Stars: 3.75 out of 5
Pros: Price, Booze Selection
Cons: Setting, Expectations
JK and family just bought a new house, which is AWESOME!! He finally got a chance to show it to me the other day. It's fantastic and I'm excited for them. After we got done discussing plumbing, painting and landscaping we decided that we deserved a beer. Discussing is tough work. It's almost like doing the work involved in plumbing, painting and landscaping. We decided to go to Buz and Ned's Real Barbecue (Buz and Ned's), as it was fairly close. We also had heard many good things about them. Richmonders seem to be big fans so two boys from the North figured we needed to find out what we were missing.
Buz and Ned's is a straight BBQ joint. That's what they are known for and that's what they do. And when you approach the place, that's the feeling you get. The outside, well of the one we went to, has a very old Westy vibe to it. It certainly doesn't give off the air of fine dining, but it works. It sets the mood for BBQ, which was the aim.
I will admit, the inside was NOT what I was expecting. I thought this was a regular restaurant with a waitress and such. How very wrong I was. It's essentially a fast food restaurant with a bar and a massive dining room. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that's bad. If that's what Buz and Ned's envisioned then they nailed it. It just was not what I was expecting, which led to my confusion and disappointment. In retrospect, I should have seen it coming. But, you know what they say about hindsight...
JK and I pondered the menu board for a minute, taking in all the choices. I will say the menu encompasses all BBQ has to offer. You can get anything from ribs to catfish to sandwiches. All of it seems reasonably priced. JK and I decided to just order 1 large pulled pork sandwich meal and split it as it comes with 2 sandwiches and 2 sides. So, for $6 each, we both got a sandwich and a side. He went with hush puppies and I went with mac n' cheese (of course). We also got a side of wings. We were then left to find a seat while the food was being made. It would be brought out to us after.
We sat at the bar because our main goal was a brew. Buz and Ned's has a great booze selection. They have a variety of beers on tap from craft beers to standards like Coors. There was plenty of variety to choose from. They also have a great bottled beer selection. And, at the time, they were running a special to get rid of some of their older bottles. I got a very very good IPA for $2. Can't beat that. JK got something in draft that he had been wanting to try. The bartender was very friendly and quite knowledgeable She offered suggestions, comparisons and a few jokes. In the future I would come to Buz and Ned's just to grab a few beers, if nothing else.
Our food was brought over to the bar and we got down to business. I started with the wings, which come in an order of 5 (who does odd numbers of wings?). I would like to see a touch more size to them, but maybe they just use young chickens... They were very crispy, but still retained their moisture in a very pleasantly surprising way.. They come unsauced with a ramekin of sauce on the side. We went with the spicy sweet sauce. It had a nice heat and a great fruity flavor to it. It went perfectly with the crispy wing. My sandwich was good with a nice smokey flavor. You could tell the pork was treated with respect during cooking. I topped it with the house sauce which added nice bite to the meat. The mac n' cheese was mediocre, but certainly not terrible. I got the feeling it had seen a few minutes under a heat lamp. Overall the food was good and filling. I didn't leave hungry.
Overall, Buz and Ned's Real Barbecue was good. It wasn't great and I think that is part of my disappointment here. I have heard so many great things about this place which builds up a huge feeling of excitement inside. For Buz and Ned's to not reach that level is a big blow to my experience. Now, this is certainly just as much my fault as anyone else's. I could have done a slew of things differently to change my experience. I can't lay this solely at the feet of the restaurant and demand perfection to my liking. Instead, I will use this as a reminder to forget the hype and go in without an opinion already formed. I would be willing to go back and willing to try it again in hopes of being blown away, which I have no doubt that Buz and Ned's is capable of.
Richmond, I don't even really need to encourage y'all to go here as it seems you love this place already. But for those transplants and visitors I will say this, give them a shot. Try the BBQ, but go int with a clean mind. The food is good and the staff is friendly. You will certainly not regret that you stopped by.
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