- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Black-Eyed Sally's
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11:30 am - 10 pm
Fri-Sat 11:30 am - 11 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
37 reviews for Black-Eyed Sally's
Review Highlights
"The sweet potato fries were great."
(in 4 reviews)
"...cheddar grits are awesome, as were the ribs and pulled pork."
(in 11 reviews)
"My first time trying collard greens and it was not bad."
(in 5 reviews)
Loading...
37 reviews in English
-
Review from Mauricio P.
Astoria, NY
10/21/2011
Went for lunch on Tuesday. Fairly quiet and quick service. The Catfish PoBoy was delicious and so were the chips. The fried pickles and ocra were also delectable.
Highly recommend! -
Review from Alanna A.
Houston, TX
9/15/2011
I am from the south and this place definitely brings southern food to Yankees. I was in town for business and we had a nice dinner here with my group. There were other large corporate groups there at the same time, so I definitely feel like this is a great place for a after work meal.
We shared appetizers: fried okra, fried pickles, fried oysters and pork butt. My fav was the pork butt. Fried food all tastes the same to me, so the pork butt had nice texture and was really tender
I had the Jambalya. It was perfect. I do have one compliant- it was not spicy enough. 10 dashes of hot sauce fixed this problem.
Portions were huge. Definitely reminded me of my familiar Texas sized portions. I took a doggie bag back to the hotel for seconds.
Pros: great atmosphere (very informal), live bands on certain days and bar upstairs if you wanna continue on afterwards
Cons: due to the size of the group service was a little lacking--- but honestly understandable -
Review from Danielle H.
Torrington, CT
9/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
It's below Pig's Eye Pub.
I love this place. I used to come here all the time before I moved farther away from Hartford.
They have live music every night they are open (i believe). The music is mostly blues but they do had Jazz also. The food is southern cuisine with things like collard greens, corn bread, BBQ, and jambalaya. The staff is friendly and there is a small dance floor. If you don't want to eat in the same room as the band, there is seating in a room further away from the music. When the music is playing it obviously gets loud, but otherwise the noise level is fine. My one downside to this place is that they are not open on Mondays (my day off). -
Review from scott v.
New Haven, CT
1/12/2012
Of the abundance of food ordered, the cheddar cheese grits win the gold trophy, leaving dreams of grits to stir long after. The blackened catfish, honey-buttered cornbread and the overall beer selection are all worth a nod as well. Despite it being the middle of the week, a rather talented blues band took the stage at about the time we finished eating and began playing some kickin tunes that stirred up the wild passion from within my soul, providing ample reason to hang out and drink some more. A grimey looking guy in a sweet vest gave heartfelt, sincere compliments to our hip dance moves as he sneered and looked my friend's feminine figure up and down. Overall, as my inebriated friend so sweetly put it, "great creole music and good food".
-
Review from Keyshaun S.
Buffalo, NY
1/19/2012 2 Check-ins Here
Wow, I was extremely surprised on how good everything was. You must get the ribs and the mac & cheese is to die for. It comes out looking like french onion soup the way the cheese is falling off of it. The live music was off the hook and the atmosphere of the entire place was amazing. The only reason I didn't give them 5 stars is because our server was kinda slow.
-
Review from Emily C.
9/6/2011 3 photos
If you've never been to Black Eyed Sally's, you're missing out on one of Hartford's best spots for live music and cajun cooking. My friends and I recently stopped by Sally's for a round of beers & appetizers, which ended up being a collective clamoring for Louisiana Gumbo.
Three of us opted for the gumbo, a beautifully spicy stew of chicken, crawfish and andouille sausage over rice. I'm normally a bit of a wimp when it comes to fiery foods, but the gumbo was the perfect level of spiciness (not QUITE the eye watering, nose running, sweating level)- and especially tasty when paired with a side of cornbread and honey butter.
I really wished I was hungrier because everything on Sally's menu looks incredible: jambalaya, cornmeal catfish, southern fried chicken, honey barbecue salmon, mac & cheese with andouille sausage, an entire BBQ section. And. So. Much. More. I'm not too worried- I'll be back soon.
While wrapping up our gumbo/beer festivities, we caught a few beautiful, bluesy tunes from the band-- wish I could remember the singer's name. Gorgeous voice and crazily talented with the harmonica!
What else do you need to know? Black Eyed Sally's has a funky vibe, self described as a Southern juke joint atmosphere. They've been open in downtown Hartford for 14+ years. Blues Reviews magazine has rated Sally's as one of the best blues clubs in the USA. Pretty impressive. -
Review from Dave E.
East Hartford, CT
12/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
The food was very good, the server was fantastic, the ambiance is really nice and laid back. I had a combo platter with the cheddar grits, a small link of andouille sausage, some pulled pork, ribs, and rice and beans. The grits were absolutely fantastic, the sausage was overcooked and dry but had good flavor, the pulled pork was very good, and the rice and beans were just average. I was disappointed in the ribs after hearing so much about them. My ribs came out lukewarm, were "tender and falling off the bone" and in general were what I would expect from a non-bbq place...not bad, but not great. I'd definitely go back for the pulled pork and grits and I'm dying to try their famous fried chicken and fried cat fish.
-
Review from Sanh A.
We went to Blackeyed Sally's to see a friend's band play. The place was packed but we were seated in less than 3 minutes.
Food:
Drink orders taken and the corn bread arrived immediately. They gave us three uneven pieces. One piece was enormous and the other two were typical serving size. The bread was moist but I wish there was real corn mixed in. I like cornbread with a little bite of corn kernels mixed in.
Sweet Potato Fries:
The sweet potato fries were great! They were gone before I had a chance to snap pictures. I will have to admit we were a tad hungry. I didn't care for the sauce that came with the fries, it was too tick and flavorless. The most I expect out of my sweet potato fries is the right amount of crunchiness and not too salty.
Brunt Ends:
The brunt ends were not crispy or crunchy. My boyfriend didn't like them at all because they were not smokey. In his opinion a great brunt end is nice and chewy and the one served that night was not.
Jambalaya:
I ordered the Jambalaya and didn't really know what to expect. In the back of my mind I was praying that it won't arrive to the table soggy and wet swimming in too much stock.
I was relieved when the dish arrived. It was red jambalaya but thank god it wasn't a few scoopful of tomato-red rice with a few dried up cube of chicken and two random shrimps. The shrimp that arrived were the size of a man's thumb. Hidden in my plate were flavorful fatty pieces of sausage. I did have trouble finding the crawfish tails. I like crawfish because they remind me of lobster so I wish they had given me more than 3 identifiable pieces. The chicken pieces were huge as well but a little dry. I'm assuming they were precooked and cooked again when preparing the jambalaya which sucked away all the moisture that was left.
This particular jambalaya was lacking in vegetables. A few pieces of okra here and there but nothing else. No green or red peppers.
The portions were huge! I had to stop and rethink a game plan a few times but sadly I had to pack the rest to go for the next day's lunch. The jambalaya tasted better the next day because the flavors penetrated inside. The dish had tons of flavor and it was super spicy. I would definitely order it again.
Combo dish :
My boyfriend ordered the combo dish with pork ribs and BBQ chicken served red beans and cheese grits.
When the dish arrived I wasn't impressed. We have had better BBQ. The rib fell off the bone easily but the flavor was not memorable. The chicken was so so. The ribs were on the dry side. I had a little taste of the cheese grits and let's just say I will never order that for myself. Overall we were not impressed with this combination dish. A little too pricy at $18 for something mediocre at best.
Overall Experience:
It was a fun place to have dinner. The decor is unique to the area. Service was great despite it being a busy night. The food was so so. This place is known for it's BBQ and sadly I was a little disappointed. We shall continue our search for a good BBQ place in the area. -
Review from Tiffany B.
Philadelphia, PA
7/18/2011 1 Check-in Here
I wanted to love this place but to be honest, the food was so forgettable that I don't even remember what I had. They do have a great coupon incentive and I wouldn't not go there based on my review. I'm pretty particular and seriously if I don't even remember what we had - that says a lot! My boyfriend and I have traveled extensively the last 18 months and have eaten all up and down the eastern seaboard.
The service was smooth... -
Review from Mike B.
Southampton, PA
11/17/2011
Loved it! Had the chili and the pig out platter. Try the sauce at the table, it's made there. The cheddar grits are awesome, as were the ribs and pulled pork. I'd love to try the other things as well. Live blues band playing too....very cool.
-
Review from Joey C.
New York, NY
7/5/2011
Got off Amtrak and stumbled into BES, I had read the advocate best of Hartford review , so I was hungry and excited.
Started with the burnt ends, can you say Alpo? Same smell and texture; embarassing and not impressed. Next up; the pulled pork. Seemed like everyone was ordering it and it did look good. When it arrived it looked good, smelled ok... (BBQ pulled pork can have an off-putting smell) it was there but mild. This PP was ok, smoky, not overly fatty it was ok! One sauce to chose from ... Hmmm,ok, it's Hartford. The ribs, if not inspired,are just ok as well. The best thing served is the cornbread, I had to fight off a fly the size of a Fiat to get to it, but once I smushed it into the window the other insects seemed intimidated and kept away. Mmm Appetizing !!! If this is the best southern food in Hartford, time to move folks. -
Review from Ezra B.
Worcester, MA
10/25/2011
Southern/New Orleans/Soulful/Jazz vibe. Good atmosphere if you enjoy those things. We were easily seated but seems like the place might get packed later in the night seeing as they often have live music - reservations can be made. The food is not for the health conscience but definitely tasty and flavorful! Great place to go to with a group of people to hear live music and eat soul food.
-
Review from Kris V.
5/9/2011
Umm if you really want good BBQ, don't waste your time here. The pulled pork I had was so dry and over cooked, almost like it was microwaved. The mac and cheese was a greasy, cheese-less mess, and the slaw was just OK. The bf wasn't trilled with his meat either. Everything was just dry, and the BBQ sauce really isn't that good.
The night we went a band was playing and it was so insanely loud...I guess it was our mistake for wanting to just sit and eat. -
Review from Neil R.
Chicago, IL
3/27/2011
One of my favorite places in Hartford! The best part are the blues' bands - so if you don't like blues you may not like this place. The food is really solid too and so is bar area. Chill atmosphere and usually not very crowded - tends to be 30's and up crowd (in my experience).
I feel this this is hidden gem in Hartford and great place to grab a drink on a Saturday night and hear a good band. They have a cover charge if you only go there for the band but I believe if you go there for dinner they don't charge you. -
Review from M T.
New York, NY
Miss Black-Eyed Sally knows BBQ!
The mister and I treated my younger brother to dinner here as he's in the mood for ribs. We were seated at booths by the entrance which gave us a view of a blues band playing and seeing the action at the bar. The atmosphere is fun with college students having good times and hooking up.
We ordered the full rack of ribs, Sally's pig out, and blackened catfish. A basket of cornbread comes first. Cornbread tasted delish! Firm, moist, and sweet gave this cornbread the right consistency. Food portions are big.
The ribs, OMG, it was delish at first bite, rich in smoky flavor and tender meat falling off the bone. The mister and bro liked the flavor that there was no need for their own version of BBQ sauce. But I am all about sauce, so I dipped the rib meat in the BBQ sauce. I liked it, as the sauce has a kick of spice in it. Also, tried the pulled pork and sausage of the Sally's pig put dish, delish as well. Pulled Pork is not doused with BBQ sauce but it was very savory and moist. I got the blackened catfish and at first sight, it was indeed black all over and burnt to a crisp. To my suprise, at first first bite, the catfish is delish, firm, meaty, and flaky. The mister loved my catfish that he wanted to give me all his pulled pork for my fish.
Sides were not bad and big portions. Red beans and rice and a tiny portion of cole slaw came with ribs dish. The mister choose the mac n cheese and it was okay and as it lacked cheese. I got collard greens and mashed sweet potatoes. My first time trying collard greens and it was not bad. I love green veggies, but I think you need to love the acquired taste of bitter greens. Mashed sweet potatoes was delish and creamy texture.
What a find to have BBQ in Hartford! Miss Black-eyed Sally is the place to go for BBQ ribs and have a fun time. -
Review from Dan T.
Alexandria, VA
4/29/2011
Great place to go for Southern-style BBQ and blues music. We had the crab & corn chowder, a blackened sirloin, and a bbq rib & fried catfish combo. The soup was delicious and super thick. My ribs, cooked Memphis-style, were tangy and the meet fell right off the bone. The catfish was actually cornbread-coated fried strips served with a spicy roumalade sauce that tasted better than any fish stick at any restaurant. The sirloin, while cooked perfectly and very tender, was nothing special. It tasted like a regular steak.
-
Review from Maureen L.
Middletown, CT
6/3/2011 1 Check-in Here
I've only been here once - and for lunch - but I loved it. It is a little bit out of the way if you work in downtown Hartford, but worth the extra walk. I was surprised by how few people are there are lunch. The food was excellent and the service was great.
-
Review from Chris W.
Atlanta, GA
6/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
Great bar and happening place. Live bands. Service was not very good and it was extremely nosiey. It served its purpose but didnt realize it was more of a bar than a restaurant. Neat place.
-
Review from Alex R.
Southington, CT
2/28/2011
A group of four of us went to Black Eyed Sally's on a Saturday night with a http://restaurant.com coupon in hand. I ate lunch at Sally's a few years back and remembered having a favorable experience. We entered around 8 pm and was told there was a 15 minute wait, we were promptly seated 2 minutes later .
Our group was not overly hungry so we decided just to order drinks and apps. There were four of us and we ordered 4 apps to share: Sweet potato fries, fried oysters, burnt endz (bbq'ed pieces of beef) and a pulled pork quesadilla. All was as could be expected. The portions were decent and the food was satisfactory. Nothing spectacular, but solid.
Prices were ok, a little high for the type of food - a great deal with a http://restaurant.com coupon. My one gripe would be that a place like this should put cornbread on the table gratis. The reason I say this is because similar restaurants such as Bubba's at Mohegan and Summmer Shack at Mohegan both provide bread and cornbread when you sit down. We were not given any and I was not sure if there was any on the menu. All in all a decent experience. -
Review from Wendy G.
Roxbury, MA
4/3/2008
Ok, I can't tell you squat about location, exactly where in Hartford, or even about their parking, but I've eaten here twice and can tell you that you do not want to miss out on the southern food. I was a part of a large group who were more than happy to share. The ribs are fall off the bone tender, the buttermilk fried chicken oozed juiciness when cut, and the collard greens are the best I've ever had. I love corn bread and theirs had the right flavor and texture to compliment their obviously hand made mashed potatoes.They have a good selection of beers and live music most nights after 9p, and the service is great.
Decor wise, I was amazed. Very intricate and colorful. Kind of like what you would imagine to see in a New Orleans hole in the wall restaurant. -
Review from Niklas Z.
Las Vegas, NV
4/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
I've given it multiple opportunity but it just keeps disappointing. The food seems like it should be so much better but it's not. I would still go back for the burnt endz but thats it. The pulled pork sandwich is the biggest disappointment on the menu.
-
Review from cassie r.
4/16/2010
When you think good BBQ, the great state of Connecticut doesn't immediately spring to mind. And while I don't think Black-Eyed Sally's could singularly change this fact, they do make a valiant effort.
After a week of LONG workdays, my colleagues and I decided to let off some steam by enjoying a good meal while not staring at a computer screen. Our mission found us at Black-Eyed Sally's where we discovered heaping servings of fried, calorie-laden goodness.
My burnt ends were amazo, but not nearly as mouthwatering as the cheesy grits I ordered. I grabbed a sample of the sweet potato fries plus aioli from my colleague, and can attest they are a worthy side to add to any meal.
We left fat and happy...obviously, a successful mission. -
Review from Cat L.
Chicago, IL
4/11/2010
Spent some QT in Hartford for work recently, and after several long days cooped up inside, a bunch of us ventured to Black-Eyed Sally's for lunch on Saturday.
We all know the ends on a BBQ'd piece of meat are the best part, but there's never enough to go around. Black-Eyed Sally's tries to make everyone happy by creating a Burnt Endz sammich. Served on a nicely toasted bun, the sammich had nice chunks of BBQ'd beef, crispy around the edges. Hooray for not overly dry BBQ! The sammich was topped with pickles, thinly sliced red onion and a touch of coleslaw that provided a nice balance. I opted for their salt & vinegar "chips," but was underwhelmed with the vinegar-less flavor.
My coworkers opted for the fried chicken (half of a chicken! buttermilk-battered!), catfish, and the piglet platter. We did have one vegetarian with us, and the kitchen was kind enough to make her their crab cake sammich, which is apparently not a regular option for lunch (although it's listed on their web site).
Overall, this place was purty darn tasty. We practically had the place to ourselves - a bit odd on a Saturday afternoon, IMHO. But after staring at the same four walls for four days, this change of pace was more than welcome. -
Review from Misha R.
Avon, CT
8/5/2009
Not sure what the buzz was, but I am not impressed.
BBQ was not even on par with a chain place, like Smokey Bones in Manchester. It seemed that ribs were boiled and then dabbed with sauce making them all rubbery, chicken was dry, salmon was overcooked.
Couple all of this with trouble finding parking and I would not recommend this for anyone. -
Review from mermaid l.
New York, NY
7/31/2011
Black-Eyed Sally is very cool to look at. There's writing all over some of the walls (although there's a big off-putting sign that says 'only bands are invited to write on the walls'-- but no place couldn't seen that much band-writing)..and there's some real creativity to how walls, steps, etc. are painted. But, in the end, a restaurant is about the food-- and boy is it awful. An $11 dollar hamburger should be a good hamburger, right? Stale white, white white bun, half-done potatoes, and a 45 minute wait when the place was empty for a hamburger to be cooked. Sorry, Sally, it's nice to look good, but when the food is awful, there's no reason to come back. Saw it once, never again.
-
Review from Brian C.
Hartford, CT
7/14/2011 1 Check-in Here
ok lunch at BE'd Sallys. had the Caesar salad, pulled chicken sandwich and mac and cheese. lets start with the good, mac and cheese and server were top notch, pulled chicken was tasty and good, however they said they ran out of their croutons(which are made of cornbread and are very good) at 12:30, not sure how that happens because cornbread is a side dish, they should have endless amounts of cornbread croutons. My roll for my pulled chicken was stale. Lastly, the homemade caesar dressing, which is why we returned, seemed store bought and unoriginal. i would suggest trying this place for dinner opposed to lunch, seems they have different standards set for each. all in all a positive experience.
-
Review from Hana S.
Hartford, CT
11/29/2008
This is one of the few BBQ joints in the city of Hartford. The food is generally good, I'm from Texas so CT BBQ doesn't quite compare, but Black Eyed Sally's decent when i need a fix. Many of the sides are unfortunately cooked with pork.
-
Review from Marcus M.
Silver Spring, MD
9/19/2010
This place bills itself as not just a BBQ joint, but specifically a Memphis-style BBQ joint. As a native Memphian, I couldn't pass-up the opportunity to see how these Yanks tried to replicate my hometown's signature food. Overall, I was pleased with their effort, and even a little impressed. If you're in Hartford and want some decent BBQ, then go to Black-Eyed Sally's.
The atmosphere tries to replicate some of the establishments on Beale Street, I suppose. They have some iconic photos from Beale Street (the famous neon "Memphis" sign, for instance) and at least one actual Beale Street street sign. Paintings of Stevie Ray Vaughn, BB King and others adorn the brick walls. There is plenty of seating and we did not have to wait at all for a table on a Thursday night @ 7 PM. There are two dining areas -- one where the bandstand is located and a larger area in a second room away from the bandstand. I wasn't able to check out a band while in Hartford so I can't comment on the type of music that Sally's features. It would probably be a fun place to hear a band, though.
I ordered ribs, as smoked ribs is Memphis' specialty. To see if Sally's really was a Memphis-style BBQ joint, I asked my waiter if I could get my ribs dry. Surprisingly, he said yes. He told me they don't put sauce on the ribs until just before serving them, but they could hold the sauce if I liked. As I prefer my ribs a little "wet," I told him to prepare my ribs like they usually do. But the fact that Sally's doesn't put any sauce on the ribs while cooking (aka "smoking") them is a sign that the folks running Sally's really do know how to cook ribs Memphis style. (Side note: I noticed another reviewer complained that his pulled pork did not come with sauce on top and he asserts that you don't cook BBQ without putting sauce on it. That's not the Memphis style. No BBQ chef who cares about making quality BBQ cooks the meat -- whether ribs or a shoulder/rump -- in BBQ sauce. Do you put a rub on the meat prior to smoking it? Absolutely. But BBQ sauce? No way.)
The ribs themselves were good, and the half-rack is a large portion. The ribs had in fact been smoked - I could taste the smoky flavor - and the sauce was a traditional Memphis-style ketchup-based sauce that was a bit sweet and without heat. The cut of ribs was a little disappointing, though, because there was a fair amount of fat. I also wonder how long the ribs are smoked. I suspect Sally's smokes the ribs for a shorter period of time than some of the finer Memphis establishments (like Cozy Corner), as the meat was not quite as "fall-off-the-bone" tender as I've had at some other places. But overall, I recommend the ribs.
The standard sides are slaw and red beans and rice. I don't know many Memphis BBQ joints that serve red beans and rice as a primary side dish. There are other sides to chose from, including collard greens and cornbread. I tried the cornbread, and it was serviceable. A bit more cakey than I like, and though I'm a fan of sweet cornbread, Sally's was almost too sweet for me. The coleslaw was fine, but too small of a portion. They could have taken some of the sugar from the cornbread and added it to the cole slaw, and upped the mayo content also.
The beer selection was servicable. I would have preferred a larger microbrew selection, but you can definitely find a medium-bodied ale to go with your BBQ, or just a good ol' Bud if you like.
In the end, I'd recommend Sally's to my Memphis friends and anyone else in Hartford in search of a fun atmosphere and good BBQ. -
Review from Tasha A.
2/10/2008
They have the BEST catfish!! Oh yeah and the Hurricane's are awesome! Within walking distance of local offices, so I'm sure this place is packed all the time! Give it a try...I went with a group of 8 and we all loved it!
-
Review from Ryan K.
San Francisco, CA
11/10/2008
We went here as part of a large group and they were particularly accommodating. Great service and fantastic food -- ribs, ribs, ribs. Excellent corn chowder and burnt endz. Spicy soups. Not a bad place to be if you're in town for a conference and need to get-away from the convention.
-
Review from Seraphin H.
Manchester, CT
6/5/2010
Black-Eyed Sally's should not tout itself as a BBQ restaurant nor a good restaurant. There are different types of BBQ, sure. There is the Texas kind, the Carolina kind, and the Kentucky kind, with other states thrown in between.
The pulled pork is a Southern institution. The pulled pork at Black-Eyed Sally's came without any BBQ sauce...a pulled pork should be cooked in BBQ sauce. It came out limp, soggy, without any flavor, and stringy. It tasted as if it had been boiled until it was completely dry and without any fat.
The fried chicken was covered in corn meal, which I know is very popular in certain areas, but takes away from the crispiness of a fried chicken. No problem, as long as it is juicy and flavorful, fine with me. However, the chicken was extremely dry, the texture of the corn meal with limp and full of oil (was the oil temperature too low?). There was no crispiness to the skin, and the corn meal had no flavor. When I attempted to liven the chicken by asking for gravy, the waiter informed me that there was "no gravy made at the restaurant." What do people eat mashed potatoes with?
The collard greens were old and the mashed sweet potatoes was mixed with something else that left an odd taste in the mouth that lingered.
The ribs were better, but more of a quieted down version than the "mustard" Carolina ribs that it pretends to be.
The corn bread that comes as a free appetizer is normal, out of a box version that one can be made from a box at the grocery store.
The whole thing would be more acceptable if the prices were not so high. A pulled pork sandwich was around $10. A pulled pork is $3 in Texas. You do the math. The venue was extremely loud. I support local music, but the speakers were way to loud for anyone to enjoy a meal or attempt to have a conversation. -
Review from Josh G.
Hartford, CT
11/27/2010
We went to Sally's today for lunch. We had friends in from Philly along with me, my wife and our two kids. We had a great lunch. We started with Sweet Potato fries and corn bread. i had the salmon salad. it was an average salad, but the fish was blackened perfectly. My wife enjoyed her fried chicken and our friends enjoyed the catfish and the pooboy sandwich. We all forgot how much we love southern seasonings! and all the food was prepared very well
-
Review from Domenic L.
Central Manchester, CT
4/21/2011
We were in the mood for the bar feel last night and the band seemed interesting. We had dinner before the band came on. The glazed chicken was very good, my ribs were a little drier than I would have liked but the beef tips were quite tasty. Next time I would sit in the bar and avoid the cover charge, I think plenty others did that. Good selection of cold beer.
-
Review from Vikki C.
Williamstown, PA
10/29/2010
These people did it all right. We had a http://restaurants.com coupon for this place, and no problem with it. Seated us right away, served us fast and professional. Jazzy bar atmosphere, a band set up team was on stage arguing while we were there, interesting enough entertainment. :) I wish we could have gone back for the band that night.
The food - incredible. We've eaten all over the world and this stuff was the serious authentic barbecue. No wonder they win award after award in Hartford.
We had drinks - special mixed drinks, excellent and full on the liquor. Then we had half a rack of ribs, and a pulled pork sandwich. Both marvelously smoky, ribs amazingly tender. The vinegar and salt round cut fries and the rice/beans/sausage just added to the flavor of the meat. Perfect accompaniments!
Dessert we had bourbon pecan pie and a chocolate cake, good for a rib place. Ice cream on both, I like that.
Seriously not a sour note in the entire evening. -
Review from Marty C.
Southbridge, MA
2/19/2009
My girlfriend and I ate here while staying in Hartford recently. The beer selection is great. I had the pork platter and was pretty impressed. The ribs and pulled pork weren't spectacular, but the andouille sausage was amazing. My girlfriend got the fried catfish and really enjoyed it. Also, the fried okra and pickle chips are great. Live music too.
-
Review from Joshua F.
Westford, MA
4/29/2009
Its not easy being a BBQ joint in New England, and Black-Eyed Sally's proves this. There are two basics that all BBQ places must follow, no matter their location or price level. First if you call yourself BBQ, you need to supply a quantity of food that represents the culture. I ordered the Sally's Pig Out, which should have been named Sally's Diet, and I received an order of 4 ribs that looked like they can from a fetal pig they were so small, an ice cream scoop of pulled pork, and a link of andouille sausage. Thank god for the sausage, which was excellently spiced. For $18 I should have needed a doggie bag. It comes with "smoked" grits and red beans with rice. Second BBQ = Smoke. There is no way they are smoking any meat at BES. You don't smell smoke on the street, in the restaurant or taste it on the food. The pulled pork was bland and the smoked grits were disappointing. I have never had "dry" pulled pork, meaning there wasn't any sort of sauce applied, I found this weird. At least fake it and throw some liquid smoke in there. I had the Burnt Endz, which were tasty, but needed more texture. When you see Burnt Endz, you are expecting a crispy, "burnt", charred morsel, not soft of all things. "A" had the corn and chicken chowder which was very good, with plenty of chicken and a great consistency. The fried pickles and okra was fun and addicting. These couple of apps do not save the experience, as I went there for BBQ without any success.
-
Review from Jamie H.
Boston, MA
6/29/2008
A friend of mine and I hit this place before a concert recently. The food was awesome and reasonably priced (see it's good to get out of Boston now and again). Lots of southern and New Orleans style items on the menu. I had the burnt ends for an appetizer and they were seasoned with a tangy bbq sauce and were very tasty. For dinner I went with the fried chicken. It was good but the buttermilk batter could have used more flavor. The mud pie for dessert was great (and yes I nearly needed CPR after this meal). If they work on that and put some more booze in the drinks I would upgrade to 5 stars.
