i went to one a couple times in Cortland, NY, which is about 40 minutes from me. first time it was ok and the 2nd time it sucked. i'm really bummed because there was a much better BBQ place across town from it that ended up going out of business. i've actually been really into writing reviews on yelp, so i'll share with you what i wrote on there about this location:
"this place has its pros and cons but i feel the cons outweigh the pros. i do like the decor and the sauce, and the free ice cream is a nice touch, and it seems like they do have some good specials. overall though i'd have to say this is the KFC of BBQ, but not as good. i've been here twice, once back in september and then once recently, and i wish i had remembered my september visit better before i came here the 2nd time. the first time i came i looked at the menu for a bit, as i did the 2nd time. their website says they have a 3 meat BBQ combo. well apparently this location does not. they have so many meats and i'm supposed to narrow it down to 2? the first time i went with the ribs and turkey combo and a brisket sandwich. for sides i got the jalepeno baked beans and the potato salad. the potato salad had a dill flavor to it that i was not a fan of. the beans i remember being good but they were very hot. not hot as in spicy but they were very warm and hard to eat. now that i think about it i did get a 3rd side, i got the mac n cheese. nothing special about it at all. it wasn't bad, but it was just very generic. i don't really remember how they ribs and brisket sandwich were, i think they were alright, but i remember picking up no smoke flavor on the turkey and i was kinda bummed about that.
onto the 2nd visit. i got there and forgot there was no 3 meat combo. this time i did not opt for the additional sandwich. i just got the brisket and ribs combo along with the jalapeno beans and this time i got the baked potato cassarole, which is really just mashed potatoes with some of the skins left in and topped with a little bit of cheese. they were decent though. i wasn't a big fan of the beans this time around though. as for the ribs, they were tender enough but the smoke flavor on them was really bitter, as if the flavor came from straight up charcoal instead of hickory wood. the brisket was a huge let down. as soon as i opened my to go box i saw a pile of chopped brisket and it hit me that last time i was there they asked if i wanted it sliced or chopped. this time they didn't ask. i got a pile of dark brown overdone dry beef that had no smoke flavor to it at all. i got a slice of pecan pie with the meal too. you can tell it's definitely not homemade but it was still pretty good. another thing i forgot to note earlier, it seems the people who were working there the first time around were a lot friendlier. i believe there were 2 women working. this time there was a guy working and he seemed like he did not want to be there, and probably didn't put as much care into the food. their website says "if it's not perfect, we don't serve it". the ribs were passable but that brisket was unacceptable.
overall i'd really give this place a 2.5. if yer on 81 and heading north, just keep going til you get to dinosaur bbq. if you're heading south, just keep going until you're out of PA and i'm sure you're bound to find something good."
