The American BBQ

My husband and I tried this place for the first time last night. We usually go to Tennessee BBQ on 114 in Danvers, but, that’s kind of a long ride for us coming from Salem, except on a weekend when we have more time.
The options on the menu are great. I love that you can make a 2 or 3 meat combo, and especially love that you can get solo ribs, because I like ribs, but, I can never eat a half rack at Tennessee BBQ and don’t like to waste food, and ribs are iffy when you take them home and try to reheat leftovers.
I had Brisket, pulled pork, greens, red bliss mashed potatoes and 2 solo ribs. My husband had Brisket, pulled pork, dirty rice and Cole slaw.
The brisket was awesome! I loved every bite. The ribs were awesome. Very meaty, fell off the bone and tasted awesome. The pulled pork was OK. I found quite a few big pieces of fatty cartilage-​ish pieces, which always turns me off. I’m pretty picky about meat, so, that probably doesn’t bother a lot of other people. There was a little bit of regular BBQ sauce on top of both of the meats. It tasted pretty similar to my usual store bought BBQ, which is Sweet Baby Ray’s. I think the pulled pork was supposed to have a more thin sauce, as described on the menu. Greens were awesome, mashed potatoes were awesome. The gravy tasted like it came out of a jar. Kind of disappointing, but, not a huge deal. The worst part of the entire meal was definitely the corn bread. What a bummer!!! The pieces were huge, and the taste was delicious, but, they were super over cooked, dry, the tops were brown and hard as a rock! I flipped mine over and ate the bottom where it was the only part soft enough to even consider edible. We ordered extra corn bread and all 4 pieces were this way. My husband said the Coleslaw was ok, I took a bite and thought it was ok, but had a weird after taste. Dirty rice looks more like yellow rice you get out of a box. Not bad, but, didn’t seem to go with the BBQ meal. Looked more like a Mexican kind of rice. He also had a cup of chili. He said it was ok.
Over all it was pretty good. We will go back. Hopefully they check these reviews and will figure out what they are doing wrong with the corn bread!

I have to say the 3.5 stars it currently has on Unilocal is probably spot on. As far as ribs go they are the best on the North Shore in my opinion. Plenty of meat on the bone, cooked just right, and not too much sauce.
But last time I went the cornbread was dry and maybe a little stale. If you are a bbq place you should do a better job with the cornbread. Also I got ¹⁄₃ rack, which is 4 ribs. Three of the ribs were meaty and very good but 1 rib was an end piece that was dry and not much meat. I would expect an end rib if I got a full rack but not when I’m getting ¹⁄₃ of a rack.
I feel like they are very close to being a great bbq restaurant. They just need to improve a few things.

Decent BBQ, iffy sauces, terrible music!
I work in the Cummings Center, so this location is very convenient for me to visit. I’ve been here a few times and have always gotten the pulled pork. It’s decent BBQ, no real smoke flavor. I’m not even sure they have a smoker to be honest. It’s probably all done in an oven.
The sauces are just OK. They offer a wide range of flavors (hot, regular, sweet, etc), but they all taste very similar. The only standout is the NC sauce, easily my go to option.
Lastly, my largest complaint is the music. I’m not sure what type of atmosphere they’re trying to foster here, but I felt like I was sitting through a southern church service. On multiple occasions I’ve had to endure blaring contemporary Christian-​country music with my meal. It might not be a deal breaker for you, but hearing some twangy wail about Jesus 300 times before you finish your meal isn’t what I call comforting.
I’ll probably continue to come here; mostly due to the convenience that’s probably keeping this place open. I’ll just get it to go. Sorry, Jesus.

I used to like the original, Rowley location, but Beverly is closer to my house so I’ve been there more often in the past couple of years. The food has gone downhill, no question. I used to like their pulled chicken, but the meat quality had deteriorated, so I switched to the turkey tips. The turkey tips I got last weekend were very gristly and hard to chew. The side of baked beans was extraordinarily salty, and the side of mushrooms/​peppers/​onions had a strong, margarine taste. I usually like the cornbread, but on this night, it was brown and crunchy. I like the mustard BBQ sauce, but that isn’t enough to make me come back. It’s too bad because good BBQ is hard to find in this area, and this used to be decent.

Great wings, but watch out for hidden charges for blue cheese. $ 1.00 for every small thimble of dressing. Doesn’t matter if you buy 6 or 12, no dressing included.

I take my daughter here a cpl times a month cause she likes the food but as for myself, I don’t care much for the food. Cornbread is super dry, burgers are typical, and coleslaw always has a funny taste.
My biggest gripe would be the sticky tables and their prices are a bit high

Just out wasting gasoline in my 56 Ford and here we are at American bbq… car show today.

My family loves American bbq. They have the friendliest staff, great food & a good location. Prices are a bit high but you really do get a quality plate of food. We’ve eaten in & gotten take out & both times they were equally superb.

This is the second time American BBQ has catered a graduation party for us. Once again, the food and service were outstanding! The pulled pork, wings, baked beans, mac&cheese, and cole slaw were all big hits! The food comes ready to serve in warming trays with utensils, plates and all the fixings. Extra BBQ sauce and corn bread are included too. Michele makes it so easy. Just let her know what you want and the time you want it – and she makes sure it happens. Will definitely use them again.

Best BBQ I have ever had! Every place we get BBQ we say it’s not as good as American BBQ. The ribs are fall off the bone yummy & the pulled pork is good too. The French fries are battered & really good best I’ve ever had! I really recommend American BBQ. Easy & free parking & fast service & friendly staff.

Soooo good! We had dinner there for the first time last night because we had a Groupon. Good timing on our part since they have $ 0.50 wings and ½ price kids meals on Sundays — great deal! Both the mild and chipotle wings were excellent, as were the ribs. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful!

Bought a Groupon for The American BBQ. I wouldn’t have known this place was there if not for Groupons. We were excited to go and went hungry thinking we found a local BBQ place with good food. We knew it was a bit pricey before we went. looked at the online menu and really didn’t care since we love BBQ.
This place was TERRIBLE. I got the half rack ribs and my husband got the brisket. Both dishes came with two sides and corn bread. I got the red bliss potatoes and mac & cheese. My husband got the mac & cheese and dirty rice. First bite was macaroni & cheese. It was HORRIBLE. Very watery with no flavor and was COLD. I compare it to eating that canned mac & cheese cold right out of the can. Red Bliss potatoes were cold and had minimal flavor. The dirty rice was warm but not to bad.
Ribs were fall off the bone but were just room temperature with no smoke flavor. A bit mushy. If it wasn’t for the sauce I drenched them in I wouldn’t have eaten them. The sauces were good but freezing cold.
My husbands brisket was mushy and also cold. No flavor except for the ice cold sauce he added for flavor. Corn bread was just ok. I’ve had better from Stop & Shop.
We were there for lunch on Sunday. The place was half full with customers but not extremely busy. Food came out quickly and a girl working the counter there brought it out to our table. Food was served on plastic plates and drinks in plastic cups. You have to go to the self serve counter to get your own utensils and sauce. Kinda lame for a place that charges those high prices for food.
We had to sit at a dirty table. But that was ok, we cleaned it ourselves. Good thing they have rolls of paper towels at the end of each table.
Girls working the counter were great. Very friendly and looked happy to be working there. This was the only good part of our experience of eating there.
Needless to say we were very disappointed and will never be going back or referring this place to our friends. This place needs to take better look at their food quality if they wish to survive. Maybe new management?
When leaving the parking lot I spotted McDonald’s across the street and wished I had eaten there.

I was infatuated with this place on my first visit, but after subsequent visits and trying different menu items I realized that it was the baked beans they have that I liked. I don’t consider the sandwich entrees above the norm, but the baked beans keep this place special in my mind.

Oh man, is this a find! I had to go to a doctor’s appointment at the Cummings Center, which is no one’s idea of a cool place to eat. I’m fairly new to the area so when I saw the sign for The American and didn’t recognize it as a chain, so I had a glimmer of hope that it might be good. It is not just good, it is terrific. Clean, cute, friendly and attentive staff, family-​owned. I had chipotle wings (to die for) and brought home a pulled pork plate with greens and mashed sweet potatoes for the next day. Everything was delicious and my only complaint is that they should open a restaurant closer to me.

Absolutely delicious! Will definitely come back. I got the full rack of ribs and was amazed. The yellow BBQ sauce you can get on the side was great. I suggest you try in, it’s base is mustard.
Really really tasty!

(3.5) ~ Good overall food & service. It’s very clean & spacious with plenty of seating. They also have both Beer & Wine;) And Open till 9 PM
OUR MENU:
* ½ rack St. Louis Style Ribs = (4) very good & meaty, definitely Bigger than baby backs;) Came with their wet Mild BBQ Sauce alreadty on it.
SAUCES:
* Mild BBQ Sauce = (4) very good
* Yellow Mustard BBQ Sauce = (3.5) good
* Vinegar BBQ Sauce = (3.5) good
* Hot BBQ Sauce = (3) ok
* Citrus Chipotle BBQ Sauce = (3) ok
* Dry Rub = n/​a?
SIDES:
* Mashed Sweet Potatoes = (4) very good
* Mac-​n-​Cheese = (3.5) good
* House Made Potato Chips = (3.5) good
* Corn Bread = (3.5) good
* Onions, Mushrooms, & Peppers = (3.5) good & unique
* Onion Rings = (3) ok
DESSERT:
* Bread Pudding (w. sauce) = (4) very good
DRINK:
* Sweet Tea = (3.5) good

Fairly underrated BBQ.
A mid-​afternoon Saturday visit found a quiet place with a few diners in a strip mall storefront.
A combination of sausage, ribs and brisket provided fora satisfying meal. A generous portion of St Louis ribs were nicely trimmed and meaty. Good pink coloring on the meat that easily pulled away from the bone. Any rub was overshadowed by a thick, dark, sweet sauce.
The brisket was slightly overcooked but tender and juicy. NO particular smoke profile was evident in any of the meat.
The sausage used a thin casing that broke easily. The extremely juicy meat was studded with fennel seeds that gave a wonderful flavor punch and provided a nice textural offset.
Delicious collard greens in a thick butter and bacon sauce were bright green and crunchy.
The mac and cheese was creamy and hot. Covered in a thick cheese sauce.
Not bad at all — worth a return visit.

Recently, I threw a surprise birthday party for my husband. We had over 40 guests and I called on The American BBQ to cater the event (when my local BBQ place failed and provided me with horrible customer service) even though I love an hour northwest in New Hampshire.
Without boring you with every single detail… Ill get town to the thick of it.
The customer service that Michelle provided me with was amazing. Every detail was covered, she spent a great deal of time with me on the phone talking about the food and all of the details. I cant express how thorough she was.
The delivery girl was a bit late for the event, but that isnt controllable (traffic). She was on point and get everything set up in a timely manner.
The food… OUT of this WORLD. I throw a decent amount of parties every year… and I even cook pretty good. But my guests are STILL raving about the food — sending me emails and texts about what a fantastic job The American BBQ did. Ribs, Pulled Pork, Brisket, Macaroni & Cheese, Potato Salad, Baked Beans and Cornbread. Every, single, bite — Delicious. My husband brought some leftovers to work today, and all his work buddies could say was: I AM GOING TO THAT PLACE! because all they wanted to eat was my husbands lunch!
Great job guys! Thank you!

I have to say, when I heard we were coming to a BBQ joint in northern suburbia my expectations were lower than. .. well I acn’t even come up with a good metaphor.
COLOR ME SURPRISED! (hint that color is a dark brown BBQ sauce)
Great service, paper twoles at each table, delicious food, and LOTS OF it.
OH, also, it’s cheap.
Yeah really. A great BBQ join in a strip mall on the northshore. I’m still blown away!

I can’t believe the complaining sometimes when I read Unilocal reviews. This is Boston, MA not the south. As far as BBQ is concerned this place is excellent. Having ate in both locations now I felt the need to Unilocal about it. For starters try some of the delicious dry rubbed wings, they are excellent. When it comes to the main course, anything and everything seems good. BBQ chicken, pulled pork, sausages, beans, greens and everything in between. Yes the cornbread is exceptional.
The place is very clean and the rowley location has a unique small town feel to it, I love it. The staff is very eager to help and the food comes quick. Oh did I mention they serve beers and margaritas???
Honestly, try it. Compared to some other so called BBQ restaurants around here I think this place is pretty fantastic.
Oh yeah free peanuts and popcorn… come on very few things are free in life.