Down To the Bone Bbq & Catering

Amazing food! We need this in Chicago! We had a little bit of everything and loved every bite. It was all homemade and fresh.

This is how it goes… My husband and I were running errands and we were coming to a stop light and we smelled the air. I said man that smells good. He turned right in there and said «I’m hungry»! I was shocked by his actions! Yep the smell got us. We moved from out of state and this place was amazing. I ate most of the sweet potato pie on my way home. I got the chicken plate with baked beans and the Mac and cheese. My husband had rib tips with the same two sides. I have to say that I could not even talk while eating… it was so amazing. It defiantly was made with love. We will be back!!!

Lord Almighty, that is some GOOD BBQ. The sides are the best around. If you think you know BBQ, you need to stop in. It’ll make a believer out of you. Don’t believe those «other» reviews, these people are class acts and the food is always optimal.

I’ll start with the positives. If your looking for ribs, they’re decent. The pulled pork is also decent. The Mac is good. The portions are decent, with an exception discussed below.
Now for cons. The bathroom was out of order. The lady taking my order was unpleasant and seemed irritated. The cornbread was dry and crumbly. The order was missing a drink and corn bread that we ordered. And my BiGGEST issue with the place: my pulled pork DINNER cost almost as much as the rib dinner and the portion was pathetic. I felt as though I’d been robbed. It was maybe 3 oz of pulled pork for a dinner platter that was about 10 bucks. If you’re looking for pulled pork don’t eat here. The food tastes decent for BBQ standards but not great.

I have eaten BBQ all over the country, have competed in BBQ comps and have judged bbq comps as well all this to say I know bbq. I visited the dttb on 301 in the gas station, I have also been to the one on kings both places have a bbq feel. I will say this place is known for its greens so if you love greens this place has great greens. I had the chopped beef with hot sauce and potato salad as well as the coleslaw, I asked if they make the sides or if they buy them he said they make them. When I asked questions such as is the slaw vinegar based or if the potato salad we mustard based he just laughed and told me it has a bunch of different stuff in there, huh? These are basic bbq questions and for someone making BBQ for a living it would make sense if you knew your BBQ. The beef sandwich was chewy, borderline rubbery and had little in the way of seasoning, the sauce was like water had no thickness and a vinegar bite, which is ok but not the best I have ever had. I will say for «making» their homemade slaw and potato salad it tasted and looked like the stuff that gets slipped out of a plastic tub. Both the slaw and potato salad were terrible, I had two bites and had to throw the rest away. The beef sandwich, well I was able to finish it but on a scale of 1 – 10 it’s a 2 or 3. If you want a decent lunch you are better served going on down the road. These folks have a long way to go to perfecting their craft.

Delicious southern bbq. Definitely worth a try the ribs were so good, just like daddy made.

hands down the BBQ establishment I have ever eaten at, love the ribs they really just fall off the bone and the bone. Reminds me of being in the back yard with my mom and all my uncles again, love it.

I’ve had a hard time finding a good bbq place with decent food and sides! I stopped in to try the 8 piece chicken special. It was all legs and thighs for $ 5.99 and I asked how the greens were and the gentleman behind the counter said the best so I took a chance. So for $ 9.45 I got 8 pieces of chicken in sauce and a pound of greens!
Came home and opened the box of chicken and was pleasantly surprised by the quantity and flavor! Reminds me of a friend’s backyard smoker who loves to cook for friends!
Now for the greens! I was turned on to greens by an older southern Mississippi black woman who I dearly love, and since leaving Indiana I’ve been searching for a similar flavor with no luck! When I opened the container I had that familiar smell of the earthy greens with a smoky smell from the meat! My wife got a bite before I did and she doesn’t like greens! She took two bites and wanted her own! I finally took my bite and that familiar taste hit me and gave me that feeling of being back with my friend! Absolutely amazing!
This is my new go to place! I saw the picture the person posted about a possible worm and she was dumb! It’s an arterie! A very large vein!

It has been amazing at times and underwhelming other times. It seems to depend on who is on duty that day. Even when it’s not perfect it’s above average.

I was always curious about this local business — especially with its location next to the overly-​popular Popeye’s. Unfortunately, I should have let the curiosity die on its on.
The prices are not bad, but the food certainly is. We ordered two barbecue plates that included the leg/​thigh. The portion of this meat was so small, I thought we were eating pigeons. The sauce was tangy and flavorful, but I found something pretty disgusting in my chicken. I don’t know if it was a maggot or a parasite! I have attached a picture of what I found.
I think this place needs an inspection. The chicken is obviously not handled properly for it to be exposed to such things.

I am NOT impressed. I literally live right across the street and I can smell it every single day. I bought the family dinner, the more expensive one. Paid $ 40 and I was NOT happy!!! The chicken tasted overly salted, the barbecue sauce was nothing short of disgusting and the ribs were terribly tough. The mac and cheese was probably the best part of the meal and even that wasn’t outstanding. The potato salad was just ok and the corn bread was a joke. I fed myself, my niece and both of my daughters and they ended up throwing it out and making sandwiches, I was on board with that idea. Just a few days before, we had eaten out at Boston Market and got more food for $ 30 and my kids devoured every bite. I’m all about buying local over chain but this place will never see another dime of my money. I absolutely don’t recommend if you know REAL barbecue…

CATERING Review: Absolutely fantastic! Mr. Mark and his son were very helpful and a delight — I got great communication by phone and email with my order. We got bbq for 35 people for a party, and everyone devoured the delicious pork, smoked chicken, and all the amazing side dishes. We picked up the order on Saturday (they’re closed on Sundays) and we heated the food in our oven on Sunday for the party. Everything reheated beautiful — no-​one knew we picked it up the day before! I highly recommend Down to the Bone for a family or social event — they’ll take great care of you & your guests will love the food!

Good Eats… finger licken good! Love this little BBQ joint…

My favorite pulled pork sandwich in the Brandon area! The sides aren’t out of this world, but pretty typical of a barbecue joint. Mac and cheese is alright, and the beans are a little too sweet for me. Love their sauces, and I’ve always dealt with friendly people! Good place for a quick BBQ fix!

Seriously the best real Southern out back smoked BBQ this side of Alabama. Good deals and weekday specials. Down to the bone, finger suckin, Lickin the plate clean, give me some more GOODNESS! I cannot pass this place without wanting to stop when I smell that smoke.

Great place for take out BBQ. Ribs and pork always delicious and the sides are consistent. Love the collard greens.
Family run by very nice people. Always a pleasant experence!

Alright, first I was confused about the location but I found it and dared to go in. I had bought a special offline for this place (but have been back since). I do like me some BBQ. I am no BBQ expert, I promise you that. I LOVE THE SMOKED CHICKEN!!! It is amazing. I get a whole bird smothered in the Hot BBQ sauce. It’s hot enough but not over powering. I am not a rib fan so I have not ordered ribs. Got the Pulled Pork and it was good. The sides here I am not a big fan of, but I am partial to my homemade mac n cheese so all I need is the meat. The beans are heavily seasoned and not pleasing to my palate. BUT THE MEAT IS WORTH THE TRIP!!!

There is a wonderful smell that takes over a large radius from Down To The Bone… sitting at the light on Brandon Blvd & Kings Ave, I thought «why not?»
Unfortunately, the fantastic smell is about as much as I can give credit to this establishment. The inside is very small and only a pick-​up station, no dining in. It is also very hot and the wall A/​C unit doesn’t help.
There was a gentlemen in the back fixing a door and a lady at the front taking orders and then preparing each one. I only had one person in front of me, but I would hope she wouldn’t take this approach if there were more customers waiting. She didn’t seem overly nice… more like tired than anything, although she did thank me for the business.
I ordered the BBQ Pork sandwich combo w/​collard greens and mac-​n-​cheese. The sides were nothing to write home about; the collards had too many chips of bone in them and the mac-​n-​cheese was very bland. I expect much better for sides at a BBQ house. The sandwich… I was unable to eat it as normal because the tiny bun was soaked by all the sauce that was added. That made it harder to judge the pork for me, so I would rate it as «poor to fair at best»…and they sure weren’t generous with the amount you get.
For $ 10 and no drink (their Coke machine was down), I don’t think this is a bargain at all. I won’t be back when First Choice is down the road and Holy Hog is in my neighborhood over in South Tampa.

Very small hole-​in-​the-​wall BBQ joint.
Been here a couple times, once to get lunch and once for dinner. My recent experience was with dinner. There was only one woman working, who was very kind but also look like she had been there since they opened. There were a couple people ahead of me and it took forever to even get to the counter, as the worker was back and forth from the kitchen to the register.
The food is pretty good, have tried the beef and pork. Have tried the collard greens, coleslaw, maccaroni and cheese and potato salad. The only one I’d skip, sadly, is the mac & cheese. It was very KFC like, which isn’t what I’d expect from a BBQ place.

Why 1 star? Because the ribs tasted like they were cooked with the plastic still on.
— — —
I hate giving out 1 star to a local business with friendly people. Unfortunately, I cannot escape it in this instance.
Some co-​workers and I made an impromptu trip to this rib shack one day for lunch. The employee/​owner working the counter was a big-​time hype man. He told us that our experience would change the way we looked at ribs for the rest of our lives. I believed him. I was ready to undergo transformation.
First bite — seemed decent enough.
Second bite — didn’t seem so decent.
Third bite — noticed a hint of a «plastic-​y» taste.
Fourth bite — pretty thorough plastic taste.
Fifth bite — yep. My ribs were definitely grilled in plastic.
It’s tough to overcome that in terms of ratings. I honestly would like to go back, because I feel like it had to have been a freak accident. But, the chance that their ribs always taste like that has scared me off for a while now.