BBQ Beef Brisket Platter |
Some things are better left unsaid; and some meals best left not eaten. Case in point... Texas Bar-B-Q Factory at the Ballston Mall food court. All the warning signs were there: "You want to try chicken?" as the cashier dangled a toothpick sample in front of me; and the notorious absence of anyone else in line (even though nearby Chick-fil-A was two dozen deep.) Undeterred, I ordered a #6 BBQ Beef Brisket Platter to prove common sense wrong. It wasn't.
Service was sterile but sufficient: Once you hand over your money, the need to impress is over. $7.49 gets you fatty brisket and your choice of two sides. Said sides appear sad and unappetizing as they sit, waiting to be dumped onto a paper plate. I chose cole slaw and fries; but I'm sure everything else tasted equally bad. The fries were heavily seasoned but drenched in oil. The slaw (complete with a single strand of carrot) was dry and awful: All you taste is cabbage.
As for the main event, the brisket was cold, fatty and flavorless: Chunks of fat far outnumbered the meat. Stranger still, the brisket was void of BBQ... A tiny amount of barbecue sauce (watery texture, zero zip) is provided to pour over for yourself.
Total amount of food consumed? Three bites of slaw, two fries and literally bits and pieces of gross brisket. My $1.69 soda came in handy: I had to wash down those terrible flavors with something (thanks for extra ice, one final display of cheapness.) I'd prefer starvation to another meal at this non-eatery. Quite possibly, Ballston's worst "restaurant."