**DINNER TIME SPECIAL**
Alright, alright, alright. Finally, Faylunchin's trio has delved outside their lunchtime constraints, venturing out into the night. We've been planning on the move for quite some time, but were waiting for the appropriate catalyst. Well, thanks to a growing number of readers and followers (you know who you are!), now was as good a time as any!
What could be a better introductory dinner spot than one of Fayetteville's oldest and most Razorback-friendly establishments? Yes, that would be Sassy's Red House, whose signature sauce hails all the way back to 1895. That's some well-aged sauce! Not only is the food a Fayetteville staple, but it represents Southern lifestyle to a T...as in iced tea, smoked brisket, baked beans, pulled pork, coleslaw; you name the BBQ dish and Sassy's has it.
Compared to a lunch menu, dinner menus are heavy hitters. Heavier on price, heavier on food, heavier on drink--you just feel heavier after eating it. But this also calls for a slight change in our rating system. Take a look below!
Our dinner rating system is structured within four primary categories: Atmosphere, Food, Service, and Value For Money (rather than Lunch Bargain, duh). We base our scores out of a possible ten points per category--typical stuff, we know. But this is where our ratings diverge! Sure, we count up the numbers, but they don't have so much to do with the restaurant's overall score. That, friends, is our pride and joy: a celebrity tribute, where we define a restaurant's personality with a famous person's name. Cool, huh? Ya, we know.
Alright, alright, alright. Finally, Faylunchin's trio has delved outside their lunchtime constraints, venturing out into the night. We've been planning on the move for quite some time, but were waiting for the appropriate catalyst. Well, thanks to a growing number of readers and followers (you know who you are!), now was as good a time as any!
What could be a better introductory dinner spot than one of Fayetteville's oldest and most Razorback-friendly establishments? Yes, that would be Sassy's Red House, whose signature sauce hails all the way back to 1895. That's some well-aged sauce! Not only is the food a Fayetteville staple, but it represents Southern lifestyle to a T...as in iced tea, smoked brisket, baked beans, pulled pork, coleslaw; you name the BBQ dish and Sassy's has it.
Compared to a lunch menu, dinner menus are heavy hitters. Heavier on price, heavier on food, heavier on drink--you just feel heavier after eating it. But this also calls for a slight change in our rating system. Take a look below!
Our dinner rating system is structured within four primary categories: Atmosphere, Food, Service, and Value For Money (rather than Lunch Bargain, duh). We base our scores out of a possible ten points per category--typical stuff, we know. But this is where our ratings diverge! Sure, we count up the numbers, but they don't have so much to do with the restaurant's overall score. That, friends, is our pride and joy: a celebrity tribute, where we define a restaurant's personality with a famous person's name. Cool, huh? Ya, we know.
ATMOSPHERE
An Englishman, a Chinese Man, and Indian arrived at around 7:30 p.m. For being an old red house, this place fills up quickly! Good thing there was plenty of parking, albeit tight in some places (or as Harvey commented: "undulating but spacious"). On our way to the entrance, we were ensnared by the smells: smoky, tangy, juicy, slightly bitter. You can taste the food without tasting it! And your mouths will water, believe us.
We'd love to see this restaurant's electric bill! Every wall carries what seems a dozen T.V.s, locked onto ESPN or Fox Sports or the SEC channel. Yet when we sat, in a tight corner beside an eight-seater table, there was no noise save the chatter of fellow guests and the faint tinkering of people busy with their ribs. Guess people here are just as serious about their eating as they are their sports!
Glancing around, we took in the appropriate decorations hanging from the walls and ceiling (wooden barrels, football paraphernalia, neon beer signs), as well as the compactness of the place. It's amazing just how many tables they fit inside! Of course, this leaves the possibility of becoming cramped. And claustrophobia, mixed with BBQ, makes for an interesting night. BUT DON'T FORGET, friends, there's outdoor seating, where all the good smells are!
SCORE 6/10
An Englishman, a Chinese Man, and Indian arrived at around 7:30 p.m. For being an old red house, this place fills up quickly! Good thing there was plenty of parking, albeit tight in some places (or as Harvey commented: "undulating but spacious"). On our way to the entrance, we were ensnared by the smells: smoky, tangy, juicy, slightly bitter. You can taste the food without tasting it! And your mouths will water, believe us.
We'd love to see this restaurant's electric bill! Every wall carries what seems a dozen T.V.s, locked onto ESPN or Fox Sports or the SEC channel. Yet when we sat, in a tight corner beside an eight-seater table, there was no noise save the chatter of fellow guests and the faint tinkering of people busy with their ribs. Guess people here are just as serious about their eating as they are their sports!
Glancing around, we took in the appropriate decorations hanging from the walls and ceiling (wooden barrels, football paraphernalia, neon beer signs), as well as the compactness of the place. It's amazing just how many tables they fit inside! Of course, this leaves the possibility of becoming cramped. And claustrophobia, mixed with BBQ, makes for an interesting night. BUT DON'T FORGET, friends, there's outdoor seating, where all the good smells are!
SCORE 6/10
Bathrooms
We believe bathrooms are crucial enough to be a subcategory of Atmosphere, deserving of its own score. Located just behind the bar, these bathrooms are conveniently placed and cute, like a renovated bathroom you'd find in an attic. Quaintly shaped, simply decorated with Razorback decals, and clean, which exceeds all expectations of a BBQ joint. Because...well, you can imagine how some BBQ bathrooms look.
SCORE 7/10
We believe bathrooms are crucial enough to be a subcategory of Atmosphere, deserving of its own score. Located just behind the bar, these bathrooms are conveniently placed and cute, like a renovated bathroom you'd find in an attic. Quaintly shaped, simply decorated with Razorback decals, and clean, which exceeds all expectations of a BBQ joint. Because...well, you can imagine how some BBQ bathrooms look.
SCORE 7/10
FOOD Might I say, the most exciting perk of dinner reviews has to be the BEER! Can't really take off for a lunch break and return smashed, can we? Sassy's has a full bar (as any brunch-time visitor will tell you), but we settled for simplicity: Harvey and Qi ordered Shocktops, a Summer classic, and you guessed it; Mike (the Indian) had himself an Ozark IPA. Furthermore, and Harvey was giddy with this revelation, Sassy's Red House serves each beer in matching beer glasses (so our Shocktops came in Shocktop glassware). That's special! Nothing like advertising for your brewery as you're taking a swig! And the beers were perfect palate cleansers for... |
Qi's side
Fried pickles. We had a very reliable source tell us how scrumptious this appetizer was, which proved true within our first few bites. Qi is certainly not a man to deny himself deep fried, pickled cucumbers, nor is Mike, though Harvey remained stoically aloof from greasing his fingers. Oh well! The pickles and beer were a pleasant harmony of bitter/hoppy, crunchy/cold, with a good portion to share.
Fried pickles. We had a very reliable source tell us how scrumptious this appetizer was, which proved true within our first few bites. Qi is certainly not a man to deny himself deep fried, pickled cucumbers, nor is Mike, though Harvey remained stoically aloof from greasing his fingers. Oh well! The pickles and beer were a pleasant harmony of bitter/hoppy, crunchy/cold, with a good portion to share.
On to entrées! Sassy's menu is large, diverse, and conveniently laminated against saucy fingers. In the menu's centerfold, you'll find the "Create Your Own Platter", a.k.a. "it's your own fault if you feel bloated afterwards." It's a snazzy deal for $15, in which you choose two meats out of six choices, and two sides out of a whopping fourteen sides. Alright, alright, alright...
Harvey and Qi both played God, creating a platter of their own: for Harvey, sliced brisket, 1/4 rack of ribs with baked beans and waffle fries on the side; for Qi, sausage, another 1/4 rack of ribs with a dose of green beans and loaded baked potato salad. Meanwhile, across the table, Mike ordered himself the Regular Pulled Pork Sandwich Meal, including coleslaw and dessert-made-beautiful-side sweet potato tots (could've eaten a whole platter of this and its caramel dipping sauce).
Soon, our table was as contentedly quiet as those around us, eating our food, sipping our beers, crying a few tears of joy now and then...SCORE 7/10
Harvey and Qi both played God, creating a platter of their own: for Harvey, sliced brisket, 1/4 rack of ribs with baked beans and waffle fries on the side; for Qi, sausage, another 1/4 rack of ribs with a dose of green beans and loaded baked potato salad. Meanwhile, across the table, Mike ordered himself the Regular Pulled Pork Sandwich Meal, including coleslaw and dessert-made-beautiful-side sweet potato tots (could've eaten a whole platter of this and its caramel dipping sauce).
Soon, our table was as contentedly quiet as those around us, eating our food, sipping our beers, crying a few tears of joy now and then...SCORE 7/10
VALUE FOR MONEY
Like the food itself, Sassy's value derives from the size of the plates and the quality of the meat. In both cases, large and courtly. Unlike your average lunch menu, dinner's can seem a tad expensive. But for an Englishman, a Chinese Man, and an Indian, money is only as important as quality. For an average $16-$18 per meal, that value is plain to see. Now if only our stomachs had room for this everyday. Ugh, so full.
SCORE 7/10
Like the food itself, Sassy's value derives from the size of the plates and the quality of the meat. In both cases, large and courtly. Unlike your average lunch menu, dinner's can seem a tad expensive. But for an Englishman, a Chinese Man, and an Indian, money is only as important as quality. For an average $16-$18 per meal, that value is plain to see. Now if only our stomachs had room for this everyday. Ugh, so full.
SCORE 7/10
SERVICE
What makes a typical Sassy's server? Generally, you'll find a women, roughly around college age, polite, speedy, and constantly moving. If they played a sport, it might actually be soccer over football. When we arrived, dinner primetime, our server was already in the grind, which can sometimes equate to inadequate assistance. But for whatever doubts we had upon arrival, they were put to rest at meal's end. Our server found her stride, checking on us, her eight-top, and other tables often. She even committed what might be two of the most impressive feats we've witnessed so far: 1) she asked to clear our plates before doing so (okay, not a big deal, but subtle), and 2) she asked us if we wanted our check immediately or if we, "wanted to chill a bit." Damn! That's a pro right there! We never felt rushed, even amongst ravenous carnivores! Oh, and did we mention our food was out in six minutes! Ya, I said 6 minutes!
SCORE 8/10
What makes a typical Sassy's server? Generally, you'll find a women, roughly around college age, polite, speedy, and constantly moving. If they played a sport, it might actually be soccer over football. When we arrived, dinner primetime, our server was already in the grind, which can sometimes equate to inadequate assistance. But for whatever doubts we had upon arrival, they were put to rest at meal's end. Our server found her stride, checking on us, her eight-top, and other tables often. She even committed what might be two of the most impressive feats we've witnessed so far: 1) she asked to clear our plates before doing so (okay, not a big deal, but subtle), and 2) she asked us if we wanted our check immediately or if we, "wanted to chill a bit." Damn! That's a pro right there! We never felt rushed, even amongst ravenous carnivores! Oh, and did we mention our food was out in six minutes! Ya, I said 6 minutes!
SCORE 8/10
OVERALL SCORE
Alright, alright, alright. If we haven't confused you with those three words yet, then let us say it again: Alright, alright, alright. That's because we know the perfect celebrity score for Sassy's Red House, a good ol' Southern pretty boy:
Alright, alright, alright. If we haven't confused you with those three words yet, then let us say it again: Alright, alright, alright. That's because we know the perfect celebrity score for Sassy's Red House, a good ol' Southern pretty boy:
(photo courtesy of http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com)
Matthew's come a long way from his Dazed and Confused beginnings, just like Sassy's has transformed itself from sauce crafter to full-fledged BBQ joint. Matthew's proud to sport his Texas accent, and Sassy's doesn't hold back in it's homage to fantastic Southern eating. Great things happen when you mix Matthew with Fayetteville, Arkansas, am I right? Has anyone not watched True Detective, season 1 yet? Do yourself a favor. Eat some Sassy's BBQ, drink a beer, and watch some HBO!
4 Comments