re: Another poor meal at BRQ (review)

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I'm going to try and make this review as short as possible

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I could really get carried away. My fiancee and I were thinking of a place to eat at on Sunday for a late lunch and decided to give BRQ another shot. We have been twice before, once was a decent visit and the second visit was a big let down. We ordered from their BBQ menu each time, and the second visit was met with dry, overpriced BBQ and sides.

The place is always packed, so I figured they must be doing something right with the other half of their menu. We arrived Sunday at 2:00 PM for what I thought would be lunch or dinner, but instead had to order from the Brunch Menu. The menu is pretty much all breakfast with their BBQ offerings. The place was packed when we arrived.

I ordered a bloody mary and it tasted fine, but for $10 came with a lemon and a lime garnish. Any restaurant usually serves their bloody mary with a few crunch bits to snack on. For $14 I could make my own bloody mary at their bar, which for the extra $4 wasn't worth it to me, and the site of all the stuff just sitting out on the bar counter made me weary. Fiancee got a stella artois after waiting 15 minutes to be told they were out of sparkling water. Service was average. The waitress was friendly but I could tell she was probably a new waitress.

Appetizers:
Crawfish and Andouille Beignets - They were overcooked and mostly scorched where you could tell the oil was too hot. Initial taste was good, but then the bitter taste of blackened batter hit. Also, they were crab; not even what was advertised on the menu.

Fried Okra w/ Habanero Ranch - These were a little interesting because it was whole okra cut in half, but the miss was the very heavy batter. The okra slid right out and the batter was just too heavy. Almost like a hush puppy. The ranch was just plain ranch. No habanero. So again, another mislabeled menu item.

Entrees:
Crab Omelet - It was a big as my plate and stuffed with crab, tomatoes, and asparagus; and when I bit into it I tasted nothing. No salt or pepper, and the ingredients were so overcooked that each bite was a struggle to swallow. I choked nearly twice due to the dryness of the food and the omelet really could have benefited from a sauce to compliment the ingredients. And according to the menu, it should have came with hollandaise and did not. Side potatoes were forgettable. Pile of dressed greens on the side were a nice contrast, but just some spring mix tossed in a light dressing.

Southern Benedict - Two poached eggs, pulled pork and chicken, over fried green tomatoes. Another dish that needed salt and pepper. The pork was actually pretty good but the pulled chicken (which was mostly white meat) had dried out and was tough to eat. Came with same potatoes and a shot glass of fruit that contained a square of melon, two grapes, and a square of pineapple.

For dessert, we ordered a carrot cake to go, and it was delicious as always, and so much we had to throw most away because the slice can literally feed about 6 people. I do wish their dessert menu wasn't so exuberant, but at least they do them well.

BRQ serves food that looks beautiful, but tastes the opposite of the presentation. The table next to me ordered a variety of dishes and I could hear them start to complain. One of the men told his waitress that his catfish po'boy (which looked really nice) was completely flavorless. The waitress had the audacity to act shocked and was told this was the first she ever heard a bad thing about the food. She offered the man some hot sauce, but he said he doubted that would help. I had to speak up and get his back that our entire meal was also bland. The waitress walked away baffled.

So what the hell is going on with this place? Is the chef not listening to any criticism of the food that is put out in the kitchen? I surely can't have picked the worst two time to go?

As we walked out the place, my fiancee said it best, "I really want to like BRQ because of what they are trying to do, but I don't want to come here anymore."

$100 down the drain for everything.

What are your thoughts on BRQ? Has anyone been recently and had a meal they thought was very good and return regularly?

I admit when I first saw the menu posted for this place, the first thing I thought was it was too ambitious and dishes would suffer because of it. I was excited to think Baton Rouge was going to get a high level BBQ place, but this restaurant has an identity crisis. It needs to focus on one half of the menu, or the other, because it's clear they are executing both sides of the menu poorly.

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