Crossroads Smokehouse-Bar-B-Q

Horrible kitchen service. Waited over 50 minutes for a simple plate of food. Drinks are $ 10.00 for a mixed drink and they charge $ 10.00 cover for the ‘club’. Maybe you should establish yourself before you try to get on the same level as an established club.

By my experience, the décor is weird but not too bad (i remember hearing all the same décor complaints about Joe’s Crab Shack!). Yes I agree the ribs are VERY fatty. But if your only going to spend $ 8 what do you expect? I’ve tbeen to BBQ spots from Texas, AZ and California.
Now I hear they’re going to offer entertainment, PLEASE I hope they do a better job of selecting non generic Kareoke Jocks or Ghetto music playing DJ’s that Rookies or some other places in north county select. We definately would enjoy something better to dance & drink to than dirty south music and Marines jumping in the middle of the dancefloor and in the parking lot scaring ladies away!
There is alot of local bands and quality dj’s available for a reasonable price. Please take your time to find some.

It is a fun environment the food is grate and Otis is amazing

Sad this place closed :(
Loved the BBQ Spaghetti, fired Okra and awesome Karaōke.
R.I.P. crossroads.

Short version: Don’t go
Never been to prison but I suspect that what crossroad serves food there, might be a close simulation of what you might expect to get. Maybe even worse.
It was really bad. I don’t even understand how they can be any positive reviews for this place. It wasn’t my choice to go there firstly it was a group thing. You couldn’t pay me enough for me to go back. Even free.
My hubby got the «fried fish» or whatever the heck that suspicious item was. It was more like a piece of rubber hiding in some sort of gross batter. Don’t get me started on what they call ribs. Yuck! A gross piece of smoked sweaty pig very scary… Next, the fries. I think McDonald dump their leftover french fries there.
What a creepy place. It feels like one of those God forsaken places in the middle of nowhere America). Go at your own risk!
People who rated this place high must be out of they their mind… No offense but this place is baaaad.
The worst restaurant I have been in my life! Yes that’s right!
Whenever I drive by… I shake my head in disbelief to see that the place is still open!

Unfortunately there was nothing redeeming about this place.
The location is bad but not terrible, despite being in an abandoned shopping center. But they have not done anything to draw people in and the entrance is confusing.
The décor is lacking and weird. They basically have a home entertainment center with random «Southern» trinkets on one wall and some red, white and blue paper stars hanging on another. (Oh and the TV was playing Nickelodeon… What??)
The atmosphere is uncomfortable… My boyfriend and I walked in and no one was there to greet us. We walked a little further and finally saw a waitress. She said hi, but WE had to ask if we should seat ourselves. We did, and had plenty of places to choose from as there was only one other table full.
The waitress went over our menu with a little too much detail, only to then let us know that they were out of many of the items. She didn’t get our drink order, just walked away to give us time to decide.
My boyfriend got the pulled pork sandwich with french fries, and I got the pulled beef sandwich with mac & cheese. We were EXTREMELY disappointed in all of it. The sandwiches came on a hoagie, which I have never seen before in my lifetime of BBQ eating. My boyfriend described the pulled pork as «whatever» but he couldn’t understand why it only came with BBQ sauce on the side, and he described the french fries as «cafeteria quality». My «pulled beef» was strange cubes of beef. We got a bucket of mediocre BBQ sauce options, which we definitely needed. The mac & cheese was one of those strangely bland types, you know… It looks like good homemade mac n cheese but then a Wizard comes into the kitchen and removes the flavor as some horrible joke. I had to add a ton of salt and pepper and even then I couldn’t get through half of it, and let me tell you — I freaking LOVE mac & cheese.
The entire experience was pretty depressing. I always love supporting local restaurants and small businesses, but this is one that I won’t go back to. Not that it matters, I would bet it won’t be around much longer. They better be making a profit off that attached night club thing, because this restaurant is a disaster.

I really like how it looks inside. The guys I came with were cracking jokes the entire time– saying how much this place needs an upgrade and is so run down.
I actually appreciate the atmosphere and think it could be even funner at night– I came a bit earlier around 7 pm.
As far as the food– the chicken was cooked very well with good flavor. The fries sucked, the ribs were not to my liking– too gooey.
The waitress didn’t know the menu– which isn’t a good thing.
I don’t know that I’d come back here ever– at least not for the food. The people working here seemed very nice and homely.
It’s a good place to bring an older crowd– as in grandparents.
The area near the front door smells bad– like sewage.
They can definitely afford to clean it up in here.

Short version: Don’t go.
I love BBQ. I have lots of experience eating and making BBQ. Saw the sign and went in for dinner. As others have said it was a little weird in there-​plus I was the only person there other than the waitress, a cook and a lady who was hanging out talking to them. I could hear rock n roll coming out of the kitchen and oldies and stuff playing in the dining room. I like both but you’ve gotta pick one.
Brisket plate comes with fries, other sides are $ 2. I asked if I could have collard greens and mac & cheese instead because I didn’t really want fries and would that be an extra $ 2 or $ 4? She said it would be an extra $ 4. I said I’d have the brisket plate and add collards. She brought me a plate with brisket on it and a dish with collards in it. No fries, no parsley sprig no anything. And I’ve never seen brisket sliced like this, I got like three slices and they were about 3 inches wide by about 8 inches long. It was kind of like the roast beef at a buffet carving station. Smoke flavor was okay and it was actually smoked. Texture-​wise though it was kind of wet. Not like mmmm… moist, more like I’ve been out of the smoker and kept warm in foil long enough to be sort of steamed. Plus I think it might have had msg on it-​my tongue sort of feels like it’s wearing a sweater now.
I got my bill, paid and went home. I now realize that I was charged for the brisket plate plus 2 extra sides. I didn’t get the fries that came with the brisket plate (probably my bad but whatever) or the other side I was thinking about. She was nice and I just wanted to get out of there so I didn’t notice the error, and I’m not going back for 2 clams. So here I sit typing a review while my stomach makes noises like an ewok couple with marital troubles is in there hashing it out. I love nothing more than to support a local business but wow. It really was a strange experience.

When you walk in and see NO ONE in the restaurant… There is a REASON!
The food is pathetic, get your own drinks like a cafeteria, soda machine was broken so there were 2 liter sodas to fill cups from… overall ghetto and your stomach will regret your poor choice if you eat there.

Food is good (not great, but good).
Prices are good.
Service is wonderful.
Atmosphere is beyond bizarre, and not in a fun way. It feels like you’re eating in a dirty thrift store warehouse. The table was clean, but all of the décor seemed quite dingy.
If you want some not bad bbq served with a smile, I would recommend getting some takeout from Crossroads. But like others have said, don’t eat in, especially if you’re with someone you want to impress.

I went here this Saturday and my first impression was this place looks different, like a great place for a kid’s birthday party. I don’t have kids, but if I did I think it would be good. On the menu it said the ribs were not at all small, but really they hardly had any meat on them at all. They came with fries. Tastiing the food, it was cooked well and tasted very good, and I could tell this was an owner who really wants to get off the ground and it seems he has to charge kind of a lot for skimpy portions of food. He was having his employees taste test some meatloaf and mashed potatoes as well, and he gave the lkeftovers to those eating there, including myself, which made the price a little more worth it and yes it was good. No extra charge for the soda fountain, it was free.
Being that I used to be a karaōke regular at another place, I was tempted to come back at 8pm and see if I ran into any cool karokists from the past, and i did, and I rocked some old school rap and drank 2 Fat Tire beers.
Overall, I know restaurants are hard to keep running, with leases and all, so considering that, my experience was good, but not sure if it’s worth the price of the food.

If you want REAL southern food I highly recommend Crossroads. We have been there a great number of times and bring out of town guests frequently. Yes the atmosphere is very cheesy to say the least, this is the reason for the 4start not 5star rating, but the slow cooked meat is amazing. Here’s a list of what we like:
Brisket — smoked low and slow — incredibly tender and they don’t need any sauce
Ribs — HUGE — very juicy, yes a little fatty, but when you smoke the fat makes them extra tender — these as well don’t need sauce, but you can use it
Chicken Nugs — just the frozen dino nuggets fried up, but the kids love em
Rooster Balls — super cheesy mac and chese mixed with rib meat rolled in panko and deep fried! If you like mac and cheese you will LOVE these
Fried Okra — Not beer battered — rolled in panko and fried. simple and good.
Potato Salad — basic — big chunks of potato
Fries — served with everything — they are basic cheap — hit or miss on how they are cooked — but I don’t go there for the fries to begin with.
Nilla Pudding — banana pudding with crunched up Nillla wafers is exactly what you’d expect
Louisiana Crunch Cake — dense pound cake sort of cake with an amazing cruchy outer layer.
We have never had the fish there, but everything listed above is why we keep coming back. The owner is incredibly nice and will very gladly help you if you don’t like something. I do recommend going earlier in the day as that is when the meat is just coming off the smoker usually and at it’s peak. Just don’t let a few naysayers put you off. If you like real southern bbq this place can’t be beat.

Food — A–
Service — A+
Experience — Weird
The first thing you think walking in is «what the ####?. The place is bizarre and I wouldn’t honestly recommend dining in with expectations to impress others or for first impressions.
If you want decent BBQ/​smoked food order and take it to go. I ordered the pork ribs, hot ribs and chicken (three different entrees) each included fries. Also ordered a side of cole slaw, Mac n cheese, onion rings and potato salad. Everything was great except for the slaw, little flavor.
Otis (I’m assuming manager/​owner) is very genuinely nice and really cared about my experience there. Since my order was to go he threw in a handful of his sauces and explained each. The Otis sauce was good and I enjoyed the Medium on most of my meal. The XXX was good, but I’m not a huge burn the tongue fan.
Overall I’d suggest the food for sure, but don’t recommend swinging by for a work lunch or dinner date. Order it to go and enjoy some great food with friends and football.

Very bizarre place. They need Gordon Ramsay or Robert Irvine to come quick and help them realize the folly of their endeavor.
Everything seems inexpensive ($ 7.99 or less) on their weird menu, but what you’ll get isn’t even close to being worth $ 5. Pulled pork sandwich was totally bland, with a very stingy amount of meat placed on a slightly burned top and bottom section of French bread with a smattering of fries – like a dry plate of cardboard. Zero attempt is made at presentation… you’ll get a more attractive plating at Denny’s.
At 7PM on a Saturday evening, they were already out of simple things like cole slaw and mac ‘n cheese, and their soda dispenser was «broken,» so they went to the store and just bought some communal bottles everybody could pour from… stupid.
Atmosphere is like some mountain man diner you’d be forced to eat at in a remote location, without any other competition around, and therefore no reason to step it up a bit. In this location, there are a zillion restaurants around where the quality is far better. Hugely disappointing… really surprised at the raves here, given our experience.
By the way, the menu photo someone posted below shows more expensive pricing, so they may have already abandoned their «under $ 8 menu.» Which only means you’ll feel even more burned.

Love how this place is decorated! It was cool seeing Elvis and the Blues Brothers and the records on the wall. I knew I was going to like this place when I smelled the smoke in the parking lot!
I had a full rack of pork ribs, fries, and onion rings. The rack was huge! I shared with my kid and I still had leftovers. The ribs were awesome! I loved the dry rub and the flavor from the smoke. The chef showed me the smoker he used and it was very cool looking. The onion rings were very good. It was a tempura type batter which I liked. The fries were just ok. They were typical fast food type fries but not as good as ones you would get at Burger King. Wish they had waffle fries then my meal would have been perfect.
The front of the house co-​owner was very friendly as was the chef co-​owner. The chef brought out a piece of cake he was testing out. It was kinda like a bread pudding with nuts and piece of fruit. It was very good.
This is a great place to go for Tennessee style bbq!

We stopped at Crossroads for lunch just after they had opened and there was only one other table seated. Nice atmosphere with lots of Country music type décor. The waiter named Jake was very nice and helpful in explaining the menu.
My husband had the boneless pork rib which was smoked — delicious with potato salad which was also very good.
I had the catfish in corn meal instead of the beer batter and collard greens. The catfish was good but the greens were excellent!
On the table there is a variety of home made bbq sauce, regular, medium, hot and xxx. You have to try them all!
Definitely going back and recommending this place to our friends!

When you get to the doors of Crossroads simply make a U-​Turn and run, run fast! Right across the parking lot is Felix BBQ, A MILLION times better than this place.
To start, there catfish is flavorless. Their dirty rice was overcooked and many of the pieces of rice were burnt and hard.
Not only is the food horrible but the service is to, and I don’t know how that could be possible considering they’re always empty.
This doesn’t even come close to being a place I would go to even with a giftcard or free meal. With their horrible location, food, and service… I don’t see them being around for too long, especially when Felix’s is right in the same center; who’s the idiot that decided to put open up here?

I went in to try it out since my co-​worker was raving about this place. I was disappointed mainly with there pork ribs and beerbattered catfish. The pork was really dry and really had no taste. I had to add whole bunch of there home made bbq sauce (which is really good) all over the pork to have any flavor.
The catfish was really oily and wasn’t crispy at all. Also, it had that fishy taste.
There «dirty rice» and corn bread on the other hand was really good. If you like your rice spicy I would recommend the dirty rice.
The price on the other hand is very pricy for a bbq joint, more expensive then phil’s bbq.
I will try this place again because I am giving them the benefit of doubt since I went in around 4PM (no customers except me and my fiancée) and it wasn’t busy so I might have to go during peak hours to see if they make their pork ribs any different.

Southern Hospitality in north county!
Had a great lunch at Crossroads BBQ. Otis, the operator of the establishment, visited with us and shared his passion for cooking and BBQ and gave some clarity at the origin of the name Crossroads.
The service was friendly and accommodating and the bountiful samples of their menu offerings were a pleasant surprise. We were tempted with delicious baked beans, a BBQ spaghetti, and pulled brisket which is the mainstay of Otis’s idea for a more manageable brisket sandwich. The small pieces of smokey brisket were perfect to try out the 5 varieties of BBQ sauce offered. My favorite was the XXX which is their 2^nd hottest BBQ sauce. The hottest its called OHS, for Oh $h¡+ or Otis’s Hot Sauce if there are kids around! It was fun talking food and history with Otis.
The portions were good, especially for the sides. I tried the sweet potatoes and spicy dirty rice and would do so again, not for the other interesting options such as sweet potato tots.
As we enjoyed our entrees, we were surprised yet again with 2 kinds of corn bread and a super secret 6^th BBQ sauce variety. We packaged up what we couldn’t finish as our quick pre-​super bowl lunch at the new BBQ joint turned out to be a better than expected good time!
So, what’s with the name, Crossroads?
Just ask Otis.

I can’t remember if it was Chins or Peking Palace before, but Crossroads is on the come up. Phase 1 Memphis style BBQ, that’s dry rub, sauce on the side pork ribs. The sauce is tomato and vinegar based as expected, but they offer mild, medium, triple x and OHS (Otis the creator’s original name was Oh *^%$, but OHS seemed more reasonable and it works since the cooks call it Otis’ Hot Sauce). I dared not try it, but found the triple x sweet baby rays quite nice).
Much off the décor was kept so they still have the fountain in the foyer and the chandelier above that, but a brand new kitchen and much more open seating and the highly visible tv. Black coated vinyl like table clothes make cleaning up the mess’ easy. Booths outline the center picnic style tables. I was offered samples while i waited (dirty rice, hot links, bbq spaghetti). Dirty rice i thought to be dry, the links to be very good and the BBQ spaghetti i thought could use more sauce and more finely shredded meat. Mac & cheese was plain.
We were offered more freebies corn bread was hot and sweet, could have used butter, but chunky and flaky at the same time. Sweet tea didn’t appear to be small batch made, but was good none the less, best around outside of chick fil a.
BBQ brisket sandy was massive. probably half pound with that great crust (they did not break the point/​deckle) and was a bit fatty, but the crusty bark was great and the smoke ring wasn’t as pronounced as most briskets. I opted for the sweet potato tots, yes not fries, but tots. Probably could go for less salt, but an idea i havne’t seen in the dozens of gastro-​pubs or restaurants that carry sweet potato fries.
Deep fried Alligator is sometimes available, but the catfish and fried okra are must trys. I’m a fan of beef ribs, but it’s hard to find the most shin guard sized one’s aside from Big Tiny’s in Vista. They cater and have quite a few sides, but no deserts
This is the real exciting part. They are opening a karaōke lounge & bar next door and a saloon 2 level bar next to that with a stage, dance floor and a 4^th staging area in the coming months. From what i figure will be the largest bar in North County. We have a lot to be exited for form this run down stagnant corner. Maxdon’s another favorite might have something to think about because we all sure do.