The BBQ here is pretty good. Â In fact, it's better than Bitter Root on several levels. Â My review below is for the bar solely.
It's great to have such an large whiskey selection in Ballard. Â It's a nice open space that lends itself to having a great time with a number of friends. Â We've done this on a number of occasions. However, there is something that ruins the experience every time.
Why is the bar a hangout for the restaurant staff? Â There must be some type of discount or "shift drink special" happening at the bar. Â At dinner shift change and then later at night when servers are cut, it becomes a staff hangout. Â They take up seats at the bar and converse with the bartenders. Â This distracts the bartenders from the bar patrons and the service well. Â It takes forever to drag the active staff member away from the off-duty crew drinking at the bar. Â
This is a general theme at KBWK. Â Staff members tend to chat among themselves instead of being attentive and providing that timely "first touch" that goes a long way. Â The customers are not your distractions. Â Your place of employment should not be treated like your basement just because you punched your timecard. Â Many restaurants have a "no drinking at your work establishment" rule to avoid this very problem. Â This is why you see team members from one restaurant all tend to drink together at another bar after their shift. Â Again, I'm not suggesting that there is anything wrong with workplace comradery. Â Just keep it professional and drink somewhere else.
We went here yesterday for the 4th and my hands still smell like BBQ sauce today! This food is yummy and the House sauce is great! I got the baby back ribs which are dry rubbed and smoked, but I doused them in sauce. I have no shame in potentially ruining the rub because it was delish! Â It was $18 for a half rack, which seems pretty average at BBQ places. But oh my gosh, the sides! The onions rings, the grit sticks, and the potato salad! The mac and cheese was kind of runny when I was expecting it to be crispy, so I didn't like that. Loved the flavors of the sauce and the food, however my ribs weren't the fall off the bone kind, so that was eh. I would definitely come back though!
Review Source:I hardly ever write yelp reviews. If I do it's because the place offers something that is either world class or god awful. Â And for the kickin' boot whiskey kitchen, I am writing to warn you that this is not a real BBQ joint, THERE IS NOT A REAL RESTAURANT SYLE KITCHEN HERE - don't expect good BBQ and other options.
Rather they receive all their food/meats pre-cooked, and they heat them up on site. That is why there is no smell of BBQ - there is no BBQ grilling going on here. You can see the highly cost effective mini kitchen on your right when you walk in. Unfortunately like most I didn't pay attention to this when I went in, instead looking straight ahead at the very nice looking bar area and the attractive female staff.
I ordered baby back ribs, one of my favorite dishes based on the waitresses recommendation that they do a great job on these and that the  meat is falling off the bone. Yeah right. The meat was not moist, not slow BBQ, at least anytime in the 12 hours before I ate it. It was surely delivered in a refridgeration  truck that morning or the day before, sitting in a fridge at the whiskey kitchen, and just heated up when I ordered it. the rest of the sides with my order were similarly blah and I have a hard time believing any of them were cooked on site. Same for my wife's meal.
This place does have a nice looking bar, and a long but not eclectic enough selection of whiskeys. But being scammed by the not cheap, crappy BBQ food really upsets me, especially when the waitress was either a willing participant or too dumb to know what real BBQ is.
The best pulled pork sandwich I've ever had in my life. Â YUUUUUUM
And then when you go try it and realize I'm right, send me a message and be like "Sara S. wow right on the money regarding the pulled pork sandwich" and I'll be like "Sweet, I agree - let's go get one together!" and then we'll become friends who text each other once in a while and get a meal here and there (not just pulled pork sandwiches) and then one of us will go through a hard time and the other person will be there, and our friendship will be immediately bumped to the next level and we'll be BEST FRIENDS FOREVER, too close to even write "bff" - we'll tell our friends and our family members This is our best friend, you better not say that about them!! and then they'll be like, Oh wow I'm sorry I didn't realize you guys were such good friends and we'll be like YEAH, leave them alone - they're my best friend forever.
And it all started with a Kickin' Boot pulled pork sandwich.
I REALLY want to like this place more, and we will go back, but... our first visit was somewhat of a mixed bag, with some good, some meh, but nothing really bad. It has the look and feel of a chain, but it's apparently a one-off. It's very nicely decorated, and we had VERY good service from Ari. I probably won't ever order a full BBQ dinner here. As you approach and go in, there is ZERO smell of "Q" (i.e., smoke). The one piece of "BBQed" meat that I did sample was a big chunk o' beef in my Bloody Mary. That meat was pretty flavorless, with no discernible smoke taste, but might not be a good sample of what they can do.
We went here b/c I was craving fried chicken, which was pretty good. The fries started out okay but got pretty limp as the meal progressed. The red beans and rice were fairly pedestrian but not bad. The Mac & Cheese was pretty good. And they make an absolutely AWESOME Mint Julep!! The bar is VERY impressive and their whiskey list is TOTALLY INSANE!! They do whiskey flights, which look quite interesting. We will definitely go back again, but probably for Happy Hour to sample more of their finger foods. Their onion rings looked good, and they have something that I L-O-V-E and is hard to find, smoked chicken wings. I make my own and they rock. I do want to sample their Q before I make a final judgement. But with places like Rainin Ribs & RoRo's around, it would have to be damn good for me to order it regularly. I will update the review after our next visit.
I've been here twice and have mixed feelings. It is a great space and although I would like to sit in the bar, both times have been relegated to the side dining room/deck area which would probably be great on a nice day, when they roll up all the windows, but on a rainy day just feels institutional. The service is very attentive and fast. On both visits, I almost felt rushed.
The food is pretty good, although I do prefer the bbq at bitterroot, around the corner. The chopped salad with smoked chicken would have been great, but it had so little chicken, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
The seafood gumbo was okay........not dark and rich like the gumbo I've had in New Orlean's, but it did have plenty of shrimp. Â Hubby had the smoked wings which were good. On our first visit we had ribs which were, like everything else, fine but not spectacular.
My biggest complaint is that it just feels a bit contrived and concept-y.
We came here on a Friday afternoon to celebrate friendship. The space was gorgeous, steel and glass and quite spacious. Â Our timing was perfect, no lines and seated outdoors once we got there. When we left, there were no open tables and the place was abuzz.
- we had the master platter which consisted of baby back ribs, hot links, pulled pork, beef brisket and fried chicken (we substituted for the bbq chicken). the fried chicken was excellent, crunchy and moist, bbq was ok.
- the platter came with two sides so since there were four of us, we got the yummy collard greens which was almost perfect, a-ok mac and cheese, fabulous grit sticks, and omg corn bread.
- we had the chocolate cake and sweet potato pie for dessert - eh, ok...
- libations were pretty good; I had the corpse reviver which had lillet which I love.
All in all it was okay but I would definitely come back again.
This past Friday myself and four others ventured in around 9 for some dinner I didn't have super high expectations because the reviews on Kickin' Boot are a bit scattered, but I was hungry enough that I just gave in and I am so glad I did!
I had a swell time here. The wait was about 30 minutes but the bar has full menu service so we checked that out and snagged a table right off, score! We were promptly visited by a server and ordered our drinks. I got a beer, my date a whiskey tasting set, and so on.
Food wise their bbq was excellent, we shared a platter which I think should have been larger for two but it was very yummy. My friends hamburger was ridiculously large!!! And the grit sticks we got were AMAZING! I am still thinking about them. The atmosphere is great, fun decor, clean etc. All round fun time. Yep I will be back!
The bbq is "ok", different from but on-par with Bitterroot down the street, which is also "ok".
The space they've built out is absolutely gorgeous.
The service is usually not bad unless you're at the bar when it's busy.
The atmosphere is often full of a-holes, and you certainly feel like you're in a corporate establishment for those that want to "feel" authentic.
This place, though "nice" has zero authenticity. The mere fact that there is Boraxo in the washrooms and a valet attendant at the door should be testament enough to that fact. For me at least, that sums Kickin Boot up.
I really wanted to like this place. Â A new hot spot in the Ballard area - a big BBQ joint is usually a first sign of "not the best BBQ"
I've been across the nation and perhaps I hold too high of standard when it comes to BBQ considering my standard is midwest BBQ (more specifically St. Louis wet rub).
A good sign of a good BBQ joint - are the smells. Â Walking into KBWK i couldn't taste the aroma. Â I didn't salivate. I didn't crave BBQ.
This is a dry rub BBQ joint, and slow smoked so the ribs aren't the stick to your ribs while falling off the bone style (which i love). Â The BBQ sauce was a little too tangy and the flavors didn't necessarily stick to the meat itself.
My friend and I shared the mixed platter:
Brisket - cooked well. not dried out. but not full of flavor either. dunking and drenching it in the selection of sauces on the table helped a bit but i'm picky and I like my brisket juicy and full of flavor and not needing additional sauce.
Hot links - tasted all the same as any other hot link. had a good amount of spice and bit to it but again, nothing to set it apart from any other link i've tried.
BBQ Chicken - cooked perfectly. Â Juicy, tender, no pink. Â This actually had a good amount of flavor as well. Â I was impressed.
Pulled Pork - same result at the brisket... okay in flavor and decent texture but still nothing that you would crave.
BBQ Pork Ribs - i'm a wet rub fall off the bone fan. Â This is dry rubbed, slow smoked. Â still lacking full BBQ flavor. Â You know its not that good when you don't want to lick your fingers afterwards - instead grab a wet nap and wipe it off.
The mac n cheese was cheesy... but a little too runny. Â Almost same taste and texture as a heavily cheesed Hamburger Helper taste. Â I highly doubt it was made from scratch.
The collard greens was disappointingly cooked in vinegar and oil... true southern style would have been pork fat and bacon bits!
There are many other places I would choose for BBQ before making a trek out to Ballard for some mediocre BBQ.
With a packed house its hard to find a table and its a free for all in the bar - gets a little too packed and you can find it hard to get consistent service. Â But overall - it's a good place to check out and hang out in Ballard. Â And a great place if your a fan of Whiskey as they have the largest selection I've ever seen - too bad i'm a Vodka fan :P
Good, solid BBQ. Â The sides are a star, though... mac n cheese = ooey, gooey, rich and creamy. Â Baked beans = packed with flavor, and meat! Â My mint julep was well crafted and served in a silver cup. Â
My main complaint is the noise level. Â The design and space make it difficult to hear dinner companions.
I'll head back sometime and look forward to trying whiskey flights!
Came because my boss recommended it (and was eating leftovers from here all week, which smelled amazing). The boyfriend and I went for happy hour, and had a great time.
The food was delicious and plenty filling (I had the mac and cheese, he had chicken and biscuits). The drinks were wonderful. My boyfriend's mint julep came in a metal cup with crushed ice and he hasn't stopped talking about it since. The happy hour prices were perfect. Our waitress was attentive and polite.
We want to go back for an evening date and have more fun trying different whiskeys. Ever since we went for Happy Hour I've been telling everyone to check it out.
The Kickin' Boot is more hype than follow-through. I'm a vegetarian so I can't really comment on the food. Although I've eaten a solid handful of things here over my many visits, the stuff I've had is more of what would be considered sides. I think I had some mac & cheese once but it was nowhere near the mac & cheese at 9 Million in Unmarked Bills. And we all know that BBQ is the thing here, so I won't comment.
No, I go here for the whiskey not the food. After all, it's a whiskey kitchen. The whisky selection is great and that's why it gets a two-star instead of a one. You can't knock a whiskey bar that requires a ladder to reach all the shelves. If you want to try something new, this is a place to go.
So why not rate it higher than two-star? Well: everything else at Kickin' Boot, if you start to look at it without the influence of its hype, is cheap and the crowd here is annoying. Among my list of downmarks: it's noisy, it's cold, it's uncomfortable, it smells. The soap in the bathroom is the powdered kind that reminds me of early elementary school. The place is loud and overcrowded. They could add some soundproofing or do something more to control the sound. The chairs and tables are pretty much cold and uncomfortable across the board, whether you're in the bar or sitting in the restaurant. Not to mention they are all uncomfortably cramped together. You are likely to be sitting at one table and feel like you are also sitting with another group. It's hard to wade through people depending on where you are sitting. If you come in with a laptop case or something (or heaven forbid you have a kid with a diaper bag and related) forget about finding a spot for the extra stuff unless you have an extra chair at your table, which you won't.
Bottom line, you won't want to just hang out in here. You'll think that you will want to sit there and spend some time to try out some whiskeys but you will get annoyed and want to leave.
If you want whiskey or scotch, check out some of the other places in the area. There's a great scotch bar down the street that has a much better experience if you like to take your time with some good choices.
Great building reclamation! Â Whomever did the design should get a prize as the place looks great and really creates a great atmosphere. Â The openness really goes a long way in allowing the natural light to doing it's thing. Â
We found the service less impressive. Â Our server certainly wasn't rude and was fine answering our questions, but there was just this "I don't give a !#%^ about you" overtone that came across and otherwise put a damper on things. Â There were also speed issues with extended waits to be initially greeted once sat, get the initial drink order in, get food ordered, etc. Â
Food was OK. Â Once you move off the meats and sauces parts of the menu, the rest were certainly not the best representative of southern cooking I've ever had. Â You shouldn't take a bite of your catfish, with it's too gritty and oddly seasoned cornmeal, and immediately change the table topic to "you know who has really good catfish....". Â Deep fried items, such as the onion rings, were good, but too flour-pasty mac & cheese, bland beans and rice, and salty collard greens seems to represent the rest of the menu.
So plan on hitting here when you're with your pulled-pork / brisket friends and have a need to really give those sauces a workout, washed down with a few whisky flights.
This place is pretty legit! I'd been hearing about it for awhile, but for whatever reason I haven't kicked it in Ballard in awhile. Finally made it in and will definitely be back. It's a great place with great decor and outdoor seating on the balcony which is perfect for those 2months of sun we get around here. They have a really large American whiskey selection, and a decent amount of Scotches as well. I wish they had more of the latter, but to be fair that's not their niche anyways. I didn't try any food, so I can't speak to that...
Review Source:Hmmm....I am not sure why I can't find a decent BBQ place in Ballard.  Kickin' Boot is a neat space with BBQ and steaks and plenty to drink, but even though Service was good, the food and drinks simply didn't impress.  I started off with an Old Fashioned.  Actually, they should have nailed this, but execution was flawed as the first few sips were warm!  The Maritime IPA aged in  bourbon barrels, however, was perfect, and the aging definitely helped to mellow out the hops while still retaining the great IPA style.,  We tried a trio sampler of BBQ meats (ribs, pulled pork, brisket), which were decent but not stellar.  Next time, I may try a steak, but then you're paying $32-$48.  Overall, I feel that there is much potential, but execution is still off.
Review Source:I had high hopes for this place when it first opened. I had a couple of really good lunches here with solid service.
Unfortunately, the last couple of times I was really and truly disappointed. Both times I sat at the bar and the whole place was uncrowded (mid-afternoon). The bartender was really slow to engage with me, despite seeing me arrive.
When I had the pulled pork (second-to-last time I was there), it came out of the kitchen cold, with sauce on it despite the fact that I asked for it dry. The greens were also cold and kind of flabby, in that funny space between raw and properly cooked.
The last time, I had the brisket, which tasted more like soot than smoke. At least it came out f the kitchen hot and un-sauced as I requested. The bartender confused the sides, bringing me beans instead of greens (I always get greens), and by the time he brought a replacement I had completely finished my lunch.
I'm always sad when a promising place starts strong and then flags. I hope they pick things up.
This bar is impressive, with a towering pyramid of liquors (mostly whiskeys), hard floors, thick varnished wooden tables which gives it a cool ambiance, but makes it VERY noisy. I'm someone who goes to a lot of loud music events, and when I left this place (probably 7:30 on a Saturday evening), the din was so loud my ears were ringing as I left. That means the decibels were at levels high enough to damage hearing-- just from the din of conversation! I don't think there was any music playing, if there was, it was soft enough not to notice. That was something I've never experienced just from dinner noise. Interesting. Maybe should've thought that one out a bit. I'd definitely suggest doing something to lessen the sound, for your employees' and customers' sakes.
Perhaps that was why our waiter seemed apathetic, slow. When asked for something "extra" Â like container to take some sauce home with bbq chicken (as another mentioned in a review, no sauce really, just a rub), I could almost see his annoyance. I ordered a Strongbow, he said he thought they were out of it but would have to check. We saw him again (he still hadn't let us know whether they had it or not), he confirmed they were out of it, didn't seem all that concerned to tell us. For sitting in the bar the drinks took about five minutes to come up. It was fairly busy, but usually pouring wine and opening a beer don't take long...
The food was just ok, not great. I talked about the fried chicken but my dinner companion said he'd eaten it before and the middle was raw, so he encouraged me to do the BBQ chicken. It was okay, a large portion of meat, but was dark meat, I'm wasn't that in to it. I had the cornbread (again, companion said it was good), it was delicious, especially the honey-butter. I also had the seasonal vegetable, which was asparagus, very good. I only tried the "Spicy" bbq sauce on the table and it was a great one!
Four stars for atmosphere, service, and booze selection.
The food (while well prepared, but not stellar) was overpriced for the portion size.
The beans are fantastic.
If I lived in the neighborhood, I would definitely walk there just to drink whiskey and order sides.
I was hoping this would be a "destination restaurant" but with the OK food and horrid parking I probably won't be back.
For a Yankee I consider myself a BBQ quasi expert and I must admit I was a little disappointed in the BBQ at Kicking Boot. Â Maybe I'm a little spoiled by Memphis ribs and pulled pork and brisket in Austin, TX but still, I expected more. Â The meat was disappointing and the sauces in particular were sub par.
On a positive note our server was fantastic. Â She was knowledgeable and when she couldn't answer our question she didn't hesitate to admit it, which I appreciate. Â She ran back to the kitchen and quickly returned with a suggested substitution. Â
It has an extensive bourbon and rye selection and the ambiance is fantastic. In the summer with the garage doors open it should be the place to be in Ballard.
Very cool place for starters. Â I loved being in the place. Â I felt welcomed from when we I walked in. Â Great decor. Â And excellent staff.
The food was...Eh. Â I had the Fried Chicken Dinner, which was okay. Â Mashed potatoes that were...Eh. Â My wife had a Pulled Pork sandwhich, which she enjoyed. Â They had a cute assortment of sauces on the table that I didn't experiment with. Â My beer was great!, served in a glass! Â I had hoped for some good to great food, but instead it was just better then cafeteria, for a whole lot more.
I'll go back to meet friends for drinks, but I won't expect much.
Why does Yelp keep giving me only one or two star options now? Â ls it my computer? Â Oh, well, doesn't matter, since l'm only giving this place one star anyway. Â Good lord.
Okay. Â So l'd heard nothing but good things about this place before going, but as a Cajun with Texan roots and relatives, l came for both the BBQ and the Cajun cuisine. Â Other than Peco's, l have yet to find decent barbeque in this town, so much so l'm tempted to just open a damn restaurant myself. Â We ordered the gumbo, the Texas chili, and the meat combo platter. Â l also ordered some concoction with peach stuff, which was good. Â We also got a side of mashed potatoes and collard greens. Â Let's go down the list.
The gumbo was meh. Â Cajuns or southerners with a familiarity with Cajun food often argue the merits of roux versus tomato based dishes. Â l'm a believer of roux, but either their roux sucked or it just really needed to be tomato based. Â l wasn't impressed; it wasn't horrible, it just wasn't remarkable. Â The Texas chili was also not remarkable, but it *was* prepared the way a lot of Texans like it - no beans, no frills, just meat. Â l suspect it was the most tender meat in the whole bunch, however, which is not a good thing. Â
The ribs were inedible. Â They were drier than a hooker's cooch, tough as hell, and so salty that the one rib l actually ate l didn't finish. Â l don't know why they throw some crappy Lawry's seasoned salt on the top of everything like it's some sort of fancy garnish, but for the loveofgawd, people, just leave it off. Â When your food is so salty it shrivels my skin like soaking in a bath for an hour, don't throw more on it. Â The ribs at Hattie's Hat are absolutely AMAZING, and they DO fall off the bone - if you want ribs, go there. Â lt's right around the freaking corner.
l didn't get around to the chicken because we had too much food. Â The sausage was impressively larger than l expected, but utterly devoid of any noticeable flavor; l could have made a better sausage with some ground up mystery meat and scraps from a restaurant dumpster. Â
l should point out that l am not a picky eater and very rarely write negative reviews, because l reserve Yelp for the best of the best. Â But seriously, folks. Â The pork was singularly boring, and in this case, the Lawry's salt was probably the only thing that saved it from being an utter disaster. Â The brisket had the requisite smoke ring, but again, so dry that l had three different drinks going on to wash it all down.
The service was shit. Â l've been in the industry on and off for about fifteen years, and when l tried to joke with the server about how much l loved the sweet tea and were there free refills, she seemed completely unwilling to respond to my friendly demeanor and simply did her job. Â She DID do her job, grudgingly, and wasn't necessarily absent from her duties in terms of caring for our needs - she just wasn't interested in interacting at all, and was....well, boring and lackluster. Â Maybe she was having a bad day. Â But hey, cupcake? Â Suck it up - customer service is your job. Â The comments here about the staff acting like the popular clique in high school are right on. Â l felt like she just assumed we wouldn't tip or something and therefore avoided us as much as possible without docking her own gratuity by never coming back.
The only thing l honestly dug was the collard greens. Â Not spectacular by any means, but as l hail from places that add pepper vinegar to the greens, it had that going on - l didn't consider them sweet at all, like a couple of the reviews l read here. Â But even though there was pork in them, l didn't taste it; maybe they should have let the broth work itself up before adding the greens. Â At least they weren't a mess of overcooked mush. Â My greens are damn tastier. Â The taters were boring, as was the gravy.
And for the piece de resistance, between eating the meal and getting the bill, l started feeling sick, walked outside to get some fresh air, and promptly threw up into a nearby empty trash can in the alley. Â My apologies in advance to whomever had to clean that up - so very sorry! Â At least it wasn't just on the ground, but still. Â l've NEVER had an experience like that. Â l didn't even eat all that much since we'd ordered so much food.
l really want to go back and give them another shot in case my experience was singular, but l'm afraid to spend that kind of cash on something that l will involuntarily regurgitate shortly thereafter. Â Can you tell l'm not thrilled? Â Ugh.
We had a really good time here! We came on a Saturday evening, so the place was jam-packed. We opted to sit in the bar instead of waiting 45 minutes for a table, and managed to score a good corner table. Â Chairs are at a premium though, so be prepared to hover and snatch one from a table that is leaving. Â Service was a little brusque at first but quickly warmed up - I think our server was just slammed.
Drinks - the bloody Mary was once of the best I have ever had. Â The chunk of brisket was a nice touch but what really made it was the combination of spices. Â They really hit it perfectly! They have a decent selection of tap beers, many from super-local Ballard breweries. Maritime IPAs are especially nice.
Food - I don't have any preconceived barbecue notions, and I though it was delicious! The meat buster sandwich (not sure what it is called but it comes with every type of meat they have) got rave reviews, and even our big eaters could not finish it! The macaroni and cheese is a creamy delight. Â Hot links were awesome, very spicy! The shrimp and grits was pretty good too, grits were creamy and perfectly prepared. Can;t wait to come back!
I went to Kickin Boot last night and had the fried chicken dinner.
The fried chicken tasted pretty good and I loved the collard greens as my side. I subbed it out for the cole slaw. The biscuit and honey butter were amazing!
However, my chicken was very pink inside. I pointed this out to the server and she took it back to the kitchen. They remade the chicken and gave me an extra piece and in addition didn't charge me for the whole plate.
They did everything they could to rectify the situation which I really appreciate. The manager (?) came over and apologized and said it was a ruptured bone and marrow had seeped out. That's fine, I understand that these things happen.
The server was also very sweet and apologetic.
I've had their pulled pork and half chicken and I thought those were both okay. I think the prices are a little high for the portion of meat they give you on the platters. Their sauces are fun but none of the flavors particularly stand out to me.
I'm not sure I'll be back for dinner but I'll definitely be back for drinks and to hang out in the beautiful bar.
We have eaten here five times, once with a large group. The dining experiences were perfect. Such a track record is a very rare occurrence, and shows great control and commitment to quality.
Quite apart from the fine dining experiences, the interior decor and design are stunning, with custom furniture, lighting fixtures, and fittings, including the wall panels. It is clear the place literally cost millions of dollars to build.
Of course, hipsters and other more secure millennials are likely to object to the place because it is so beautifully built and fully developed, and by extension uncool because it is popular.
It's all fun and games until somebody doesn't know how to check if a rack of ribs is done.
People all over the place get their panties all up in a knot about regional bbq style preferences, to sauce or not, competition vs down-home, and so on. At the end of the day most of us yokels just want some meat with sauce slathered on it, and that's why we all love bbq - the floor for how bad it gets is still pretty damned good.
"It was so good it was falling off the bone!" And that's fine because if you want your ribs overcooked I can respect it. It's a totally subjective preference. I'd prefer a bit of bite and a clean pull from the bone, but I'm not going to go crying to my mommy if it's sloppy and smoky and falling apart.
The brisket was abominably bad. Tough, too springy, cut poorly, cold, and undersalted. I was okay with that, my expectations were low. Finding good brisket in Seattle is nearly impossible. It's a more complicated cut to smoke properly and it doesn't reheat extraordinarily well, so it's best when it's been less than 12-18 hours since it came out of the smoker.
The pulled pork, somehow, magically, was bad. Pork butt is the single easiest piece of meat to cook. It's marbled with so much fat that it simply refuses to dry out. It's the most forgiving thing you can put on a smoker. This place managed to dry it out and to rob it of virtually all flavor. Lazily shredded, seemingly at least a day old, with no noticeable smoke character, and the bits of bark that were apparent were terribly thin and unattractive. I spent a while even trying to figure out how they did this. Did they boil it? Sit it in a steam bin for a day? It came out barely lukewarm, so even that didn't make sense.
The ribs were simply undercooked by at least 20 degrees, they left soft pink meat clinging to the bone that I couldn't bring myself to gnaw off. They wouldn't have been good even if they had been cooked properly, because again, someone missed the memo that bbq requires smoke and shouldn't taste as if it has been boiled.
The cornbread was simply cake. A cornmeal cupcake. No crust, no hint of smoky bacon lard. Just cake.
In spite of the absolutely terrible name, the owners have done great work on building this place out. It's a bit cliche to overdose on Edison bulbs to this extent, but they aren't going to be the last people to do it. The service was fine, if a bit stuffy. The bbq was as close to subjectively bad as I've ever experienced. There's a lot of mediocre bbq in Seattle. This place is the bottom of the barrel. It's the faux-chic Applebee's of smokehouses. Every good review of this place reads like English-lit minor marketing jargon fan fiction. Go back to livejournal.
This is the best all-around barbecue experience in Seattle. Absolutely jam-packed on weekends, and for good reason. The brisket is awesome, the pulled pork is moist, they have a bunch of different house-made barbecue sauces to experiment with, and a whole slew of awesome sides to choose from (you get to pick two with your meal). Their whiskey selection is top-notch, worth a visit for bourbon lovers like me. (Pappy is usually in supply!) The decor is very new-Ballard, a good thing in my opinion. If this place was big enough for live music and a dance floor, it would be unstoppable.
Last time I asked our server how he didn't get fat from eating too much barbecue, and his reply was "I've only been working here for three weeks... I'm nervous for down the line..." I would be, too!
5 stars for the whiskey selection
5 stars for the decor and atmosphere
4 stars for the service
2 stars for the food
(It's a good thing they're pretty and boozy, eh?)
I don't know if I'll eat here again. Â So many places try BBQ and don't execute well and Kickin' Boot is going on the list. Â Dry brisket. Â 'Nuff said. Â Cornbread was decent and it was saved by butter. Â What food isn't saved by butter.
That said, I will definitely be back for drinkin' whiskey. Â The selection is dizzying in a great way. Â The decor and atmosphere are contemporary meets wild west. Â Staff is really pleasant and decently attentive. Â
Actually, I would probably eat here again depending on how much whiskey I drink.
This place is wicked good! I like the "urban, divey, I went with a couple of my girls and we all ordered different dishes. We weren't messing around. We had the Fried chicken, ribs plate, side of salt & vinegar chips and a side of mac n cheese. As you can tell, we were on a strict  (fatty) diet............
Let me tell you, everything we had was full of flavor. Every bite was a little piece of heaven. Our eyes were a lot bigger than our stomachs and we didn't end up finishing it all (sadly). Portions are just right. I thought the side of mac was small but once I started eating it, I understood why, it's so rich in flavor that you can't even eat too much of it. I didn't even finish it. Pathetic, I know.
My only little "not so great tidbit" - not a complaint - is that their hot sauce isn't hot. But that's a personal preference, I eat hot stuff on the daily so my taste buds are off lol However, I fixed it all with Tabasco sauce.
Their salads are laughable. They are $10 and a total joke.
Wifey ordered the pulled pork salad and when it arrived- we inquired "where's the pulled pork". There was no pulled pork visible and it appeared to be your garden variety side salad. Small and bland. Kind of sad looking.
Upon reeving the question- Server responded by pointing to the salad and responded "in there"- while gesturing finger with a circular motion.
We did a little digging and found a few small cubes of dried out smoked pork in the bottom of the bowl. It was kind of sad.
I ordered the pulled pork sandwich with fries for $9 and it was excellent. Great big serving and the pulled pork was nice. The fries were killer. I ordered a Pappy Van Winkle- neat- and really enjoyed my meal.
Seeing my excellent plate next to her sad little- and more expensive salad- my wife was not impressed. We had a couple of drinks (their bourbon selection is broad and excellent) and promptly left.
3 stars because 2.5 is not an option. Avoid the salads.
End review.
I am downgrading my review of this restaurant because first of all the food hasn't gotten much better than when they opened.
Also the service is horrible. Never mind being slow or messing up an order (who cares, it happens) but our waitress actually tried to make us feel demanding and unwelcome.
I was with a group and asked for separate checks- Â the waitress was incredibly rude about it and warned us that she would "probably screw it up," she indeed put the wrong items on the wrong bills... and to really prove to us that she was right and we were wrong she charged the wrong cards to the wrong bills.
There are a lot of great dining choices in Ballard where the staff cares more about the customer that I'd rather spend my time and money at. Definitely not going back.
Great ambiance, I love the wood and high ceilings.
Food is good. Not the best BBQ, but It's still decent. Especially since they provide so many different BBQ sauces to drench your meat in. We've had the pulled pork sandwich, beef brisket, the smokestack sandwich. All of which were good.
When we were there, I ordered a pulled pork salad, but it came with diced cold pork. I talked to the waiter about it and he brought out a pulled pork sandwich instead. I'm glad to see they've changed the menu wording to reflect the actual dish.
Did somebody say BBQ and Whiskey??! Â Yes! I've finally come here to try this place out! I must say, their catchy name, sign, and lovely decor just invites you in!
My friend and I come here in hopes of a happy hour, and we are welcomed with a friendly hostess. We are seated and our server comes. I assume whiskey is their specialty as it is part of their name, and it's all over the drinks menu.
I order the corpse reviver #2 (circa 1930), which is a cocktail blend of gin, lillet, orange curacao, absinthe, and a delicious real cherry on a cocktail stick. ($7 for happy hour, $8 for normal hours). This delicious and tasty concoction is absolutely the ish! Although the cocktail is good, I think it's priced a bit high for a happy hour drink because I don't think it's big enough. I also order the whiskey sour which is delicious as well ($5 on HH, $6 without). I think it's strong, but has a good kick.
For food, we order the 2 piece leg & thigh fried chicken ($14) which comes with mashed potatoes & gravy, a huge biscuit w/ honey butter, and cole slaw.
This fried chicken dinner is a bit pricey, however, I think it is tasty. It is perfectly cooked, crunchy, and come out hot and fresh. The potatoes are real potatoes, hand mashed as you can taste, as there are still some delicious chunks of real potatoes in there (just the way I like it!). I think there could have been more gravy because when the potatoes got hard, it sort of got dry. The slaw, to me, was disgusting though. It was plain, and tasted of vinegar and salt. My friend however, enjoyed it and ate it. The biscuit was a bit dry, but it was huge, and the top was tasty (as it was a little soft, but hard, but also had the most composed texture). The butter for topping was on point and delicious. Fluffy, sweet, and just the way I like my honey butter.
My friend gets the pulled pork sandwich ($9) which comes with fries and he orders a side of the mac & cheese. The mac & cheese is delicious! It has breadcrumbs sprinkled on top. I liked how it was creamy, but not overly creamy, and not dry at all. The fries were tasty, and it was a generous amount given with the sandwich. The actual pulled pork sandwich was just okay to me. I thought that it wasn't really slowly cooked like how it's supposed to be. It was a bit hard, and dry and definitely not enough flavoring in the sandwich.
I guess that's what the sauce stands are for, which are in huge bottles on the table. There's spicy (better tasting than the others), house (not that great), some kind of mustard (not bad), ranch (I think it's a watered down ranch), and sweet (not bad either). I think the sauces were okay tasting, but doesn't beat Famous Dave's.
Our waitress messed up on our tab but that was okay. I think this place is a bit pricey for the quality of food and drinks. It does get loud during dinner/happy hour.
I would have liked to rank it a 3/5 due to high prices, but I think the quality of food (which is fresh, hot, and is mostly tasty) is present. Their pulled pork could use some work and their drinks could be stronger too.
Well this is a nice surprise. I expected a hole-in-the-wall but found myself eating inside a barn. A steam cleaned, cavernous barn with polished wood walls, chic servers, and a throng of Los Angeles implants. The bar has a gleaming wall of whiskeys about forty feet high and was filled to capacity.
But I'm not knocking a star off just because the joint was crowded. No sir, I'm not. Because the BBQ was unbelievable and the fried chicken is my frontrunner for best meal of 2013. (An admittedly small list but I do believe Kickin' Boot's fried chicken is gonna perch at the top for a good long while.)
Two of us split fried chicken and ribs. The small fried chicken order, two pieces, came with a biscuit, buttery  mashed potatoes with gravy, and coleslaw. Comfort food at its' finest. The chicken had the lightest, crispest breading that I've ever experienced. The half-rack of BBQ ribs came with two sides. I opted for the sophisticated potato salad and tasso ham and grit sticks. Potato salad was finely minced with a touch of vinegar, not mustard, in the base. The tasso ham and grit sticks were best when paired with the ribs themselves, a dry but sweet coupling.
I got three biscuits to go and skipped dessert, though I seriously considered another order of fried chicken to end dinner.
Kickin' Boot is a prime example of what can go wrong when you try to mass produce barbeque - it can end up flavorless and soulless, and that's what Kickin Boot is. The only thing really good here was the service, and that's the reason for the one star. Aside from that...
Let's start at the bar, which is where we did. Service was surprisingly prompt for a busy Saturday night. I ordered a whiskey smash and at $8, I was horrified when the bartender reached for Evan Williams in the well. You call yourself a whiskey kitchen and then make your specialty cocktails from the well?? Fail.
After we were seated, we ordered the sampler for two, and thus were able to try pretty much everything that *should* be good here. The brisket was prepared well, but the smoke ring was almost non-existent, which would be the theme for everything: cooked to temperature, but zero smoked flavor. The smoked chicken was probably the worst offender as it was just mushy and bland. The smoked links tasted like someone threw a Hillshire Farms on the grill. All around, bad barbeque.
I tried every one of the sauces except the white sauce (really? mayo sauce?) and only the spicy one had anything close to a balance of flavor, and even then - not good. The sides weren't as bad: the grit sticks and cornbread were actually pretty decent. The greens were stiff and flavorless though. Then for dessert: a terrible, horrible excuse for key lime pie with a slab of meringue on top.
But judging from the crowd, people aren't coming here for the barbeque. They're coming because Ballard is now a 'scene' and this is a place to be seen. It is definitely not a place I will return to.
So not impressed food wise....
I tried...ribs, fried chicken, pulled pork, grits, spicy wings, four cheese macaroni, baked red beans, cornbread, tasso grit sticks, collard greens, red beans and rice, key lime pie & banana pudding parfait.
All of it was mediocre if not just plain bad. Ribs and fried chicken were dried out. Pulled pork was much better. All the sides had no flavor except for the collard greens which were way too sweet. The only one edible was the red beans and rice. Even the desserts were unimpressive.
What this place is great for is going straight to the bar and ordering up drinks from the many cute bartenders and soaking in the fun lively atmosphere. Just make sure you eat beforehand.
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