First Choice Bar-B-Que

A friend turned me on to First Choice Bar-B-Que recently and I loved it. First Choice has been around since 1992. It was located in the back corner of a little shopping center (Brandon Crossings). The place was unassuming and it had a warm, simple, and friendly atmosphere. They claim that their goal is to provide you top quality barbecue with every bite you eat! And they do. I ordered a half slab of ribs and a pork sandwich to go. The smoker showed me the ribs before they were wrapped and I refrained from eating until I got home. The ribs were delicious-tender and smoked perfectly. The BBQ sauce was good too although I prefer a mustard base. The pork sandwich was my favorite. Lucky for me that it was a generous size as my guy was eating it immediately. The next time I stop in I will order the collard greens and coleslaw. The pork rice is tempting. Actually all of the sides are tempting. First Choice Bar-B-Que offers a variety of sandwiches, dinners, a huge selection of meats (including turkey, sausage, corned beef, chicken & more) and sides in the Southern BBQ style. Definitely a must-try kind of place.

I am SO PLEASED with my combo meal today. I arrived just as the storefront was closing and the staff was so kind and hospitable, not treating me like an annoyance or inconvenience. My food was hot and fresh until I arrived home 30min away, so I knew they took care in the preparation the same way they would if I’d arrived an hour earlier… You can’t fake that kind of dedication to quality! Today I got a ribs and beef combo plate that came with 2 sides: I chose coleslaw and fries, and it also came with 2 slices of white bread (to make a sammy with the beef) and a heaping helping of sauce, which is the absolute best part in my opinion. What can I say about this place? I’ve been coming since I was a child, and I’ll probably bring my own kids one day. It’s worth the trip!

One of my Favorites. Everything has a nice smokey flavor. This place gets packed quickly and frequently has a line out the door. I usually get the Beef. It's more of a pulled Beef, like a pot roast, smokey and tender. They make their own Fries and they are usually a highlight of the meal. I also get the Macaroni , which is a cold dish, but has a bunch of Spicy Heat that makes it have a real complexity for a simple dish. Their Corned Beef is and item that is not usually found at BBQ places and provides a real unique culinary experience. Their sauce leans toward the sweet side with a bit of Tang, but there is a hotter version available. Worth the trip.

On the continuing quest that is my life’s journey to find the nirvana of barbecue we have fell short, very short. My order is always the same. I need a sampling of the most basic and simple BBQ dishes and sides, and at First Choice Southern BBQ this tradition continued. Pulled Pork, Ribs, and Chicken for the main dishes and sides of Collard Greens, Beans, and Macaroni Salad were my choice. After all, if you can’t make a reasonable sampling of these, you have no business in barbecue. --The Main Dishes-- Pulled Pork – Bland and dry, served with a classic discount grocery store hamburger bun. Portion size was more than adequate and if a gun was held to my head I would consider it the only reasonable menu choice. Ribs – Grossly overcook, then served in awkwardly cut and tiny proportions. This was very bland in flavor only to be further mistreated by their in house sauce. The bone, which by the way was not attached to any meat and presented more as a garnish, was ashy from mistreatment and hidden under a still living chicken leg. Chicken – How this chicken came into existence boggles the mind. Under cooked with an unpleasant “smoke” taste to it, and gray in color. Almost as if it was marinated in liquid smoke and microwaved for a few seconds before being slumped into its container. --The Sides-- Collard Greens – Nothing special with a slight kick. Served in a smaller 4~ oz. Styrofoam cup at an additional fee. Beans – Arguably the hardest side to mess up, if you can’t make homemade beans use store bought and don’t try to hide it. However, they exceeded themselves in disappointing me. These… “beans” tasted like cinnamon, and I don’t even want to venture as to how. CINNAMON… Macaroni Salad – Look at the attached picture. It taste like it looks. Cold easy mac with paprika or something… --The Sauce-- “Homemade” sauce – The sauce is where you get to show your true skill in barbecue. It drives the style of your dishes and can tell a story of how it came into existence. Flavor profiles of ketchup, vinegar, or even mustard give us a geographical region. The heat index can make some dishes really shine through, and even more experimental tones from fruits to honey create new exciting flavors. First Choice Southern BBQ took a new route to the sauce fight. They just dumped a bottle of dollar store ketchup on the food. It’s just plain cheap unseasoned ketchup. As of writing this it has a 4 star rating. If this is the best that Tampa/Brandon has to offer I’m putting my home up for sale.

Took other orders ahead of us even though we were obviously in line. I asked could we order. And he said yes after him. Then, he rang up the gentleman behind us. And all of the employees left the serving area for several minutes. One that was rude came back, did not acknowledge us. Began stocking cups instead of waiting on us. We still waited several minutes of his restocking before we decided to take our business elsewhere. The pictures show the counter area and the individual who was rude. And I was really looking forward to taking my husband here for dinner after I smelled their cooking while at the post office earlier this week. We will not be returning as I do not abide rude people who have no interest in staying open by keeping customers happy.