Address: | 1201 S Rampart St, New Orleans, LA 70113, USA |
Phone: | +1 504-558-4276 |
Site: | centralcitybbq.com |
Rating: | 4.4 |
Working: | Closed Closed 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM |
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Kimberley Hannaman Taylor
This wasnt the worst bbq I ever had, but for the price and the hype it was the greatest bbq disappointment, hands down. To be fair, we are devoted to The Joint, another bbq place across town...but when friends were passing through looking for bbq on a Sunday night, sadly our favorite was closed. "Try new things!" we thought. This place came up on the web with such grandiose exclamations as "The best thing to happen to New Orleans BBQ EVER!" "Why not?" we thought.. Walking in, the place reminded us of another favorite in Alabama, Moes. The decor is practically a carbon image. I called ahead because there were 7 of us and the lady said it was actually a down time so there should be no problem sitting right down. "Great!" I didnt immediately notice when we got there, but the complete lack of the delicious smell of smoked meat should have warned us off then and there. Our friends arrived just before us and had pushed a few dirty tables together, but even the obvious act of customers doing this failed to attract the attention of a single employee. After we ordered our pricey dinners from the serve yourself window, I returned to the tables we had arranged and bussed them myself. I had to use water fountain water and napkins to wipe them down and still no one ever came over. The only time we interacted with staff were the two times we stood at the window and the bar (respectively, you have to serve yourself from 2 different lines here...must be a nightmare when its packed) and when they ran out our food. The food came unceremoniously on quarter sheet trays with a slip of parchment, meat in piles, sides in large ramekins..pickles and bizarrely a couple of fat slices of raw onion (who just chews down giant slices of onion, no frills?!). I have no complaints about this but it did cause me to joke that maybe we should eat hands free like dogs. Haha. The second thing I noticed was that the meat was dry as toast. Even the slice of wonder bread they had it resting on barely showed a stain of moisture. The slaw was decent, the beans were meh, the mac and cheese was Velveeta/kraftish with some bacos bacon bits sprinkled on top. The spoon bread was pretty good. Not great, but at least they have it which is our only complaint about The Joint. The Brisket burnt ends were flavorless burned hunks of almost pure fat and the ribs were bland, dry, also flavorless bones with sinuey flesh left on to be scraped off with some effort. Our friends bbq sandwiches were left half eaten. Boo. The tiny pony beers from the bar were the one shining light of fun in an otherwise, drab, expensive experiment in falling for hype and stepping off our routine of predictably delicious, consistent, smokey wonderment that is The Joint across town. My last thought on this is..."Where do yall hide the freaking smoke?" If I wanted baked meat I would have stayed home and done it myself. Big fat FAIL. Save your $17 a plate.
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Nazary Nebeluk
Went here for dinner with my girlfriend on a Thursday and had no trouble getting a table and there was no line to place an order. We got a dozen smoked spicy wings and the 3 meat combo w/ boudin, chopped brisket and pulled pork w/ sides of potato salad and baked beans. The wings arent really spicy but had a tasty sauce on them and a spicier bbq (not hot) sauce was available at the table. The meats were all good but the standout is clearly the boudin. The other two dont even come close. I just wish the BBQ came out warm, or at least room temperature. Our meats were pretty much cold and I didnt care for that - maybe thats a normal BBQ thing and Im just the odd man out. From the bar I got their take on an Arnold Palmer with whiskey and then an Envie from Parish (whenever its on tap I get it). Overall the staff was friendly and the space is super nice and open and clean. I dont know if this is the first place Ill go to next time Im craving BBQ but its definitely where Ill go for my boudin cravings. And maybe for a happy hour beer with some wings. Lagniappe - Im not a sports guy but they were showing the Saints game when I was there. So if you need a place to watch the game you could do a LOT worse then here.
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Rose Jones
We sat at the bar and were barely paid attention to by the bartender. She didnt seem to be very busy, but at least she was very friendly to the guys that she was paying attention to. The food took nearly 20 minutes to arrive. When it did finally arrive it was much closer to warm than hot. It took the bartender about 3 minutes to ask if we wanted barbeque sauce, though the bar was half empty at that point. I was taken aback by the size of the portions, but thought to myself, "the reviews have been so good and the Times Picayune had such good things to say about it." After my first bite, I wasnt as forgiving. The brisket was about half fat with some gristle added in. My husbands burnt end sandwich was also about 50 percent fat and gristle. For the prices they were charging, I expected a little better quality of meat and service. Very disappointed!!!
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Alanna Frick
One of my favorite bbq places in the city! They have delicious food, a great bar, and a really fun atmosphere. Theres outdoor seating and lots of seating inside so its great for a big group if you come at the right time. I highly recommend splitting the sampler. Its a lot of food, you get to taste a little bit of everything, and its all delicious! The staff is super friendly, they have happy hour, and daily specials. Cant go wrong. Its some tasty BBQ!
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Sharon Fleetwood
I loved it. ALL. Great service decent pricing. DELICIOUS chopped brisket and pulled pork. Great sauce. And the bbq beans like no other I have ever had. Seating variety from small intimate gatherings, single bar seating, single window seating and beucoup OUTDOOR seating. Just loved the look and feel of this place. Ya gotta go.
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Nicholas Volkmar
Best BBQ in NOLA - all of the meats and sides were on point. My girlfriend is from STL and she incessantly complains about the BBQ here but this even pleased her. Im not a big potato salad person but it wasnt too heavy the remoulade addition made it delicious and special. I cannot wait to return!
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Melissa Wooding
Incredible food, amazing people!! The manager is a really great guy who happily shows you around and tells you all about it. Such a cool place, pay no attention to the picture currently on Google Street view, its much nicer and being hugely renevated. Absolutely pay a visit!
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Bradley Pierson
Been here several times and have loved everything every time. Just discovered the meat pie which is ridiculous. The burnt ends could not be better, well except when you combine them with spoonbread - whatever buttery goodness that is. Highly recommend!
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jennifer mancone
This place is amazing. Go there now! We ordered the pulled pork and brisket, both were cooked to perfection. Try the white sauce. The corn stuffing was the best of the sides, baked beans were delicious, slaw and bacon mac were also good. Five stars!
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Noah Libby-Haines
I had the 3 meat combo. All of the meats were served cold. The brisket chili was absurdly salty. The bacon Mac and cheese was decent, but totally run off the mill. Service was alright, and the flavor of the meats was decent.