Grandpa Eddie's Alabama Ribs (Reported Closed)

Recommends

inaJeanne Bowles

Joined 3 years ago

best barbecue restaurant that we have tried in Richmond. I made reservations for a family reunion group of 23 people on a Sat. eve at 6:30 PM. They were ready for us and handled the drink orders, starters, and entrees with grace. All of us were looking forward to the ribs, desserts, and general "barbecue" atmosphere and we were not disappointed. My "wet" ribs were very tasty...Others were pleased with their choices, most of which were the ribs.

The dessert menu is fun and very tasty, all homemade on the premises. The two waiters who worked with us were knowledgeable and fun...knew just what to recommend for folks who were not sure. I am sorry that the person in 2008 who wrote a review was so negative, but this is now, 2010, and they definitely have their act together. Everyone in our group loved it and we had family from Montana, Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, India, New York, and, of course Virginia. Pretty good cross section of barbecue lovers and those who were eager to taste it for the first time.

We all say: Bravo!! for Grandpa Eddie's...

PS The Blue Grass Music on Saturdays is great, too.

Doesn't Recommend

richmondmark

Joined 5 years ago

Grandpa Eddies Going Downhill. I have eaten at Grandpa Eddies many times - an almost regular actually. There have always been a couple of consistent features about this resturant: the food is usually good and the service has always been bad. But my last couple trips have produced the opposite: the service has been fine - not actually good, but at least not awful like usual. However, the food - in particular their speciality - the ribs - have been lousy. I asked today, and they say they are not doing anything different. But, there is an problem that they are not admitting. Today, my ribs, ordered dry, as I prefer the smoke and seasoning to come through, were obviously dipped in the deep fat fryer to heat them up. They came to my table with the grease still bubbling and had a sheen of grease on them. I ate one rib and it tasted like I was eating a bone dipped in grease - no flavor whatsoever. Disgusting. I showed the server by running my finger across the top of the ribs and it came back dripping with grease. My guess: they were old leftovers that they figured they could reheat in the oil and no one would notice. There was clearly a difference in both the appearance and the taste - what do they think, regular customers don't notice?

To make matters even worse, they acted like they were doing me a favor by offering me a 50% discount - no offer of an alternative meal or to comp the check. So, I had to pay nine bucks for a plate of fries. The place has no restuarant management knowhow whatsoever.

Restuarants that start taking shortcuts soon find themselves out of business. My prediction is that Carey and co. are on that path. I'm guessing they have spent too much time patting themselves on the back and have forgotten what got them noticed in the first place. Really a shame, but restuarants earn their way to bankruptcy.

Well, I'm no longer an almost regular. I won't be back.