The Shed Barbeque & Blues Joint

Closed down due to taxes on 8÷22÷2013. What a shame.

Good food, good atmosphere.
Food comes out faster than if you were at a fast food restaurant.
They have corn hole games out on the back porch so it was a good night out with the guys I was with.

I went in during the worst possible time and was surprised how good the meal was.
Because of traveling I arrived here when it was near closing time, in the rain, on a Sunday, when the all students were gone. I expected the food to be dry and tasteless. WOW, was I wrong!!!
The BBQ pork sandwich I got was a very large portion of moist pulled pork that was lightly sauced. Good BBQ is not about sauce, but about the pork. A lot of places try to cover up bad BBQ with sauce. However, you can’t make bad BBQ good with loads of sauce. The amount of sauce seemed about right for the portion of pork. The pork had a nice smoked flavor that you could smell over the sauce.
I also really enjoyed the Mac Salad. My only complaint is the portions of the sides were a little small. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the meal. The person traveling with me enjoyed his even more– he went back and got a second order.
The staff was really friendly, but there were only a few customers there so we sort of stood out.

We ate lunch here. Best cold slaw and seasoned fries I’ve had in years. We had the pulled pork plate and the pulled pork sandwich. Highly recommend these. My husband still raves how good this BBQ is. Service was just OK more place order at register then seat yourself and at the past lunch hour time our order was ready quickly.

We walked in and stood there for five minutes before we were told to order at the bar and seat ourselves. We had to pay upfront. We never had a server. Someone called my name and I went to the bar and got my food. The pork and chicken were dry. My husband liked he potAto salad. The Mac and cheese was anything but homemade. The manager had to comp two couples meals because they waited for over thirty minutes And them were told that they were out of what had been ordered. Since they had to pay first they had to wait to get refunded. My family and I will not ever be back.

The service was very good, We seated three. One of us had the Barbeque pork & it was most excellent. Two of us had the beef brisket & it was fairly dry and was rather chewy. It was late and rainy & business was very slow and totally too loud. The potato salad was ok & the pudding was fair, but did not taste at all like home made. After I saw it was featured on «Diners drive-​ins and Dives», I felt kinda let down. I hope I just caught them on an off-​night…

Wasn’t bad but the food was cold. I asked for sauce on the side but I did not get any sauce at all. I don’t know if I will be going back.

It was okay, but it was quite dry. My husband and I got 2 of the sampler plates with the sides. I would say it was okay and just okay. The lady who waited on us was hard to find to ask for another drink, but whatever, it was just another experience in good ol’ Mob Town…

Mediocre and slightly dry brisket. The Mac and cheese is nothing to write home about especially if you like homemade with actual real cheese in it.

I’m guessing that whomever opened up The Shed here thought «The Brick Pit carries banker’s hours, we should open up a BBQ shop for people who don’t get there in time.» So, The Shed was born.
The service was very nice, the beer selection was grand, and I’m sure it’s a great place to see some live music, but the BBQ was bland, and the chicken was tough.
**UPDATE**
The pitmaster emailed me and said that he’d invite us back again as this is not how they aim to present their Que. As where I don’t get to Mobile often, next time I’m there we’ll have to meet up and give them a second shot.

This review is for the location in Mobile, AL. We’ve been to the Original in MS a few times over the years and were never disappointed.
The Mobile location tries to capture the ramshackle ambiance of the Original — which means it looks like it was constructed ad-​hoc out of popsicle sticks and ten-​penny nails. It tries a little too hard, in my opinion, but it still works :)
The food is very good. The BBQ is as good as you can get anywhere, but the star of the show is the BBQ sauce. YUM.

When you don’t get the simple things right, you can only be mediocre at best. I have been to the original (and now rebuilt) in Mississippi a number of times, and the 2 places barely compare.
The good:
The sides are almost spot on to the original restaurant.
If this were a BBQ sauce competition, they’d probably win. BUT IT’S NOT. The sauce is sweet with light tang. Thick. And Doesn’t taste like ketchup.
The bad:
Pulled pork and brisket were dry EVERY time I’ve been here
The ribs… WAY TOO MUCH cartilage and fat. Nasty.
Lack of smoke. The original shed gets this right. Maybe it is newer/​unseasoned smokers? It isn’t BBQ without any smoke flavor.
The little things — ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ if they give you silverware. They screw up your sides 50% of the time. The small things add up. When I have to leave my meal 2x before even starting it, that is bad. There is NO QUALITY CONTROL COMING OUT OF THE KITCHEN
The brick pit up the street gets the meat right. And smokey. But hey, if you don’t really like southern BBQ, and just want oodles of sauce, poorly prepared meat, good sides and probably the wrong order, this place is for you.
NOTE: my opinions are only for the location in Mobile. I’ve been to the Mississippi location many times, and feel it is far better than this «adaptation.» I still love the shed, just this locations quality has never quite met the level it should be.

The Shed burnt down in February, but we were still able to dine their in their new adaptation (tents and pavilions and such) that were right on the swamp with a floating dock for the band, neat, eclectic décor such as wine bottle trees, license plates, etc. The food was very good. Really glad we stopped– well worth the experience and the food.

The Shed looks just like that, through liberal application of plywood, old street signs and old license plates, the right touch of authenticity is poured into the building. If it didn’t look so clean and purposeful, you’d be scared to even enter the place in the first place. All it needs is a line of Harley’s out front, or a bunch of ratty old pickup trucks to complete the illusion.
Now granted, I’ve never been here when they were actually playing music on stage. Or at night. Or when they’ve been so busy you can’t hear the person next to you talking. But I honestly feel somewhat disappointed in the entire experience. The Shed seems to be trying to be something it’s not, instead of concentrating on one or two parts of the experience, it’s delivering too many things and is not quite reaching in any of them.
For BBQ, the food is rather disappointing. Why do so few BBQ joints fail to understand that the key ingredient to BBQ is not the sauce, it’s not the cooking style, but rather, it’s the quality of meat being served in the first place. The other two contribute to the entire meal, but if you don’t have a good foundation the food is going to continue to «OK.»
Of the variety of meats served here, only the spare ribs and the sausage are really eye openers. The rest are either too dry, ruined in the cooking due to incorrect processes, or just middle of the road quality meats in the first place. The addition of a bowl of water to keep the inside of the smoker moist and thus the meat moist would by itself easily raise my review too four stars. I realize it’s a pain to do so, but that extra attention to detail would be worth the time it takes. I also realize that better quality meat would be more expensive, but I know it’d be worth it.
Now, the basic sauce itself is pretty decent. The spicy version though looses flavor in favor of pure heat. I’d like to see the spice toned down and the flavor brought back. Don’t get me wrong, I like spicy sauce with the best of them, but I like to taste the sauce even more.
Another thing that would add to the atmosphere is to stop relying on beers from the big companies. I’m not a beer snob by any means, but I can certainly blind taste the difference between Bud and a decent Micro-​brew. Add in more micro-​brews, especially on tap, and we’re talking another half star easily.
Add in a few more typical BBQ sides, possibly another desert or two and, The Shed has the potential to be known as the best restaurant in Mobile.

First attempt to visit was 845 on a Thursday night — last call, huh? I thought this place was a bar (across from a University no less)? I was still intersted, so I returned the same time Friday night. Decent cover band was playing. Ordering food at the main window is a fine system, but then having to wait again at the bar for the draft you already paid for is flawed. I should have just got a bottle. Food came fast and they do have a pretty good beer list. Got the all-​meats sampler platter. Loved everything but the wings and sausage. Collard greens were great. Better meat than Dreamland, but the sauce was lacking. Ribs were the highlight.

Came to town for business a couple weeks ago and EVERYONE recommended the Shed for its BBQ. Our driver for the hotel even recommended it and she later told us she’s never even been there herself. That being said, I think the ‘cool’ aspect of the Shed outshines to true value of the food.
I got a pulled pork sandwich with some fantastic potato salad (which I don’t normally eat). The bbq flavor left a lot to be desired and it is delivered to the table in a styrofoam container, not too appealing to me. Another coworker ordered the sampler platter and seemed to like it, but there was no slap yo’ mama reviews of the food. It was ok.
So that’s the food portion of our encounter…
Now the true gem of this place is the décor! It was very eclectic in that there were a variety of types of tables and chairs and a fantastic outdoor seating area. There are a few video games and a big stage for bands and a Dj booth in the middle of the room. There’s a large bar to the side and strings of lights everywhere, and recylced pics, signs and junk everywhere! There’s even a gigantic aquarium almost full to the top of beer tops. Various places you can write your name on tables and walls, which is always kinda fun.
I was SO sad to come here without the live music, because I’m guessing that’s the true draw to this establishment. I liked the look of the place so much that I’m POSITIVE it would be a favorite hangout of mine if I lived in the area.
So, I’m giving the Shed four stars for potential. I hope what I have imagined it to be on a cool Saturday night is what it ultimately lives up to. Skip the expensive bbq, just grab a beer and sit back and soak it in.

Pretty good! Let me get this out first, I am not from the South or a BBQ aficionado, so I might not be up to par in rating a BBQ restaurant.
I got the two plate combo platter with BBQ brisket and pulled chicken.
Both were good, but not out of this league. I would definitely recommend this place.
TMy sides were the coleslaw and baked beans. FYI: The baked beans were quite sweet. The restaurant makes a good venue for families (pop a shot) or meet a group of friends (they have a stage for later at night)
Overall, everyone was happy with their food.

3.50 stars. The Shed is a regionally famous Mississippi BBQ joint that has spread its wings from Mobile, AL to Austin, TX in the form of six different eateries. The winner of a number of different BBQ awards, the Shed has built a fine reputation in the Deep South. If Unilocal reviews are any indication, they have a solid following in Texas as well (shocking considering the state’s love for brisket). Overall, I think the Shed is a strong BBQ restaurant with a number of solid offerings.
Given that this was Iron Bowl weekend, the Shed was limited to takeout. I was annoyed that the cute brunette hostess had painted Auburn crap on her face, but hey, welcome to the South. At least the girls down here are actual college football fans. But I digress. This nice lady provided us with our carry-​out which consisted of baby back ribs, spare ribs, pulled chicken, BBQ chicken, sausage, brisket, and pulled pork.
The resident BBQ expert of our house (read: not me) raved about the pulled pork instantly placing it only behind the Brick Pit for Alabama’s best BBQ. Maybe it was because all the BBQ was mixed together, but I wasn’t as enamored with the pulled pork due to inconsistent texture and softness. We both loved the baby back and spare ribs. Tender, succulent and juicy, both ribs exhibited just the right level of pull and had an incredible smoky finish. I loved the little disks of sausage, but resident BBQ expert was unimpressed. I found the brisket too tough and stringy for my tastes, but both of the chicken offerings were impressive.
For sides, we devoured the potato salad which had an interesting sour cream and onion influence to it. Pasta salad was pretty good. Both of these dishes heavily packed in the mayonaisse. The cole slaw didn’t have any flavor to it.
Overall, the Shed gives Mississippi BBQ a good name. In the South, this is a solid offering. In the more watered down national scene, this is top flight BBQ. In any event, it is certainly worth a visit.

We ate here once and aren’t too inclined to visit again, despite it being very close to where we live. It’s popular and always packed, but I’ve had better barbecue in more comfortable restaurants. Some of the tables are supposed to be «funky», I guess, like a ring of old schooldesks, but after trying to eat messy barbecue on one, the novelty doesn’t seem so enjoyable.
If you want quality barbecue in a shack-​type atmosphere, try the nearby Brick Pit instead. The Shed tries too hard to create a devil-​may-​care atmosphere and it comes across as generic, and the food isn’t outstanding enough to make up for it.

This Texas girl gives The Shed 4 stars. Love the «serious sausage» and potato salad. Huge selections of beer and great live music. Order at the bar to avoid the long lines.
I would give another star if they cleaned up some of the junk and turned on the air conditioner.