Out to eat: Jim Dandy's Family BBQ

The pulled pork platter at Jim Dandy's Family BBQ is a good way to taste its signature smoked meat. (Credit: Amie Dworecki | Metromix)

If you're looking for down home, original barbecue, put Jim Dandy's Family BBQ in Sharonville high on your list. The scent of wood chips and smoked meat fills the parking lot as you arrive. My date and I felt like we were down South for some good ol' barbecue.

The atmosphere: Jim Dandy's has that country barbecue feel when you walk in, with wooden tables and benches and a ceiling that looks like a barn. There's a counter up front to place carryout orders, and on Saturdays, there is dine-in seating and a blues band.

The food: We started the evening off with a couple of drinks - a Samuel Adams Boston Lager for him ($3.75) and a glass of chardonnay for me ($4.75) that came in its own bottle, enough for one serving. Once our friends arrived, we continued our Jim Dandy's experience with an order of Saratoga chips ($3).

After catching a scent of the smoke in the parking lot, I decided to try the half-slab of baby-back ribs ($12) with coleslaw and green beans. Jim Dandy's slogan is "Spiced and smoked, not boiled and soaked."

The spiced and smoked ribs were juicy and tender and had the perfect taste. After adding a little bit of the mild barbecue sauce that was on the table, they were indeed finger-licking good.

My date opted for a half wood-fired chicken ($10) with potato salad and red beans and rice.

The chicken was well seasoned, moist and juicy, while the red beans and rice had just the right amount of spice, and the potato salad had homemade goodness throughout.

Our guests had the Jim Dandy pulled pork sandwich ($8) with potato salad and green beans and the cod sandwich ($7.25) with Saratoga chips and macaroni and cheese.

Why you should go: Jim Dandy's gives you a taste of great home cooked and smoked barbecue right in your backyard. The portions are plentiful, the food is tasty and the live-band atmosphere on Saturdays makes you feel like you're on vacation down South. This Saturday at 7 p.m., Cincinnati's veteran rock band the Goshorn Brothers, perform.

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