JD's Smokin' Grille and Bar

Found this place getting hungry as we drove west on 86.  Easy on and off the freeway to interesting food with great service.  I'm a San Franciscan and very picky about my food.  The wings were great, Red Neck Rolls were great and the ribs were good, a touch dry, but still very good.  Side of corn sucked, besides that, very happy with the meal and service, good find.

My husband and I drove 40 minutes to JD's last night.  We both ordered sampler platters and found them both to be oustanding.  The service was good and we liked the atmosphere.  We will definitely be going back.  P.S.  the pulled pork was, indeed, awesome.

The Southern Tier's all abuzz with tales of this new barbecue joint in Hinsdale at the site of the old "The Hut" restaurant. I went with some friends on Friday night to find NASCAR Nation descending on this place during the busy dinner hour.

Would the hype be justified? Would the 30 minute wait for a table be worth it? Can a first rate bbq place really exist and, more importantly, even survive in this economically ravaged, notoriously under-tipping corner of New York State (where patrons have actually been known to leave religious tracts instead of tips for the presumably heathen waitstaff)?

Well, after just one visit - I would say the jury's still out. And my 3 star rating is provisional. I had been told by a friend that the pulled pork burger was outstanding, but I went for the sampler platter instead. Here's my take: the brisket was outstanding - maybe the best I've had (not at all dry with just enough grizzle), the chicken was adequate, and the ribs were, I'm sorry to say, weak. Maybe it was because they were swamped. Or maybe it was because they feature non-fall-off-the-bone, smaller ribs - but these were not Dinosaur/Kentucky Greg's quality. The cornbread with maple butter was pretty good, and I was intrigued by the chicken fried steak (next visit). No liquor license yet.

Good luck JD. I want nothing more than for you to iron out the kinks and succeed - thereby contributing some much needed southern-style flavor to the restaurant-starved (pun intended) wasteland that is the Southern Tier of Western New York.