Disclaimer for this post — if you’re not a fan of meat, read no further {vegans, that means you!}. Because seriously, this post is filled with MEAT. It’s funny, when you think of New Jersey, the first thing that comes to mind isn’t usually barbecue — but, that’s not to say we don’t have our fair share of delicious pulled pork and sliders. That’s why at HG, the omnivores of the team were so excited that House of Que has brought a little country {and BBQ!} to the Sinatra Drive waterfront.
Located at the old 3 Forty Grill location {340 Sinatra Drive}, House of Que is a Texas-style barbecue joint developed by esteemed Texas pitmaster Mike Rodriguez. According to their site, “House of ‘Que features traditional cafeteria style service, live music, communal seating and unique cocktails.”
When you walk in, to the right {pictured above}, there are picnic tables and booths with TVs overhead {giving it a beer-hall, casual feel}. To the left, there’s a fancier bar and tables, with rows of TVs for watching the games.
This pretty bar to the left has 4 different TVs in one small corner space {plus a ton of other ones all around} – and the decor feels very authentic to a southern pit. There are several bartenders available, and the time it took to order a drink {while we were at the bar} was minimal. Straight ahead as you’re walking in, there is an area where you can order your food for dinner {below}.
When we sat down to eat, the waitress told us that if we wanted to order specific things off the menu {and not the shareable plates} that we had to order from this wait-in-line spot. She also shared that a lot of restaurant-goers were complaining that they had to stand up and wait in a line to order their food — so the management has decided to make it waitress-service only, coming very soon. In fact, they may have already changed that aspect as I write! It didn’t really bother us, but I totally get wanting to “be served” when you’re spending money to go out to eat.
^Some of the deeelish drink options!
^This is their version of a John Daly, and it’s delicious! A little heavy on the alcohol, but nothing we couldn’t handle, especially being chilly out {any of their spiked teas are refreshing – so we’re excited to sample more on a summer’s day}.
On to the important things: FOOD!
Meat. On Meat. On Meat. Seriously. That’s meat 3x.
My smartass self actually asked {as a joke, relaax} if they offered vegetarian options — but get this: the waitress said yes! I told her I was JK so she didn’t go into detail, but I’m thinking that they offer salads. The menu offer collard greens {one of our sides}, but really – no salads were to be seen. Not for the vegan at heart. Anyway, the dish {above} was huge – and enough for 4 people – called The Pitmaster’s Pick {1 lb of brisket, 1 lb of sausage, 4 ribs, 1/2 smoked chicken and 4 sides}.
Feelings on said meat: Brisket was tasty, sausage was good, ribs were very fatty {it was honestly hard to get any meat off besides fat}, amd the smoked chicken was yum. That was a group {4-person} consensus, including two {mostly-carnivorous} males, FYI.
^The sides we ordered: Collard Greens, Potato Salad, Mac & Cheese, and Cornbread Pudding. Between those four sides and the meats, the entree was $75. Split four ways, it’s not terrible for some family-style sharing.
The sides verdict? Potato salad good, mac & cheese bland, collard greens decent but a little runny, and the corn pudding? See below…
^CORN PUDDING. It’s like a side AND dessert all in one. And I don’t even like corn that much! SO DELICIOUS!! Speaking of dessert…
^Dessert in the form of pecan pie. It was really good – not super chewy, not super mushy, and the pecans had a nice crunch to them.
FYI: if you’re trying to go low sodium or eat healthy – this is not your spot.
So, what’d we think? This place has a lot of potential, and we’re looking forward to coming back {for some corn pudding + to try the pulled pork sandwich and nachos!!}. The servers and bartenders were nice, and the space is HUGE – you can definitely bring a big group in here. I personally loved the music {it was kind of untz untz-y and not what you’d expect for a country/BBQ joint, but hey, I’m a Jersey Girl}. House of ‘Que is great for a time when you’re feeling like going to a bar and dressing casually — and we can only imagine how rowdy it gets on Sundays {especially during football season!}. A fun {and different} addition to the waterfront, and we’re excited that it’s here!
Have you been to House of ‘Que? What’d you think?
