Famous Dave’s Barbecue, 2430 Prince William Parkway, Woodbridge, VA 22192 Phone: 703.492.1300 Fax: 703.492.0651

When visiting northern Virginia, my friend Dave and I decided to take a chance on Famous Dave’s. After all, how could you go wrong with ‘cue, right?

We arrived at 6:45 on a Sunday night, and the place was packed. Our wait of 15-20 minutes, however, was not excessive.

Our server, explained the difference between St. Louis Style Ribs (more meat, less tender, more fat), and Baby-Back Ribs (less meat, more tender, less fat), took our drink orders, and left.

Dave ended up ordering the half-rack Baby Back Ribs (12.99), with sides of drunken’ apples and garlic mashed potatoes. I ordered the “take two”, consisting of beef brisket and bbq chicken quarter ($12.99), with sides of “firecracker” green beans and garlic mashed potatoes. Both came with corn on the cob and a corn muffin.

The food arrived almost immediately, and while everything tasted wonderful, I will say the corn on the cob had been overcooked, and that was a shame. Instead of being crisp and full of flavor, it was mushy and rather bland.

You have your choice of sauces on the table, and while nothing really needed it, I was compelled to use “Devil’s Spit” on the brisket. Trying a sample on my finger, it wasn’t much to write home about. Applied liberally to the brisket, however, produced a welcome burn on the taste buds.

Since we’d blown whatever diets we were attempting, Dave ordered the Pecan Pie ($5.29), while I ordered the Hot Fudge Kahlua brownie (also $5.29) that came with whipped cream and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

We never felt rushed — in fact, even though the restaurant was packed, the server offered coffee before delivering the bill. Mind you, we had no room for coffee, but it was a nice touch. Smokey Bones could take some lessons from Famous Dave’s.

If you visit, be sure to read the backs of the server’s shirts. They include sayings such as: “The only thing better than ribs. More ribs.” “Get Sauced.” “Make sure the fingers you are licking are your own.” and “Ribilicious.”

Food: (4)
Service: (4)
Price: (4.5)
Overall: (4.25)