This Is It! BBQ & Seafood

The dining room was clean and well lit. There were plenty of workers and everyone was very friendly. That’s about it for the positive.
My bbq shredded pork plate was so dry I could not chew it. I’m sure it had been sitting under a heat lamp for hours. I should have checked before I left with my take out bag. The mac and cheese was very good. The slaw was just so-​so. I ordered a small banana pudding that was very bland; I didn’t realize the price until I got home and noticed it was $ 4 for half a cup of pudding with not one banana piece in it.
This is the second time I’ve visited here and both times the food was not good. AND, it’s very expensive. Dry pork, 2 sides and a banana pudding cost me $ 15 for lunch!

The establishment was clean and large. The cafeteria style selection was appealing and the serving size was plentiful. Now as to why I only rated this place with three stars.
The rib tips were what I was craving for lunch and was throughly displeased. Rib tips at other bbq joints are a specialty and always delicious. Here, they failed. I guess having them sit under a warming lamp since 10am, the meat dries out rather quickly. Some tips were rock hard and a struggle to chew through. I had to load the meat with hot sauce just to moisten them up a bit and add some flavor.
The Mac and cheese was good, surprisingly a lot of bbq places can mess this staple side dish up, here it was good but not memorable.
Cornbread, probably out of a box mix. It is what it is, take it or leave it. Not homemade, that’s for sure.
Overall, am I glad I tried this place? Sure. Will I go back? No. If you are a bar bq restaurant and your meat is dry, it’s no place for my patronage.
But if you aren’t a pork eater, they offer chicken. So you be the judge.

I’ve had several bad experiences at this location. The rib tips weren’t fresh, which is to say they were rubbery and tough; possibly overcooked. The sauce tasted ‘different’ than other locations. It’s like I could taste the different ingredients in the sauce, namely the sugary ones and there wasn’t the normal mesh of flavors to produce that delicious sauce I usually enjoy. The smothered pork chops were all batter with barely any meat. The small amount of meat lost inside the coat of batter was as tough as beef jerky. And most of all… the food always seems under temperature, which could pose a serious health risk. I’m not sure what’s up with all that. but with their constantly rising prices, they need to step it up.
I do enjoy This Is It but prefer the location on Panola, above others. This location on Memorial is the closest to me, however when I’m in the mood for their food I’ll opt to drive further out to their other locations to get it.

Expensive. Standard fare! Typical Southern restaurant food. Not memorable at all. I doubt I will return.

Service is very friendly and gracious.
Food is good.
The Catfish is sizzling hot and fried to order.
I found the ribs to be over sauced… however, I could have always asked for light sauce, so this one is on me.
On my recent visit, the floors were so greasy I nearly wiped out… three times.
They advertised a two meal special for $ 25 (on Unilocal) that they would not honor.
I didn’t press the situation, but I feel that it could have been handled better.
So, to wrap up…
Best BBQ in America?
I think not.
Still…I’m not entirely opposed to returning one day.

I visited this location a few months back. The food was pretty cool, but the temperature of the food wasn’t hot. I ordered the rib tips and they were somewhat rubbery. The cabbage was great! I may try this location again, but I honestly prefer the one on Camp Creek!

I wanted to soo love this place. I heard such good things. the food was rubbery and barely edible. So gross… I will never step foot in there again. Yuck!

This place is nasty! They have no clue what bbq sauce is. It tasted like a blend of ketchup and sweet and sour sauce. The chopped pork is lazily trimmed with skin, fat, and I’m posting a picture of the BONE I got in mine. I really hope I don’t get good poisoning. Please don’t go here.

Food was hot and delicious. My only complaint is that, I ordered and paid for a 10 piece wing box and only got 7. For that price I feel seriously overcharged. The establishment was clean and in good shape. Will definitely return

I’ve like this place for its chicken, ribs and veggies. Their service is good, and their attention to presentation deserves praise. This is a great place to have a healthier meal.

I wish i could give this place a better review but I can’t, way too many cons. First of all that creepy life size sign outside scares the crap out of me every single time. I only come here when I have a craving for overpriced rib tip dinners. The line is ridiculously long and slow and I’ve been to places with long lines that moved quickly but this place is super disorganized. For one they need more staff behind the counter, and they will stop taking orders from people in line to fulfill a hundred phone orders, annoying the people waiting in line. They should have someone assigned to just fixing over the phone/​dine in orders so the people waiting to-​go can GO! I would never dine in because those order always seem to take forever or are wrong. I love their spicy sauce and sweet potatoes their overpriced peach cobbler is good too. Don’t come on Saturday or Sunday unless you want to stand for an hour.

Great food, cooked to order, you can’t rush this kind of flavor! The atmosphere is wonderful, super clean, & the wait staff is very friendly & helpful. For top-​of-​the-​line soul food & excellent service, you can’t beat this place!

Pros: food was okay, not good enough to slap my momma good but it got the job done.
Cons: waited in line FOREVER to get my food after I ordered.

Why bother? This use to be my favorite place for soul food, but where is the soul? My chicken is cold the Mac and cheese is bland and the greens are all stems no leaves. But the peach cobbler is on point. However I do think this is my last time eating here. It’s a bit pricey for the subpar quality

Didn’t eat my good yet but, the menu was wicked confusing bc it flashes so quick on the screen and then there was no option to build what I wanted :(

~~~~ Disclaimer: OVERDUE REVIEW~~~~
It is unfortunate the overall rating does not truly reflect the food. It’s not the best you’ll ever have, but they are far better than 2.5 stars.
T H E S C E N E
Everyone thinks their mother is the best cook, but in my case, so do my friends. When my mom is in town, some of my closest friends practically make reservations to come over for dinner. It has gotten so bad she specifically asked me to tell my friends (before she arrives) that she’s not cooking. She has a great palate for seasoning foods, yet even I was surprised at how much she enjoys coming to This Is It. Since she first dined here last year, she now always wants to make them the first stop after picking her up from the airport. Her last three visits were an immediate detour to the Memorial Drive location. Her meal of choice: Catfish w/​cole slaw, chitterlings and green beans.
In the past year I have brought some of the pickiest people I know to try the food here and most have found the food to be pretty darn good. My most recent trip to This Is It was with my cousin whom hated his one and only encounter with chitlins as a kid. I honestly didn’t think he would find the experience to be any better, but to my surprise he not only enjoyed them… he cleaned his plate!
— — — — — - — - — -
T H E F O O D G U I D E
I’ve been to This Is It now about 10 times since I wrote my previous review 1 year ago. I’ve tried several things on the menu and have found only a few items to be less than 3 stars, but there are some real 4 and 5-​star standout items:
The catfish fillet is my favorite entrée. It is by far one of the best and most flavorful catfish dinners anywhere! (4.5)
Oxtails and gravy are hit or miss. When they are a hit, they would rank in my top 5 favorites. Unfortunately, they aren’t always consistently that good (3.5)
Chitterlings are something I can only eat when I’m in a certain mood. I have actually NEVER craved this soul food delicacy until trying the ones on the menu here. Prior to discovering This Is It, I had eaten chitterlings a handful of times my entire life. I’ve had them 6x here in the past year. I know they aren’t for everyone, they certainly weren’t for me, but I’ve sort of developed an addiction to them now that I’ve found these. (5)
The RIB TIPS (not the ribs) are really good when they are hot and fresh. The problem here is sometimes they sit on the line for hours and overcook under the constant heat of the warmers. (4)
My guests love the buffalo shrimp (4.5).
Sides like the green beans, rice n’ gravy, smashed yams are excellent. I really love the spicy grits with cheese and corn.
MENU ITEMS I THINK ARE ‘MEH’
* The ribs are not the best. but are much better when fresh (2 stars)
* The fried chicken leaves a little to be desired in terms of flavor (2.5 stars)
* The smothered pork chops are good, not great (3 stars)
* The WHOLE catfish (1 star) is bland and not flavored the same as the catfish fillets; Not sure why. ONLY order the fillets.

— — — — — - — - — -
THE VERDICT
I would encourage you to ignore the overall rating and stick with the items I recommended above, especially the catfish fillet and chitlin’s if you dare :-)

I wish I could write a great review for this place, but I’m always so disappointed with the long wait plus slow service that it makes me only call in to — go orders now.
Service: Slow (but friendly!)Dining in is no fun because they are too short staffed in the dining area and waiting on a drink refill when the self serve station is staring you in the face makes you even more thirsty.
Food: It’s pretty good overall, not blow your mind amazing but good quality for soul food. The menu is a little confusing because the screen flashes lots of different options and pictures, some of which they don’t even have available that day so you have to try to check out the hot bar which is hard if there is a line of people blocking it and you don’t want to feel like you’re being rude.

I tried This Is It years ago when it first hit the market. It was OKAY, but I was an ignorant kid to real soul food. After passing by it growing up, I recently decided to give it a try. Since then, I always get the rib tips. My most recent experience was this past Mother’s Day. As usual, the rib tips were great, but I have no idea why my husband and I waited almost an hour to get our food. When we got it, a side of fries were missing and it took 15 more minutes for it. Food took so long, I refilled my drink at least twice. I will go back to try the chitlins, but I’m going to pick a slow day (not a holiday or a Sunday)!

I came here late Saturday night after going to the jazz festival. I was shocked they were still open, but was pleased to be greeted with a smile when I entered. I got the usual 2 pc fried tilapia with 2 sides (mac & cheese and cabbage). I did end up sharing half my food, but it was more than enough. The food is often hit or miss, but it was good enough for what I needed at that moment in time.

This definitely is NOT it.
My hubby, daughter, and I went to lunch there today and here are my observations:
1. The food was way overpriced.
2. I had the chopped pork sliders, and they were disgusting. Way too salty.
3. My daughter had the shrimp, and while she liked it, I did not. The batter they use on the shrimp is for, I think, catfish. Just way too heavy for shrimp.
4. My husband got the pork ribs and chicken, greens, and mac n cheese. He loves BBQ, but was in no way impressed with this. The chicken was slathered in sauce, but the meat itself was cold and dry. The ribs were not tender at all.
The one thing that I found to be absolutely hysterical is the fact that when they call their orders back, they reference every single item as «delicious». «Delicious Ribs and Delicious Chicken with delicious greens and delicious mac n cheese» «Delicious shrimp with delicious fries»… you get the point.
If you are looking for REALLY good BBQ, go to Fox Brothers or Community BBQ. I’m going to even say this… Shane’s is better than this place!
Needless to say, we were very disappointed and will not be going back.