370 W. Broad Street
Falls Church, VA 22046
Arriving at Famous Dave’s Barbeque was like walking on
the set of “Rawhide”. Additional Clint
Eastwood credits included some phenomenal movies, so with a “Sudden Impact” and
a “Fistful of Dollars”, “Bronco Billy” and the “Enforcer” Drifted out to the
High Plains of Falls Church to “Go ahead--make my day” to grab us some grub “In
the Line of Fire” at Famous Dave’s on Main Street. To “Hang ‘em High” with this “theme”, here’s
“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” of Famous Dave’s.
The Good:
This place serves
breakfast. Our server told us that
they were only two of the 50-60 nationwide stores that serve breakfast. They really had no choice. Prior to becoming a barbeque joint, the Original Pancake House stood in
this Falls Church strip mall. We arrived
just in time to allow us to pick from either menus. Our breakfast selection included a fluffy
three-egg omelet constructed with their signature brisket, cheese, and
mushrooms. Accompanying the omelet was a
cheesy-potato bake (hash browns with cheese) and some bacon. Bread on the side was supposed to come with
the meal but did not arrive (more on that in the “Bad” section); but all-in-all
the breakfast was good.
The décor is unique
and appropriate. The décor was about
what you’d expect from a place that serves mostly barbeque items. Having eaten at other barbeque places (Red, Hot and Blue, Rocklands, King St. Blues), this place has the
theme nailed.
Barbeque sauces. If you’re a fan of barbeque sauce, this place
is for you. Not only was there six (there
“could have only been 5, do you feel lucky?
Well, do ya’ punk?”) individual sauces to accompany any order, but the
server described each sauce by pouring out the regional sauces on a plate in
the shape of the first letter of the sauce.
A small chip bowl was presented to taste each sauce. Since we were first-timers to Dave’s, they
presented us with a take-home bottle of their signature sauce (for free, not “A
Few Dollars More”). Nice touch, so ask
for a bottle if you’re a first timer. The sweeter sauces were, well, sweet, and the
hot fire sauce was “Firefox” hot. The
other sauces were ranges of these spectrum ends with varying degrees of tang,
spice, and savory, and sweet.
The Bad:
Table space. A rack
of paper towels, the array of the different sauces, condiments, and
accoutrements, place settings, and menus left us little room to eat. Good thing we didn’t order the big rack of
ribs, as we would have to hope an adjacent table was free just to find room for
the side orders.
Incomplete order. As mentioned above, the breakfast came “Every
Which Way but Loose”, but without the ordered English muffin.
The wait staff. Not very knowledgeable about the menu, but to
their defense, the restaurant was only open a few months. What our server lacked in knowledge made up
for in her bright personality and honesty.
The Ugly:
VEGETARIAN WARNING: This
place is NOT for you. We were hard
pressed to find something on the menu that did not contain meat. Granted, this is a barbeque place, but some
attention should be paid to those who prefer something without beef, pork, or
chicken. Having scoured the menu for anything void of
animal, we consulted with both the server and the kitchen manager. Reviewing just about everything on the menu
and looking for alternatives, the kitchen manager suggested the Veggie
Burger. What veggie burger? It was not on the menu. The manager explained
that it is on the catering menu, but he could prepare one for us. Not wanting to leave hungry, we opted for the
mediocre veggie burger with a side of slaw and fries (which were actually
pretty decent if used with the variety of sauces available at the table).
Parking. We were lucky. We got “rockstar” parking; however, luck aside,
it seems like it will be a challenge to find a place to park in the limited
available spaces.
Our experience was not exactly “Heartbreak Ridge”; but
not the kind of place to rush to “Any Which Way You Can”. To paraphrase a line from “The Good, the Bad,
and the Ugly”… In this world there are two kinds of people, my friend. Those
who eat meat, and those who do not. You
decide.
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