red hot & blue

red hot & blue is amemphisstyle bbq joint in laurel, maryland. my grandfather loves this place and says it has consistently good food. for starters we ordered the house nachos - a choice of chili, pulled chicken or pulled pork topped with a crazy amount of jack & cheddar cheeses, green onions, tomatoes and jalapeños. there wasn't a single spot that was not covered in cheese, plus the flour tortilla chips were sturdy and held up nice & crispy under the weigh of the cheese.  while my grandparents, brother charles and mom looked over the menu, the restaurant played some pretty cool jazz over the speaker system. we choose to put three of the toppings on the side instead of adding them to the nachos cheesy mix. that way each of us could take a little or a lot on each bite.  the weekday lunch special was the best buy at $6.99 that includes a variety of lunch size sandwiches, salad and soup entrees. however, since charles and i both wanted to try the pulled pork sandwich and ribs, we ordere

average. i have been a couple of times and never really could tell what they are striving for with their food. the ribs were not tender and the mashed potatoes were average at best. i think the goal of the restaurant was to get me excited aboutmemphisbbq, but i am not planning any trips tomemphisafter eating here.

good food change of pace. this past sunday the family visited red hot & blue after a multi-year hiatus. there was no real reason we stopped going. it just happened. today we stopped back. the inside layout still has the rock band pig decor. it's pleasant and enjoyable but tired.

we were seated quickly and served by a great guy that knew his job. he took the time to re-orient us to their menu. specifically, it was nice to know they consider themselves amemphisstyle of bbq.

we ordered a brisket potato, brunswick stew, pulled pork sandwich and chicken fried steak. the stew was tops! it had pulled beef, chicken and pork in a tomato base. it was great. my sandwich was filled with tender pulled pork. i liked the coleslaw (memphis style). the potato was well done and balanced to have extra toppings with each bite. the chicken fried steak was chewy. we did not finish it. the potato salad was not hot or cold and didn't have much flavor.

it was a really nice visit with tasty food. they could cut back on the portions and lower the price. it was a lot of food, too much. i'll give a pass on the bad fried steak. that happens more often than not. i know not to order that unless i have heard first hand it is good.

this one need a neutral button.. not texas bbq, not realmemphisbbq, outdated on the inside, and the wait staff are too young to stop putting posts on their facebook and refill your drink.

tastes like home. as close tomemphisas you are gonna get, wthout crossing the mississippi

thememphisstyle pulled pork sandwich is great!