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Harvard Avenue (Green)
"The food here is Smooooken.. I needed a place to take my best friend, in town from Ohio, and her husband too. They love Southern cooking so…" read more »
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I lived in Allston/Brighton for over 6 years and am so sad this place didn't exist when I called the neighborhood home. I now live over 5,000 miles away and was happy to see this new addition to Harvard Ave on a trip back to Boston. I can't say this is the best southern style bbq I've had... but so what, this is Boston and to be honest, it is nice to have a non-noodle, non-pizza restaurant in Allston.
I've come for the all you can eat wings once which was a great deal. The cranberry hot wings were a nice thanksgiving addition. We also got the greens, rice n beans, and mashed potatoes for sides. The greens and potatoes were very good. The rice and beans so so. I've also tried the brisket and pulled pork. Those were both pretty good as well. Corn bread was yummy. I loved all the tvs for sport game watching.
Things I didn't like? The first time I came the service was pretty bad. We waited about 5 mins before someone came to greet/offer us a table. Once seated it took forever to order. The last time was a lot better but still had some problems flagging down our server to order more wings/beer. I guess this is expected as the place is always busy. I guess the only other negative is parking, but, this is life in Boston.
Quick easy T ride to Harvard Ave in a fun neighborhood.
I enjoyed the pulled chicken and all of the sauces. I tried every single sauce and did however want to try even hotter but they didn't have any hotter, but thats okay because the 8 or so that I had were delicious!
The mac and cheese with barbecue chips on top were cute and tasty. I was also really surprised with the mini pecan pie- it actually had a delicious tasting crust!
I will return Soul Fire!
Since the loss of Uncle Pete's, I've had just two go to places for barbecue in the area: Blue Ribbon for great burnt ends and pork ribs, and Redbones for the vibe, the beer, the convenience, great ownership and respectable beef ribs. After checking out some of the reviews on yelp and the rave on http://pigtrip.net (a great resource for barbecue joints in the Northeast), I decided to try Soul Fire.
Soul Fire feels spacious, especially on week nights, when there aren't a lot of people there. There are high ceilings and a huge flat screen TV. Service was friendly, helpful and prompt.
Pork ribs were as it as it gets in the Boston area. Spare ribs and baby backs are infused with a fine smoke flavor and the rub added great flavor. The ribs needed no sauce, but I love to play around with sauces and even mix them up a bit. I really enjoyed all but the sweet sauce, the "pit boss" and "soul fire" were great. The fiery sauce was a little hotter than I liked but blended with a little pit boss, I loved it. It has some mustard in it and is like a kicked up version of Blue Ribbons golden sauce. Fried Chicken, including the chicken wings was excellent - well worth ordering even if you love pork.
Sides were good to great. The collards were really nicely prepared, but just a little too sweet for my liking. Fries were nicely done.
Everything benefitted from being served on large plates, so that things were kept separate - unlike Redbones and Blue Ribbon where everything runs a bit into everything else before you get a chance to chow down.
While Soul Fire lacks the life and the funkiness of Redbones, it also lacks the crowds and the noise. Soul Fire has definitely joined my list of top BBQ places in the area. Next to try: M&M's.
I've since tried their delicious fried chicken and committed the sin of gluttony on their Monday night all you can eat wings.
The fried chicken is fantastic, a different take on traditional fried chicken. The crispiness complements the delicious marinade and it's cooked perfectly. I want it again. Right now.
As far as BBQ in Boston goes, it's pretty damn good.
The service was excellent, the food came out…
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Great little BBQ spot that is perfect for the area....It's clean and the staff is out-of-their-way-over-the-top friendly.
Had a great meal and, according to one young lady, I was given "limited edition" mashed potatoes as one of my sides. Limited edition?!?!
I will be back for more of the "Pit Boss" sauce...Don't even bother with anything else!
Soul Fire was the perfect place to stop during the S.L.U.T. pub crawl. They had ber to keep you satiated, decently priced sandwiches of pulled meats and catfish, all with their own signature sauce, satisfying mac & cheese with bbq chips crumbled on top ... and it was pretty quick. And when you're hungry, no one wants to wait. Given the number of great potential amazing eats in Allston, I would hesitate to suggest this establishment to friends. It's not really a sit down, more like fast food, but it has a very relaxed atmosphere; great for a casual meal.
3.5 stars...Nice place, not so great BBQ.
The place is in a nice area, is big, clean, and pretty friendly with a good looking menu with lots of options. Prices are about average, nothing too overpriced. The bbq was pretty dissapointing (definitely no pitmasters working here). If I was in the area and wanted a quick bite of something BBQ-ish I'd go here but I wouldn't go out of my way if I wanted some true quality BBQ.
If you haven't been here yet... stop what you're doing (apologize to your boss if you're at work) then get in your car, walk, or hitch a ride to Soul Fire and grab some lunch/dinner (depending on when you read this). The food is fantastic!
So far, this is the best BBQ in Boston... honestly not the best I've ever had in general, but ranking top 5 overall and definitely ranking number 1 for the area. And being the Mississippi boy I am, that is quite the accomplishment. :-D
Had a small group, so we ordered the Pit-boss BBQ Sampler, which was (1) smoked beef sausage, (2-3) fried chicken wings, (2) sweet and spicy wings, (2) bbq spare ribs, a half-rack of baby back ribs, a small portion of cubed beef, and a small portion of pulled pork. You also got little side samples, almost like dipping sauce cup sizes of the side - which included: beans, cole slaw, potato salad, mac-n-cheese, collard greens, and 2 good sized pieces of cornbread.
I LOVED everything off the meat plate, and by plate I mean pizza dish with a cookie sheet on top of it (which is how all the plates are). My favorite being the spare ribs. They had a nice char on the outside, but were still good and tender. Nice dry rub coated on top of them, and you had a choice of sauces to poor over them as well, I went with the Pit-Boss bbq sauce, which is a spin on traditional (tomato based) BBQ sauce. It was perfection together.
The fried chicken wings were fantastic, so I can only imagine the fried chicken platter (with full size chicken pieces - lol) is just as amazing.
The pulled pork has a nice flavor, and was very tender. I couldn't decide between the pit-boss and the sweet sauce for the pulled pork, pitt-boss had a good flavor, but wasn't sweet enough to really highlight the pork... and the sweet was a bit tangy, so it kind or 'overwhelmed' the pork. I did a mix of both and it gave it a good flavor - but honestly the pork is good on its own too.
My only complaint, really corrected itself. When we were first seated the lady promptly took our drink orders (but they had home made sweet tea - Fantastic!!). When she brought our drinks back she said our server would be right with us. We waited a few moments then another female came by to asked if we had put in our orders yet, we replied we were still waiting to order, and she informed us she would grab our server.
A few minutes later... the same female who took our drink orders, came back for our food orders... and things finally got rolling and no more problems.
Other then the initial delay for placing an order, service was great. Drinks were kept filled, she gave us BBQ recommendations and even which sauce paired best with what item.
It doesn't matter if you going to sample bits and pieces of the menu, or order a platter/sandwich and dig in... this should definitely be your BBQ stop for the area!
Amazing BBQ.
The waitstaff is super nice- I don't know where they found these ladies but they have always been so nice and very friendly.
The ribs are off the hook!
The mac and cheese has crushed BBQ potato chips on top. I know I know it sounds weird but it tastes awesome.
I don't like brisket but it is still very tasty.
I usually get the spare ribs though the baby back are good also.
Fast service. Good food. Well priced. Amazing staff.
How can you not try it now?
Soul fire has a decent offering of barbeque. I've had better, but it will definitely satisfy if you're craving BBQ. I've been there about 5 times, and everytime i go, the place is deserted. There's never anyone in there, and they also have a HUGE projector on the wall, always on espn.
A great place to chill and watch some sports with friends, the sauces are awesome, but the food can sometimes be a little disappointing to big BBQ fans like myself.
Great corn bread, average mac n cheese and the ribs? Delicious.
Its really a 3.5 star review.. but since thats not an option.. here we are at 4 stars. I have had a mix of service there. I usually sit at the bar and sometimes I find im chasing them down to get beers. I find its a bit expensive for what they give you. I think the potato salad is pretty lacking too.
However, the corn bread is bomb and I gotta say I severly dig the BBQ chips on top of the mac n cheese. Is it the best BBQ in town? Not really.. but Cool atmosphere, nice vibe and solid food.. If they just stepped up the service and maybe had a full bar.. we'd be best friends.
Was in the mood for BBQ, even though we had a fairly large lunch. No matter, I still dragged my heartburn plagued bf to a trip to Allston to sample some Soul Fire after perusing the Yelp reviews!
We could not find parking for... multiple minutes/blocks/miles. Finally found a spot in a "permit only" area and decided a ticket was well worth it after circling and circling and circling around the mile radius of Soul Fire. A brisk walk through what lookeded like a mini-Koreatown, we finally got to our destination! And it was... empty. Seriously. We passed some hopping restaurants so seeing only one table occupied here was a serious red flag for me.
But... once our food started to appear, HEAVEN.
Started with the Honey Hot wings, which were giant, meaty, perfectly spiced and sauced. Mmmm. BF had the pulled chicken sandwich with baked beans, which he quickly devoured. I was hankering for ribs, so had the 1/3 rack of the Pork Spare Ribs with collard greens, mac and cheese, and a cornbread square. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Collard greens were slightly sweet and were highlighted by bits of bacon. Mac and cheese was CREAMY, CHEESY, and topped with the BBQ chips which made it PERFECT. Seriously. Reeeeally good mac and cheese. Ribs were MEATY and FATTY and DELICIOUS! I doused them in the Pitboss BBQ sauce, and went to town!
And... couldn't finish! 1/3 rack = 4 meaty spare ribs. I was able to finish 3 of them and about half of my sides. I really cannot WAIT to eat my leftovers.
Cannot believe how GOOD the BBQ was, and how empty the place was given how reeeeeeeeeally good the food was! But it looked like their delivery business was absolutely jamming. So... understood. If I lived within delivery distance I'd totally be ordering them up weekly!
Solid 4 stars. Loved the quad of BBQ sauces available.
This is the ultimate spot in Allston for total comfort food. On the days when it's cold/rainy/snowy and Sushi or Mexican just won't cut it, this place is great. The chili cheese fries are really tasty, with the perfect combo of cheese (not too much), bits of meat, and spices. The sides are all 1.99 (seriously), and I found myself thinking that this would be a great place to order a few sides and a beer for a $10 lunch. The mac n cheese & potato salad are awesome.
My only complaints would be the limited selection of draft beers (I did get a bottle of Victory pilsner though), and the strange taste of the catfish (I'd never had catfish, but it tasted strangely metallic and needed a lot of lemon and tartar sauce to be edible).
The waitstaff is your typical allston hipster crowd, but they must have been schooled in Southern hospitality-- I've never been greeted so warmly at a restaurant in Allston before!
We will definitely come back here!
I just discovered that I friggn' love BBQ recently. They didn't have exactly what I was in the mood for but what I ate was very good. I had a salad with cold rotisary chicken on it. It was good but I wanted a salad with warm BBQ chicken. I mean it is a BBQ place. I also had a side of mac and cheese. It was bomb.
The service was fast and very good. Waitress was very sweet two my two guy friends who were obviously smitten by her.
Have you ever had a cramp from eating too much? Yeah, that was me on a Monday all-you-can-eat wing night. It started with an innocent sampling of four of the biggest wings I've ever seen and then didn't stop until I waved my white flag of surrender. Looking around the room, I wasn't the only one in a painful bliss of wing consumption as others were leaning back in their chairs with a pile of bones sucked dry in front of them. The sauces are all quite exceptional with complex flavors and marinade style texture that allows the meat to remain center stage. I also had a chance to sample some of the ribs, pulled pork, and corn bread- all were equally tasty.
The atmosphere is more like a bar than a restaurant- the waitress is there to bring your food and bar beverages, but soda and water refills are up to you with a fountain at the back of the room. Overall a great place for BBQ!
I think I found my new favorite place to get ribs and fried chicken. I was quite put out when Roadhouse changed their menu and I was unable to get my beef rib fix. Thankfully, I found Soul Fire and ordered up spare ribs, fried chicken, collard greens, and fries. My fiance got the smoked chicken, pulled pork, mac and cheese, and mashed potatoes.
I took one bite of that subtly spicy breading and fell in love with the fried chicken. I tend to review emotionally but it was delicious. The spare ribs were not beef but they were still finger licking good. I guess I am just not a fan of collard greens as they are too bitter and sweet at the same time. However, the mashed potatoes were garlicky and delightful.
Next time, I am ordering fried chicken with mashed potatoes and allowing it to dive into the nirvana that is my stomach.
Now first off, my 3 stars are only based on the fact that I didn't eat an entire meal here. And with that said, I really liked what I did eat.
Before heading to the movies last night my boyfriend conned me into trying out this place. It was my first time, and he hadn't been there in years. Two words: Macaroni and cheese. Especially mixed with a cold beer and a decent atmosphere.
The waitress was friendly and joked around with us which really helped with the fairly laid back atmosphere they had going on. Their cornbread was phenomenal. I almost couldn't stop eating it. I'm not much of a meat eater, but even the potato salad was pretty good. A little too onion-y for my tastes, but I can be a picky polly.
Apparently their BBQ left such an impression that before heading back home at 10:30pm, my boyfriend ordered an obscene amount of take out. You know, to save for later.
The family and I have both eaten there and done it to go twice for big parties. Dining in we had some of the best fried chicken ever and the spaghetti western (mac and chesse with chili) was a wierd favorite and I guess invented by some of the help. Ribs were cooked perfectly and I really like tangy sauces so Wyeth nailed the combination. Atmosphere is always good with great soul music in the background and I enjoy the fact that Wyeth caters to all souls. He really cares about people with handicaps.
I like all the beers and the retros bring me back to a time where I raided the old man's fridge. Good job Soulfire.
Let me start by saying I am a displaced Southerner; daughter of a Southern father who keeps smoker in his backyard. My Dad makes the best BBQ in my book. No contest. But since he lives in Georgia, Soul Fire helps fill my pulled pork needs here in Allston. It isn't my Dad's but I think it is the best in the area. Sides are good too. The mac and cheese is tasty and they have great beans. There cornbread is sweet, which isn't how they make it down South, but I like it any way. Good eats, once my favorite places in the neighborhood.
I'll keep it brief...
Mac & Cheese: delicious
Beans: damn good
Beef Brisket: don't remember because...
Fried Chicken: AMAZING!!!
$2.50 PBR drafts and unlimited BBQ sauce...nice. Knowledgeable, friendly servers too, especially appreciated in too-cool-for-school Allston. On my last visit, our waitress complimented me on my "healthy dinner," though I remember looking down at my half chicken, collards, baked beans, cornbread, AND butter and think--me?! Their pulled pork is also insanely tasty, and the mac-and-cheese with BBQ chips on top is just ridiculous. Whoever had that idea gets a high-five from me.
I think this place should be renamed FAIL BBQ. I LOVE bbq, and have eaten its native variety all around the world. I am the rib-off queen. I will admit that Memphis-style is my favorite, but that shouldn't have been a problem here. I'd say everything I tasted except the corn bread was bad to inedible. The baked beans were horrific and tasted of little other than smoke--I had to add 3 tbsp of my favorite bottle bbq sauce to make them edible. The coleslaw was inedible, and seemed to be just vinegar and cabbage. The pickles were so bad I had to spit them out. The babyback ribs were incredibly tough and tasteless, a waste of ribs. The pulled pork was dressed in what I believe is a North Carolina-style, vinegar-based sauce, which isn't in itself bad, but I was not a fan of the formulation. The corn bread was sweet and cake-like, and was the only good thing about the meal.
I'm so sad to have psyched myself up for yummy bbq when I was presented with this crime against tastebuds. I feel like it was an assassination attempt against my tongue. Frankly, Uno makes better ribs.
I stopped in with a friend last night for the first time with no expectations. We were both craving BBQ and thought I'd give them a shot since we were in the area and there happened to be an open parking spot.
Without a long story I'll say I wasn't particularly impressed. It was quiet inside and we had a friendly attentive waitress, but the food was a let down for reasons beyond taste. Out of all the BBQ places I've been to in Massachusetts this place has by far the smallest portion sizes I've seen. I found it amusing that a skinny guy like myself who doesn't eat too much ordered a "two selection" entree and an appetizer and was still quite hungry afterward. One little ice cream scoop of mashed potatoes, two little pieces of fish, and a piece of white bread with a small amount of (evenly spread) pulled chicken on top did not impress me.
The food tasted fine, but is not what I would consider great BBQ. It wasn't bad or dry, but it wasn't very special and it lacked plavor. If the food isn't that great you had better not be stingy with it.
On a side note: the beer selection was pretty boring and out of touch, but I won't penalize a BBQ place for that. Although, it would certainly add points to my opinion if they made an attempt. If an ultra casual tablecloth place like Redbones can offer decent beer the rest of you restaurants have no excuse.
I've been to the Village Smokehouse, Redbones and Blue Ribbon and this place ranks well behind them. 3 stars for a nice waitress, and quick delivery of food, but I don't think I'll be back unless someone invites me. I left feeling like I just spent a lot of money and got little in return and that's not the feeling I want when I leave a BBQ restaurant.
Best BBq I have had in Boston. I love the soulfire platter ( although they have been giving less and less meat over time).
I have found the service usually fantastic. They are stingy about ID's (my 35 yr old sister was refused a beer, but I guess its understandable).
Monday nights are all you can eat wings for 6.99, good deal.
Plenty of fire but lacking some smoke on the brisket.
I love BBQ and will travel near and far for top quality que. Soul Fire is a solid destination for a smoked meat treat.
The place is spacious with a large projector screen playing ESPN in the main dining room. The seating is at the bar or at any of the many tables.
We had the pulled pork sandwich, with slaw & fries and a Soul Fire Platter of two meats, two sides and cornbread. The platter was roasted chicken and brisket. The chicken was flavorful and moist. The brisket was tender and had a hint of a smoke ring but lacked any real smokey flavor and needed a good portion of sauce to make it tasty. The pulled pork was flavorful, moist and had larger pieces of tasty pig rather than just a shredded saucy mess.
The sides were all outstanding. The collard greens were sweet and smoky, fries crispy and hot; the cole slaw was crisp, cold and had a vinegary bite that complimented the pulled pork perfectly. The standout though was the mac and cheese. This side was creamy to the extreme with the whimsical topping of crushed bbq potato chips.
The platter, sandwich and basket of fries (you only get 1 side with a sandwich) along with beer and sweet tea set us back $40. Not cheap but a good value for quality BBQ. We'll be back to try to the ribs and fried chicken.
Okay so after I almost burnt down the house making pizza we had to get some take out. Long FUNNY story but the black pizza was not edible.
We always order the same chinese or sushi so we decided that we would finally order from Soul Fire. We dusted off the menu that was stuffed into our mailbox ages ago and placed an order.
I was impressed with how well the take out held up by the time it arrived. I ordered the pulled chicken plate and the boyfriend ordered the pulled pork plate. For my two sides I got mac and cheese and red beans and rice and boyfriend got mac and cheese and collard greens.
The pulled meats were on a piece of thick white brad. Sadly by the time we got them the bread was really mushy. The red beans and rice was basic, the collard greens were sweet (as opposed to the vinegar taste we are used to) and the mac and cheese was great. Their was a bit of spice to it and the texture was great. The meats were tender and seasoned well.
I give this place 3 stars just because we did not really experience service; the delivery guy called to say he was right outside and was down across the street. Ummm.. cant read numbers?
I was really excited to try Soul Fire, but I was really disappointed when I finally did. I don't know if it's because it was a restaurant that looked clean for Harvard Avenue, or it was the bright red paint, or the cool sign out front, but I definitely had high expectations for Soul Fire that were not met.
The food wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. Neither my beef brisket sandwich nor my boyfriend's pulled pork sandwich came with the barbecue sauce cooked into the meat- we had to add our own from bottles on the table, like ketchup on a burger. At that point, it's not particularly barbecue-y, though you did have the option of mixing and matching different flavors of barbecue sauce.
The side dishes were disappointingly small and sad. At first, the price of the food seems like a great value, but once you see the size of the meal, it really isn't. The Mac and Cheese was dining-hall, supermarket-bought caliber, nothing special, and in a very small serving, though I did like their idea of crumbling barbecue chips on top. Like the barbecue sauce, it would have tasted better if they'd cooked it into the mac and cheese instead of adding it afterward.
Most of the food I got arrived cold in places, and the restaurant itself was quite chilly. They did have Harpoon Homebrewed sodas, like Root Beer and Cream Soda, which is a major plus for me since I'm a microwbrewed root beer nerd.
My old neighborhood sure has changed. The familiar bums are gone (RIP, Mr. Butch.) It has been significantly Asianified (coming from SF, that's saying something.) And now there is an honest to God BBQ place.
Boston has always had a distinct lack of decent Mexican restaurants, French Dip sandwiches, and BBQ. With respect to BBQ, there have been several pretenders (e.g. Rednecks, that place in Cambridge everybody talks about, etc), but Soul Fire is the real deal. They essentially copy the Famous Dave's menu, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
I had a pulled pork and brisket plate with collared greens and red beans and rice. Everything really was tasty. Even more so after experimenting with the 6 BBQ sauces at the table. Growing up where I did, I couldn't say this BBQ was phenomenal, but it is by far the best I have seen in Boston.
Additionally, they serve Schlitz. Classy.
Good BBQ.
Small portions GREAT fried chicken (although i don't eat it a lot, or ever - i had a few bites and I was pleased). Fantastic Corn Dogs! Any restaurant that serves corndogs is fantastic in my book! Delicious fried mac and cheese balls.
Ordered pulled chicken platter. good - chicken was tasty, not a ton of food which was nice. Liked how it was served on metal pizza trays.
OK beer selection for a bbq place.
So this place is a hit or miss on certain things. I REALLY like the ribs, they make me want more. Sooo god with their sauce took, I'm a fan of the sweet and pitboss. Yummy. It is perfect for grease and fattening goodness. The fries are astounding. Just the right amount of salt and crispiness. I have a feeling I will return for late night visits, just for the fries. The fried mac and cheese arn't that great. Not enough flavor in my opinion. You shouldn't have to add salt. The chili rocks. Just enough kick to not make your mouth burn, while the potato salad is lacking in flavor. Too much onion, not enough moisture, not enough taste. I've made better and I suck at potato salad. The corn dogs and lemonade are also decent choices.
I only give it a 4, because I REALLY like the fries and because they have fried dough! MMMMM fried dough...... with a yummy maple butter.... my mouth is watering now. Otherwise most of the food is a 3.
I've onyl had this at take-out but ummm YUMMY! did I mention I'm not a huge fan of ribs or BBQ food,… Read more »
I went to this fine establishment on Friday with my girlfriend and my two roommates. It was a cold night... one that makes you hold a loved one close and ponder just why it is that you choose to live in an environ in which such harsh winter conditions are the norm and public transportation is so habitually disappointing...
I had originally thought to go to the Sunset Bar and Grill, as I had yet to go for a meal and had been told that it truly is much more than just a mediocre Eagles song. But the ladyfriend brought up Soul Fire... and am I glad she did.
Located on Harvard Ave, and balls deep in Allston Village, this place is a breath of fresh air into the lungs of diners looking for somethign other than your typical pub-fare or fill-in-the-blank-with-an-asian-country cuisine.
BBQ is the type of food that I almost never buy, yet absolutely love when someone makes it for me and hands it to me on a plate. Sushi is also the same deal. You just learned a few interesting tidbits about me... congrats.
So anyway, when perusing the menu, I had to go with the pulled pork sammich. I also got a side of mac and cheese, and a side of potato salad. I couldn't help maself. Then we also got a side of cornbread as an appetizer... WHEN IN ROME!!!
The cornbread was good, the pulled pork amazing, the mac and cheese amazing, and the potato salad was 'meh.' Roommate #1 got some mashed potatoes which were the bomb, and my better half got some baked beans which were also mighty good.
Our waitress was dope and laid-back. She didn't mind splitting our bill between the 4 of us or handling 4 different cards. Forgot to bring our drinks before our meal... but we jogged her memory and there was no harm done. The meal was ready in 5 or 10 mins tops.
We left satisfied and went off to watch The Silence of the Lambs and continue with our carnivorous cavorting.
Soul Fire is so good that it makes me nervous to live so nearby. As in, there is the potential for me to get really, really fat.
When I went with a friend, I got an appetizer because I wasn't that hungry and it was the perfect amount of food -- it was the ribs/wings starter. Two BIG meaty ribs and two oversized chicken wings. The meat was tender and the sauces were phenomenal. I also got a piece of cornbread, which arrived hot and fluffy.
Per our server's suggestion, my friend ordered the brisket reuben with a side of mac 'n cheese. They crumble spicy potato chips over the mac -- genius! And the sandwich was out of this world. The stuff that BBQ dreams are made of.
Fried chicken is absolutely delicious. Has to be my favorite fried chicken in Boston, slightly above Coast Cafe. Fried Mac n' cheese and Barbecue Reuben are also tremendous. Never really busy, so it is good for bringing big groups and their projector screen for sports is pretty sweet. Don't go to eat healthy though!
After a good afternoon run, Soul Fire caught our eyes as we were driving by. And so, we stopped to refuel our energy levels.
As it appears, Soul Fire is in the midst of becoming a full service restaurant. While it may take longer for sit down than to just go up to the counter, we didn't mind. I had an Arnold Palmer for the first time, which apparently is just half lemonade and half iced tea? I just call that a half and half, who knew there was a proper name for it. At any rate, it was the perfect ratio of tea to lemonade as well as sweetness levels. In case you didn't know, they also have free refills, so make sure you order the smaller once instead. ;-)
For my entree, I just couldn't decide, since I wanted everything. And so I ended up getting the combination meal which consisted of 2 BBQs meats, 2 sides, cornbread, and pickles. I chose the brisket and the spare ribs, with the collard greens and another side I can't remember. Personally for the price, I felt that the portions were a bit small. I could have definitely used a bit more brisket. They gave me 3 spare ribs.
Now, while I took the rest of my food home, since I only ate a little because I had just ran, normally I would expect more food on my plate.
Soul Fire definitely filled my BBQ craving. And they also have 4 sauces on the table that you can user. Personally I liked the Soul Fire one. There was another sauce I favored, but can't remember the name.
So the verdict, I would rather go to Soul Fire than RedBones if I had to choose. At least Soul Fire has good ribs. Redbones is way too dry.
First, I absolutely love the decor of this place. It's warm, dim, and welcoming with hues of flaming red and orange all around.
For my food, I had a Pulled Pork sandwich with a side of Mac and Cheese. The Pulled Pork was absolutely amazing, but it seemed like a pretty small sandwich. Now I'm just an average-sized girl, but I'll tell you what: this thing left me feeling hungry. I've had more filling sandwiches from Burger King.
Overall, great place, great food, but I wish I left feeling more satisfied.
Like many others I read the reviews for Soulfire and had to check it out. Plus it is right down the street from my apartment so a neighborhood BBQ place would be awesome. I must say I was definitely underwhelmed from the food to the service.
My order consisted of the pulled pork and brisket platter. Both were ok but nothing special. The portions were small and served on white bread, which was a nice touch but it's really only filler. A little dry but that's why there is sauce. I am a big fan of variety, which is why I was excited that they had a selection of sauces to chose from on the table. Unfortunately the sauces were all very similar and had the same bite to them, so much for variety.
The sides were average. Enjoyed their take on the mac n' cheese with the BBQ potato chips on top. The potato salad wasn't bad. The cornbread was pretty average, as my gf said it reminded her of the kind we got in elementaryschool, in other words it was very dense.
Service was pretty mediocre as well. It was a Saturday night but the place wasn't very busy. We only got one round of drinks and never got a shot at another. I was trying to figure out a way to say this but in short our waitress basically didn't want to be there and didn't want to deal with us.
All in all Soulfire was ok but I have definitely had better. I'm sure they probably have better service but it doesn't make up for the small portions and mediocre sauce. I left the place a little hungry and little disappointed. I may go back but it won't be for awhile.
One word says it all: "eh".
Some of the sauces are good but overall, it could be better on so many levels. The mac and cheese earned it 3 stars instead of 2. Highly recommended as a side.
I love this place. I have been to a few BBQ places in the area but i find this one to be the best. I always get the 2 Meat Combo. I like most of the sauces. Not too fond of the mustardy one or the vinegary one though. Their portions are huge and they have reasonable prices.
I went to Soul Fire with the gf a few weeks ago. The place is apparently transitioning over to full table service, which I think helps.
The decor was nice. Big TVs which are good for baseball I'd imagine. They also have Lone Star on tap, which all BBQ places should. Had the corn dogs which were good.
For dinner, I got the St. Louis Ribs and pulled pork which were thick and huge. The beans and collard greens also. All of it very tasty. I also tried the coleslaw, which was like a palate cleanser.
Overall, I like Blue Ribbon better. Their pulled pork has more flavor. But I would come back again. Probably not making a lot of extra trips as I'm in Somerville. However if you live in the area, it was cheap and good.
Not bad, for a BBQ place. Boyfriend took me here the other day, and we split a full rack of spare pork ribs, and it was pretty good, but there was tons of fat that I'd have to pull off before every other bite. It was good though, not too dry. They offer you four different sauces: sweet, soulfire, fiery, and I don't know what the other one was. I liked the soulfire sauce the best, and my bf liked the sweet sauce the best.
We got potato salad and collard greens for sides. The potato salad was good, probably from a nearby grocery store. Collard greens were alright. The cornbread, I thought, was pretty good. It wasn't too processed, like Boston Market's cornbread or anything. They also had mac n' cheese, coleslaw, and a few more sides I can't remember right now.
This place had apps like wings, chili, etc. They had three or four different salads, sandwiches, and ribs. Prices were ok, considering the amount of meat you're getting. I think the full rack of ribs was something like $23. The thing that impressed me the most was that we got our food in less than 10 minutes after ordering.
Bathrooms were pretty clean, and decorated nicely. The interior was also decorated kinda nice, painted bright red, and music-related art hangin on the walls. There's also a big TV, always playing some sports game. But yeah, I recommend getting the ribs.
Neighborhood: Brookline Village
Category: Barbeque
Boston, MA
Category: Barbeque
Neighborhood: Allston/Brighton
Category: Restaurants
Neighborhood: Arlington Center
Category: Barbeque
West Newton, MA
Category: Barbeque
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