Branded ‘72

Been coming here for years and the que is always consistently good and a lot of food for the money. The smoked turkey is the best I’ve ever had and the brisket is better than Famous Dave’s Urban BBQ. The ribs are the greatest, I usually go with Daves if I’m in the mood for em. Highly recommend.

Food is very good, but service, not so much. I asked if the ribs could be included on the two-​meat plate. The order-​taker, who was slicing the meat, said yes. When I went to check out, the cashier was hesitant, acting like she didn’t understand what I had ordered. After checking with the order taker, she rang me up as a three-​meat plate. I repeated that I ordered the two-​meat plate. She said that ribs were not included on the two-​meat plate. The order-​taker, at that point, said the same thing. Had he explained that when I asked, I would have ordered something different. I consider that to be dishonest. He clearly stated that I could include ribs on the two-​meat plate. He said nothing else. Also, be prepared for a fairly long wait, even when the place is empty. It just seems to take a long time to get the each order started. Probably explains why the place was so empty on a Saturday evening, even though the food is quite good.

Great food, beer, and service. They also have carryout. Wish that I had more time to try different BBQ and all of their sauces.
Definitely a gem in Rockville!

I arrived and sat in the bar. They were not that busy and yet I waiting awhile to be served. I contemplated going to the cafeteria but decided just to drink instead. The food was quick after I orders it but was not very good at all. The meat was dry and I just couldn’t eat it.

We went to the bar for Happy Hour which ends at 7:00 and got the best deals that I’ve seen in a long time. The Roadhouse Nachos with Pork were absolutely amazing. The staff was very friendly and attentive. I will be going back for lunch. I highly recommend this place.

Meh. This place was okay. Customer service was awesome, one of the waiters even gave us a free side since we had never been here. Portion size was huge, we had plenty left over.
The food itself was not that great. The ribs tasted very fatty and had no flavor, even though they were wet ribs. My husband had the beef brisket and it was terribly dry. Mac and cheese was nothing special, tasted like regular pasta noodles and Kraft cheese melted on top.
My husband enjoyed their bbq sauce and I enjoyed their peach cobbler.
Definitely wouldn’t go back for the price we payed, it tasted like a fast food/​hospital bbq.

First and foremost… please take down the Texas Flag in the front because this BBQ absolutely does not represent Texas BBQ… plus the flag is very dirty. I had the beef brisket and for the price I paid for it they ought to be ashamed of themselves serving beyond dry meat. I could see if it was dry because I received a lean cut of meat, but no, the meat was so dry it wasn’t even chopped it was shredded. I used to frequent this restaurant years ago and it was a lot better, but know I’ve given them too many chances to redeem themselves and each time they have failed miserably. Please save your money and go to Safeway… buy some BBQ sauce and the rotisserie chicken with some sides and improvise!!!

I felt like I was in Austin Texas! The ribs were delicious. Good choices on the sides. BBQ sauces were home made and everything seemed fresh and home cooked.

Stop here on a friends recommendation and wanted to try some of the barbecue. I ordered the brisket and smoked chicken Garden salad with the chipotle dressing. My friend order the ribs and I tried some of his I also tried to three barbecue sauces all of which were pretty good however spicy one could’ve used a lot more kick for my taste.
And comparing it to the Texas places I’ve been to I’m going to give it three stars the ribs were pretty good the brisket was tasty but a little dry and the chicken didn’t have a whole Lotta smoke. The sides of the smoked beans were pretty good the collar greens were exceptionally good and the he was really good.
I want to like it my friend literally likes it however I’ve been to so many barbecue places where the smoke is prominent and there’s flavor throughout the meat not just a little bit here and there I really think this needed to have a little bit more smoke and it needed to be held at a hotter temperature because the meat that I got was OK but it was not hot like fresh off the smoker like I’m used to getting in Texas.

The cool thing about this place is that it has a drive-​through. I’ve gotten take out several times and it’s always been pretty good. I have dined in once though and it wasn’t nearly as good as takeout for some reason. Definitely try out the drive-​through.

Seriously Unilocal?
How many times have we asked you to allot us the ability to assign half a star ratings??? If you could do this, this place would’ve been the first to receive a half star rating from me!
For years my husband and I have driven past this place and never once stopped. I have never even heard anyone state that they have eaten here. Now I know why.
So, we were hungry, no we were starving, no we were FAMISHED and decided to stop by and see what this place was offering. We should have known that a place with this amount of reviews and a lowly 3 star rating was a disappointment waiting to happen, and boy did they make sure to disappoint us…
Upon entrance to the place you’re struck by the décor. A «southern» motif with scattered paintings and taxidermy of a dead rabbits with antlers reminiscent of the famed «jackalope» that haunted a many childhood nightmares. The bar looked stocked with dusty & dirty bottles of liquor for you to choose your alcoholic elixir. We didn’t venture over that way, we steered clear and headed toward the food counter. This is a place fit for the sledgehammer of Chef Robert Irvine and «Restaurant Impossible».
The food counter is set up cafeteria style with you looking at the menu above and then picking up a tray as you walk down and are handed your choices of meat, sides, salad and dessert. The prices looked pretty decent, but we wanted to stick with something that would be hard to mess up. We rarely eat red meat, so I being the buffalo wing connoisseur that I am went with that, while my husband went with the «Redneck fish and chips»; a catfish sandwich, coleslaw and a side of fries.
Toward the end of the bar are the desserts. The bread pudding looked like ground bread crumbs mixed with yesterday’s lunch and topped with the regrets of a fired janitor. Absolutely disgusting. We picked up two slices of chocolate cake that looked decent. Looks can be deceiving…
My wings were OK at best. The buffalo sauce wasn’t made with Franks hot sauce like I like and the wings weren’t what I consider traditional buffalo wings as much as they were just some wings with sauce on them. You know, disgruntled worker «f*ck the boss and his recipe style». My husband said his catfish tasted terrible and the tarter sauce was bland. He didn’t bother to try the coleslaw after looking at the other food. The fries tasted straight out of the bag, definitely not fresh cut. The bbq sauces that they had mixed/​made themselves were watery impersonations of any actual or real bbq sauce.
The chocolate cake was THEE WORST CAKE we had ever tasted. It was DRY and the frosting was Charles Barkley «turrible». We each took two bites a piece and left the rest of that dry mess there on the plate. So Branded 72 «takes the cake» for THEE WORST CAKE EVER AWARD. That cake tasted like stale hostess cupcakes that have been refrigerated for 48 hours before being served at a Chuck E Cheese birthday party in the middle of the winter after you’ve gotten over a bad cold. YUCKEEEEEEEE!!!
I tried to be diplomatic, but this place SUCKS!!! You wouldn’t shop at Ross for a prom dress would you? Then don’t come here looking for real BBQ.

Food was great but the guy cutting the meat made my first experience kind of cruddy. On the other hand, the lady was very helpful and walked us through the process of the chow line.
I had a half slab of classic ribs with Mac n cheese and potato salad.
The ribs were excellent especially with the Texas BBQ sauce.
Knocked it down a star because that guy really set the mood off and it was kind of on the pricey side for BBQ.

Went to 72 and there was a band playing. The food and drinks were good, I’ll give them that. The biggest questions are: How can Branded 72 survive with a bar with a menu and a chow line where you can get your food on the spot all in one establishment? And why would the bar be set up for one half of the restaurant instead of a wide open space? I’ve been to this location ever since I moved to Rockville with my parents and sister when I was 3. Could’ve been elevated a little more, but if there’s a way to succeed, the owners will find it. Jury’s out!

OMG… I got the half slab, bbq beans, and potato salad for $ 16. The ribs were tough and there were hardly any meat on them. Both bbq beans and potato salad were not very tasty either. Don’t go to this place. Eating at McDonald’s would have been a little better and a whole lot less $.

This is my new spot. In fact, this should be your new spot. The meat is off the charts amazing, and I say meat because they have a Meat Selection Menu. Their happy hour is on point with $ 5 any cocktail and $ 3 beer.
The service is unbeatable, Annibal is the man. His energy is exactly what you want from a bbq Texas-​style place.
All in all, I’m all in.

2.55 at best, let’s round her up to 3.
I came here on a Sunday with my dad, my brother and friend. It was about 2pm, and pretty empty.
The guys at the counter were friendly enough, and we ordered some BBQ. I got the sliders (described below) with green beans and fries. Thanks for the 10% off for checking in!
Let me tell you about the green beans. Now, I love me some southern style green beans, which is what I thought I was getting. Nope. There were three different colors of beans… A couple light green, most dark green and some olive drab, almost brown. Obviously canned. There were some medium chunks of onions. These beans were obviously added to a pan at different times, maybe different days. They were also obviously canned. They tasted like something you’d get in an MRE. Seriously I’ve had way better beans in army hot chow halls. These were the most disappoining beans I’ve had in my life. No bacon, no spices, nothing. Just extremely sad beans.
The fries were nothing special. Cafeteria, stadium, otherwise institutional. Boring. Fries. A vehicle for the ketchup.
The pickle chips from the fixins bar were good. Next up is the BBQ.
— Sausage — meh. Not bad. No smoke flavor.
— Chopped pork — decent. The habanero sauce went well with this.
— Brisket — decent but pretty dry. I had the darkest sauce with this and it was tasty, just not stellar in any way.
This place was disappointing, even though I didn’t expect much. Go to Urban or Rocklands and get good food instead. Did I mention the beans were worthless?

We went with a small group to check out the stand-​up comedy night. Given the location and the size of the stage, wasn’t expecting a whole lot from the comedians, but I do appreciate the evolution of a joke. If you’ve been to stand-​up you know the best is saved to last and that was the case here. He managed to keep the crowd laughing and today we were still joking about Badgerine!
All of us were new to the barbecue at Branded 72. Was surprised to see a cafeteria line for ordering and paying. You can see the meat as it’s chopped, so you can see it’s good quality. Cooked nicely. We enjoyed the chicken, beef and pulled porked. The sauces were plentiful and tasty. The sides were scarfed.

Way much better now. They finally got new bread and rolls for their sandwiches. Thank you so much!
Their french fries are different now. Don’t know which one I prefer, the old or new.
Their chopped pork was plentiful and moist. When you check in with Unilocal,you get a 10% off coupon too!

Stopped in because I had another errand nearby. Cute décor, friendly service, very nice house sauce. Good amount of food for the money.
I had a half rack platter — 6 ribs + two sides for $ 16. The slaw was plain jane, the collard greens tender but under-​seasoned. The ribs were cooked right and meaty, but they totally lacked smoke flavor, which is why only 3 ***. I did enjoy the small batch root beer and the classic rock sound track.
I would not make the trip there for the food, might stop in if I was already in the neighborhood.

I don’t know what happened to this place. The last couple times I’ve been here, the corned beef, chopped pork and beef brisket have been so dry. I have to drown it in BBQ sauce to eat it. In the past, it used to be very moist and delicious.
You can see customers have noticed as the lunch crowds, which used to be full, is not even ½ full now.
Please take the meats out sooner from the smoker. I will give this place one more try.