red state bbq

its is easy to drive by, but worth turning back for. i came from indiana on a short vacation and found rs bbq on urbanspoon. their pulled pork made every mile worth the drive. smokey and moist. they have the best bbq i've had in a long time.goodprices made me glad when i drove past the little place i went back.

the food is sogoodhere. its in between lexington and georgetown so you might have to travel a little. i had their 1/2 chicken and it was excellent. they often have chili-mac & cheese which is unique. get their early if you are going for lunch because the line is usually out the door.

don't be fooled by the exterior of this restaurant! this is what a bbq place is supposed to be. all the food is great and the portions are what you should get! other bbq joints need to visit this place to learn what kind of food and portions people really want! keep up thegoodwork red state!

good meat (ok smoke flavor), great sides, better than average ketchup based sauce.

my saying about red state is "it's reallygoodbut they'll just about starve you to death". their portion sizes are just way too small. especially for the price.

friday and saturday evenings are total chaos! not enough space for a decent sized crowd.

concerned consumer. tried out red state bbq after reading all the reviews and was surprised to find just the opposite.. when we first pulled in we noticed the surroundings. it's located outside a run down motel and the outside wasn't very attractive but we gave it a try anyway due to the reviews we figured nothing butgoodcould be inside. once inside we was greeted by our waitress who seemed friendly at first. she was a young thin girl she introduced herself as holly or haley. haley i think. we ordered some drinks some frickles for our appetizer and a rib dinner and sides for our entrees. our drinks came fast but it took us forever to receive our frickles and when we finally did they was cold and tasted of old oil but we ate them anyways hoping our entrees would be better. long after our order was already placed almost twenty minutes later our waitress comes to inform us there was no more ribs so we ordered brisket instead feeling bummed. took us forever to get our brisket our sides was cold and not thatgoodour brisket was raw our service slow took forever to get our waitress back to the table to switch our brisket in for pulled pork. our waitress's only concern was flirting with any guy in the restaurant that gave her attention. we observed that all of her customers where being neglected while she seemed more concerned to talking to all the guys in the place than noticing our brisket was raw or getting us a refill in our cokes. the manager aslo was present in the dining room but never checked on us as well and never seemed to notice that our waitress was too distracted to give her customers service guess this behavior is customary in this establishment. there was several kids in the restaurant along with my own and was really uncomfortable when to our horror we overhead our waitress using foul language while chatting with other employees at the counter. i'll never bring my children back into this place wouldn't advise anyone to do so either. if it wasn't bad enough when we finally paid our bill used the restroom and made our way out to our car we walked past our waitress out in the parking lot next to a car with what appeared to be a few other employees. we where violated with more inappropriate language.her and other employees and could strongly smell marijuana being used. will never bring my children any where near this establishment again. the management definitely needs to get it together in this place and keep an eye on not only their customers but obviously their employees. worst experience i ever had. bad service raw food and we feel violated by foul language and inappropriate behavior by the employees working in the establishment. can't imagine how this establishment has such high ratings. bad food! bad service! and a negative atmosphere! we are a christian family and we do not appreciate or tolerate foul language or drugs!

amazing bbq and sides. i can honestly say i would order everything again. not only was the brisket tender and flavourful, the pulled pork wasgood(my friend thought it a bit dry) but the side were just as good. most bbq places rely on the meat and forget everything else needs to be just as good, not red state. the potato salad, baked corn and cole slaw were very well seasoned and not remotely bland. the greens were good, but could have used a bit more zip, but all in all a wonderful lunch! service was friendly and laid back,goodsized portions, reasonably priced - we really enjoyed our meal and if i'm in town again, i will stop back.

best bbq in lex area. moved to georgetown recently and every time i drove past this place it was packed. i figured it was prettygoodso i got a big takeout order when my parents were visiting. since butt rubbin' on southland closed i have been looking for somewhere with reallygoodbbq...i've been disappointed by a few places, including supposedly the "best in lexington". well, i think i've actually found the best bbq in town. the pulled pork was great--tender and moist, with plenty of burnt ends. the brisket was excellent. i had almost quit eating brisket because it is just bad at so many places. i had the sweet memphis, spicy texas, and nc mustard sauces. they were allgoodbut mustard is always my favorite style. the buns were good; i think they were home-made. didn't try any of the sides because i was too busy eating smoked meat but i will have to try them next time. then again, anyone can makegoodmacaroni or beans, but it's hard to make reallygoodbbq.

great food.goodfood joint. highly recommend if you likegoodbarbq

sweet sassy molassy! get this authentic slow smoked ky bbq in your belly! best bbq i've had north of ga.goodfriendly service and clean place. forget the chains! eat here!

----august 5, 2015------
still like it but have moved my rating down. okay, they have gotten popular and it's hard to get in.goodservice, quickly served but not quite the higher quality it has always been. and if they are going to be busy, they need to learn how to manage a dining room. sign clearly says "please seat yourself" several empty tables and then i find out there is a couple ahead of us on "the list". sheesh. sides aren't the best in the world any more. ribs still good.

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still a little light on the smoke for me...but.... among the top ribs to be found in the central ky area. falling off the bone, flavorful rub.

sides are good, especially the bbq beans and the potato salad.

made a major drive to pick up a to-go order. i must like 'em!

-----29 mar, 2012-----
great off-the-beaten-path bbq. a little light on smoke, but killer ribs and pulled pork. ribs aren't usually ready until around 12:30pm so plan a little late lunch. some reallygoodsides to choose among.

we have been to this place twice between 4 and 6 pm. we were told both times they we out of meat or only had one dish. not exactlygoodfor a restaurant to run out of their signature dishes.

corn pudding. you must get it.. seriously, they do corn pudding right. oh so right. that's not all, though, the meats are very good. i really liked their pulled pork, a tad bit fattier than i like, but with all the crispy rind that i like. and a great smoke ring on it, too. the brisket was good, not the best i've had, but a very solid entree. service was some of the best and friendliest i've had in some time, anywhere! they have three different styles of sauce, all of them seriously tasty and agoodchoice. i'm going back, and soon.

edit: i forgot. the bourbon ball ice cream is fantastic. get it. you won't be disappointed!

very friendly, but food not so. my family and some friends went to red state bbq recently. first time there and was a little disappointed with the service, not enough staff to cover the customers and each table. i hear ppl rave about their food and i didn't find it that good. the corn pudding was burnt and not much flavor, bbq beans was okay and didn't care for the buttered bun on the pulled pork sandwich, to greasey and fell apart. i know the owner has his heart in this bbq place, but he needs to hire more ppl, keep the kitchen help in the kitchen and not serving the customers.goodprices and the ppl were very friendly, but need some organization, more ppl working during rush times and having a hostess seat the customers. i don't know if i'll visit there again.
good luck!

a great treat!. as a visitor from washington state, i don't claim any knowledge of the differences between regional bbq styles. i just likegoodfood, and i found it here! we were starving after a long day at the kentucky horse park, and urbanspoon pointed us here. it was just getting dark, and we were a little worried when we pulled up to see a tiny little building in front of "the bates motel" with only one car out front. but so glad we stayed! the ribs were the meatiest i've ever had, with nice crunchy crust from the rub and tender and juicy inside. as others have mentioned there isn't much smoke flavor and the rub isn't very spicy, but perfect cooking made that ok. all 3 sauces were good. "spicy" wasn't very spicy at all but had a nice tang. the sweet was your basic bbq sauce, and carolina mustard was a nice change for us westerners. my cole slaw was crisp and tasty, and my daughter's mac n cheese was delicious. peach bread pudding was delicious! the bathrooms were an afterthought added on to the building, and may be in danger of falling off someday soon, but hey, the plumbing works. service was fast, prices were great. i wonder if they could mail me some ribs?

pumpkin bread pudding. i like that it is not overpoweringly sweet. a nice hit of mumpkin flavor. lovely custardy texture. a perfect sweet for a crisp fall day.


-----16 nov, 2011-----

pulled pork sandwich. every bit asgoodas the chopped pork sandwich, just a bit different texture.


-----16 nov, 2011-----

chopped pork. very tender, nice and juicy,goodsmoke flavor. all the way aroundgoodq.


-----16 nov, 2011-----

beef brisket. nice and tender, yet holds together well to show the bite mark.goodsmoke flavor not overpwering. not dry but not dripping. nice smoke ring.


-----11 nov, 2011-----

ribs. had the ribs for dinner last night. they aregoodbut not red states strongest offering. they where perfectly done. they where very tender but not falling apart, decently moist, light on the smoke.


-----27 oct, 2011-----

best bbq in the area. this is the first bbq i have had in town that i can say is asgoodas i can make, and i dont have to spend 2 days doing it.goodsmoke flavor yet not overpowering.
we had the brisket and pulled pork sandwiches. the pork had a nice bark, was very moist and tender.
the brisket was smoked just right. still firm enough to hold together but pulls apart easily. great smoke ring.
portion size is generous. prices are reasonable. staff are very friendly and accomodating. you can tell they care about what they are doing.