Barbeque KC Restaurant Reviews

Please subscribe to this blog site to receive all new barbeque restaurant reviews.

If you're looking for a review of a particular restaurant, use the search bar in the upper right corner of this page OR scan the list of all reviews at the very bottom of this page.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Snead’s BBQ

The pickles were alright.

But this is not Snead’s Pickle Barn, is it?

In a dining hall boasting all the charm and comfort of a dilapidated church basement fellowship hall, I ordered the Two Combo Meat ($12.99) – 3/4 cup of burnt ends and three ribs.  This was not a good value at the outset. 

The burnt ends were spectacularly smoked, but fairly gray from being kept warm throughout the day.  By taste, the ends (or “Brownies” as Snead calls ‘em) were an utter disappointment.  Oddly, the smoke taste didn’t come through much and there was not so much as a hint of savory rub.  A lot of joints brag about how their meat is so good it doesn’t need rub or sauce.  Such is not the case at Snead’s.

The St. Louis ribs, as well, were among the most beautiful I’ve ever seen.  The smoke ring penetrated the rib as much as 3/8 of an inch (I measured).  With the mildest resistance, the rib meat pulled clean off the bone.  If appearance and tenderness alone mattered, these porksicles would win the Royal.  But then there’s that taste problem.  The ribs tasted like bland pulled pork.  Again, no rub to be found, but even the classic rib meat unctuousness was missing in action.

My professional assessment (based on my scoring standards):
Burnt Ends... Taste: 7 Tenderness: 8 Appearance: 8 = Overall: 7.6
Ribs... Taste: 6 Tenderness: 9 Appearance: 9 = Overall: 7.8

I should also mention that the appetizer order of fried okra ran $3.50 for about one cup measure of okra.  Again, a lousy value.  

Snead’s boasts a 50+ year legacy in southeastern KC.  I swear, I don’t know how there survived 50 days based on what I was served.

Maybe a charitable reviewer would donate a couple stars to Snead’s. 
That would be a gift.  I’m calling it like I see it – ONE piggie.