Review #30 - Woody's Bar-B-Q

Woody's Bar-B-Q
Variety: BBQ
Address: 159 Hector Gate
Date Visited: Sunday, February 19, 2012
Orders: Corn Nuggets, Fried Dill Pickles, Brunswick Stew, Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich with Mac 'N Cheese, Sloppy Woody Sandwich with Bar-B-Q Beans, Banana Pudding

Final Grade: 87% (Excellent)

(Scoring: 100% to 140% = Exceptional, 85% to 99% = Excellent, 67% to 84% = Good, 60% to 66% = Satisfactory, 50% to 59% = Marginal, 0% to 49% = Poor, -40% to -1% = Abysmal)

Disclaimer: To be completely upfront, we received an invitation to attend the "Friends and Family Day" pre-opening party for the new Dartmouth Crossing location of Woody's. This invitation was clearly intended to drum up word of mouth, so we promised ourselves that we would go in and provide a purely objective review of this visit. As such, because the meal was free and the wait staff was clearly on their best behavour, we've omitted our usual five categories (Taste, Portion Size, Presentation, Value and Service) in favour of a straight up final grade.

Notes: Our first Dartmouth review! We were served a trio of appetizers - corn nuggets (kind of like mini deep fried corn fritters - an interesting and tasty mix of crunch and goo), Fried Deep Pickles (with light and corny batter, which complimented the saltiness of the pickles) and Brunswick Stew (a hearty soup that wasn't too heavy). Then we moved on to our mains: the Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich was good on its own, but even better after we added the four varieties of BBQ sauce available on the table - particularly the Tangy Mustard. The Mac 'N Cheese wasn't the greatest, as the noodles were a little overboiled. The Sloppy Woody Sandwich was quite good, and no extra sauce was required, as it was already coated with just the right amount of "secret sauce" (not a kind available on the table), and the Bar-B-Q Beans were nice and tangy, with a modest sprinkle of meat for good measure. We were just about ready to roll when we were brought a Banana Pudding for dessert. The words "banana" and "pudding" don't do this thing justice. It really should be given a sexier name, as we would normally never order something like this, but are we ever glad we gave it a chance. So incredibly flavourful - chock full of banana chunks, pie crust, pudding and whipped cream. So simple, but so perfect. Give it a whirl - you'll be glad you did. All in all, a great meal, albeit a little salty. Regardless, we'll be back.