8. Neely's Bar-B-Que

So So BBQ
We ate at the Neely's yesterday and I order the BBQ Chicken. For the most part everything was good, not excellent like you would think for someone having a show on the Food Network. I ordered my chicken dry (with no sauce) and the sauce on the side, however it came with sauce and more sauce on the side. The sauce was probably 2 stars, I actually thought the sauce on the chicken was better than the sauce on the side. The chicken was cooked ok, the breast was a little on the dry side but it still tasted good. I ordered beans and slaw with the meal. My son said the bean were awesome, they were good, I don't know if I've had better. I didn't like the slaw much, it was spicy hot and I've never had slaw that way before. If you like slaw that way then you would be ok. We thought that the restaurant would be cleaner and nicer. The bathrooms were small; both the men's and women's. The general appearance of the restaurant was on the dirty side. We were also wondering where the Neely's are putting their money, because it doesn't seem like they are putting money into their building. (We ate at their Jefferson St. location) The service was very good. The waitress were very nice and got us everything we needed. Even with some of the bad things about the restaurant and the sauce we still enjoyed our meal for the most part. But I'm from Missouri (the Show-Me State) and the Neely's still need to show me why they are good enough for a show on the Food Network because I have been to other BBQ at home with just as good or better BBQ. It's worth eating there because the food is not bad and the price is very reasonable, but doesn't live up to the hype.

I'm from eastern NC and very open minded to anyones BBQ, but Neely's was the worst I've eaten anywhere, I had the sampler turkey, beef, pork and ribs. It was cold, dry with a little sauce dumped on top. I know Memphis is famous for it's BBQ and I will try somewhere else - but please don't waste you time and money here.

yes and no
The Neely brothers know how to make good BBQ, and learned from their uncle Jim (though he never shared his sauce recipe, and that shows!). However, I've noticed inconsistency from one location to another, and this one is the one I've been least impressed with. I recommend the Neely's in Midtown, and would give it 3 stars. When Neely's Q is on, as it usually is in Midtown, the meat is tender and juicy, never dry, and has a good flavor. I noticed someone commenting on lack of spice. The inside of a shoulder would not have spice. You can add it at the table. A restaurant that adds it is probably trying to cover something up. But the meat should have a good natural flavor from its own juices and from being smoked. I agree with the criticism that Neely's sauce could be better. Big Jim Neely's Interstate BBQ sauce is a good example, and there are others. Neely's sauce isn't bad. It just isn't anything special. I always order the plate. For some reason, and I also order it pulled, not chopped. In my experience, you get better meat that way. I've given 2 stars for the Mt. Moriah location, but would give 3 stars to the Midtown location.