Fat Jack’s BBQ

Coming from Texas, I craved BBQ every once in a while during college. One day I decided to order from Fat Jacks, and now I still order from here every once in a while. The pork ribs are amazing, the chicken is great, and the sides/​cornbread is top notch. The only thing that I thought was lacking was the brisket which was fairly dry/​tough v.s. some of the amazing brisket I had back home. But all in all, a solid place to get your BBQ fix in good olé’ Ithaca.

Great menu and awesome food. Definitely not a BBQ person by nature as I was vegetarian for three years and am still adjusting to the omnivore, meat-​eating lifestyle; but I enjoyed their chicken dishes and the sides were delicious.

Got the family deal and we were all very happy and satisfied. It’s helped that we got 10% off for checking in on Unilocal.Definitely will come again!

Ithaca NY is the last place you would expect a barbecue joint but Fat Jacks is the real deal. I have enjoyed barbecue from Austin to Baton Rouge. This place is in the top 10!!!
My Ithaca student and I stopped in based on the good reviews. We each had half rack with the Memphis dry rub. The ribs are meaty and tender and for most a half is enough. But when in Rome keep eating. I also tried the beef brisket, collard greens and red beans and rice. Wow a lot of food but we enjoyed every bite.
You order at the counter and the friendly staff helps you along. When your food is ready they deliver it to your table. The spot is not downtown but on Elmira rd near Buttermilk falls. Go for hike and Pig Out!!!

What a find! You might not think it’s worth stopping if you look at it from the outside, but as my husband says, often times the best BBQ is found in the most unspectacular buildings… they focus on the food instead! DO NOT MISS OUT ON THE BURNT ENDS! They are to die for. We went back on our way out of town to get a pound to take home with us. The pulled pork and ribs were also excellent. They do a great job with their dry rub here. We love our BBQ places and this place just made it to our top 5 list!

For a place where you walk up to the counter and are quickly served, their food is pretty fantastic. I grew up in Texas, and often ate barbecue (as Texans tend to do) and I haven’t had barbecue this good since I moved from Texas over a decade ago.
Their cornbread is a bit on the cold side and plain, but moist and I’m sure it’d be good warmed up again and served with some butter.

Four stars, primarily for the meat. Burnt ends and brisket were excellent. Great smoky flavor! BBQ beans were good, but tasted like slightly amended Bush’s from the can. Did not love the smashed potatoes; they tasted slightly weird (hard to describe.) Their sauces were also excellent including the mild and hot BBQ.
LOVED the draft Ithaca root beer. It was the best I’ve ever had!
Marty, the woman at the counter who took our order, was delightful; personality plus!
I would definitely come back when, and if ever again, in Ithaca.

Hubby and I really enjoyed the sandwiches. Good cuts of tender, juicy meat and yummy sauces. Pretty darn good BBQ for not being in the South.

Simply delicious BBQ. The pulled pork was moist, tender and flavorful. Yummy crisp fries and plenty of them. A wide selection of sauces, all very tasty.
Price was amazing. Friendly service and so clean.
I would Highly recommend

This absolutely great BBQ of all kinds. And wonderful service from a very nice lady who was very pregnant. Couldn’t ask for more. Will absolutely come back again.

Sweet holy Moses.
First time here and it’s super delicious!
I did my best to finish ½ chicken, green bean fries, and Mac’n’cheese. I can’t even move…
My lady had some kind of pulled meat sandwich (chicken, pork, and brisket), coleslaw, and sweet potato fries (covered in cinnamon and sugar of course!). All of it was fantastic.
We are huge fans already. Service is fast and friendly.
The green bean fries were a little over cooked, but the flavor is there so we’ll have to come back and try it again. Also the menu is a little hard to read, so give yourself a little time to get through it!

Doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the inside is a combo of amazing smells and welcoming décor. The bbq is wonderful, and this may be the best cornbread we’ve eaten.

Excellent pulled pork sandwich — maybe the best I’ve ever had — and great customer service. This is real barbeque, not just cooked meat with a bunch of sauce poured over it to try to make you think it’s barbeque. The only thing that would make this place better is adding a little noise buffering material to the room to make conversation easier — it gets pretty boomy (or maybe some outdoor tables).

Great Hellfire Sami’ches! Had the combo one (pork and brisket). Lovely staff. Will definitely visit again to try out the ribs.

Recently I came across this place over Unilocal and after reading all the reviews I thought it was pretty safe to order again in Ithaca LOL (seriously I have a issue with ordering food in Ithaca)
I place my order over Unilocal using EAT24 I think it is I ordered: ½ rack of pork ribs with pulled pork and mac and cheese with mash potatoes and gravy. my son order the cheese burger and fries
Delivery didnt take so long like other places i know in Ithaca. The guy was really friendly and nice
Now to the food: I would give it a 3 ½ stars almost a 4 but I was really hungry so who knows…
my ribs was half dry rub and half mild BBQ … The dry rub was disgusting. It was really gross to the point that if I got a little on the other side of the ribs I would spit it out. The other side of the ribs the mild BBQ was pretty great nice and tender …
The pulled pork was amazing … I enjoyed eating it … Just great
The sides: The mac and cheese tasted like a pre pack microwave mac and cheese you know those where you just add water… Really wish they would add more flavor or idk just add something to it … It didn’t taste fresh … The mash potatoes was alright nothing major … I think chilis mash potatoes is better and I’m not a fan of chilis … the cornbread was GREAT. Really wished I had order two. Please don’t make that mistake order 2 …
Anyways what can I say order all. I do give this place a passing grade but really wish they would tweak their sides a little. just a little more effort … A little pricey $ 30 for my little one and I but By far the only place in Ithaca that I have order from and been some what satisfied with…
Ps: I remind you I haven’t ate all day so this review is based on eating with a completely empty stomach

Amazing BBQ!!! This is an absolute top notch place, it is a bit pricy but well worth it. I got the pork belly and it literally melts in your mouth, I wish I was in town longer so I could try more of the menu!

Ribs = excellent. Brisket = excellent. Sausage = good. Came with 4 sides. All good. The best was the loaded smashed potato. The red beans was disappointing because it was nearly 100% rice, few beans. Cornbread = excellent. They have individual bottles of Pure Tea which is good. Our bill was $ 46, which I thought was very expensive. Yes, we will go back. Staff very nice.

We were hungry after hiking at Watkins Glen and took a chance here.
I got the 2-​meat plate… pulled pork (amazing…had the dry rub, didn’t even need sauce) and pork belly. It was good but I was thinking about chicken so maybe I’ll get pulled chicken next time. Two sides of Mac n cheese and fries. That was my mistake… I should have gotten the mashed taters… Great food. Enough for another meal later. The cornbread is great!
Hubby got the rib special…3 beef ribs and a slab of pork ribs for $ 16…deal! His sides were the Mac n cheese and mashes taters. He wants another order of cornbread to go. :)
Things that came out of his mouth:
«This may be the best BBQ I’ve ever eaten…»
«Oooohhhhhh…» (This was quite a few times)
«2 ½ hour drive to get here? We can do that…»
«The rub on the beef ribs is insane!»
«Someone back there knows what they’re doing…»
Great good. Really nice staff. We’ll come back even though it’s a drive!

Hm, just OK. The ribs are the high point of the menu as far as I can tell. They are nicely done and very meaty – a good value and very filling.
I could take or leave the rest of it. The fries are soggy and not very tasty. The mac & cheese was not served hot, so it was not very appetizing. Unmelted cheese sprinkles on the top. The greens are passable. The cornbread is soggy almost to the point of being wet, like dripping wet. Not very appetizing either.
In the end, I didn’t even finish my meal, and I was famished when I went it. Not because I was full, but because the food just doesn’t seem to want to be eaten. I might go back to try some of their other meats, but I’m not likely.

First time here
Good menu full of choices
We had the kombo meals with brisket sausage pulled pork and pulled chicken
All were very good and the sauce was very flavorful
We ll definitely come back again