It’s easy to drive past That BBQ Joint, which opened on a nondescript corner of Willy Street and Cantwell Court with the name only appearing on the door. But, if my meal was any indication, it’s certainly worth looking for.

Let’s get right to it and talk about the ribs (the 1/2 slab entree is $13.95). The tender meat came off easily from the bone and had a delicate, smoky flavor. I enjoyed the ribs so much that I didn’t need to use any of the sauces, which come on the side.

The same goes for the pulled pork ($7.99), which melts in the mouth and comes in a hearty portion inside a nice, soft bun. When you don’t need to add sauce to ribs or pulled pork, you know the meat is well prepared.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t go 3-for-3 with the thinly sliced beef brisket ($8.49). My order was overcooked and the meat was a bit tough, which forced me to douse it in sauce to make it palatable.

Speaking of those sauces, you can order mo’ regular, mo’ spicy and mo’ honey mustard. The regular had perhaps too strong of a vinegar flavor, and for that reason I didn’t use much of it. I loved the (not that) spicy sauce, as it can be applied universally to the meats. The honey mustard worked surprisingly well with the meats.

The entrees come with two sides, and the choices are regular slaw or spicy slaw (I prefer the creamy kind, as these didn’t have any mayonnaise), chili (full of big chunks of meat) and collared greens (these were fine, but I’m just not a fan overall). The ribs also came with garlic toast, which didn’t look that appetizing but actually were full of garlic and butter flavor.

Beyond the ribs and pull pork, I’d recommend the hand-cut fries, which had a light fried taste and didn’t need any sauce (that seems to be a theme). I would not recommend the pulled pork spring rolls–a special of the day–which had almost no meat and was bland. The rest of the menu includes sandwiches and yes, tacos.

That BBQ Joint, open Thursdays through Sundays, has some seating, but you’d be best off ordering to go. The staff is super friendly, and they were most apologetic for some computer issues that occurred. For parking, look to the surrounding streets, such as Willy, Cantwell, Rogers or Jenifer.

Blair Street Brew & BBQ opened last month in the space that housed the first location of Full of Bull and prior to that, Pizza Extreme. It had hoped to open on March 5, but as anyone in the restaurant industry knows, setbacks are inevitable.

Was the food worth the wait? Let’s start with the ribs. They’re described as fall-off the bone with a special dry rub and finished with a signature barbecue sauce. Sadly, the ribs were the exact opposite. I received a terrible cut with barely any meat, and such a paltry rack should never be served in a restaurant. The meat was really tough, the rub was far too salty and the sauce wasn’t discernible.

I ordered the ribs through the multi-item Badger Feast ($19.95), which was missing the rotisserie chicken. The ham and bacon were flavorful, the pulled pork was tender if not tasteless and the beef brisket was melt-in-your-mouth outstanding. If I ever came back, I would order the Beef Brisket Blockbuster ($8.95), which is beef brisket, bacon and crispy onion strings served on Texas toast.

The accompanying sides were a mixed bag. The coleslaw was dry, the potato salad was straight out of a container, the baked beans were surprisingly tasty despite looking like refried beans and the corn bread had no firmness (it broke apart too easily) but was still enjoyable.

At least the 10-piece Hot Wings ($7.95) were a delight, as the homemade Buffalo-like sauce had just the right amount of heat. I also liked the Bucky Bites ($3.50), which are flash-fried soft pretzels that look hard as rocks but are actually quite soft. It comes with nacho cheese dipping sauce.

A server told me it would still be a few months until Blair Street Brew & BBQ actually brews its own beer. It does serve other beer and some hard alcohol.

If you dine-in, there is a small parking lot and a few arcade games for kids. Otherwise, the restaurant, which is open every day, does deliver.

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