Wisconsin > Madison: Fat Jacks BBQ

This place is a favorite for ribs among my co-workers. I have had the pork, ribs and brisket. Ribs were very good, but a bit too done for my tastes - I like my ribs like KCBS recommends for contests - not falling off the bone. Pork was quite good as well. I only tried brisket once, flavor was good, but it was a bit dry. I know BBQ is not all about the sauce, but their sauce is great.

http://www.fatjacksbbq.biz/

Thanks for the info, Mark. I get up to Mad City every now and then and will definitely check out Fat Jack's on my next journey behind the Cheddar Curtain.

Also hope to cross paths with you again somewhere out on the circuit this year.

Ken

My Brother in Law had a stop in Madison, so we decided to visit and stop in at Fat Jacks. It was Tuesday, so my brother and I got the days Special. All you can eat Ribs and Chicken. It came family style with all you can eat Beans, Slaw, Steak Fries, and Garlic Bread as well. As mentioned above, the Ribs were good, but slightly over done. Just the way my wife likes them. Too bad she got the Pork Plate. The ribs were dry rub and had a good flavor. They pulled of the bone easily and were not smoked into jerky. They also had a nice ring to show the love. The Pork was very good as well, but it was chopped, not pulled, so was not as tender as it could be. It was more the cut and texture of a roast. I am more of a smoke it till it pulls itself kinda guy but it was still very good and the plate was huge. The smoke on everything was great. The chicken was perfect and is most likely their signature dish. It had the right amount of smokiness and bbq sauce flavor to it, but it was not covered in anything wet. There are ample paper towels on every table, but you don't really need them. Your fingers get messy, but not covered. A single napkin can clean up most mess.

They have 3 sauces. Regular and Hot are on the table, and there is an Extra Hot upon request. I stuck with the Regular. It was good, not vinegary but not Sweet either. There was no kick to it, leaving it a bit unremarkable, but good. I didn't try the Hot. Besides, I don't typically use much sauce anyway, so I don't mask the essential flavor of the meat.

Their Beans, although good, seemed plain. Tasty, but nothing to crave. Their Slaw was a little more interesting. It is not mayo based. It was covered in a sweet vinaigrette that was not at all too strong. I liked it and had an extra helping. Their Steak Fries were great, and their Garlic Bread was terrific.

In all, we had a great time. The food was good and much much better than what you would get at a 'Pepper' chain. The cost was reasonable. About half a big one for 3 adults and 2 kids meals. And they do have Sprecher Root Beer on tap. If I happen to be in the area and was lookin for some BBQ, I would definitely go back. It has a friendly sit down atmosphere and we stayed to chat for a quite a while, but deep down, I know I can smoke better ribs at home, just like all of us .