Rack Shack BBQ

So after watching countless commercials for the Rack Shack featuring the pun that we all saw coming a mile away, I decided to give it a try. I got the brisket with two sides. The food came out really quickly, but at that particular moment we were the only ones there, so I can't get too excited about that.

In all honesty I'm not a big BBQ aficionado, but I like to think I can recognize quality. I had the brisket which was among the best I've had. The smokey flavor of the meat was well beyond what I expected and really added that depth, that only comes through hours of slow smoking.

As far as the sides go, I had the corn bread and mac. The corn bread was good. I like a little more of a crust on mine but I won't fault them for that. The mac was let down. It was like they took some KFC mac and sprinkled some saltine crumbs on it before they passed it off.
Overall it didn't bother me too much, still got the four stars. After all, I went there for the BBQ not the Mac or the "Rack".

The service I got from Sadie was outstanding. It was my first time there, and she was beyond helpful. I had lunch in and got dinner to go. Lunch was pulled pork, just awesome. I go with the St. Paulie sauce, mild with a great tang. I'm all about the sides. My favorite was the coleslaw, how many years have I searched for a decent one, and I loved everything about it. The thin, juicy consistency, and flavor were all there. The tater salad is made Russian style, with sour cream. That, and the creamed corn were adequate. For some reason I wasn't a fan of the corn bread, and the baked beans were loaded with kidney beans, not how you envision baked beans. The cheesy mac by itself is pretty good, but jalapenos change it so you will take it or leave it. The brownie type muffin, looked better than it really was. Besides being hard on the outside, it had a blob of mint on the inside. Brisket trumped the ribs for me, I am not a rub fan. I should have known that if I love sauce on everything else, ribs would be no different. I go nuts with ordering Que, and want to try it all, there's so much on the menu you can't try it all at once. Which is great since I love the layout and organization of the place. Even though I'm sure it's an honor to have a photo op with Famous Dave, I've had it with that and will go the extra miles out to the burbs.

Rack Shack is one of our regular lunch stops.  We usually get over there once a week or so.  My usual pick is the pork plate with cheesy mac & beans.  The meat has always been tender, juicy and full of smokey flavor in my experience.  The sides are generally good as well.  The beans have a generous helping of pork in them so that's nice too.  Their sauces are great as well.  They've got about 6 or 7 to pick from in increasing levels of heat.  My personal favorite is the vinegar based sauce.  Their hottest sauce is made with the ghost pepper and is only available by request and for an additional $2 or so (their other sauces are all at the tables and free).  On one of our visits, I was lamenting to one of my coworkers that the ghost pepper sauce costs extra as I'd really like to try it just to see how hot it really is, but not so much that I wanted to pay extra for it.  One of the employees happened to be walking by as I said that and came back a moment later with a cup of their ghost pepper sauce to try.  He explained why they don't put it on the table and why they charge for it (so kids don't get into it and because the peppers are expensive).  

I've always had a good experience at Rack Shack.  My one and only complaint is that I wish they had more seating, it really fills up fast at lunch time.