Mission BBQ

Reviews 4

RO

Robert Lesher

It sure seems like the BBQ scene in the Cleveland-area has just exploded as of late. It used to be that our options were limited to only a handful of mom and pop joints squirreled away in the recesses of the burbs. Not anymore. Ill get this out of the way first. Mission BBQ is a bit like if Ted Nugent and Toby Keith decided to open a restaurant. OK, maybe if Uncle Ted was involved theres be way more guns on display and dead things hanging on the walls, but once you walk in youll know what I mean. Be prepared to be smacked across the face with unabashed, moderately jingoistic America as soon as you walk in. Country music, Merican flags, and, in keeping with their theme of all things soldier, firefighter, police officer, and first responder, plenty of service patches, pictures and the like. Theyve got a theme and theyve definitely run with it. Red state political atmosphere aside, Mission BBQ does it right. As soon as we walked in we were greeted with smiles and assistance. Yeah, theres a big board above your head that you need to read to figure out what you want, but theyre ready and willing to help you walk down that road if its your first time. My suggestion is to go with a multi-meat sampler platter. You can choose 2 or 3 meats, some sides and a beverage. Itll run you between $15 and $20 depending upon how many sides you get. Our meal was a veritable smoked animal extravaganza. We opted for the brisket (your choice of moist or lean), pulled pork and turkey along with some cornbread, coleslaw, baked beans, cheesy potatoes and green beans. We did it up, thats for sure. Although, looking back I wish I would have gotten every one of their meats. Anyway, how was it? For the most part, it was incredible. Actually, some of the tastiest, most tender and flavorful local BBQ Ive had. The smoke levels were spot-on, everything was moist. Sorry. Im getting hungry here. The sides were a bit more hit and miss and the main reason for the 1-star deduction. The coleslaw was pretty good (just a bit sweet but could have used more sauce), the baked beans were awesome (smoky sweet, pieces of bacon), the green beans were good, just very salty, the cornbread, a bit disappointing (it was quite dry and just crumbled into corny sand when we tried to cut it). Before I forget, the cheesy potatoes were just like mom used to make and I think more places need to have this all-American dish. Another great thing, the sauces. You should know that the sauces are on every table and there are 6 different kinds to choose from. I loved all of them, but found myself gravitating back to the Tupelo Honey Heat and the Smoky Mountain. Trust me, just try all of them. Theyve also got a bottle of vinegar sauce on the table, if thats your thing, and the manager even brought over a special white sauce for us to try that was like a ranchy-BBQ thing. Loved that, too. Speaking of the manager, this guy was all in with this place and you could just feel his excitement and love for his job. Really. Im not kidding. He was friendly, warm, welcoming and just seemed to honestly enjoy sharing his place with his customers. Its rare, especially in the tough, relatively low-paying world of food service, to find such standouts. He really helped to make our visit memorable. FInally, save room for dessert. Theyve got this dish thats sort of a cross between a pudding and a coconut cream pie that you need to get. The serving is the perfect size for two and its delicious. Creamy, just sweet enough, and the graham cracker crumble underneath is the perfect textural element. Just get it. Do it. There you have it. Take a big old schmear of American pride, a heapin helpin of awesome service, a dollop of support for our countrys first-responders and servicefolks, and some really damn good BBQ and shove it into a clean, well-lit, comfy space and you have Mission BBQ.

ST

stephen slusny

As other reviewers have said, the best part about this place is hands down, the staff. They are extremely friendly and helpful. My family and I went yesterday for Fathers Day dinner. When we got the there, the place was completely packed. There were no tables available. One of the staff saw us waiting around and grabbed the floor manager, who immediately found two empty high tables and put them together for us. We went up and ordered our food. Despite being extremely busy, the wait time wasnt bad at all for the food. They did a great job explaining the menu to us (as we were all first-timers). My father and I ordered the chicken (yard), my mom ordered the ribs, my sister the brisket and my wife ordered something which I cannot remember. The food was phenomenal. The only one who ended up slightly displeased was my wife, who claimed her meat was a little dry. Given the other reviews and the fact the rest of us had food made to perfection, I imagine this was just a mishap due to the craziness of customers coming in. She still ate it and said it wasnt bad, just slightly too dry for her tastes. The staff also constantly came around with different samples for us to try and kept checking on us to make sure we had everything we needed. Theres a variety of sauces for the food, though the Alabama White (I believe it was called) was our favorite, especially when combined with their standard BBQ sauce. This place is well worth trying at least once, and I will definitely be back! If youre in the area or even have one closer to you, you definitely need to try Mission! You wont be disappointed, I promise!

MI

Michael Wells

Ok this is a story of a random place we chose for a quick dinner going above and beyond our wildest expectations of good customer service. We went to Mission BBQ in Parma on a whim. You pay first, and we were somewhat unsure of what to order, but we wound up ordering a huge beef rib to share plus 2 drinks. I stepped away from the counter to get a menu, and when I returned I learned that they had just sold their last 2 beef ribs. So we both were kind of unsure what else to order. Seeing our confusion , they guy at the counter said.. You know what, just choose something else from the menu, and its on us. He then refunded our money from the first order. So we ordered brisket and baby back ribs, which they promptly gave us for free even though they refunded our money! The food was amazingly good, by the way. So as we were about to leave after enjoying the food, one of the guys who had taken care of our order came over and said are you the two who wanted the beef ribs? We said yea. He said they just cooked more and hell bring us some to take home. He brought us 2 orders of beef ribs for free (17.99 each on the menu). Wow! Needless to say we felt special. Then as we sat there another worker brought us a strawberry shortcake! So anyway thanks Mission, your friendly energy and desire to make us feel welcome is greatly appreciated and noticed!

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Shannon Wiegand

This place is an absolute gem! Came here after Texas Roadhouse quoted a 70 minute wait time...boy, am I so glad they told us that because this place exceeded my expectations & then some! Since it was my first time, the cashier (Brianna) took the time to review their entire menu with me, even allowing me to sample the food before purchasing. Their polite & friendly attitude was a breath of fresh air. The manager on duty (Hayden) is the epitome of what superb customer service should be. I accidentally ordered the wrong cut of meat & he made my entire dish over including more sides...and topped it off with dessert! He insisted! I, too, work in the restaurant industry, so I truly appreciate when an employee takes pride in their work. Customer service can either make or break a place & this place is definitely going places! Oh, and I Ioved the theme of this place. The decor was a nice touch to look at while dining. Having served in the Armed Forces myself, it was refreshing to see a company that pays homage to those who have fought for our country...even showing recognition to our local hometown heroes! Thanks for the great service, guys!