The Red Barn

I’d read about this place, and the hype made it sound good. So I went for lunch to have some good barbecue, tradtional Southern homecooking, and delicious desserts. There were three sign boards full of menu items. One of them said, «Ask about our homemade pies, cakes, and cookies.» I did. The answer: «We don’t have any – haven’t baked today!» Well, that was a major strike against them, but I ordered anyway, as did my two friends. I asked for a brisket sandwich with pea salad (remember those traditional Southern homecooking dishes?) One friend had the chicken fried steak special, while the other asked for Baked Beans, Corn Nuggets, and Okra. «We don’t have any okra. Sorry!» My friend settled for the beans and corn nuggets. We waited, at which point, the counter lady (who said she was the only person there) came and asked if we wanted the order to go or to eat there. We told her we were eating there. A few minutes later, she brought our food, all encased in styrofoam (Sorry, Planet!) We wondered what the difference was if we had wanted our food to go. I suppose it all would have come in a paper bag. The chicken friend steak, I was told, was good. The baked beans appeared, and my friend confirmed it, to be canned. The corn nuggets were almost burned, yet somehow retained a mushy interior, soaked in grease. My brisket was dry. I was brought sauce, but it was mediocre, poured from a bottle into a little (Sorry, Planet!) container. My pea salad? «We don’t have any. Sorry!» To her credit, she did refund the price of my meal, but that wasn’t enough compensation to get me to go back to this place. I can only hope that they are renting the space because if they have sunk life savings into buying the property, they need to consider turning it into a used car lot.