Jacks Bar-B-Que
416 Broadway
Nashville, TN 37203
Website
I lived in Nashville in 2004 and when the opportunity to travel for biz came up, I jumped on it. I loved the city; few people seem to be from Nashville, so it was a great melting pot of people. Plus, I am a huge music fan/musician and enjoy being amongst (arguably) the best musicians in the country. However, I am a yankee at heart and decided to move back to Indiana after a year.
Five years ago, I never thought of Nashville as a foodie city, though my palate continues to be more refined. Neighboring Lebanon is the home of Cracker Barrell after all. So in Nashville, make it simple…Go to “Meat and 3’s” eat biscuits, bbq and all the home-style stuff you can jam in yo’ mouth.
Long segue…rare for me. Long story short, one of my favorite places was Jack’s Bar-B-Que. A Nashville legend since 1976 and a prime location downtown next to my favorite bar (Robert’s Western World).
Standard BBQ menu. Shoulder/brisket/turkey/sausage/ribs/chicken. Admittedly, I don’t know a lot about the preparation, but when you walk in, it smells convincing.
What I Got: For lunch, I ordered the 3 meat combo $13.00 (comes with 2 sides and cornbread).
For my three meats, I had pork shoulder, Texas sausage and beef brisket. My sides were Mac and Cheese and Cole Slaw.
The shoulder was good, but a little dry for my taste. The meat was more chopped than pulled, which I like longer strands. I know…picky. The brisket was a little dry as well and was my least favorite of the three. The sausage was a nice surprise, but came in a small portion, about four pieces. Not too spicy/fatty…just really tasty. Great smoky flavor and you will never go back to eating Ekrich ropes after this!
Slaw is vinegar based (I prefer this to mayo based) and mac and cheese is pretty standard. Nothing to write home about, but both were tasty compliments.
What I really like about Jack’s is the sauces. They all seem to be the right level of heat. I tried the 911 (not that hot) Carolina Mustard Style, Tennessee Original, and Texas Sweet Hot. The website has a guide on which to use for each meat…no such guide was at the restaurant, but it was fun experimenting. You can order the sauces online…I say go for it…they are worth the money.
Would I Buy It Again? Yes based on many visits in the past, but No based on this visit. Jack’s is a Nashville legend, however my trip today reminded me of how inconsistent it can be. Kind of like Will Farrell movies, top notch when it is good, but a well below average when they are off. Two years worth of craving and unfortunately, I left disappointed today.
-WIBIA
Tags: barbeque, brisket, Chicken, Food, jack's bar-b-que, nashville, pork shoulder, Ribs, sausage, turkey
Jack’s is the one barbecue place that I’ve ever been to that I rave to EVERYONE about. Hearing that the quality has slipped and made it inconsistent makes me sad. It’s lost some of its appeal to me now. Boo!
can i give yo a tip… make your own, to your liking. my way , to cook pork ribs, is to boil them, then sprikle them with alittle ( not to much,mind your blood pressure) salt. lay em in a pan, now almost cover them up with apple juice. throw in a little hot suauce on the top.. a little, ok, we aint making buffole wings… otay… about 400 f uncovered or until the apple juice boils away. meanwhile…. open a big can of green beans and taters and put the pot over the vent hole n look at that. stuck to the bottom of the pan… but hey, thats , thats, ok… why guys buy throw away roasting pans… and plastic untensils… who wants to help wash up now… why …there is nothing to …clean… oh yeah… well yeah… but we are supposed to recycle… they wont even take it… there is no market for crusted on rib pans… or maybe?
awww dammit, that’s distressing to hear. i used to go there all the time a few years ago and it was always decent (and i live in austin, so i am spoiled as hell).