Certainly Not Famous
We arrived back home from vacation via a flight on a Friday mid-day. This put us in the Ft. Myers area for a late lunch. Everyone was hungry and no one really cared where we went. Eventually, we decided to go and try Famous Daves BBQ – a location that has been on our list. While I have read mixed reviews about Famous Daves, we were in the area and decided to give it a whrill. We arrived at almost 2:00pm – famished and tired from a day of travel. I mean, come on, even if it wasn’t too good, its BBQ – it’s all good right? Well, maybe not. Dave, you may think you are Famous but, go ahead and try your food – it is Certainly Not Famous.
After entering the restaurant, we were brought into your typical chain-like atmosphere…surrounded my photos and BBQ ‘stuff,’ the place reminded me of the inside of a Fridays or a Craperbees. This should have been my first indicator to get out. We were seated and our waitress appeared. I wouldn’t say we got great service but, the service was good. We started off with the Onion Straws as an appetizer and were presented with a plate of the smallest fried pieces of onion you could imagine. The pieces all hung onto each other and you really needed to eat them with a fork to appear as if you had any manners. I tried some of the straws minus bbq sauce and they were fine – overcooked & soaked in grease, these were lacking any real flavor. Famous Daves offers 6 (I think it was 6) different sauces on your table, advertising various flavors. Well, I tried all of them and really didn’t like any. I kind of ate a mixture of a few of the sauces with the onions but, this did not improve the flavor at all. By far, these were the worst onion-esq product I have ever had at a restaurant. Yuck.
For my meal, there were about 3 bbq chicken options to choose from. All were overpriced (as was the entire menu) but, I decided to go with the 1/2 BBQ Chicken. The menu told me it would be smoked and pink on the inside – fine by me. For sides, I went with the Mashed Sweet Potatoes and the Corn. While I always go for the baked beans, these baked beans were described as having pieces of sausage and brisket in them…no thank you. My meal also came with a cornbread muffin. Well, where do we begin? Overall, it was all not good.
Let’s begin with the main course – the bbq chicken. As I removed the skin from the chicken, I began to eat the various pieces. Both the wing and leg were normal size however, the breast contained very little meat. What meat it did contain, was neither pink nor had any smoked flavor. Rather, the chicken was dry, overcooked and did not taste like bbq at all. I had to use a lot of the mixture-o-sauces in order to eat this chicken. Also, even without the skin, this chicken was SALTY. And, come to find out, Famous Daves is owned by KFC aka Sodium. While eating the chicken, I came across many pieces that were simply too overcooked to even eat. I was 100% unimpressed with the chicken and would never have it again.
At least the sides have a chance of being good, right? Ehh, no. The corn on the cob tasted like it was made in the morning, then spent the entire day sitting in a water bath – overcooked, soaked & flavorless are the 3 words that come to mind when thinking about this corn. If I wasn’t physically picking up the corn and eating it, I would have really had no idea it was corn. Yes, it was that bad. No, I am not exaggerating. As I moved on to the Mashed Sweet Potatoes, I found them to be just as bad. Think more along the lines of baby food than actual sweet potatoes. Yes, the color was there and yes I knew what I was eating but, the overall taste was just not good. And, of course, the consistency was way off. The cornbread? Well, it was dry, salty and lacking in everything good cornbread should be. All 3 of my sides…never again.
I really wish I was being overly critical however, these are the plain & true facts. My entire meal was sub-par and some of the worst bbq I have ever had. Mommy had sliced brisket however, it resembled soggy cafeteria meat more than anything else. Taylor had the ribs which were okay and Mommy had a side of the fresh bbq chips, which at least tasted fresh. Out the door, this meal was close to $60 for the 3 of us – I quickly told everyone this also counted as dinner (jejeje…as my DR friends would say). I was completely unimpressed with Famous Daves and will not return. Never. I have no reason too. If I want good bbq, I have so many other options. And, lucky for me, I never crave Sodium…just another reason to never come back. Maybe Famous Daves was good at some point and the Colonel turned him bad. I don’t know. Whatever it is, I will tell you Famous Daves is Certainly Not Famous.