jethro's bbq

still the best overall bbq place in the dsm area. great job!

really enjoyed jethro's, the staff was very friendly and the food was very good. we got a mixed platter, my favorite was brisket with applesauce. i wish they hadn't told me the burnt ends are quick deep fried, i don't know why you have to fry them, in st louis they just burn them on the fire. all
in all very good bbq i would definitely go back.

i'm not a huge fan of bbq, but jethro's food was excellent. the atomosphere was fun, but finding a place to park can be difficult. i wish this restaurant would have been here when i was attending drake.

jethro’s has gotten a lot of attention because it has incredible food and catering, but it has also been featured in the media for their adam emmenecker challenge. in this challenge, one has 15 minutes to eat a sandwich composed of a spicy pickle, tenderloin, buffalo chicken tenders, fried cheese cubes, texas brisket, bacon, cheese burger, and a bun. and a pound of waffle fries.

not too bad, but not smoky enough for me.. my wife and i first tried a half order of the onion rings which was still a huge portion, wasn't greasy and tasted just great with the hot sauce that came with it. we couldn't finish it all. i tried the two-meat dinner. the rubbed ribs were very meaty but not the best that i've tasted. what really helped was the add-on sauce. i tried the one labeled "hot" and it was hot and very good. a relative mentioned that the smoked turkey was good, so i tried it and i thought it was only so-so. for the sides, i loved the baked been dish and the potato salad was just ok. the ribs lacked that really robust smoky flavor that i crave, but they were meaty and the portion size was adequate. my wife tried the sauce-less pulled pork and wasn't too crazy about it; but then again, she's not a bbq kind of gal. the service was a little slow at first, and then it was more attentive. the prices are fair for the value received.

excellent food! we were traveling thru des moines and found this gem. great bar-be-que. it was a bit noisy for my husband but i thought it was just right.

this place is awesome. we split an order of waffle fry nachos and the brisket platter. the waffle fries were crazy good - chicken had tons of flavor with a nice little kick. the platter had a nice selection of meats, but i’ll admit that i will be getting burnt ends next time through; omg...

great atmosphere, friendly staff, just stop in.

gotta love 1/2 price boneless wings thursday! pretty good onion rings, too. this is the original drake area location if you feel nostalgic; but they're all over greater dm now.

if you aren't impressed with the food at least there is a lot of fun things to read and look at in the restaurant.; including reading about how "jethro" from the beverly hillbillies sued trying to get the name changed.  jethro's bbq has been on man versus food and there is a wall of failure and a much smaller wall of winners.  

on to the food.  i had the 4 bone rib bbq appetizer for lunch.  it was really fast coming out.  ribs where ok meat wise and had a nice bark.  smoke ring looked decent to maybe a little heavy.  overall taste was ok, still kind of bland for my desire but to feed the masses i am getting used to that.  

there are multiple bbq styles on the table.  i've never been a fan of a white alabama sauce nor do you see it often but they have one on the table for you if your inclined.  their house bbqs have a nice taste to them but have a little bit too much vinegar for my taste. 

overall this is one of the better bbqs i have had in iowa (besides my own of course!)

#1 wings, #1 bbq, #1 food. been here many, many times - loves every one! always a go-to when deciding where to eat. reliably good food and reliably great service!

average. i've been to jethro's drake location three or four times now. it smells amazing outside, i walk past it almost every day to go to class, but their food really falls flat. their bbq sauce is not good, it's very runny which is okay until you try to eat it on a sandwich and it goes everywhere. the flavor isn't the best, there is a couple of sauces and i've tried them all but none of them are like yes i love this or even like it.

sides are pretty standard nothing special about them. i usually get the mashed potatoes which i enjoy more than the main pulled meat sandwich. you get a ton of food though, so if you're really hungry you'll get full though.

this place has the potential to be really good if they can serve a consistent product. i liked the flavors of the food but it was not as good as it could have been. meat was dry and i believe old. the sasuage had to much cumin in it giving it a dirty taste. beans were good, potato salad was as well. but this is a bbq place and not the house of sides. the prices were surprisingly good. since i'm traveling i won't be back to try this place again. i hope if you frequent this establishment you get consistancy.

being from alabama...this spot is "just okay". the alabama white sauce is weak, for my taste, and the potatoe salad is a little too wet! i've never heard of baked beans that do not have hamburger meat.

this is the og in the jethros empire. i really like all of the locations but there is something special about this one. the food is great (wings and ribs are my favs) but i really like the feel of this location. it has the magical local business vibe that i really dig. booya

we started with wings. our sauces were traditional buffalo sauce and hot bbq. hot bbq was the winner there. we then split home and gardens patty melt which was very plain. the turkey surprisingly had good flavor. we were going to get sweet potato fries for a side, we could see the ones they were using in the line window. they sat in the window for over 15 minutes along with the waffle fries. so we picked mac and cheese which is awful. tasted like powered cheese mixed with water. overall, i'd recommend another bbq place. they don't have burnt ends which is disappointing. smokey d's is way better and not as pricey.