there was quite young, which is fine. Â But perhaps they need some experienced management? Â The bartender was super friendly / helpful.
Anyways, the service was acceptable overall (nothing really egregious), the food is fantastic, the hours are great and the atmosphere is your typical franchise-nice. Â Thus the 4 star rating!
Hard one to nail down a rating for, but in the end, just A-OK.
I went here for a ladies' night out get together with some friends. A couple of us got there pretty early and took up a table in the bar for a long while while drinking Diet Pepsis without being hassled, but it did take almost a half hour for someone to come take an order for nachos. We also put our name in for a table about 45 min before we were looking to sit down, and it's a good thing we did since it was over an hour 15 before they had a table for us, which just seems out of control on a Thursday evening in the burbs.
The nachos we had in the bar were definitely yummy, but I found the pulled pork a little bland (I like it spicy). We had fried pickles for an app at the table, and they were just meh, I like the ones at Texas Roadhouse a lot better. I got jerk chicken, mac and cheese and green beans for dinner, and again, just meh. The jerk wasn't that spicy and my mac and cheese was tasty, but a little cold.
The star of the night, though, was our server, Matt. If this were just aabout him, 5 stars all the way. A friend is going through some rough stuff and spent a good chunk of the night filling us in on the deets, and he was just amazing. Funny and able to step in at just the right time, not to mention offered my friend a hug. He was an awesome server and deserves serious kudos for handling a rowdy group of women late into a Thursday night.
When it comes down to the food an overall experience though... 3 stars feels about right.
Very good!
The layout in the dining room is a little wonky -- the tables are a little close in places. Â It is very, very casual.
The barbecue is excellent. Â There is a bar with peppers and pickles that you can snack on before your order arrives -- a good place for a casual lunch or dinner.
They also have a good function room in the back, with pool tables and a bar window -- the company I work for had a meal there, and it was fun.
went there for many years until I move towards West.
Good memories but have to say it changed over the years in quality.
Sunday brunch was always awesome and great relaxing times hitting your BBQ spot.
Just noticed towards the end that the selection got somewhat smaller but offered new things here and there.
If I ever go back, I would check it out again (for the good old times)...
Very disappointing service & meal. Our waitress ignored us for 30 mins until we complained that no-one had taken our order. She was very apologetic afterwards but still, 30 mins???
The brisket was very dry and tasted like it had been reheated. Thank god for the amazing Memphis BBQ sauce to add some flavor.
They had a beer promoter there handing out free samples which was nice. The prices were very reasonable and I still left a good tip even though the service left a lot to be desired.
Piece of advice to the management - have someone working there who is a little older and more experienced.
I came here Sunday for brunch with my bf. Â I wasn't sure what to expect...
This brunch buffet was amazing!! Â I mean eggs, ribs, buffalo chicken wings and red velvet cake - insanity!
Even though it was served buffet style it still had good taste and was up to the good quality Firefly's always serves.
The price to me seems very cheap for what they serve - $15.99. Â I think I may have turned my bf from his favorite Chinese buffet to wanting to come here. Â Although, I wouldn't recommend coming here to often - we would all blow up!!
Firefly's catered our May 2011 wedding and it was PERFECT! We knew we didn't want the dried out chicken or steak option. So Firefly's came out with their smoker and made our food on site (the delicious smell of BBQ was everywhere!).
The cost (a TON of food, seriously enough for 300 people for a 110 person wedding, plus appetizers for the cocktail hour) was unbelievable - about $40/per person. Everyone was able to have seconds and thirds! The food was fresh, delicious, and our guests LOVED it.. They are still talking about it actually.
I highly recommend working with Firefly's. Kerri at the Marlborough office was a pleasure to work with. The contracting and payment schedule was easy and entirely reasonable.
Coming from Memphis...I know my BBQ. Â And as for New England BBQ, this place has some.
Now, I'm going to start off saying I only go for one thing. Â That's the All You Can Eat Sunday Brunch Buffet!
When I say it's all you can eat...I promise you I don't eat anything else the rest of the day!
How can you go wrong when you're eating Ribs, Chicken, Pulled Pork, Mac and Cheese, Bisquits and Gravy, Bacon, Catfish, Baked Beans, Cole Slaw...and then the desserts that are there after.
My kids love the BBQ, but love that they can get waffles and pancakes as well.
I love to take the bacon and crumble it into that creamy dreamy mac and cheese. Â Then take that with my Pulled Pork. Â It's a little bit of heaven in my mouth!
Then, those Bisquits and Gravey....it's almost as good as my grandma used to make in Kentucky. Â (looking up) I said ALMOST MiMi! Â
I haven't ever eaten there for anything else, so I can't comment on the club side...or what it's like to eat off the menu.
But we make it a trip to go there once and awhile for this buffet.
And for 15 bucks, it's a VERY good deal as you can get WAY more than 15 dollars worth of BBQ off that Buffet!
1st time at FF's, not 1st time eating it because they catered my brother-in-law's 40th b-day. However I'm only rating going there.
6 of us, 4 adults, 2 kids (3&5). We are seated at a table 3 chairs corner booth. My wife and I took the chairs on the same side. That was a mistake, every time someone walked by we at least 1 of us were clipped. This is because the table right behind us was a 4 top in a place where a 2 top would fit.
My 1st time, got the spiel about free app type veggies around the corner and bbq sauces. Ordered a Stella. Wife's lemonade (order of ingredient: ice, water, sugar, lemon.)
Lets talk menu, not only BBQ but southern cooking. My wife and I never went because she's not big on the BBQ, but there was a large section of other southern fav's like hush puppies, and catfish Po' boy's and fried chicken, waffles, and other non BBQ good eats.
I got hush puppies and the catfish Po' boy, others at the table got fried chicken, rack of ribs, the kids got chicken tenders and waffles most meals came with home made potato chips.
I could of got my Po boy with sides but I took it stand alone and asked to have it come out with my hush puppies. Not a problem.
Hush puppies were good, not great, but worth trying again, nothing overly wrong with them, but there also wasn't anything risky with them, in other words not really seasoned either. So good not great.
Po' boy, YUM! There was a time where my wife mentioned it looked like chicken, until I bit into a piece and showed the flaky fish inside the nuggets. YUM!
Other meals were great too. Fried chicken was moist and tasty, even got my wife an all white mean plate. Had a rib, and a piece of waffle and picked off others plates so much I only ate half my Po' boy and took the other half home.
Before leaving my wife and I got a slice of red velvet cake to go. When we got home I had the rest of my Po boy, still good. And when we had the cake the next night, it was still fresh, cream cheese based frosting, delicious.
So why 4 stars, not 5? A few things starters pricey, it's good but is it that good??? Also over crowed, too many seats for the space, really can't enjoy my meal being bumped into everytime the waitress walks by. There were a few minor hiccups along the way, but nothing worth really compiling about, just not perfect, 5 stars is perfect. But 4 is awfully close.
New "Southern Tapas" Menu! Â Great Idea. Â Crappy execution.
First, small plates should not be $5-$6 a piece. Â The idea of small plates is that you order a few and they add up to be a large plate. Â Higher end chains, like Sel de la Terre, do it better for less money.
Second, <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fimages%3Fq%3Dshort%2Brib%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft%3Aen-us%3AIE-SearchBox%26oe%3D%26um%3D1%26ie%3DUTF-8%26source%3Dog%26sa%3DN%26hl%3Den%26tab%3Dwi&s=915f98ad7151db2d54cf831945083a3d18bb06c27138700573094359fb751dad" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.google.com/im…</a>  Here's a link to images of short ribs.  A pile of meat that seems like brisket to me does not a short rib make.  It was somewhat tasty, but not very shortribesque.
With new less expensive quality barbeque competition in the neighborhood I was really looking forward to Firefly's stepping up it's game, but, eh.
I will say, though, that the crabcake was pretty excellent.
Also, despite the owner himself pitching in to deliver our food, they still forgot something for one of us entirely and had to be reminded more than 20 minutes later. Â Boo.
Buffet has grown worse over time, sacrificing quality. Â I will not be back. Â Â
Rib tips are literally the scraps from the meatier full sets of ribs. These are broken bones for the most part, with cartilidge and very little meat. Â I wouldn't feed these to my dog.
The other ribs they have on the bar are Arkansas style boneless. Â These aren't really ribs, as any true BBQ junkie would agree. Â
The pulled pork is good.
Jamacian jerk pork loin and Thai style chicken legs are not BBQ. Â What is BBQ is american dry rubs on chicken, pork and beef. Â No beef on the buffet at all.
Listen, we live in Massachusetts. If you're looking for real, down-home southern  bbq then get your lazy ass across the Mason-Dixon. Otherwise, enjoy what is likely as close as you'll get.
Bbq is one of the easiest foods to snark. it's Americana incarnate. Fireflies packs all the wallop you could hope for in a pulled pork sandwich, a Jamaican jerk chicken and signature ribs. OK, so the ribs may not be the best on the menu, but the rest is worth it.
Beers, recently, have been dropped as low as $2.50 a draft. Is there another way to eat this kind of food? Servers are hit or miss but the food is the attraction, not the needle-jerk hooker serving it to me.
Enjoy the outdoor seating in the summer, it's a slice of paradise in Marlboro.
I always see this restaurant on Phantom Gourmet and I live 15 minutes away from the place and still I always drive by there wondering what there food taste like. I promised myself that one of these times I would get there and try there famous BBQ and I finally got the chance a month back to savor there delicious BBQ. My fiance was shocked I had never been there, let alone tired there food.
So we drove over there and got there pulled chicken, Â free cornbread, baked beans, fried pickles, and bread pudding. One word...AMAZING!!!! The pulled chicken was literally falling apart as I was trying to eat it out of the sandwich and it was delicious! The fired pickles are addicting, so if your in the mood for a yummy snack I definitely recommend the fried pickles. Â Now everytime I get a craving for BBQ I know exactly where to go Firefly's. So go check them out, you won't be disappointed!
I've been a fan of Firefly's when it first open a few years ago. Â Today I was out with my girlfriend and we debating what to do for lunch being far from home. Â She was craving the Red Velet Cake and I've always had a good hearty meal so we pulled into Firefly's for some Southern BBQ. Â We made our way in and asked for a table for two. Â The hostess said, "Are you here for the buffet?" Â We said, "No, just regular lunch." Â Now, I have never been here for the Sunday Bunch Buffet and wasn't sure what it involved but we were showed it as we made our way to the table. Â Immediately we asked if it was too late change our mind and were told we could gladly help ourselves.
If you have never been to a Firefly's before this would be a great way to experience all of the choice meats they have without feeling restricted to one meal on any other day of the week. Â The buffett consists of St. Louis Ribs, BBQ Chicken, Fried Chicken, Pulled Pork Pulled Chicken, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Pudding, Beans, Cucumber Salad, Waffles, Omelettes, Red Velet Cake, Cornbread, Biscuits, Gravey, Bacon, Sausages, Ham and so much more. Â Be prepared to feel stuffed and get your hands all sticky. Â Quite honestly depending on how much you eat you'll probably not eat for the rest of the day. Â It's about 8:00 PM now and I haven't eaten since the 12:00 PM buffett.
It seems like a lot of people enjoy coming here because it offers so much at just $ 15.99/person. Â Not a bad deal if you ask me. Â Like any rule to a great buffet remember: come hungry!
Firefly catered the wedding that I shot yesterday. Â
Believe me when I tell you that by September I NEVER EVER EVER EVER want to see a chicken breast in a sauce with steamed veggies and some sort of starch product arranged artfully on a plate EVER EVER EVER AGAIN.
Ever.
So when the Firefly truck pulls up and the charcoal smell gets going, I know we're in for some good food. Â And meowza-- pulled pork sandwiches, barbecued chicken, mac and cheese, cornbread, sweet potato something, and a wetnap. Â Sign me the hell up.
I love it when people do something different with their wedding food. Â And I love barbecue. Â Heaven, I'm in heaven....now the DJ had best not play "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," or else.
I always get the same thing when I come here, so take my 4 stars with a grain of salt... Â Pulled chicken platter ROCKS! Â You get to pick your sides & I always pick the mac n cheese & the sweet potato 'pudding' (although it's not pudding..) Â They have a toppings bar, but I've never used it, so I'm not really sure what it's all about. Â They also have a giant spice rack on the wall of all kinds of hot sauces.
My 9 year old nephew always wants to go here whenever I take care of him, he says it's the best mac n cheese ever. Â I'm wondering if it's because of the smiley fries and giant cookie... but who knows.
Side note- the largest drinks around. Â The cups are huge! Â Also have a pretty nice pool room in the back. Â Can get pretty packed on Sat. nights, so plan accordingly.
Well the Taste Train certainly missed a stop.
I ate here with my sister last night. Our waitress, Jessica was fantastic, our food however, was not. My sis is a recovering vegetarian, she now eats fish. There were 2 items on the menu that she could eat. The one she picked was the Salsational salad with salmon. The salmon was so fishy smelling it was hard to get past the smell to actually taste it. Once she did, she sent it back as it wasn't any good. No discount off the entree for that either. Â
I ordered the pulled pork platter because I thought the sides sounded tasty so I wanted to get some sides instead of the straight up pulled pork sandwich. Big mistake on my part. The mac and cheese was more like mac and butter, no cheese flavor to be had. The grilled zucchini I was looking forward to, what taste it did have, tasted like chlorine, no nutty grilled zucchini fabulousness for me. The pulled pork was good, but nothing special, the 'texas toast' had no garlic flavor.
We also got the fried dill pickles, which were the reason we went here in the first place. Fried in a cornmeal breading, they were tasty, but alone, not worth coming back here. We each had a cocktail with the meal and the total bill came to about $46 (!) without tip. The food we ate was definitely not worth the price tag. Â I wouldn't go back based on my experience here.
Here's an idea, go to Fireflies in Marlboro for Brunch on a Sunday. Â You get tons of food to choose from, for a set price. Â If something doesn't grab you, get something else.
Then, go to the pool room, where you get to shoot pool for free until, I think , 5 PM. Â It's a great afternoon party! Â We held a joint Birthday Party last February, and had a rollicking time!
My sweetie is addicted to their Coca Cola Cake: Â trailer park cooking at its best!
Boston is not known as a BBQ town. Â Aside from a guy who sells BBQ
out of his backyard in Roxbury (I ain't revealing this one), this is about as good as it gets. Â Yeah, I love Redbones; but try getting in, why don'tcha. Â Actually, look at my Redbones review, for tips on getting in there, and timing their brisket perfectly.
One really negative note: Â We played pool there this August, and found
a legion of ants marching up to all the table surfaces, looking for food. Â Yikes!
I first met Steve Uliss when he was a Phantom Gourmet darling for Tennessee's a chain he later sold. Â {Note: if you buy a business get that 5 year non-compete clause Sparky}. When we moved to metro-west and were quite disappointed with Tennesee's, Steve had already sold, we discovered Firefly's (can't stress that non-compete stuff enough). For 3 years we were in BBQ heaven, they even opened a new store in Framingham that was also convenient to our locale. Then they added real Southern Fried chicken, woop! Â Steadily the quality began to slip. Dry ribs, fatty ribs and gasp, sometimes even chewy ribs! Nothing lasts forever.
things I still like:
* the catfish on a stick
* the sauces and the condiment bar in general
* the fried chicken
* the fried dill pickles
* outdoor sitting in the summer
* you can still catch a decent batch o' ribs but it's hit or miss. lately we have had better luck with Framingham store, my neighbor is a die hard, I've had FF's when at his house for parties.
Wow! The bbQ is SO yummie! I first tried it for Superbowl this year and I'm sad that I never tried it sooner!!
I love their fresh made loaded chips!!! The wings are SO delicious and taste right off the grill of your own backyard and the ribs are to DIE for! I have yet to try all of the sauces yet but I'm working on it!
(Just don't get their Red Velvet Cake, boo!)
I went to Firefly's after the Phantom Gourmet did one of their typical food porn segments on it. The cracklin' bread got me going especially...
So we made the trek out there. Meat lovers. STARVING. 4 of us.
The cracklin bread was just ok. The catfish was DELICIOUS.
The ribs - MEH! Dry! Tough! Not very savory. The sides were nothing special. The meal was much more expensive than it was worth.
I will not be going back - I can get far better BBQ and sides at Bob's Southern Bistro.