Restaurant Review: Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ

Saturday night I had the pleasure of visiting a new restaurant. A neighbor of ours gave us a gift certificate for having done something nice for him. It was a good excuse to finally try this place out.

Because I've never done a restaurant review before (mostly because we haven't been eating out much lately), take note: this place made enough of an impression on me to warrant writing about it.

At first glance, Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ looks like any other family restaurant. We walk in and the first room is small with a counter and the staff are busy filling take-out orders, which apparently is a brisk business for them, from the looks of all the bags awaiting pickup. The next room leads us to the hostess station. Upon rounding the corner to her, the alluring, sweet aroma of barbeque sauce hits me, envelops me like a warm blanket. Ah.........you have to understand, I have a love affair with BBQ sauce. I could eat it by the bucketful.

We are seated, given menus, etc. The staff is terribly friendly and helpful, but I'm not going to go on about the service. I cannot complain - the staff was attentive. But I'm here to tell you about the food. The only thing that's really important, in my opinion, when dining out. I can ignore bad waitstaff, leave a bad tip, or complain to the manager to get it rectified, but if the food is bad, there is no fixin' that!

We peruse the menu. Meanwhile we receive biscuits in a basket. Much to my surprise, they are sprinkled with sugar and served with a semi-sweet apple butter. I didn't care for it. I don't like starting my meal with something sweet (ending it that way is another matter entirely). Anyway, we decide that we are both in the mood for pork. My husband orders the full rack of the Baby Back Ribs, while I order a platter with assorted meats: chicken, pulled pork, and (pork) spare rib tips.

No sooner were we sipping on our beverages, the food arrived (that was fast!) and we began to salivate. First, the aroma of the BBQ sauce alone was enough to get the juices flowing, but the plates were HUGE and I knew that if it was good, I'd be enjoying about 1/2 of it for lunch the next day. We dove in. The table suddenly got very quiet and remained so until my husband finally had to ask if I liked it. As if the moaning and lip-smacking sounds I was emitting wasn't enough of a clue. YES, I love it. Now, don't interrupt me!

Baby Back Ribs - the full order

The baby back ribs were most definitely the best of all the meats we had before us. They were so tender, you could have pried them apart with a fork. They were the perfect blend of just enough meat, the right amount of sauce, and the right amount of carmelization. It is the process that makes these so fantastic: slowly smoked in this enormous smoker which you can see by the kitchen, and then finished on a grill. It was perfection. They were, my husband said, absolutely the best ribs he's ever had. And I, never before a real pork or ribs lover for that matter, absolutely loved them. My dish was also very good. It was the BBQ Half Chicken & Two Meat Platter, where I chose the pulled pork and spare ribs as my two meats. Though my ribs were not as tender as the baby backs, they were extremely savory. The chicken was also fall-off-the-bone tender. I must say everything was seasoned well and all the BBQ sauces used were fantastic.

Red Velvet Cake at Lucille's

It was a great dining experience and if you are a ribs and/or BBQ lover, we highly recommend Lucille's Smokehouse. I wished I had room for their Red Velvet Cake. Someday we'll have to go back and try it.

For more information on the restaurant's menu and locations, click here. They also have family size meals and as I mentioned food to go for families or parties.

If you go, let me know what you thought.