Ashley says…
A few months ago driving through Teays Valley on a Friday evening just hoping something different would jump out at us for dinner, my husband and I discovered this little gem. Nestled in a small building on Hospital Drive just off of Rt. 34, you really wouldn’t notice this place if not for the huge smoker out front and with the smoke rolling out of it. Then there’s the smell. ..I love the smell of dead animal cooking on a wood fire. Barnyard smokes all the meat right there in the front of the building.
We walked in to a surprisingly-crowded place with the décor to match its name. Rough wood floors and walls are throughout making it appear barn-like. We were seated immediately in the main dining area at the only empty table left. Barnyard BBQ has a bar in the main dining room with a couple of TVs and sells a large selection of beers, but no other alcohol.
We ordered the fried pickles for an appetizer. Unlike Susan, I love pickles, all shapes, sizes and flavors. Barnyard makes theirs from scratch. They were very good.
One of that night’s specials was fried chicken livers, cooked to order, with two sides. My husband ordered them because he is a sucker for liver. Blech!!! I’m like Fonzie when it comes to liver. (Anyone remember that about him on Happy Days?) I’m here for barbeque so bring on the meat! I ordered the combo plate with pulled pork, pulled beef brisket and smoked chicken. I chose onion rings and sautéed green beans as my sides. All meals also come with a corn fritter.
Portions are huge. I got a good amount of the pork and beef and ¼ (leg and thigh) of a chicken. The pork and beef had some of Barnyard’s homemade BBQ sauce drizzled over them. All three meats had a great smoky flavor, were very tender and very good. On the table were three sauces, all made in-house, sweet tangy heat Memphis-style, vinegar-based North Carolina-style and a mustard-based sauce. I love NC-style sauce so I used some of it combined with the Memphis-style. Yum! My onion rings were the frozen kind, but still good, and the green beans weren’t your typical southern style beans. They were sautéed and flavored nicely. Husband liked his chicken livers, mashed potatoes and green beans.
I recently had a craving for BBQ so we made a second visit. This time I got the two-meat combo of pulled pork and beef with cole slaw, macaroni and cheese and a fritter. One thing to note also is that all of Barnyards sides are homemade except for the onion rings and French fries. Other sides include red skin potato salad, macaroni salad and baked beans. This time Husband ordered ½ rack of baby back ribs with baked beans and potato salad.
My pork and beef were just as good as the first time and the mac and cheese was to die for. The cole slaw, however, wasn’t so much. It was super finely shredded, too watery and without much flavor. The ½ rack of ribs was a good size and very meaty. The smoky flavor was really evident too, which I love. I also tried the beans and potato salad. Both were really good. I don’t even like potato salad, but I would consider ordering it here.
This time, against my full belly’s recommendation to pass, we ordered dessert. Desserts are also homemade. On our first visit we heard other diners talk about how good the bread pudding was, but they were out of it that night so we didn’t get an opportunity to try it. This time we were in luck. “WOW!” is all I can say about it. It was warm and gooey and tasted like a cinnamon roll right out of the oven. Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, this dessert was heavenly.
Barnyard BBQ opened as a full-service restaurant late last year. They’d done only catering before and now do both. It is the only place of its kind in the area that I know of since Smokey’s and Smokey Bones closed. It ranks right up there with all the other BBQ joints I’ve tried here and in other states. I give it FOUR FORKS.
Barnyard BBQ 1101 Hospital DriveTeays Valley, WV 25526
Tel: (304) 964-3322
Fork You... 