Cowboys: BBQ

Cowboys is a restaurant in Fort Pierce that opened just around a year ago. It took the place of RJ Gator's, which was quite well-liked for its "Floribbean" cuisine. Cowboys started out in Okeechobee (their website is rather outdated) and the Fort Pierce location is the second for the chain. Apparently they have also branched out to Sebring and are considering Stuart, but I'm not sure. The menu was much larger than the one online.

I had the "pig in a potato" which was pulled pork, sour cream, cheese, and chives in a baked potato. I was expecting the double-size potato like many other restaurants with a "potato section" feature. However, I was greeted with a single potato that was overpriced. I wasn't in love with the pork, but with the right sauce it was okay.

My friend, Tori, had the buffalo chicken sandwich, but she had it with garlic parmesan sauce instead of buffalo. She liked it, and I thought the sauce was tasty. Hers was served with a side of macaroni and cheese, which tasted like canned to me, though she liked it.

My friend, Heather, had the all-you-can-eat smoked half-chicken. It came with macaroni and cheese and collard greens. The chicken was okay. Heather is very critical of collards, and she wasn't a big fan of the ones she received, although she did eat them. Interestingly, the server did bring out a bottle of oil or something for her veggies, but we didn't even open it. She finished her first round of chicken, and when she asked for more, they brought out one piece, and didn't ask her what she'd like, so that was kinda weird.

Speaking of the service, it was pretty bad. Everything was very slow, even refills and getting the bill and such. And it was very clear that the waitresses were typecast. Yes, they were required to wear glittery belts and pants, but they were all attractive, well made-up, nice hair girls, and all but one were thin. I don't think I need to stress that I won't be returning.

Armadillo Willy's - Barbecue Time!

Jim, JB, and I felt like barbecue for lunch, and we drove over to a local place. However, it was about 2:30pm on a Saturday, and as soon as we got out of the car, a restaurant employee came out to let us know that they were closed (and would be closed the next day, too). Apparently they close at 2:30pm on Saturdays... which seems really odd (they don't re-open for dinner or anything, either). So we'll have to go back there some other time. We drove over to a place that JB and Jim (whose initials are also JB, LoL) have lunch sometimes: Armadillo Willy's.

They claim to be Texas-style, but I'm not 100% sure. I didn't really like it at all, but I'd go back anyway. To start with, apparently they have a special everyday, but it's not clear on the menu, and we didn't see them until we were at the table, which was too late. This is because you order when you walk in, then you carry a buzzer until your order is ready, when you go to a window to pick it up.

I was feeling pretty confident in my (Memphis) pulled pork sandwich selection, which turned out to be pretty blah. I didn't like the sauce (I got "original" or "mild," whatever you want to call it), and wasn't thrilled with the meat. In fact, Jonathan had ordered the chopped brisket (with the hotter sauce), and we couldn't tell our sandwiches apart. Chopped versus pulled, beef versus pork, hot versus mild... the differences were not apparent. We could tell that the sauces differed slightly, but it seemed to be a vinegar-type difference rather than a spiciness difference, so it didn't help. He wasn't in love with his either, but he finished it, LoL. Jim liked his, tho I forget what he ordered. We all enjoyed the fries, and I'd go back just for the them! Plus, I'd like to try their burgers, and apparently their milkshakes (another item that we didn't notice on the menu until we were seated).

Where Pigs Fly

We spent the night in Dover on our way to Ocean City. Near our hotel was a place called, Where Pigs Fly, a barbecue joint that had great reviews. We found them to be pretty good. The free bread wasn't anything special, but it was hot and fresh, which was nice. I had the pulled pork sandwich with Memphis fries, and Jonathan went with the triple platter (pulled pork, ribs, chicken with fries and baked beans. The pulled pork was pretty good, but I wasn't the biggest fan of their barbecue sauce (it was kinda Tennessee-style, if you're familiar with that). The ribs were unbelievable, falling right off the bone! I didn't try the chicken, but Jonathan said that it was really juicy, which is sometimes hard to do with barbecue. The fries were AMAZING. We both really enjoyed them, and I asked the waitress about them. They're not even a secret recipe - they're out of a package, LoL!! The beans were beans.

Jim & Nick's BBQ

For lunch we were originally going to do Pizza Hut, for the lunch buffet. We both really love their buffet. Unfortunately, the one near us didn’t have that option. So we decided that we’d be bold and exciting and head to the local Texas de Brazil (it’s a Brazilian steakhouse, and we’ve been to the one in Orlando a few times, and they sent us an email coupon for our anniversary). We get there and it turns out they only serve lunch on FRIDAYS. How bizarre! Since this was near a shopping center, we walked around a bit and stumbled upon another Qdoba. But, we ultimately chose to go to Jim & Nick’s Bar-B-Q, which was next door. They had a good sweet tea, and FANTASTIC nachos. They were out of chicken, so we had pork on ours. They had sour cream, cheese, queso, peppers, tomatoes, salsa, lettuce, and probably more I can’t remember now. It was a steal for $8. Jonathan had the sliced beef sandwich with macaroni and cheese, and I had pulled pork with fries. The fries were so-so, as was the macaroni. The sauces weren’t that exciting (a regular and a hot), and the waiter thought I was crazy for not getting the second half of my sandwich to-go (it was only average and we’re on vacation so fridges aren’t prevalent).