momma's mustard pickles and bbq

had takeout one evening from hurstbourne lane location. pulledporkand beef brisket was nothing special.

on my first visit i tried the brisket, pulledporkand wings. all was wonderful and with the right taste. i don't claim to know who has the best bbq, but i can say i've had some of the best. momma's would fall into that category. brian, was a great server and all-around can-do person while i was there. very friendly and professional. if i owned a business i would want him to be on-board. momma's isn't the most coziest of bbq restaurants concerning atmosphere, but the food is spot on.

the food was good; the service wasn't.

when i travel out of state i like to hit up the "good spots" in the town i am visiting. i had heard very good things about mama's.

our group of 4 walked in at about 5pm to a fairly busy dinner crowd (no line, some empty tables). we found a booth, got our menus, ordered our food, and waited a short time before the food arrived.

i will say, the food was good. my dry rubbed rack ofporkribs really hit the spot, but came with no other sides but 2 slices of toast for $24. my sister ordered a pulledporksalad with ranch dressing. my brother and sister-in-law both ordered brisket sandwiches.

once our food arrived our near empty cups remained so throughout the rest of the meal. in fact, once the plates were dropped, we were never checked on, our drinks were never filled, my sister's ranch dressing was never received, and the additional sides we would have ordered were not ordered.

all attempts to gain the numerous employees attentions were done so in vain. all floor staff seemed to have mastered the brisk-walk, stare-at-the-floor, and ignore all sounds, waves, and attempts at contact approach to waiting tables.

i had to get up and ask for our bill after waiting... and waiting.... and waiting... and waiting....

with so many other bbq places available in louisville i would not recommend you give 'em a taste.

not that great. the wings were excellent, however overly salted. what i did appreciate about them was that they were smoked and flash fried, giving a crispy texture to each bite. yet what made them less than appetizing was the amount of rub they used to season the meat. the potatoes were highly disappointing, having the taste and consistency of instant potatoes. the green beans were disappointing as well. theporkslider was delicious but the brisket was dry and flavorless.

atmosphere was typical of a barbeque place and was nice. the service was great and the staff very friendly. the price was average. the food was mixed. my friend had 1/2 chicken, fries, and slaw. the chicken was moist and had a good smokey flavor. the fries were really good with a seasoning on them. neither of us cared for the slaw. it was a vinegar base and we both prefer ours sweeter and creamy; it was neither. i had a pulledporkslider, brisket slider, baked beans, and potato salad. the pulledporkwas good. it was already sauced (not how i'm used to it since i'm from alabama) but it was smokey, moist, and i liked the sauce. the brisket was disappointing. i love brisket but it was too dry for my taste. the baked beans were good but i added some bbq sauce at the table for extra flavor. the potato salad was not for me. it was mustard based and i like that but it was missing something, possibly sweet pickles or relish. we also had a order of wings as an appetizer, and they stole the show!!!! they were hands down, the best wings i have ever eaten. they appeared to be smoked with a dry rub (?) and then fried. they were perfect. they were crispy, smokey, and yet tender and juicy. i sauced them a little because i really liked the two sauces at the table but they did not need sauce. if i was a tad bit underwhelmed by other items, i was overwhelmed by the wings. the pickles and mustard were also good. i will definitely go back to this place, but next time it's strictly wings, fries, baked beans, and sweet tea (which was good as well).

new location. several weeks ago i took home an order of two slabs of ribs and burned ends, our family ate every bit of the ribs and ends, it was really great. saturday evening, we were on hurstbourne ln and decided to try their second location. when we walked in there was a big party of about 12 or 14 using most of the tables right in the middle of the place. we sat in a side booth. they now have beer which you need with ribs. our server arrived shortly thereafter, i asked for a fall cities but that was the only beer they did not have but would next week. i ordered half a slab ofporkribs and my wife went for the half chicken. the server came back a few minutes later and said they were out of ribs and this was at 6:30 so i settled for half a rack of beef ribs. after this, things slowed down a lot. when the meals arrived i asked about the beer, salt, bar be que sauce and napkins, come on this is a bar b que place. the server said, oh, forgot your beer and left to get the beer then brough the salt and other stuff to our table. this is items that should have been on the table from day one. while we were waiting for our food two couples, one in a booth and one at the bar got up and walked out, no service. as there seem to be only two server, i can see why people left. the two ribs of beef were very large with plenty of meat but i would have likedporkribs. no sure if we will go back to the new location, maybe stick with st. matthews as it is closer to our home. better luck next time as they say.


-----21 mar, 2013-----

really good. ok, my wife saw the review in the paper friday and on saturday said why don't you go to that place on bauer ave and get something for dinner tonight. i went there about 3 pm and place my order and was told they would call me in about 40 minutes when the order would be ready. right, they did call in 40 minutes and said come pick up your order. this i did, however, it took them a few minutes to find the order as the place was busy due to the paper article. i took home a half rack ofporkribs and half of beef ribs plus one pound of pulled pork. you can only get the pulledporkin the pound size. i kept the food in a warm oven until we were ready to eat about 5 pm. the two beef ribs were full of meat, enough for one person, the meat was a bit tough but good. theporkribs were meaty but a bit burned on the outside, as i like them, but my wife is not crazy for ribs cooked that way. now the pulledporkwas outstanding, it had a really come and have some more taste and the sauce that came with it was great. all in all, the trip was worth the money, i was a bit disappointed in only getting two beef ribs but there was plenty of meat on the rib. we had the leftover pulledporkfor lunch the next day and it was even better the second day around. the pickles they give us were great, we ate them all. their dinning room has about ten tables and there is seating downstairs so you should not have any trouble getting a seat for dinner. will be back.

get there as fast as you can!. i just let this place on a food high - totally legit.
the bbq is slow smoked and spice rubbed. the sauce is deliciously balanced and complements the meat. i had theporkbbq ribs - falling off the bone!!! and i chewed on the bones... for the crunchy bits on the end because that was all that was left. the smokiness completely goes through to the bone - it's fantastic. the mac & cheese was deliciously creamy and rich and the baked beans tasted like my grandmas. no lie. i don't lie about food.
great location and charming venue. love the bar! knowledgable staff and super friendly and courteous! great beer list - the country boy cougar bait was fresh and crisp and left plenty of room for the fabulous food!
do not stop - do not pass go - get there as soon as you can. this is not a drill!
oh yea - pickles are fantastic too!

i'm not a barbecue fan so i ate here to accommodate my husband. i couldn't have been more pleased with the food and service. i had the turkey sandwich, cole slaw, and fries and loved every bit of it. my husband said the pulledporkwas excellent. my daughters enjoyed the sausage sliders. simply delicious.

have eaten here twice-very pleased with portion sizes.first visit had theporksandwich with mashed potatoes and coleslaw-all excellent-potatoes were a bit dry.a very good value at 8.00 including the sides.service was good-informal-which was fine.second visit today-had 1/2 rack ofporkribs with greenbeans and mashed potatoes-again the potatoes were a bit dry.the ribs were very tasty-they are a bit charry on the outside-but that is characteristic to the style of bbq-the meat was wonderful and moist-only complaint would be that the sides did not come with the ribs as did with the sandwich-but this leaves it up to you if you want to order larger sides.ribs with 2 sides came to $16.00- the sides being the small order-worth the price-reccommend going.also took home 2porksliders-good portion as well.the pickles and mustard were really good too and housemade-overall a great meal and will be back.

we split the full rack orporkribs ($22.00) more than enough for 2 people. they are dry rub, no sauce, really good. the sides are huge (3.50) a medium could feed 3. the potato salad was bland, baked beans taste like regular van camp beans but are good, the mac and cheese is excellent! i heard another table rave about the wings, my wife loved the pickles and got a jar to take home. we will be back. i was told they are expanding and adding a big beer selection, hope this does not screw up what they have going.