The Full Moon Barbecue restaurant in Madison closed this week.
The closing comes as no surprise. The food was average. The sammiches were good but not the kind that make you go out of your way to get them. The restaurant made a pretty good brisket but the ribs, oh the ribs. They were always tough. How tough? Well, if you ate them every day for a week, your jaw would probably bulge with muscles after awhile. Apparently others had the same opinion because it was rare the parking lot was more than half full.
44 comments:
It's got to be Jackson's fault. Still working on why.
"Over the years"? Lived in Madison for thirty years. Never heard of it. Was it a Chinese place?
I guess we all have different tastes and buds lol. It wasn't Rodney Scott by any means but the brisket and ribs were always good tasty and tender when I've had them. The catfish was above average but I adnit it was a hit and miss dish. Rarely went in mostly drive through. The veggie sides were always on point especially the greens. The chow chow was mid though.
Re: above remarks about "tough ribs". Ribs need to cook low and slow to break down connective tissue, until bones poke beyond the meat. After sufficient hours, slabs can be finished in the oven, checking internal temperature often, then wrapped tightly in foil, placed in an insulated air temp cooler to finish to final ecstasy.
If ribs are cooked hastily at high temps, the meat is tough.
If you’re going to try and sell franchise BBQ you got to make it better than the guy at the gas station with the home made smoker and they didn’t.
who fucks up ribs? even walmart and kroger can make good ribs.
was this place run by yankees who didnt eat the food they cook?
Hickory Pit in Jackson might want to take notice. I used to eat there all the time but their BBQ is also average at best. Don't take my word for it - go try some for yourself.
Pro Tip: attempt to be pleasant and don’t act like we are bothering you by coming to give you business. There is a reason the line is two columns at Chick Fil A. Automation replaces the need for you soon anyway.
That's not a BBQ joint. That's a bank. Or is it a gas station? Oh wait, its a liquor store. Never mind, it's Madison, the City.
Old Timers BBQ in Richland had the best pork sandwiches and scrumptious greasy fries. Now its gone.
Leatha’s in Foxworth/Hattiesburg/Petal had the absolute best pork ribs ANYWHERE, not just MS. Now they are gone.
Robert St. John or some other enterprising restaurateur needs to talk to their heirs and learn their methods and make us all happy again.
Maybe don’t put a BBQ restaurant in one of your bastardized neo-colonial buildings. Fake doesn’t mix with BBQ. The original location in birmingham is a winner.
10:44 - Post of the century.
That porch thing on the front, is really gross and ugly. The canopy design is clunky and repulsive, plus the DEPRESSION ERA BRICK STUMPS, holding up tiny, sawed-off columns, is NOT MADISON. It looks Redneck Mawmaw from Corinth (pron: KAW-wryiiiiinth)
In fact, the whole faux-patriotic canned mythos premise is Redneck/Bubba/Bro, and not a fit for Madison. The giant flag is tacky (and constitutes Desecration of the Flag, if you ask me: exploiting a sacred symbol for commercial purposes: and you can bet they didn't observe Flag Etiquette). On the bright side, once that grotesque mess on the front is torn off, the building has good bones, and will be easily repurposed.
Corinthian columns on a BBQ joint ... "just ain't right".
Good BBQ needs no sauce…
Old Timers was the best brisket plate anywhere, and that includes TEXAS. IMHO of course. Was sick when the new 6-8 lane Hwy 49 ate it up.
The column capitals more or less ape "Composite Order", a combination of Ionic and Corinthian, just to be technical.
Madison mooned them.
You just need to take one look at that building and you KNOW their food costs are inflated due to the RENTS TOO DAMN HIGH!
Place was good. At least the food.
Over time new employees were hired. They had a f’in attitude. Never went back.
Having Rob Jay hosting a weekly radio show there didn’t help.
google reviews funny as hell
Madison does its best to AVOID 'Neo-Colonial'. The city's stylistic range is 'Turn-of-the-Century Neoclassical (pre-war downtowns, all over America)', 'American Italianate', 'French Provencale', 'Old-town Stockholm', 'Paris 1900', 'Victorian Gothic', and 'Italian Mannerist'.
'Dinky Williamsburg' is not on the list.
WE got the memo. OUR architects understood it. Why is all of this so difficult for YOU? Maybe you should stay in Jackson, where you belong? Virtually all of Belhaven, Fondren, and Woodland Hills, by the way, are "Bastardized Neo-Colonial" - 'The Fairview Inn' - a copy of Mount Vernon, being a glorious example.
You sound like an very-old lady, schooled in avoiding "False Colonial" (DAR-eligible housewives were cautioned, in the 1960s, to only choose the "Good Colonial" - the true, Holy Grail Colonial Williamsburg - not the "bad, bastardized kind").
Hopefully, you understand that there is a difference between 'Neo-Colonial' and 'Neoclassical'. 'Neo-Colonial' came about, when not-very-American elements (and other insecure new money) sought to copy America's ("extremely ugly", as per Ogden Codman, whose family were Colonial aristocrats who built plenty of ugly Colonial structures), in order to pass themselves off as Old Money Americans.
Jackson's big Carpetbagger/Gold Coast Bootlegger/Brothelkeeper families, naturally, chose "Licensed Williamsburg Reproductions" - as sold by 'Warren Wright's House of Ideas', and, later, by now-deceased designer Jim Westerfield: the Carpetbagger Dynasties' ultimate authority on all things tastefully Neo-colonial-and-not-bastardized.
There was much recent outcry, after somebody stuck "a Leave-it-to-Beaver '50s Colonial picket fence" onto Madison's treasured Victorian Gothic Montgomery House. Clueless people abound, and sometimes they get away with things, before they can be stopped.
One of OUR Architect's drafting staff did something 'Neo-Colonial' for our development in Madison. But it was caught by the City, and he was fired by his boss, and I was not charged for the redesign, and I, personally, rented that hapless drafting architect a van, so he could move to another state where people don't know any better. I think he's doing HUD-compliant apartment communities in Connecticut, now.
Maybe someone could take up a collection, to help YOU move?
That place looks just right for a dental; veneers location.
Or a pastic surgeon who sells those implants!
Krusatyr, you apparently tried the wrong slab of ribs. Slow is good, but open flame ribs cooked and seared properly can not be challenged by a tender Smokey piece of pork.
Hickory Pit had been the same for at least 40 years. Their pulled pork is above average. The fries are 💯. The main difference is, Hickory Pit doesn’t have a mortgage and Full Moon had to cook enough to cover $15k a month for the real estate.
If you live in Madison and don’t know where Full Moon is, you must be blind. Whether you’ve stopped by or not.
Jackson opened Little Effie, Le Pressa, Louise, Masa Mesa, Emerson Provisions…no wonder people are leaving Madison. Not to mention, there are trees in Jackson
Too much money on front end to ever make it back. Good news is that the real estate is worth a good bit.
The BBQ sauce is pure Alabama along with the slice of white bread. That flies east of here but not in MS it seems.
Pig and Pint do it right every time imo.
I always enjoyed the pulled pork and the sides. We used to eat at some of this chain's other locations in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa and the food was consistent across all of them. The service had gotten slow over time here, bur was still worth the wait. I for one, will miss this place.
Derek Emerson is a beast.
Thank you for reminding me that Hickory Pit exists. It’s been years. I’m going to check it out.
"Thurssss's uh FULL MOON, an' we'rrrrrrr gonna HOWL!" (my assumption of the underlying concept/premise for the franchise, complete with Redneck Bro hard-'R' sounds, like in the truck commercials).
Apparently, some sleazy little MBA, from a third-rate school, came up with the CYNICAL premise/storyline/insta-mythos for the establishment. Everything's calibrated to appeal to extremely manhood-insecure menfolks.
That sort of establishment would be a fine addition, north-of-Canton, or over by the Nissan Plant, or in Richland, or in Byram, or over by some casino, somewhere. But why would anybody try to stick such a place in MADISON? Lately, Madison's become Tesla/Lexus/Lamborghini/Maybach/Bentley country - and getting moreso by the minute. The Tesla crowd counts carbs, and doesn't eat meats candied under layers of sugary sauce.
One of the best restaurants in the metro is Frisco Deli in Pearl, but the location they opened in Madison County fell flat on its face. Restaurants are a crap shoot, especially taking into account how fickle customers’ tastes can be in different areas.
I'll tell you exactly why it caused. After my 2nd trip (giving them a 2nd chance), the food was so-so but the staff could NOT get an order correct and was rude. Never darted the door again after the 2nd trip and vowing not to return. Lots of people like me did the same I'm sure. It didn’t close down in Madison due to lack of opportunity. Love it when. The Madison haters say to stay out. Keeps us buzzing right along.
@2:56 but that kind of awesome Jackson news does NOT get posted on this site! Only big hooplah when Arby’s closes!
@4:15 it’s still good. Not Terry Black’s of course but a classic BBQ place.
@3:05 Truth. Alabama White is putrid mayonnaise. Belongs nowhere near BBQ.
Well, the architectural lessons have been entertaining.
But when it comes to the best BBQ in the Jackson area ...I vote for the old pyramid BBQ on Robinson off West Capitol St. (a couple of blocks down from the Masonic Lodge).
All of y’all are missing out if you aren’t eating Sacred Ground in Pochahontas (Jackson). Best BBQ in the state and a really cool place. Rivals most places in Texas (and it’s locally owned).
Madison was the only Full Moon location outside Alabama. Probably just became too expensive to actively supervise from B'ham.
Tried it one time when Hickory Pit was closed. Ribs were tougher than shoe leather. Vinegar slaw is awful. Never went back. Dickies has it beat by a mile and I think all their stuff comes in precooked.
FWIW IMHO - I hate to see a restaurant go under - it's a tough business. But, if the BBQ is great, no one cares what kind of building it's served from - backyards to gas stations to a repurposed bank building. But, you should have to apply your teeth to remove the meat from BBQ ribs, but not gnaw it off the bone because it's undercooked. Besides mine, I've had some pretty darn good ribs at Sacred Ground (Hwy 49 N) and Smokehouse (471 & 25). I've heard Kenova is good too, but haven't had the pleasure, yet.
The long time owner of Hickory Pitt sold in 2023.
https://www.visitjackson.com/directory/hickory-pit-jxn/
WJTV has some restaurants, including Hickory Pitt, listed that are offering two $25 coupons for $25 while supplies last.
https://www.wjtvbeourguest.com/
BBQ ain't my thang, and I'm no commie...sorry for them, hope something I can support goes there...once there was a great mediterranean restaurant by Kroger across 55...that'd make me happy...
Chef Salad selection was excellent and well done. Sorry to see it go.
Speaking of Pochahontas, Big D's was pretty damn good back in the day.
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