Jack’s Bar-B-Que In Nashville TN

It was crowded and it was loud and it smelled like bbq heaven. I should have known I would be in for a treat when I opened the door and the line was right there. Every table was full and I counted 23 people in front of me. With that kind of line and crowd it could only mean one thing;  I had found a truly great barbecue joint.

I have to admit this wasn’t the first time I had been to Jack’s Bar-B-Que but it was the first time I ate there. Last summer I was in Nashville taking family to the airport to catch a flight back to California. We decided on some BBQ and went to Jack’s but the line was long then too. We didn’t think we would have time so we went across the street to another bbq place…. bad choice. I won’t mention the name of that barbecue restaurant but it was not good at all and I would not recommend it.

So back to this visit. Cecil (my new barbecue convert) and I had decided that while in Nashville on a business meeting we were going to give Jack’s a try and we allotted plenty of time for our visit. As soon as the door opened we were hit with the smell of smoked barbecue and it was a sweet, sweet smell.  We looked at the line and said this must be a good place. Jack’s is small with the a crowded seating area downstairs and a sign that said additional seating upstairs. It was dark with lots of stuff on the walls from photos of country music stars, to barbecue stuff and neon. This is not a typical sit down restaurant. You wait and go through a serving line like a cafeteria and after you have your food try to find a place to sit.  When we finally reached the area to order (it really didn’t take that long) we placed our orders. We both decided for the three meat platter and two sides for a total of $13.00. Not bad at all. I had two ribs, brisket and chicken with baked beans, cole slaw and cornbread.  The smokers are located right by the serving line and the meat comes straight out of the smoker to the chopping board where it is cut and on to the plate. There was a great selection of sides and I wil be honest it was hard to resist what looked like some terrific macaroni and cheese.

We paid at the counter and then went to the little bar area where the sauces where located. I had their Kansas City Style sauce which is a thick dark red sauce with a very nice sweet taste and some of their Tennessee Original which was a thinner traditional vinegar based sauce for pork.  Now we had to find someplace to site. The line was now out the door as the it was lunch time in downtown Nashville. We found a table for four with two young men sitting their and I asked them if they would mind sharing their table and they said go right ahead.  If you guys are reading this thank you very much……. who says people don’t share anymore??

So now we were seated and ready. Like a dummy I had opted to wear a white shirt. Take my advice, do not wear white to a barbecue joint. I grabbed a couple paper towels and stuck them down the font of my shirt and made a bib and surveyed the feast in front of me. I decided to go for the ribs first and when I picked up my first one and put it in my mouth the meat slid ride off the bone. It was so tender it almost melted in my mouth. There was a heavy smoke taste to the ribs and you could tell they had cooked for many, many hours. I decided to try some of the Kansas City Style sauce on my next bite and it was perfect.  I went for the brisket next and it was just as good. They heavy smoke flavor was there as well but once again the sauce balanced it out. The sides of cole slaw and beans were good. The slaw was a traditional vinegar based slaw and the beans were in a very thick beans sauce which I really liked.  The chiken was plump and juicky. The skin slid right off and when I bit in the juices just came out all over. The chicken didn’t have quite as heavy a smoke flavor as the ribs or brisket and was really very good. I have to admit I was full when we were done and it was well worth the long wait in line.

I have to give Jack’s Bar-B-Que in downtown Nashville a 4.75 out of 5. The only thing that kept it from a perfect 5 was the crowded seating. I guess that is just a result of their success. The food was just about perfect and the atmosphere great. So if you are looking for some truly smoke flavored traditional barbecue and you don’t mind a crowd then I highly recommend Jack’s Bar-B-Que in downtown Nashville. I noticed on their website they have a second location in the Trinity Lane area.

www.JacksBarBQue.com
416 Broadway
Nashville, TN 37203
615-254-5715

Here are a few photos I took with the camera in my cell phone. They really don’t do justice but I hope you will get the picture.