Bullies BBQ 
 Medina, Ohio        Date of Visit  08/14/10              http://www.bulliesbbq.com/

We actually had to take a second trip to try this Medina restaurant. On our first trip we ordered, took pictures, took one bite of everything and left running out the door due to food poisoning I had picked up from somewhere else. Now, everything tasted off, there was something in almost every bite that didn’t taste good at all. Knowing that I was only minutes away from bazooka barfing out of the car window, I couldn’t attribute that to the food alone, so after several months we decided to try it again.

Sauce Options: Hot, Original, Vinegar and Sweet
 

The place is really pretty nice inside, lots of wood, pictures of pugs, woodsy/western stuff. The servers appear a little scattered and near panic although there were only a couple of tables filled on either occasion. This time our server did a nice job keeping beverages filled and getting things to the table hot, although however they fire orders our apps only beat our entrees by about 30 seconds.  We ordered a wide variety of offerings, and it was about half-way through the menu we all noticed the “background” music. At odds with the décor and menu, little known fifties tunes blaring from above became an ever growing distraction from finding pleasure of any sort. Sure the music doesn’t fit, but if you love it, play it, just TURN IT DOWN! I might feel less like running for the door before the food arrives.

As an appetizer we tried the pig skins, potato skins filled with pulled pork, cheese and topped with tomatoes. I really like tomatoes but these were distracting much like the music. When you are indulging in not so good for you stuff hiding it under tomatoes that add nothing to the dish or listening to cheery 50’s crooners is disingenuous. Other than that the skins actually tasted pretty good.

A brisket sandwich with mac-n-cheese and cornbread did not fare as well. That off-putting taste appears to be a full time staple at bullies and runs through the brisket. Even with the multiple sauce offerings it stands out. The sauces themselves are not bad but nothing I would ever purchase. They lack depth and promise as the lack of heat in the “hot” sauce indicates. The mac-n-cheese is limp and plays a singular note, while the corn bread had an odd brown hue and flavor. I ordered the Bullie combo with ribs and perch. Both times we had been here there was a sign out front offering a perch special. The perch was the best thing I had tried all day, mild, flaky, crisp crust, just what you would want. Unfortunately the ribs had the same burnt spice flavor only much more intensely. I enjoy a good bark and smoke ring but something they sprinkle on the meat here burns into an overly bitter and burnt taste that sorely disappoints and approaches disgust. I don’t expect we will return unless I get a hankerin for fish from a BBQ joint. Maybe that is why the place has been so empty.

Halloweeny Corn Bread