Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q

Sticker shock prices. Waitresses are rude, gossipy, and just don’t care. Uncomfortable seating, too close to other people and can hear word-​for-​word their conversation. Drive thru is the worst! Slow service inside as well, but drive-​thru employees are lazy and don’t care if they get the order right. A previous reviewer said this location can’t handle large groups of people, and this is true — either overwhelmed or indifferent.

Spare Ribs
Baked Beans
Macaroni N Cheese
Iced Tea
Was passing through Jasper Saturday December 19^th and passed up Blue Moon BBQ and now wished I would have turned around. Ribs were way under-​cooked. Beans tasted fresh out of the can. The only part of the meal that was decent was the Mac N Cheese.

This location cannot handle large groups. We were seated in a heavy traffic and tight location. Our seasoned waitress was easily overwhelmed and did not get our orders correct and it took forever. I asked for a vegetarian salad (I know it’s a bbq place but they said they could do it) and spent the majority of my time picking out the bits of bacon. Waitress didn’t seem to care. They consider grilled vegetables to be grilled corn and green onions. This location has a negative impact on the franchise brand. Would not go again.

The food was ok. Not the best BBQ place I’ve ever been at but I do want to give kudos to our awesome waitress Summer. I wish every waiters & waitress were like her. She was very attentive, and so super nice to our party of 9. I would return and would most definitely ask for her!

My food was okay. Probably what you would expect. Cheese biscuits were yummy and fresh. Meat was tender. Sauce was good. The girl at the drive through was less than helpful. I asked for a recommendation. She replied with, I just work here but don’t eat the food. WHAT??? Not your best marketing tool. If I didn’t already know this chain, I’d have bolted! Crazy! At least tell me what is popular or that people like! It’s okay for a chain. Maybe go in for better service or just don’t ask!

Please open up a Jim ‘N Nicks in NJ. I have never had bbq that tastes as good as this and probably never will again unless I head south. Ribs were juicy, moist, melt in your mouth. Asked for a baked potato side and this was enough to make a meal out of. Wish we had something equivalent up here.

SUMMATION: Too good to be a chain. Very good food, service, and atmosphere.
NAME: Jim ‘N Nick’s Community Bar-​B-​Q
CHAIN: They have 33 restaurants in 6 Southeastern states and Colorado. Founder: Nick Pihakis

SIZE: large with many booths and tables
TITLE: «Good BBQ» [Yelp, Parguera Pirate review #420, submitted 22 July 2015]
ALABAMA TRIP REVIEW NUMBER: 33
MY RATING: Very Good (4.2÷5)
TELEPHONE: (205) 221‑2271
WEB PAGE:
RESERVATIONS: yes, TAKEOUT: yes, CATERING: yes
HOURS OF OPERATION: 11 am-9:30 pm Sunday-​Thursday, 11 am-10:30 pm Friday-​Saturday
LOCALITY: 1804 Highway 78 East, Jasper, Alabama 35 501
DIFFICULTY LOCATING: easy
DIRECTIONS: across from Wal-​Mart on Hwy 78
OCCASION: Took a family out to lunch, who are our friends and once neighbors. This was the guy’s favorite restaurant in Jasper.
PARKING: ample lot
AMBIANCE: Country plastic.
GREETING: Excellent. Held table for us but would not seat us until 2/​3s of our party had arrived.
DÉCOR: Wood chairs and table, paper napkins and no tablecloths. Restaurant was full.
INTERNET: free WiFi
SPECIALS: Taco Tuesday
BEER: good selection
DRINKS: Their ice tea had refills and go glasses. The peach tea was excellent.
BAR: full service
MENU ITEMS: see web page
WAITSTAFF: Excellent, good service, prompt refills of tea and muffins.
BREAD: Hot, cheese small muffins with butter were slightly sweet, but very good. The kids loved them. They brought us a second basket.
FRUIT: good
ENTRÉE: I had hickory-​smoked Karl’s grilled catfish plate with 2 filets, peach tea, fresh fruit, and slow-​cooked collards; my First Mate had the Dave’s hamburger with pimento cheese and onion rings.
SIDES: Slow-​cooked collards and onion rings were very good.
CONDIMENTS: BBQ sauce and spicy BBQ sauce, which is fairly hot.
SALT AND PEPPER: on table
SERVING TIME: good
DESERT: Pecan pie was very good.
CLEANESS: good
BATHROOM: normal
COST COMPARISON: A bit more expensive than other barbeque places, but their quality is well worth the cost.
DANGER: There is a step down from their booths. Single steps can be dangerous.
NOISE LEVEL: quite
MADE IN THE USA: Their plates were made in China.
AWARDS: 100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die (2012 – 2015, hot cheese muffins, Alabama Department of Tourism); Certificate of Excellence (2015, TripAdvisor)
REVIEWS: rated Very Good, 4.2÷5, 518 reviews (FaceBook); Very Good, 4.12÷5, 49 reviews (Tripadvisor); Average, 3.0÷5, 21 reviews ( Unilocal); Average, 3/​5, 20 reviews (Yahoo); Very Good, 3.9÷5, 17 reviews (Google);
HISTORY: They began cooking pork «low and slow» in 1985 when Nick, along with his dad Jim, reclaimed an old dry cleaners on Clairmont Avenue in Birmingham, Alabama, and opened the first Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-​B-​Q. Today, it is a Southern institution.
REFERENCES:
Alabama Food Staff. 2015. 100 dishes to eat in Alabama before you die. Birmingham Magazine, 22 January,
Anonymous. 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014. 100 dishes to eat in Alabama before you die. The year of Alabama food. Alabama Tourism Department Brochure.
,
Anonymous. 2014. 100 dishes. Smartphone app, Alabama Tourism Department,
[100 dishes to eat in Alabama before you die.]

I still hate this location with a burning passion. I ONLY come if I have gift cards otherwise I don’t even bother. They can never get my order correct and there are always problems with my order. I don’t get why management doesn’t train their employees. They never know how to punch things in correctly!

Chose this place from Unilocal and was mighty pleased! Great BBQ! Not what one expects from a chain of restaurants. Friendly service and a nice clean place.

Went there the day before Thanksgiving, 2014. Was treating co-​workers. We were sat around 12:10 pm. Waited a long time for a drink order and then for drinks to arrive. Then waited a long time to order the food. And then a long time for the food to arrive. It was 12:40 before food arrived so we had to rush. They blamed it on one of the guests ordering chicken tenders (I have no idea why chicken takes that long to fry). They took my credit card and disappeared for a long time. Came back and said they were having trouble running the credit card. Waited while they tried again. Then a manager came and he shook my guests down for cash– I don’t carry cash. I have been at restaurants before when the machines were down and they took my credit card info and ran the transaction later. They could have offered that or to have me drop off a check later. These people are in the hospitality business? This is on the heels of two bad back to back experiences with the Gardendale Jim n Nicks. So, no more Jim n Nicks. If they are trying to destroy their brand, they are doing a great job. I used to eat at Jim n Nicks a lot, at various locations (e.g., Homewood and Southside B’Ham). There are plenty of good options – Full Moon, Dreamland, and Porkys Pride and they consistently deliver triple hits and home runs.

I must say the baby back ribs were dried out n for the money spent… I was not please. although the BBQ n brisket double decker sandwich n the greens were a hit with my man. the waitress was helpful n the beer was nice n cold. Sweet tea was really good as well.

Good for the price. The BBQ is good, but not great. The chicken fingers and fried chicken breast are amazing. The pork nachos are really good. The onion rings are good. The service could be better sometimes. Sometimes you get a server that isn’t very attentive. This is the best place to eat in Jasper for me.

A late Sunday lunch was a real disappointment when traveling through Jasper. While I was seated promptly (no surprise, the place was less than 25% full) in the bar area, it took almost 5 minutes (more to come on the inattentive service later) for my server (Jamie) to approach.
Not going to waste much time on this below average meal but here goes… My order (beef brisket sandwich on sour dough/​fries) arrived quickly. I followed the lead and requested extra pickle and got it… one pickle chip which brought the grand total to two pickle chips. Wow. The sandwich was quite average even with the «signature» sauce. Server asked if I wanted more drink and didn’t find her way back until I finished my meal. Then, it was another ten minutes before she arrived with my check. By that time she likely sensed my displeasure and apologized for forgetting about me. Apparently between the private party and sharing the dining room with one other server, she never had the chance to be effective. By the way, the restaurant was generally clean but the restroom smelled like a Sunday morning on the frat house porch. Use your imagination.
I’m sorry I made a U– turn to eat here and hope you don’t make the same mistake. Hold out for a locally– owned and operated option.

Service: ⁵⁄₁₀
Food: ⁸⁄₁₀
Location: ⁴⁄₁₀
If you aren’t from around the area, people will stare at you and talk very openly about you and how you’re different. Having people call me a «devil worshiper» was a new and interesting dining experience.
I assumed coming down to the «Bible Belt» of the USA people would use the whole «judge not lest ye be judged» thing. I was wrong.

When comparing this restaurant to other «comparable» restaurants I have eaten at, I think this place is overpriced. The Burger Dave was certainly delicious, but $ 10 is a pretty steep price to pay for a single patty burger, even if it does include a small order of fries. Hubby had the Classic Pulled Pork plate ($ 13.75 includes 2 sides). He said another local BBQ place called Full Moon BBQ is better, and it’s cheaper. We weren’t real impressed with our server either. She was impatient (we had never eaten here before, so it took us a few mins to scan over the menu) and when I called the sandwich a «Dave Burger», she pompously corrected me with «You MEAN the Burger Dave?» LOL. She never did refill our drinks, even after hubby ask if we could get refills.

I visited this place for business trip and loved it that I came back. I had the blackened catfish which was good and later had the pork. I can’t say that I was a fan of the pork but the fish was good. The side dishes were good as well which reminded my of Cracker Barrel. I especially loved their cheesy rolls which had some sugar which was the right balance. Also, I had their mint peach tea which was perfect with some bits of pieces of peach which could be sipped up your straw. Overall, great family place and atmosphere to bring friends and family. You can even bring back some rub as well as cornbread cheesy flour mix to make your own at home.

We normally do not come here to eat but were craving bar-​b-​que on this particular day.
As always the food is fantastic. The pulled pork sandwich and kitchen sink pork nachos were great. I always make sure to order just inside meat though due to the over abundance of outside «fatty» meat they sometimes serve
But the main reason this restaurant only gets to is the wait staff. One girl in particular, Kelsey, make sure not to ask anything specially ordered or expect decent service from this young lady.
She also had the managers in her «pocket» because as one particular manager made his rounds to check on customers… decided to pass us right by after asking every single table how there visit was.
Very disappointed. Because of this reason alone my family will not be back to this particular Jim n Nicks. And we can only say how happy we are that a Full Moon is opening right down the road.

Went last night and the whole entire staff was salty that we came into eat 30 mins before they closed. Ordered two chicken fingers plates the macaroni was cold and the biscuits were clearly stale. Heard the staff talking shit about us when there was 4 other tables there as well. Super unprofessional felt super Unwelcomed. And when we asked for the food to go so we could leave faster since we clearly weren’t welcomed they weren’t allowed to so it. Go in the morning when no one is mad and impatient.

Even-​though I tend to shy away from chains or restaurants with multiple locations, there is a soft spot in my heart for Jim n Nicks. Bbq is as much of an art as it is a science so for them to be able to replicate the consistency and quality across multiple locations in multiple states is amazing. Another terrific aspect is that everything they do is fresh; there isn’t a freezer to be found at any location. I can go on and on about them baking their pies in-​house every morning or them grinding their own meat for the burgers, etc. but it is refreshing to find a restaurant chain or however you want to classify them that doesn’t take shortcuts in the kitchen in order to save a few bucks.
Some of my favorite items on the menu are the sausages, catfish, baby back ribs, pimento cheese, baked beans, collard greens, the pies, and of coarse, their cheese biscuits. While someone may say BBQ joint A may have better this or BBQ joint B may have better that, you will be hard pressed to find another BBQ restaurant in Alabama that is better than Jim n Nicks across the board and that can provide quality food consistently across several locations.

Jim n Nick’s is one of my favorite spots to stop in when I’m visiting the south. I first found my love for their bbq while I was living in Birmingham (home of the first Jim n Nicks, before it was a chain or franchise) I lived just down the street, so, I frequented that one in particular often. One great thing about the different Jim n Nick’s restaurants is the consistency. The food is great at all of them. I’ve already mentioned the bbq and how good it is. They also have great fried catfish, pork ribs, burgers and all the fixins’ you’d expect a southern bbq joint to have (collard greens, creamed spinach, mac and cheese, etc) On this visit I had the pulled pork plate with creamed spinach and spiced apples. All of it was delicious. Oh yeah, can’t forget their cornbread muffins… those are awesome.