Red Hot & Blue

We had a good dinner with friends. Everyone had the dry rub ribs and hubby had the fried cat fish.

What a TERRIBLE dining experience. I absolutely do not recommend this eatery. I ordered my son a pulled pork sandwich and there was MOLD on the bun! I really don’t think more needs to be said. I’ll even enclose a picture of my son’s MOLDY bun.

Great food and friendly employees. A bit small for large groups but great family night out. Potions are large making the prices well worth it. I would happily go there again.

Went here two weeks ago for takeout BBQ. Initially I felt the service was great but not the food. Actually returned to my hotel to not have utensils, napkins or condiments I asked for.

RHB is not what it once was when it first opened years ago. Dry pork, tasteless & hard bbq beans and sweet tea that is nothing more than sugar water. The only decent thing today were the corn bread muffins and cole slaw.

We had a rehearsal dinner at this location last week. The manager, Vinnie, was so helpful and polite! She explained everything and answered all questions. I did not get to meet her personally but she always returned phone calls and emails very quickly.
The food was very good. We especially enjoyed the pulled pork and beef brisket. And don’t pass up the potato salad! It’s fantastic!
William and Jerome were very attentive and checked often to see that we had everything we needed. They did a great job. And an unexpected bonus — they were also funny and entertaining!
Overall — a good experience and good value.

We had a a good experience at this restaurant. .they were very friendly and the staff was very attentive. Great service and the food was good. Good value for the price.
Linda

We had a buy one entrée get one free coupon for this place so we decided to check it out. I ordered the pulled pork platter but substituted mixed veggies (carrots and broccoli) in place of coleslaw. The meat itself was better than average, but the beans and BBQ they have available in squeeze bottles were excellent. The hottest sauce was spicier than I expected, but it was likely vinegar based which means it will be watery (NC style BBQ sauce). The cornbread wasn’t very good but I am not a fan of cornbread in general.
We also had the All-​In Burger and it was very good, but when you go to a BBQ place get BBQ instead of a burger. Server was very good and we’ll be returning.

Better than average burgers, lower than average prices!
Also, their Memphis fries were so good, I couldn’t stop, and almost ordered an extra portion.

It’s not authentic BBQ but it’s relatively inexpensive. Essentially you get what you pay for. The service was prompt and attentive. When my friend and I went here for lunch during the workweek (in the winter) I was estimate the restaurant was about half full.
After being seated and greeted, we ordered, «just water» and they brought out two mini pitchers instead of cups. Interesting. As for grub, my lunch order was the Pulled Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing. My friend, a native of Texas, ordered the Pulled Pork Sandwich. He had asked if it was served with BBQ sauce and the coleslaw on top when he ordered to which the waitress said yes. However when his order arrived, coleslaw was on the side and no BBQ sauce came with the meal. There are three sauces for trying in bottles at the table. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal but according to him the presentation made it less authentic. Anyways, I was actually surprised to find that I enjoyed my meal. Truthfully, upon walking into the restaurant, I was a little weary. They skimped a little bit on the portion; would have liked a few more bites of pulled chicken and mixed salad.
I wouldn’t say the joint is worth taking a trip to Rosslyn BUT if you live or work in the area, pay them a visit.

This place is pretty standard.
It’s definitely not the best barbecue in the world.
I’m only eaten inside the restaurant a few times. Now, I have gotten take out plenty of times. And every time something is always missing ! This is the biggest bummer when you want barbecue and there’s no barbecue sauce.
My go to meal here is the pulled chicken barbecue. For the price the portions are kind of skimpy. I’ve had to go Warriors weather has been noticeable bone and cartilage in the pulled meat. I’m not a big carnivore so this is a total turnoff for me.
Also this is one of a few places where you can enjoy fried okra, collards and hush puppies. If anyone and your family is a little bit country you know and probably enjoy hush puppies, collards and fried okra. if you’re a vegetarian you might want to ask ahead of time if the collards are seasoned with meat.
Let’s not forget those cute little cornbreads. Dang, those things are cute. I can’t get enough of those sweet little things. It’s kind of sad that I go gaga over those cute little cornbreads. If you go here ask for extra cornbread.
Another perk is a desserts. The desserts have been pretty reliable. A decent sized portion and on the yummy side. Plus the price is more than decent. They aren’t overpowered the sugar. The actual have a nice savory flavor. The fruit cobbler is little misleading. It’s more of a pie. However if you do get the fruit cobbler be sure to add cornbread to it. Nothing says southern meal like cobbler and cornbread.

The best potato salad evah!
Beef brisket not so much. Will have to do better if I’m to return

We ate twice at Red Hot & Blue on our recent trip to Washington. The food was good, the service was great and the pricing wasn’t bad especially considering the very large portion sizes we got. I tried the beef brisket, which was somewhat spicy, and the stew, which was especially good. We had 12 people at dinner the one night and the restaurant didn’t miss a beat. I would definitely recommend Red Hot & Blue.

I only come here once every year or two anymore since I’ve left the area, but I still love it. I usually get the Tennessee Triple with wet ribs, pulled pork and sausage. My friend got the same but with the beef brisket instead.
I think the ribs are good. They seem well cooked and come right off the bone without any trouble… not that messy. The items on the plate only come with a little bit of sauce over it, as the table has four different sauces that you can add to your liking. I think they’re quite flavorful and the mild and spicy mixed together really produces a nice combination.
Service was a tad slow, maybe a bit too chillax… But the staff is really friendly and I didn’t really mind hanging around post meal to let the food digest a bit. It’s just not speed-​demon as the norm seems to be these days.
They serve you fountain drinks in pitchers. Lolz.

Not bad, really. Very moist smoked chicken. Everyone else seemed to like theirs as well. Not the best BBQ I’ve ever had but certainly not a bad lunch. This place just lacks the soul of the independent BBQ joint. I feel like I’m sitting in a chain. I dont like that feeling. I like chains that make you feel like you are in an independent restaurant. The Menu doesn’t have the character of a BBQ joint.
For an example, go to Rocklands.

It’s ok for what it is, but it’s definitely not a BBQ destination.
The space itself is, well, unattractive. The numerous Elvis pictures (and I sure love me some Elvis) don’t really add ambiance or anything at all. It basically looks and feels like a standard, sub-​par family restaurant.
The food, like the space, it kinda ho-​hum. The onion loaf and dipping sauce is good, but no different than any other restaurant. Same goes for the potato salad, beans, cole slaw, etc., etc.
The actual BBQ items are a step up from the rest of the items, but not by much. It’s definitely best to stick with the pulled pork. And while by itself it isn’t all that, there are several BBQ sauces on each table will amp it up a few notches.
The service was rather terrible. Unattentive and not very nice. But no mistakes with any of the orders or anything. And it wasn’t too terribly difficult to get refills.
So overall, I’ll give it 3 stars. If you’re in the area and hankering for some BBQ, it’ll do. But this is definitely not a place to go out of your way to.

You know it’s bad when the pickle on the side is the best part.
Such a disappointment! My boyfriend and myself tried this place just tonight, walked in around 7 pm sat right down.
From the outside signs I thought there would be live music and a great atmosphere. What I found instead was depressing. A lot of families and hokey decorations. One of the places where you watch them wipe off your table as you sit down and don’t dare put the silverware which already looks questionable on the table without a napkin behind it.
Beer selection was lame, corona and heineken were the best choices on the menu… which is never good.
We ordered a pulled pork sandwich and the Texas brisket sandwich.
Pulled pork was dry and the flavors were weak. Hot sauce was passable.
My brisket was rough, very fatty, and the meat was questionable. The fries were good. Also had a great pickle.
It was really fast, but it wasn’t good. The service was weak, and honestly it was too many screaming babies for my taste. Good for a big group.
Our bill was 30 bucks for the two of us and two beers but it was terrible food. Beer and pickle were best part.
Parking is also difficult but that’s a factor of being right in Rosslyn.
Save yourself a stomach ache and go down a block to rays the steaks.

The Red Hot and Blue fulfilled my BBQ fix during a weekday lunch. Arrived around 1130 and was promptly greeted and seated. Taking advantage of the groupon I order the Ribwich combo and my co-​worker ordered the Delta Double.
Only 10 minutes passed before our server delivered our food. The Ribwich combo was plentiful it came with two ribs, side of baked beans, and nice size pulled pork sandwich.
My co-​worker didn’t say much as he was busy chowing down the delta double. It must of been good as he took a nap in my car on the way back to the office.
One useful tip for future patrons, share a drink if you’re on a date. At Red Hot and Blue they will bring out mini pitchers instead of cups.

I am not so sure if I had been to this location before or not. But this time (yesterday lunch) it felt like the first time. Compared to RHB in Falls Church, this is more like a restaurant versus a take-​out joint with the regular ordering system at your table.
It was a Saturday lunch time, but inside was nearly empty and it made me worry a little bit. But I had a Groupon to use. So what the heck.
We tried Onion Rings, Tennessee Triple, Pulled Pork but what I really enjoyed were the onion rings and the potato salad. We came here because of the Groupon deal I purchased recently but it was still not worth it just for a $ 13 discount. Pulled pork was dry and the ribs were covered with tasty sauce but the meat itself did not have flavor penetrated inside. The ¼ chicken had a slightly bloody part inside. It was an «Oh, well.» lunch for me.
Now I miss Chef Andrew Evans’ «THE BBQ JOINT’ in Easton, MD so much.

It’s not quite the BBQ I’ve had when I used to live in the South but for DC it’s the best I’ve found and close enough to keep me coming back for more.
The service here is excellent, everyone is friendly and on the way out they made sure to give me a frequent customer card where after a certain number of punches on the card you get a free meal.
I had the BBQ ribs and pulled pork combo. The pulled pork had a couple of fatty pieces but overall it was just what you’d want it to be. It wasn’t too dry and wasn’t smothered in sauce. They put a little of their main sauce (they have four: hot, vinegar, regular and sweet and like all good BBQ places they leave them on the table for you) on top of the pork and you can add more of whichever type you want. I do wish they had a mustard based sauce option, maybe in the future.
I also had the Memphis dry rub ribs and they were the best I’ve had in the DC area. They literally were falling off the bone and the spice rub was a little spicy without being too overpowering. One little word of warning, the ribs here can be a little hit or miss I’ve noticed. One time they can be perfect, next time they can be kind of dry.
The baked beans which had a good onion and bell pepper flavor without being too sweet. The fried okra is pretty good but a little more greasy than at some other places. The tea is also the best I’ve had in DC.
Overall this is the best BBQ I have had in the DC area. I endured a 10 degree wind chill to walk there from the Metro so I think that says it’s worth the trip.