08/07/08

Great place to eat anytime

by ambler24

This place has awesome food and service. I would eat there everyday if I could.Mmmmmmmmm! It is in a great place and although they are busy they seat you really fast. Comfy waiting areas and the decor and music is awesome, never having been to New Orleans, I imagine this place is as close as it gets in the desert!

• Pros: Fun place
• Cons: Busy

08/01/08

Over Priced and over rated

by rodg284

My Hubby and I took a run down to Tempe Marketplace with the plan on driving around and picking somewher eoff the cuff to eat. Lucille's smelled great and we agreed that BBQ sounded good to our taste buds. The decor is fun and the service was very quick and friendly. The food, however, left a lot to desire. We ordered the babyback ribs, with sides of Man n cheese and BBQ beans. We also had their version of eggrolls as an appetiser. Hubby also ordered two beers and comlained that both times the glass stank of sanitizer--the were clean, but obviously not rinsed properly. Our Egg rolls were tasty, but the peach salst stuff they came with was really gross. The ribs had obviously been brined and under the sauce were very salty--Almost like ham on the bone. They also had been sauced and but on the grill before serving--which is a fine way to finish them IF they dont get charred. Ours had not been caramalized, they had been immolated. The sauce was burned on and the ribs had that bitter burned aftertaste. The Man n cheese was INCREDIBLY dissappointing and I agree with a prior critic, who said Kraft would have been better. Lucille's is obviously a mix and has never had even a passing acquaintance with being BAKED. The beans were rather nasty too. Runny and wattery, strangely seasoned with a lot of dried/powderd something that left a strange aftertaste. They were also very obviously from large cans and tasted as if two dif types of Ranch Style beans had been dumped into a pan on the stove. There were even two dif colors/seasonings of the same kind of beans that had distinctly dif flavors--neither particulary good and also obviously never having been in a oven. We declined to take home our leftovers as we knew neither of us would want them for lunch. We also found the price of $25 for the plate of ribs to be excessive. Logan's Roadhouse and Famous Daves are both just a few miles farther and we will make a point of hitting them instead of Lucilles.

• Pros: Quick to seat us
• Cons: Way Overpriced and Poorly prepared

07/06/08

Holy Smoke in Tempe Marketplace-- Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ!!!!

by mikaeliemom

We accidentally "bumped" into the new Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ in the back lot at Tempe Marketplace while doing some shopping Saturday. The smell of the rich BBQ smoke in the parking lot had us drooling by the time we got inside. Lucky for us, we were rather early in the evening because within the next 30 minutes, the place was packed. Our server was great, gave us advice on the menu, and kept our fresh lemonade and strawberry lemonade promptly refilled. Drinks come in large mason jars and the whole decor reminded me of visiting a family member out in the country. (Except for the live Blues music wafting over from the bar area.)

While waiting, we ordered an appetizer from a list that included some Southern specialties like Fried Green Tomatoes and Deep Fried Dill Pickles. We ended up ordering the onion straws appetizer---wow--- at least 8-10 inches tall and wide of ultra thin sliced onion delights cooked crispy and served with a sauce that reminded me of light BBQ and Mayo---good, but not the usual sauce seen with onion rings

The smoker is right in the middle of the dining area and the number of hours of smoking for each item is listed on the sign. I had a pulled pork sandwich that was so tender it practically melted in my mouth. Daughter #1 and Hubby had brisket that showed a beautiful smoke ring and was equally tender and juicy. The three sauces on the table were each distinctly different with the Memphis style quickly becoming everyone?s? favorite?enough bite, enough spice, enough sweet--- just yummy BBQ goodness. I am afraid we now have a new favorite BBQ place. By the way, come hungry and plan on bringing food home with you. The desserts looked great but we were too stuffed to find out how great.

• Pros: great food, service, and cute decor
• Cons: a bit loud with the live music