Memphis Roadhouse in Attleboro, Massachusetts

Having never been on the road I admit to not knowing just exactly what a road house should look like or what they should serve for food. I've seen a few on Diner's, Drive-ins and Dives but that in no way qualifies me as an expert. I can only imagine some of the things intrinsic in creating Memphis Roadhouse in Attleboro, MA are somewhat authentic.

Upon entry you will be shown to the seating area consisting of a heavy wooden tables covered with red and white checkered plastic table cloths and dressed with water spotted silverware wrapped in heavy paper napkins where you will be handed a slightly sticky menu. These things are just as much a part of the atmosphere as the slow wailing old time blues that twangs over the speakers in the background. It's a barbecue place after all; can you imagine the mess and expense of fabric table clothes? They are aimed squarely at the blue-collar crowd who want stick to your ribs food in a no nonsense manner. The sodas come in frosted mugs and are bottomless and the expansive menu is loaded with every portion size and combination of barbecue meats you can imagine with standard sides of potato, rice, chili, and corn bread.

It's dark rough hewn wood posts and beams are encircled by swirling aromatic smoke and silhouetted by the slightly hellish glow emanating from cooking area where men with what must be asbestos skin make your dinner to order or plate what has been slow cooking all day just waiting for you ask for some. My family has been a few times and we've tried lots of things in preparation for this article so get ready to salivate.

In the appetizer category the clear winner is the yazoo cheese fries. Crispy thin cut fries topped with some variety of creamy cheddar cheese product (hereto for referred to as 'whiz') then more fries more whiz, shredded mozzarella, and crispy crumbled bacon. The apple wood smoked bacon teams with the salinity of the whiz and is held to the crispy fries by a net of melted mozzarella. Our son who thinks cheese and bacon are two of the four basic food groups was in heaven. As we got to the lower levels the adults were a little overwhelmed with the whiz as it had pooled like soup in the bottom of the platter. The onion rings are good, the coconut shrimp were passable as was the Cajun calamari but these deep fried items are not the reason you've come here to eat. For that matter neither is the mixed field greens salad, which after spending only a minute out of refrigeration begins to wilt in the extreme heat of the kitchen area.

In the entrée department we've had a steak or two, they were steaks on the grill. Granted it was a nice charcoal grill and not one of those hacker propane ones we all yank out of the shed for the summer but it was just a slightly more flavored grilled steak. The male members of the family have deboned several racks of ribs during our visits and they've all been deemed to be good but they are ribs and they tend to leave the hungry man wishing there had been more meat and less bone. I'm partial to chicken so I've tried several portions; they're like butter, fall off the bone melt in your mouth goodness drizzled with Memphis Roadhouse original recipe sweet and tangy barbecue sauce to excite the taste buds. But the chicken is not the star on this menu. Neither is the pit smoked turkey which is good, the Texas beef brisket which is also good, or the sausage hot links which no one has yet braved. The shining star on this menu is the Carolina pulled pork. Dry rubbed and slow cooked to tender perfection it virtually begs for an added slathering of original sauce when piled high on the plate. This dish will make you wonder why you ever eat anywhere else.

Most things we've tried are good, better than average in fact but there are a few things to steer clear of in this establishment. The rice and gravy tops this list, the rice was raw and since I'm not into chewing gravel it wasn't scoring any points. When I mentioned it wasn't cooked to our waiter he said sorry about that and walked away to get our check. Probably not a smart move but not a deal breaker either as it was the only completely inedible thing we've ever gotten. The rest rooms are best left a mystery if you can help it. Even when we've gone early in the day the best score we could give them was a 5 out of ten.

In review here are some overall average scores: food 7.5, service 6.5, atmosphere 7, and restrooms 4.