Gotta be open the hours you say you are. Got a very disappointed family. Sunday, 6:31, all social says you are open…. You are not. Feel free to reach out and explain.
David Acord
Skip this place if you like legit bbq. "Texas style" this was not.The restaurant itself looks straight out of the 60s. But not a nice restaurant out of the 60s, just.. somewhere that needs a desperate update.When we walked in we sat down for about 10 minutes before we were greeted, given a menu (after being asked if we knew what we wanted) and served. The chef/server/only person there was very pleasant.In terms of drinks, there were Pepsi (just Pepsi, no diet, no other soda), water, and Budweiser.I ordered a combo plate to try two meats but honestly wouldn't have been able to distinguish them. All the meats we tried were sitting in oil (I'm not going to take a picture of the remains in my styrofoam box since that's gross, but I am talking a solid 2-3 tbsp of oil floating in the box). Why so much oil? There was no meaningful seasoning on any of the ribs, which were tough. Also, this is a basic barbecue prep - pull off the silver skin membrane off the back! They all had the ridiculously tough papery membrane on the back which doesn't break down during low-and-slow cooking, and there's no reason for that to be left on.I gave it one star because the guy was pleasant, but sadly I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone.
Carla T.
I hate to have to rate this restaurant so low because we met the original owner there who happens to be a very sweet man. But, man, oh man! He needs some serious help with the cooking! The food was pretty disgusting. The sole cook acknowledged to us that making bbq wasn't his forte and that he was only trying to help his friend, the owner, out so that the place wouldn't have to close. I'm sure the restaurant was probably amazing in its glory days when it was at its pique. We only came here because we wanted to frequent a black owned bbq establishment in the area and this was the only one. The owner, Don, was in a wheelchair and greeted us so warmly. He suffers from Parkinson's disease so he wasn't able to talk much. But he was so kind to show us photo albums of his wife and family during the early days when the restaurant was thriving. We didn't have the heart to tell him that the food was really bad now. It was actually inedible. We pushed the food around our plates the whole time without eating it and spent the majority of our time reminiscing with Don, who was absolutely lovely to share photos of his family with us. We had all of our food packed up to go and left a $100 tip on the table. Needless to say, the packed up food was deposited in the trash can as soon as we got home. I wish there were some way that this restaurant could be revived, but I don't know if the owner's other family members would be willing to put in the time and money it would require. It's too bad... I would love to see it come back to life one day.
NK
The Lamb here is unparalleled.I have eaten a lot of BBQ all over, the finesse and excellence of the lamb preparation here is amazing. I can't say enough about the Lamb. They have truly mastered it. Suggested plate if you like lamb:Lamb plate with the "hot" sauce and two potato salad sides.
S Bean
closed for deep cleaning. call ahead
Priscilla O.
It took a while to get our order taken but that may be because there was one person doing it all: barbecuing, taking the order, and serving. The place was deserted, with just one couple other than us. Two people came into the take out section but left after waiting 15 minutes. Our waiter was nice and friendly when he came to take our order and he delivered it in decent time. We had the chicken, whose flesh was meaty and juicy but the skin was tough and tightly bound, like a pair of Spanx. The side of potato salad was good; the cole slaw, not so much so. I was impressed with the bidet toilet because you don't often see one of those outside of Japan. Two drinks were available- Pepsi or water. The Pepsi was actually a Royal Crown Cola, which I haven't tasted in years.
Brian Mulcahy
This was my 3rd visit to Pack Jack tonight.The first 2 were excellent. Not the 3rd.The brisket that I ordered was horrible. Looked like it had beensitting in the open all day....dried out and overcooked.The beans were cold. BBQ sauce was like gelatin.I won't go back. No excuse for this.
Eric S.
I really wanted to like this place but was disappointed. The place is kinda funky but it's been there 40 years snd funky isn't always bad. Walked in at dinner time and the place was deserted. No customers and no staff. I found a gent in dinning room who went back and got me some help. My order was simple. Half rack of ribs and pecan pie which they were out of. Also out of the mild sauce so I went with hot. My half rack of ribs consisted of 4 ribs. One decent size rib, one small ribs and two of the smallest, thinnest ribs I've ever seen. More like trim than a rib. (Photo attached). Of course I did not see this until I got home. I'm a long time Foodservice professional and chef and can tell you that a half rack should have no less than 6 or 7 ribs. Got home opened the styrofoam container and felt ripped off. $15.00 for what amounted to maybe 3 poorly done ribs. It was nothing like I hoped for or expected. The two smaller ribs were dry. He put the VERY THIN hot sauce (wasn't very hot at all) right on them instead of on the side. The ribs had good smoked flavor with the larger one being very fatty. I know the impact poor reviews can have on a business and I try to be gentle but in this instance I feel that along with feeling ripped off the product quality could have been much better. Soooo... everyone has a bad day now and again and I will give them one more shot at earning my business. I want to support the businesses in my community. I love it when local businesses strive to earn that support.
David F.
Great bar-b-q. I had the lamb and my step-son had pulled pork sandwich. Both delicious (though the lamb was a little fatty). Friendly service and great prices.
Nekhitem Kamenthu
The Lamb here is unparalleled.I have eaten a lot of BBQ all over, the finesse and excellence of the lamb preparation here is amazing. I can't say enough about the Lamb. They have truly mastered it. Suggested plate if you like lamb:Lamb plate with the "hot" sauce and two potato salad sides.
Delicious. I had the spicy housemade link in their spicy BBQ sauce and coleslaw. Top notch food. I will be back.
D-Myers
Just moved to the area and I'm so glad I found this place. Martin grilled up some hot links and beef brisket for me with coleslaw and beans on the side. On point!!!!! The inside is filled with history about the restaurant over the many years and the family that make this place great. Definitely a really comfortable at home feeling here. I definitely recommend to anyone new to the area looking for some real BBQ. I'll be back again and again. Thanks Martin!!
Katie B.
I moved from the south to California in 2019 and have been looking for BBQ in my area for 2 years. The food was amazing- I hope they hire me to make sides for them (macaroni and cheese, greens, cornbread)....Will probably be back tomorrow. The staff was very respectful and friendly.
Marlo Richter
The barbecue is great. Service is slow, there's flies. Sides are store bought. Serving portions have shrunk
Tom Litchfield
Great bbq, smokie, delicious sauces. The cowboy beans are out of this world! A little run down inside but made up for by the friendly service, reasonable prices, and good food. Fun place to watch the Giants game.
Gotta be open the hours you say you are. Got a very disappointed family. Sunday, 6:31, all social says you are open…. You are not. Feel free to reach out and explain.
Skip this place if you like legit bbq. "Texas style" this was not.The restaurant itself looks straight out of the 60s. But not a nice restaurant out of the 60s, just.. somewhere that needs a desperate update.When we walked in we sat down for about 10 minutes before we were greeted, given a menu (after being asked if we knew what we wanted) and served. The chef/server/only person there was very pleasant.In terms of drinks, there were Pepsi (just Pepsi, no diet, no other soda), water, and Budweiser.I ordered a combo plate to try two meats but honestly wouldn't have been able to distinguish them. All the meats we tried were sitting in oil (I'm not going to take a picture of the remains in my styrofoam box since that's gross, but I am talking a solid 2-3 tbsp of oil floating in the box). Why so much oil? There was no meaningful seasoning on any of the ribs, which were tough. Also, this is a basic barbecue prep - pull off the silver skin membrane off the back! They all had the ridiculously tough papery membrane on the back which doesn't break down during low-and-slow cooking, and there's no reason for that to be left on.I gave it one star because the guy was pleasant, but sadly I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone.
I hate to have to rate this restaurant so low because we met the original owner there who happens to be a very sweet man. But, man, oh man! He needs some serious help with the cooking! The food was pretty disgusting. The sole cook acknowledged to us that making bbq wasn't his forte and that he was only trying to help his friend, the owner, out so that the place wouldn't have to close. I'm sure the restaurant was probably amazing in its glory days when it was at its pique. We only came here because we wanted to frequent a black owned bbq establishment in the area and this was the only one. The owner, Don, was in a wheelchair and greeted us so warmly. He suffers from Parkinson's disease so he wasn't able to talk much. But he was so kind to show us photo albums of his wife and family during the early days when the restaurant was thriving. We didn't have the heart to tell him that the food was really bad now. It was actually inedible. We pushed the food around our plates the whole time without eating it and spent the majority of our time reminiscing with Don, who was absolutely lovely to share photos of his family with us. We had all of our food packed up to go and left a $100 tip on the table. Needless to say, the packed up food was deposited in the trash can as soon as we got home. I wish there were some way that this restaurant could be revived, but I don't know if the owner's other family members would be willing to put in the time and money it would require. It's too bad... I would love to see it come back to life one day.
The Lamb here is unparalleled.I have eaten a lot of BBQ all over, the finesse and excellence of the lamb preparation here is amazing. I can't say enough about the Lamb. They have truly mastered it. Suggested plate if you like lamb:Lamb plate with the "hot" sauce and two potato salad sides.
closed for deep cleaning. call ahead
It took a while to get our order taken but that may be because there was one person doing it all: barbecuing, taking the order, and serving. The place was deserted, with just one couple other than us. Two people came into the take out section but left after waiting 15 minutes. Our waiter was nice and friendly when he came to take our order and he delivered it in decent time. We had the chicken, whose flesh was meaty and juicy but the skin was tough and tightly bound, like a pair of Spanx. The side of potato salad was good; the cole slaw, not so much so. I was impressed with the bidet toilet because you don't often see one of those outside of Japan. Two drinks were available- Pepsi or water. The Pepsi was actually a Royal Crown Cola, which I haven't tasted in years.
This was my 3rd visit to Pack Jack tonight.The first 2 were excellent. Not the 3rd.The brisket that I ordered was horrible. Looked like it had beensitting in the open all day....dried out and overcooked.The beans were cold. BBQ sauce was like gelatin.I won't go back. No excuse for this.
I really wanted to like this place but was disappointed. The place is kinda funky but it's been there 40 years snd funky isn't always bad. Walked in at dinner time and the place was deserted. No customers and no staff. I found a gent in dinning room who went back and got me some help. My order was simple. Half rack of ribs and pecan pie which they were out of. Also out of the mild sauce so I went with hot. My half rack of ribs consisted of 4 ribs. One decent size rib, one small ribs and two of the smallest, thinnest ribs I've ever seen. More like trim than a rib. (Photo attached). Of course I did not see this until I got home. I'm a long time Foodservice professional and chef and can tell you that a half rack should have no less than 6 or 7 ribs. Got home opened the styrofoam container and felt ripped off. $15.00 for what amounted to maybe 3 poorly done ribs. It was nothing like I hoped for or expected. The two smaller ribs were dry. He put the VERY THIN hot sauce (wasn't very hot at all) right on them instead of on the side. The ribs had good smoked flavor with the larger one being very fatty. I know the impact poor reviews can have on a business and I try to be gentle but in this instance I feel that along with feeling ripped off the product quality could have been much better. Soooo... everyone has a bad day now and again and I will give them one more shot at earning my business. I want to support the businesses in my community. I love it when local businesses strive to earn that support.
Great bar-b-q. I had the lamb and my step-son had pulled pork sandwich. Both delicious (though the lamb was a little fatty). Friendly service and great prices.
The Lamb here is unparalleled.I have eaten a lot of BBQ all over, the finesse and excellence of the lamb preparation here is amazing. I can't say enough about the Lamb. They have truly mastered it. Suggested plate if you like lamb:Lamb plate with the "hot" sauce and two potato salad sides.
Restaurantji Recommends
Delicious. I had the spicy housemade link in their spicy BBQ sauce and coleslaw. Top notch food. I will be back.
Just moved to the area and I'm so glad I found this place. Martin grilled up some hot links and beef brisket for me with coleslaw and beans on the side. On point!!!!! The inside is filled with history about the restaurant over the many years and the family that make this place great. Definitely a really comfortable at home feeling here. I definitely recommend to anyone new to the area looking for some real BBQ. I'll be back again and again. Thanks Martin!!
I moved from the south to California in 2019 and have been looking for BBQ in my area for 2 years. The food was amazing- I hope they hire me to make sides for them (macaroni and cheese, greens, cornbread)....Will probably be back tomorrow. The staff was very respectful and friendly.
The barbecue is great. Service is slow, there's flies. Sides are store bought. Serving portions have shrunk
Great bbq, smokie, delicious sauces. The cowboy beans are out of this world! A little run down inside but made up for by the friendly service, reasonable prices, and good food. Fun place to watch the Giants game.