Buz and Neds

5/7/13:

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.

The Halligan Bar

11/30/12:

I will tell you right now that this post is a mash-up. It contains photos from both Halligan Bar locations. I just wasn't able to get enough photos at both. So, sorry about it, but them's the breaks. Now on to our regularly scheduled program.

LG, JK and I went to The Halligan Bar (The Halligan Bar) in Short Pump for dinner and some beers on Friday night. LG and I had been to the one in Shockoe Bottom earlier in the week with some police officer friends of ours. I will discuss both here.

First, let's start with Halligan Shockoe Bottom. I have been here a couple of times with LG, but only for drinks. It's a great quiet little bar during the week. By little, I mean 5 or 6 tables. Really a nice place for a drink and some dinner. I haven't been here on a Friday or Saturday night, but the bartender says it's bumping. The weeknight bartender is a really nice guy. He is knowledgeable about both his bar and the surrounding area. The decor is exactly what you expect for a firemen themed bar. There is half a full-sized fire truck along one wall. All of the taps come out of the side. The lights over the bar all sit inside old fire helmets. They are really cool and something I would like to do in my own home if I had a bar. The appetizers I have had here are very tasty and a good sized portion. If you work in downtown, I suggest you get some co-workers and stop in one night.

Now on to The Halligan Bar in Short Pump. This is their second location and a much much bigger one. There are a ton of tables here, bigger staff and a full sized fire truck. The bar goes 3/4ths of the way around the truck which adds to the seating. There is even seating on top of the fire truck with some taps up there. We were advised to call ahead to make reservations for the top of the truck. We ate a full meal here and drank as well.

They have plenty of good beers on tap, like Legend Brown Ale, which is made at a local brewery here in Richmond. They also have a "house beer" here called Smoke Eater. Here is my only complaint about not only The Halligan Bar, but all Richmond bars. This "house beer" is actually Genesee Cream Ale. Being from NY and knowing this beer in my early years I can honestly say one thing, it's nasty. The servers always try to convince you it's good. It's not. It's cheap, but that doesn't mean good. Thankfully, like I said, they have plenty of good beer to balance it out.

The Halligan Bar menu is pretty much BBQ with a touch of lighter fare thrown in there. They have it down right, let me tell you. They have a wide range of platters, plates & sandwiches to choose from along with a plethora of tasty sides. LG went with the bacon cheese fries, a platter big enough to fill her up and leave plenty for JK & I to pick at. The fries were still crispy even after being baked with cheese and bacon on top. There was a nice thick layer of cheese and crumbled bacon, so no bite was ever lacking. What I also liked was that they were served with a giant vat of ranch dressing so as to ensure you never needed a refill. They made a great appetizer and there is plenty for the group to share.

JK was torn between a sandwich and the wings. It's our NY dilemma that we face in every restaurant. Wings are in our blood. It's what we do. So, he went with the wings. Then our debate was how hot. As we discussed the potential merits of heat vs. taste, the time to order arose. JK went with "5 Alarm", the hottest flavor available. When the basket arrived we could see that the wings were of decent size. Certainly not the biggest we've seen, but certainly enough to make a meal. As we extolled upon the positives and negatives about charging for celery, blue cheese & ranch dressing, JK dived into his wings. "They start out sweet and mellow. The heat doesn't seem to creep in until a little later. But when it creeps in, boy does it creep in." is how JK described the flavor. I gave one a try and that was pretty spot on. The heat hits you, but it was delayed. I'm a fan of that because it doesn't rob the eater of the flavor before the heat kicks in. Flavor-wise, JK and I agreed these wings are pretty good. 

I went with the Memphis Style Chicken Sandwich. It's smoked chicken with Halligan sauce (their signature sauce) and cheese on a roll. I got it with slaw, a house-made pickle and a side of chipolte mac & cheese. The meat didn't have a real smokey flavor, but the Halligan sauce gave it good taste. The roll was decent. It held the sandwich together nicely without distracting from the sandwich. The house-made pickle was excellent. It was tangy and crunchy. I could have eaten a half dozen more. The mac & cheese was also good, but not very chipotley. I also would have preferred a smaller pasta then a ziti noodle. but now I'm just being picky. Over all it was a very tasty meal, one I would order again.

Service left a touch to be desired. Our waitress would leave us for long periods of time without checking in. Granted, it was busy, but I would like to have seen her check on us a bit more. Especially when we were ready for our check. We sat for a fairly long period of time before we could even catch our servers eye to get our check. Having worked in food service before, that just frustrates me.

The Halligan Bar is a great place to go after work or with the family for dinner. They have good food and some excellent specials. Give it a chance next time you are looking for
some decent BBQ.