Carlile’s Barbecue

My question for Carlile’s is why open only at lunch Monday — Friday? There is some serious good stuff here and as a BBQ place, it’s a little different. Carlile’s should be a historic marker with all the pictures of sports, celebrities, and politicians that have come through. From the outside, I thought it was going to be a one room shack, but it is very nice and roomy inside. With help from my waitress, I went with the rib and brisket combo with potato salad and cole slaw. I was disappointed to see I had one big spare rib. The rib was meaty, tender, and had a char — broiled like taste to it. Next time, I will have to get more than one. The sauces, in my opinion, was disappointing. There are 2 sauces — a mustard vinegar base and a ketchup vinegar base. Both were a little too easy on the tongue. The mustard one didn’t taste good with anything and the ketchup one was good with the rib. I guess why that it is named rib and chicken sauce. However, part of the reason why I was disappointed with the sauces was because the brisket came in its own sauce and it tasted way better with in its own juices than either sauce. The brisket was like eating pot roast with a tangy sauce. It didn’t fit the mode of brisket to me, but it was serious as a roast. Cole slaw was fantastic! It had a good mix of sweet, creamy, and crunch. Potato salad was chilled and was like eating a version of mashed potatoes with some spices. Sweet tea was perfect! I also had a look at the pork and fries. I imagine the mustard sauce goes better with pork and the fries looked freshly cut. Besides the sauces, Carlile’s was very pleasing and worth making another visit too.

Stopped for lunch during the week because it was close. I love trying local BBQ.
I wanted to sample a few items to see how they were.
The Rib Sandwich came up way short. These were not the kind of ribs that work on a sandwich, the meat did not want to come off the bone. Fatty and not good flavor, I was not impressed.
The Pork Sandwich was decent. I felt it could have used a little more smoke flavor. Plenty of meat and the bun was soft.
The staff was very friendly and they had great customer service. The BBQ came up short on flavor and quality.

Just passed through town and stopped for a quick lunch. Great BBQ, old school dinner atmosphere, and good fast service. We will be back

Dreamland may have the best ribs in town, but Carlile’s has the best BBQ sandwiches. Reasonable prices and a comfortable atmosphere – things you will not find in the other BBQ joints in town… Carlile’s is one of Birmingham’s best kept secrets: They have such a loyal following they don’t have to advertise.

When I have an opportunity to meet people downtown for lunch I enjoy Carlile’s Barbecue. I haven’t found anything I don’t like but I particularly enjoy the pulled pork salad. The atmosphere is good for a conversation and the service is very quick.

Decided to try a new (to me) bbq place today. The staff, friendly.
I decided on the honey mustard chicken sandwich with fries. It was pretty good. The chicken was tender, the honey mustard was the creamy kind, more mayo based I think. The fries were the real fries, nice and greasy. Got my food about a minute after I paid. Super quick for take out.
Now I have to skip meals for the next week.

This review is actually about their catering only. Roxane and Carlile’s came through big time for us for the Bama vs LSU game/​post-​wedding shenanigans when we booked the upstairs at Pale Eddie’s. They were very reasonable/​competitive on the pricing for pulled pork sliders and wings for 50 people, plus all of the necessary plates, napkins, plasticware, etc. Everything was set-​up on time with plenty of time before the game and both the wings and sliders were excellent (and gone within an hour). Great job and would not hesitate to have them cater any event in the future.

Folks swarm to this place at lunchtime, lots of regulars.
Its the «Cheers» of BBQ joints.
Daily specials, lots of none BBQ dishes.
Its a basic meat and two sides kind of place, walls are plastered with pictures of college celebs, political celebs and just plain old celebs.
Homestyle food, not anywhere near 5 stars but surely a great place to eat for lunch on a regular basis. Waitresses are very nice and friendly.
Have, and will continue to eat there again and again

First time here (had a groupon) and was pretty impressed. It’s your typical BBQ joint with slightly better food than some others. They are only open for lunch, but they were packed. You can definitely tell that most people were regulars, and I plan on being one too!