Rusty’s Bar-B-Q

If you ever come close to the town of Leeds, Rusty’s BBQ is a must stop. I was so hungry tonight that I went with the sampler which came with 2 ribs, pork, ¼ chicken, and 2 sides. I looove it when BBQ places have a plate with a little bit of everything on it. I came in on a Sunday night 30 minutes before they closed so I was expecting a sub-​par performance. It surpassed my expectations. They were out of chicken so they gave me brisket instead. First of all, my sweet tea was still freshly brewed. Some places before they close, they just let the tea sour but not Rusty’s. For a Sunday night, my BBQ turned out to be really good. My ribs were hot. My pork was still tender. The only complaint is that my brisket was overdone but not bad at all. Rusty’s has 4 sauces: a tangy vinegar base regular, a spicy vinegar but more congealed sauce, a sweet vinegar, and a white sauce. I loved them all but I think I liked the white a little more than the others. Rusty’s have 2 kinds of baked beans — sweet and spicy. The sweet is made with the sweet BBQ sauce and the spicy made with the spicy BBQ sauce. I went with the sweet tonight. Beans were sweet, meaty, homemade, and very tasty. Some of the best beans I’ve had. Potato salad was ok. It was more like a spiced up mashed potatoes with a little mayo mixed in. For a Sunday night before they close, Rusty’s was a lot better than some BBQ places I’ve had at peak time. I will have to try Rusty’s again instead right before they close. I will be back.

Eating our way across America is a passion. In the last decade we’ve been to more than 300 BBQ spots in The States and many of which are on countless «best of» and «Travel Channel» lists, most of which are overrated and don’t belong. Having been to Birmingham a few dozen times we’ve tried most of the famous spots: Full Moon, Dreamland, Jim N Nicks, Saw’s Juke Joint and so on. No one has ever recommended Rusty’s to us. Not the folks we know that grew up in the region. No one.
Meanwhile, we saw it while searching through BBQ restaurant lists and decided to forgo the trip to Saw’s BBQ and Miss Mryas and try Rusty’s instead. Rusty’s isn’t your traditional sit down BBQ spot. It reminds me of a place you’d see Boss Hog walk into on the Dukes of Hazard. It still has that old school country feel, local service and actually the inside reminds me of something I’d see in an 80s movie. There’s culture here.
Keep in mind, you aren’t coming here for fancy table service or nice plates, a white tablecloth and silverware. This is paper towels and plastics. But, who cares, we came here for good BBQ, not high end dishware. And, in no way were we disappointed.
Rusty’s a place that belongs on everyone’s Alabama BBQ Tour list. It reminded us of a old Dairy Queen like you’d see in the movie Footloose now turned into a BBQ spot. The food is affordable and portions are generous. We dove into one of the Samplers for 2. It was $ 30, but we go to try almost every meat on the menu. And, let me tell you, while the plates aren’t fancy and the décor isn’t shiny and new, the BBQ can stand toe to toe with most of the South’s better smokehouses.
Topping that list was the smoked sausage and Rusty yours is the best I’ve had. We couldn’t believe anyone could serve a sausage that literally melts in your mouth (it’s way better than what Dreamland serves). Next up: the turkey tasted like one that mama cooked on thanksgiving, complete with that juicy and smoke flavor. On the other hand, even three hours later as I write this, I can still taste the chicken. Wow. It’s going to be hard to find a plate with a bird this flavorful. As for the ribs you could taste the smoke in each bite and unlike many competitors they use a dry rub, enabling you to add your favorite style sauce rather than being forced to eat the house they are often downed in. The pulled pork is overshadowed the rest of the these meats, but holds its own.
On one the things that sets BBQ spots aside from others is the sauce. Fortunately, Rusty’s offers four choice, giving options to multiple taste buds. House, sweet, spicy, white bring a contrast of flavors stemming from mayonnaise (white), vinegar, tomato, etc. Our favorite was the spicy, which isn’t that spicy, but provided an extra kick.
If there’s any let down it would be the sides. They are average, like you’d get in most BBQ spots. The sides at Jim N Nicks and Full Moon (and defintely Saw’s) are much better, but Rusty’s meat is top-​notch. We also liked the fresh sweet tea and lemonade (rather than Countrytime, which you often find in the South).
If you ate the pile we split there will be no room for dessert. Meanwhile, you can do what we did and grab a few slice of pie to go. Keep in mind, these pies are made in house daily. We grabbed pecan and pumpkin and a Reese’s. And, don’t forget the banana pudding. It’s a close second to Dreamland.

Rusty’s has all the signatures of a really good classic hole in the wall American BBQ joint. For example, the exterior is outfitted with a dead potted plant on an abandoned concrete patio. To add further to its exterior décor, a solo cinder block was just sitting there for no apparent reason, perhaps for seating?
*** NOTE: I’ve been told the patio has been renovated since my visit a month ago.
As if on cue, just as I’d finished surveying the lay of the land my sense of smell caught what I can only describe as smoky porkoliciousness wafting in the air. The smell seductively invited me inside as if it new all my weaknesses and planned on taking full advantage of my lack of self control. The exterior theme continued inside where interior walls were overly populated with vintage signs, college license plate decals and various forms of classic BBQ pig art. Old vinyl possibly from a 1970’s bar covered the booths.
Still, with all this BBQ foreplay I found myself highly disappointed in the dryness of the meat and the mediocrity of the sides.
THE SCENE
I’m a pork spare ribs fan! If I were a dish, delicious well seasoned ribs would be me on a plate. While I enjoy other forms of BBQ such as briskets, pulled pork, pork butts, brats and chicken, it ain’t a BBQ joint if they don’t have ribs! My Unilocal buddy Trevor W swore on all things holy that this place was worth the 2 hour drive from Atlanta and to his credit they ALMOST rose to those lofty expectations.
It was somewhere around 6pm when I arrived and it was not entirely all my fault for getting there so late on a Saturday. I got caught up visiting a few covered bridges and lost track of time. Couldn’t help myself! I enjoyed the hospitality and southern charm of several people I had the pleasure of bumping into so much that my covered bridge tour took far longer than I anticipated. Not to mention I didn’t feel rushed because crossing the border of Alabama from Georgia is moving into a new time zone and I gained an additional hour! Whoooo hoooo! Have you ever noticed that when you find yourself with bonus time it never stretched as far as you think it will?
THE BBQ
Anyways, back to these dry ribs. I am certain I would have really enjoyed the ribs had they been fresh off the grill instead of sitting in a warming bin probably for hours. I ordered a full slab and the thicker side was tender and flavorful while the side where the meat was thinner was like jerky. Actually, the meat on the very tip of the ribs could have been used as tire treads it was so rubbery.
WHITE BBQ SAUCE
What intrigued me the most and inspired my visit was the fact that Rusty’s make a white BBQ sauce. That’s right, you heard me, a WHITE mayonnaise based BBQ sauce that I just had to taste for myself. I was hoping it would become my favorite new discover for 2015, but unfortunately it was just too weird for this traditional BBQ lovers tastes. I placed the sauce on 2 bones in highly anticipation of how much I would enjoy it since I love mayo, but the flavor just didn’t go well with BBQ. Not wanting to give up I force myself to eat the second bone, but in the end I opted for the sweet sauce instead. I would best describe the flavor of the white sauce as a tangy tzatziki you’d find on gyros, which is awesome for gyros… but not BBQ.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If my slab had been served hot off the grill (or within reasonable proximity), these ribs surely would have matched the high praise that prompted my visit. The flavor was there but the ribs I got likely sat in their heated sauna bath a little too long. As for the sides, the sweet flavor of the beans was overpowered by vinegar and the deviled eggs were just ‘meh’. The mac n’ cheese they allowed me to sample before I placed my order was amazing. However, there were several orders before mine and I literally got the final scrapings of the day (even though they weren’t due to close for another 3 hours). Even with these small setbacks I can totally see how Rusty’s could become one of my favorite BBQ joints, but on this day they sorta missed the mark.
SIDE NOTE: The owner contacted me the day after this review was posted with a kind response apologizing for my experience. So kind in fact that it has prompted me to make plans to return. It’s a LONG drive, but I’m willing to do it simply because I’m a sucker for mom and pop restaurants. Not to mention they won best Mom & Pop BBQ in the state in the Alabama BBQ Battle. I’ll update my review accordingly.

Cannot comprehend how this place would rate less than 5 stars! When you start with smoked meat that’s so good one doesn’t need sauce. you know it’s gonna be good!
The slaw was great– even better with House sauce added.
Don’t get me started on the coconut cream pie! Get some soon!!!