Rodney Scott's Birmingham

GregW

This location has been open around eleven months. My office is about block from it. I have purposely waited to have lunch there to allow the new place crowd to settle down. With each passing week the crowd is slowly becoming less.
I had lunch there today, I'm rather disappointed. I had a pork sandwich and mac and cheese. The sandwich was pretty dry meat. I was surprised at how dry the meat was. The mac and cheese was slightly better than what can be made with Velveeta cheese.  The bbq sauce is very different than what is commonly served in the region- not bad, but certainly not what people normally expect around here.
I would give my meal a solid B-. Unfortunately, this rating will not be enough to keep the place open. There is a Saw's BBQ about a block from Scott's that has much better food.

The building that Scott's occupies has already housed another failed business by Scotts business partner Nick Pihakis. The failed business was Saigon Noodle House.  Locations that have had a business fail, tend to follow that pattern. As I have said before, Scott's is located on the wrong side of a bad hill. The location can be overcome, provided the food is good.

Nick Pihakis is famous as the original founder of Jim and Nick's BBQ- If you are familiar with this now divested chain, you will undoubtedly agree that this is strictly commercialized BBQ that has little in common with traditional pit cooked BBQ. 

Rodney Scott occasionally comes down to the Birmingham location for a little public relations. I have not had the pleasure to meet him, but he does stand out front and wave as the cars go by. He seems to be a straight up authentic guy and I have the highest respect for him, but he can't be everywhere all the time overseeing the pit. I would imagine that the cooking process he did at his original family operated location is difficult to duplicate in other locations that he can't directly oversee. It's hard to operate a place on Charisma alone.  

I would be surprised if the Birmingham location is still operating at the 2 year anniversary. I sincerely hope they can turn it around, but competition in the BBQ market in the area is pretty fierce, with very capable competitors very close by.    

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I have eaten Rodney’s pulled pork off a tiny styrofoam plate with a plastic fork in a parking lot in Houston and it changed my life (well,  it changed what I understood about vinegar and pulled pork). In the words of the wise sage Guy Fieri, I would eat that off a flip flop!

All kidding aside, it is the best bite of pig bbq I have ever had to this day. Hope he does well

CornfedMA

That’s too bad. He’s a great guy, I’ve been fortunate to meet him and a few times and share a couple beers. I’ve always had great experiences with his food too. Scaling a business beyond a couple great locations is extremely difficult to do, especially on the aggressive timelines he seems to be on. Hopefully they can get things figured out in Birmingham. 

DoubleEgger

Finding and retaining quality employees in this market is very difficult. 

SonVolt

GregW said:

 The bbq sauce is very different than what is commonly served in the region- not bad, but certainly not what people normally expect around here.

This line irks me a little. As someone living in Alabama, open your minds just a tiny bit and you'll be surprised what falls into it. 

GregW

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

I have eaten Rodney’s pulled pork off a tiny styrofoam plate with a plastic fork in a parking lot in Houston and it changed my life (well,  it changed what I understood about vinegar and pulled pork). In the words of the wise sage Guy Fieri, I would eat that off a flip flop!

All kidding aside, it is the best bite of pig bbq I have ever had to this day. Hope he does well

I have no doubt that the BBQ cooked by Rodney himself is excellent. 

GregW

SonVolt said:

GregW said:

 The bbq sauce is very different than what is commonly served in the region- not bad, but certainly not what people normally expect around here.

This line irks me a little. As someone living in Alabama, open your minds just a tiny bit and you'll be surprised what falls into it. 

I failed to properly state my personal opinion of the sauce. I don't have a problem with it, in fact I always serve a vinegar based sauce with pork. I keep a 1/2 gallon of Lexington Dip made with the recipe from Amazing ribs site. It is my personal favorite.

Now for the difficult part, when a restaurant is in business to make money, it is helpful to serve the type sauce that the majority of people in the region expect.
Sure, expanding the culinary palette of the customer is a great thing to do, but not at the expense of alienating them.

My intent was not too "Irk" you. Sorry If I offended you.

SonVolt

Oh, I'm not offended - I just don't agree (at least philosophical) that a restaurant "should serve the type of sauce that the majority of the people in the region expect". Sadly you're probably right and Rodney's new joint will ultimately close, and Alabama will be the lesser for it. 

GregW

CornfedMA said:

That’s too bad. He’s a great guy, I’ve been fortunate to meet him and a few times and share a couple beers. I’ve always had great experiences with his food too. Scaling a business beyond a couple great locations is extremely difficult to do, especially on the aggressive timelines he seems to be on. Hopefully they can get things figured out in Birmingham. 

Rodney has a passion for what he does. I really hope he finds a way to transfer his passion to the other locations. 
Alabama has a place called Dreamland BBQ. The original location is in Tuscaloosa. They have a number of locations, none are nearly as good as the original. That hasn't stopped them from being successful. 

DoubleEgger

GregW said:

CornfedMA said:

That’s too bad. He’s a great guy, I’ve been fortunate to meet him and a few times and share a couple beers. I’ve always had great experiences with his food too. Scaling a business beyond a couple great locations is extremely difficult to do, especially on the aggressive timelines he seems to be on. Hopefully they can get things figured out in Birmingham. 

Rodney has a passion for what he does. I really hope he finds a way to transfer his passion to the other locations. 
Alabama has a place called Dreamland BBQ. The original location is in Tuscaloosa. They have a number of locations, none are nearly as good as the original. That hasn't stopped them from being successful. 

The Dreamland in Roswell, GA is awful. But then again mediocre BBQ thrives around here. 

GregW

DoubleEgger said:

GregW said:

CornfedMA said:

That’s too bad. He’s a great guy, I’ve been fortunate to meet him and a few times and share a couple beers. I’ve always had great experiences with his food too. Scaling a business beyond a couple great locations is extremely difficult to do, especially on the aggressive timelines he seems to be on. Hopefully they can get things figured out in Birmingham. 

Rodney has a passion for what he does. I really hope he finds a way to transfer his passion to the other locations. 
Alabama has a place called Dreamland BBQ. The original location is in Tuscaloosa. They have a number of locations, none are nearly as good as the original. That hasn't stopped them from being successful. 

The Dreamland in Roswell, GA is awful. But then again mediocre BBQ thrives around here. 

I stopped by the Tuscaloosa place a few years ago. The ribs were unusually good. I commented on them to the guy at the register as i was leaving. He said they were good because the place was not busy. He said the cook time varies depending on how busy they are. He said they can be cooked as fast as one hour they are busy. 

DoubleEgger

GregW said:

DoubleEgger said:

GregW said:

CornfedMA said:

That’s too bad. He’s a great guy, I’ve been fortunate to meet him and a few times and share a couple beers. I’ve always had great experiences with his food too. Scaling a business beyond a couple great locations is extremely difficult to do, especially on the aggressive timelines he seems to be on. Hopefully they can get things figured out in Birmingham. 

Rodney has a passion for what he does. I really hope he finds a way to transfer his passion to the other locations. 
Alabama has a place called Dreamland BBQ. The original location is in Tuscaloosa. They have a number of locations, none are nearly as good as the original. That hasn't stopped them from being successful. 

The Dreamland in Roswell, GA is awful. But then again mediocre BBQ thrives around here. 

I stopped by the Tuscaloosa place a few years ago. The ribs were unusually good. I commented on them to the guy at the register as i was leaving. He said they were good because the place was not busy. He said the cook time varies depending on how busy they are. He said they can be cooked as fast as one hour they are busy. 

I grew up eating 1hr burnt up ribs. No thanks. Lol. 

GregW

SonVolt said:

Oh, I'm not offended - I just don't agree (at least philosophical) that a restaurant "should serve the type of sauce that the majority of the people in the region expect". Sadly you're probably right and Rodney's new joint will ultimately close, and Alabama will be the lesser for it. 

I agree, It will be a terrible loss for the area if it does close. When we lose the smaller places, all we are left with is the big commercial places like Jim and Nick's. Jim and Nick's are wildly successful by any measure, but they are not real pit cooked BBQ.  Credit has to be given to Rodney's for cooking on a pit.

SonVolt

We're stuck with Big Bob Gibsons, which is patently awful. 

DoubleEgger

GregW said:

SonVolt said:

Oh, I'm not offended - I just don't agree (at least philosophical) that a restaurant "should serve the type of sauce that the majority of the people in the region expect". Sadly you're probably right and Rodney's new joint will ultimately close, and Alabama will be the lesser for it. 

I agree, It will be a terrible loss for the area if it does close. When we lose the smaller places, all we are left with is the big commercial places like Jim and Nick's. Jim and Nick's are wildly successful by any measure, but they are not real pit cooked BBQ.  Credit has to be given to Rodney's for cooking on a pit.

Rodney is supposed to be opening up a place near the TED in Atlanta this year. I hope they get it right here. Those ribs in Charleston were off the chain. 

Thatgrimguy

DoubleEgger said:

GregW said:

CornfedMA said:

That’s too bad. He’s a great guy, I’ve been fortunate to meet him and a few times and share a couple beers. I’ve always had great experiences with his food too. Scaling a business beyond a couple great locations is extremely difficult to do, especially on the aggressive timelines he seems to be on. Hopefully they can get things figured out in Birmingham. 

Rodney has a passion for what he does. I really hope he finds a way to transfer his passion to the other locations. 
Alabama has a place called Dreamland BBQ. The original location is in Tuscaloosa. They have a number of locations, none are nearly as good as the original. That hasn't stopped them from being successful. 

The Dreamland in Roswell, GA is awful. But then again mediocre BBQ thrives around here. 

The original Dreamland sucks too. Sauce is good but in the 5 times I've stopped with a crew on our way to Talladega each year, they have sucked 5 times. The ribs are tough and in no way special.

GregW

SonVolt said:

We're stuck with Big Bob Gibsons, which is patently awful. 

Chris Lilly is a legend. A legend that I don't understand, I have visited the Decatur place and honestly was not that impressed. 
Chris Lilly has a tendency to turn up everywhere there is free publicity to be had. He certainly works very hard to promote his brand. He's won a lot of contest, so he undoubtedly knows how to cook. 

GregW

DoubleEgger said:

GregW said:

SonVolt said:

Oh, I'm not offended - I just don't agree (at least philosophical) that a restaurant "should serve the type of sauce that the majority of the people in the region expect". Sadly you're probably right and Rodney's new joint will ultimately close, and Alabama will be the lesser for it. 

I agree, It will be a terrible loss for the area if it does close. When we lose the smaller places, all we are left with is the big commercial places like Jim and Nick's. Jim and Nick's are wildly successful by any measure, but they are not real pit cooked BBQ.  Credit has to be given to Rodney's for cooking on a pit.

Rodney is supposed to be opening up a place near the TED in Atlanta this year. I hope they get it right here. Those ribs in Charleston were off the chain. 

I forgot to mention, someone in the office ate there a week or so ago. They had a single rib leftover and brought it back to the office. I sampled it and thought it was very good. In hindsight, I should have ordered ribs on my visit, but I wanted to go with what they are famous for, the whole hog pork.

GregW

Thatgrimguy said:

DoubleEgger said:

GregW said:

CornfedMA said:

That’s too bad. He’s a great guy, I’ve been fortunate to meet him and a few times and share a couple beers. I’ve always had great experiences with his food too. Scaling a business beyond a couple great locations is extremely difficult to do, especially on the aggressive timelines he seems to be on. Hopefully they can get things figured out in Birmingham. 

Rodney has a passion for what he does. I really hope he finds a way to transfer his passion to the other locations. 
Alabama has a place called Dreamland BBQ. The original location is in Tuscaloosa. They have a number of locations, none are nearly as good as the original. That hasn't stopped them from being successful. 

The Dreamland in Roswell, GA is awful. But then again mediocre BBQ thrives around here. 

The original Dreamland sucks too. Sauce is good but in the 5 times I've stopped with a crew on our way to Talladega each year, they have sucked 5 times. The ribs are tough and in no way special.

I would agree, the sauce is very good. I would go as far as to say the sauce is what keeps them in business.

alaskanassasin

Can we all agree that’s most people don’t know what good bbq is? 

alaskanassasin

JohnInCarolina

alaskanassasin said:

Can we all agree that’s most people don’t know what good bbq is? 

I’ve discovered this same thing reading reviews of various bbq establishments over the years.  Especially small local joints.  It’s all relative to whatever your baseline is, and for most of us here, it’s pretty high.

rlew

Hard to beat Saw's. One of our favorites.

GregW

rlew said:

Hard to beat Saw's. One of our favorites.

The fried green tomato BLT is excellent. 

GregW

rlew said:

Hard to beat Saw's. One of our favorites.

I'm not a fan of the Juke Joint in Crestline, but the original Homewood and Avondale locations are really good.

rlew

GregW said:

rlew said:

Hard to beat Saw's. One of our favorites.

I'm not a fan of the Juke Joint in Crestline, but the original Homewood and Avondale locations are really good.

Those two are so hard to get into for lunch. Gotta go early.

GregW

rlew said:

GregW said:

rlew said:

Hard to beat Saw's. One of our favorites.

I'm not a fan of the Juke Joint in Crestline, but the original Homewood and Avondale locations are really good.

Those two are so hard to get into for lunch. Gotta go early.

Indeed they are. Ordering on the phone for pickup isn't any faster, you still have to wait in line with everyone else to pick up your order.
They have expanded the Avondale location, but I haven't been in since it was completed.

shtgunal3

I agree. Saw’s is good cue. I like the “pork & greens”.

GregW

shtgunal3 said:

I agree. Saw’s is good cue. I like the “pork & greens”.

Pork & greens sound good right now. That will be on my lunch menu for next week. The Avondale location is a couple of blocks from the office.