Hammerheads - It is what it is

We finally got around to trying Hammerheads last night and for those that haven’t had the opportunity to try it yet, here’s a little review. For those that want the “short” version, let me just say that I am quite sure that there are folks for whom Hammerheads will hold a great deal of appeal…both in terms of the food and the location/atmosphere.

Food aside for a moment, Hammerheads struck my wife and I as a place that has something of an identity crisis. We’re torn between calling it a beer joint that wants to be a restaurant or a restaurant that wants to be a beer joint. Not saying it’s a bad thing either way, it’s just not what we expected. From a diners perspective we were somewhat annoyed with the number of “campers” at the tables…At least 4 of the tables were occupied, some for well over an hour, by people who either weren’t dining or had finished dining and were simply hanging out swilling PBR (or in the case of two females, lingering for an hour and a half over glasses of ice water). The end result being that we and another party ended up waiting over half an hour for a table. Two other parties came in during this time and after 10 minutes of waiting they gave up and left without ordering.

Our appetizer course was a half rack of lamb ribs and an order of mac and cheese balls. I’m not much of a lamb person but found these ribs to be extremely tasty, albeit a bit fatty and definitely overcooked. The mac and cheese balls were “dah bomb”…very crispy outside and moist and flavorful inside. I’m definitely going to put these bad boys on the home BBQ menu.

The entrees/sides we tried (and shared) were the Brisket sandwich w/ sweet potato fries and a half rack of baby back ribs with a side of “Grippo fries”. In short, both meat dishes were a full two notches above what we experienced recently at Doc Crows but still a full notch below what it would take to make us “regulars”. The brisket was extremely tender, which was a good thing since it was sliced with the grain. The flavor was good…but in our opinion not great…and unless I miss my guess it spends a moderate amount of time (either before but most likely after cooking) in some kind of marinade which masks much of the “beef” flavor. Some people will no doubt find this brisket quite appealing…we found it kind of “come see-come saw”. The sweet potato fries were…well, they were sweet potato fries. Ya either like ‘em or you don’t. The Grippo fries were interesting. Very nifty flavor and I’m sure a lot of people will really love the things…I found them to be a bit over the top after eating 6 or 8 of them but that’s probably just me. The ribs…<huge painful sigh>…were not of the “rock star” variety. On the plus side they had a nice smokey flavor and looked very appealing. The sauce was well caramelized but tasted somewhat pedestrian. Our biggest problem with the ribs was that whatever “rub” was used to season the meat left the finished product extremely salty. Finally, if ya’ll like your ribs “falling off the bone”, your wishes would have been fulfilled last night. Despite my specific request…OK…I fricking pleaded…not to be served ribs that were “falling off the bone” I was (you guessed it) served ribs that were falling off the &*%$# bone. One could not cut between the ribs with any expectation that the meat and bone would not cleanly separate. Speaking in very general terms this issue is really starting to tick me off…You’d think that after trying 6 or 7 of the best BBQ joints in town I could find ONE place that doesn’t overcook the damn things.

Overall not a bad experience…I’m sure we’ll go back at some point.

Steve,

My wife and I went there last week and loved the place. We had different food offerings (she had fried chicken and a sweet potato waffle and I had a duck slider and a pork belly BLT), but both were excellent and the bacon brownie dessert rocked the house.

It definitely has more of a Germantown "hippie feel" than more traditional Bardstown road places, but I found both the menu as interesting and the execution as well done as any fine dining place, just more focused on gourmet bbq and other comfort food (I have not been to Doc Crows, so cannot compare).

I do think it has more of a younger vibe and it does have the entry area bar, so I can see how you can get the bar feel, but I actually enjoy seeing a diverse, eclectic crowd, so I enjoyed the experience.

The only drawback I have with the place is its low ceiling. The main beam is well below 6 feet tall and you can easily hit your head on it if not careful and it runs through entire restaurant. Also, the bathroom is raised a couple inches over main floor, so I could see how people could trip.

So, I would say excellent food at very good prices in a fun, eclectic setting, but housed in a former dive, so do not expect visual elegance from a dining perspective.

Steve,
The only drawback I have with the place is its low ceiling. The main beam is well below 6 feet tall and you can easily hit your head on it if not careful and it runs through entire restaurant.

Guess this is how the place got its' name.

Redwinger

Germantown "hippie feel"

My kind of people...

to the op...

i try so hard to be diplomatic in all of life and in posting on this board. and i love the dialogue, debate, and rapport that goes on here. difference in opinion keeps the earth on its axis, imo. i also believe that NOTHING is off limits when it comes to personal preference of food, drink, or service... whether i like it or not.
but ... all those 'CAMPERS' spend money that is the EXACT same shade of green as yours. i mean, honestly... you go into a place of business and SERIOUSLY criticize, for a whole paragraph, other people that you dont even know, that are there for the same reason you are? WTF does that have to do with hammerheads as an establishment? how does that line of thinking even remotely apply to the standard of product, execution, or service that they offer?
i admit, everything you wrote about the dining experience was spot on, articulate, and fair...but COME ON?!?!
i, as a consumer and one who makes a living serving the public, am offended by such irrelevant, shallow drivel.
also... if you ever CAMP at my table, i will still treat you the way i would want to be treated when i am dining out. i take care of EVERYONE as if they are VIPs....because they are


edit: for the record, i do not work for and am in no way affiliated with hammerheads

Matt, to a certain extent I definitely have to disagree with you on this account. Camping on a table (especially when just read the water like some of these people were) is downright rude when other people are waiting for tables. When dinner is completed and people are waiting if you wish to continue to drink and hold conversations you should move to the bar area so other patrons can enjoy the dinners. Certainly being in the business you don't want perspective diners to leave because the wait is too long. In many cases you not only lose their business for that evening but also their future business.

We had dinner there a couple of weeks ago and by and large thought the place was great. My wife got the baby back ribs and like Steve, I thought they were a bit over done; however, I thought they were good none-the-less. (I'm not a rib guy so it's no biggie for me either way) I had the duck sandwich with a side of truffle fries - it was fabulous in just about every way. My son had the bacon brownie and he loved that as well. The hummus was very well done. I intend to eat my way through the whole menu soon.

As for the atmosphere, I loved it. Totally comfortable neighborhood type place. To me it's a bar that has great food and I had no expectations beyond that. No campers that night we went - no wait for us either. Lot's of options - we saw some folks we knew - all in all a winner that we will return to often. The only downside for us is it's a "fur peace" from Prospect.

I hate campers. That is all.

Matt, to a certain extent I definitely have to disagree with you on this account. Camping on a table (especially when just read the water like some of these people were) is downright rude when other people are waiting for tables. When dinner is completed and people are waiting if you wish to continue to drink and hold conversations you should move to the bar area so other patrons can enjoy the dinners. Certainly being in the business you don't want perspective diners to leave because the wait is too long. In many cases you not only lose their business for that evening but also their future business.

'you are my guest until you leave. i am here because you are, not the other way around.'
i appreciate the guests that i wait on, and whether they split an app and a glass of wine and sit for 2 hours or drop tons of money and are gone in 45 minutes, they both deserve to enjoy their experience equally.
and youre telling me that being on a wait equals bad business?
MAYBE when you go to a busy restaurant, its busy for a reason.
and MAYBE the people sitting and enjoying themselves have the same right to do so that you will once you fill their seat.
AND... just because someones drnking water when you walk in doesnt mean a damn thing. they couldve just dropped tons of money eating bunches of delicious food, or they couldve split an order of fries... it DOES NOT matter. theyre a guest. its as much theirs as you want it to be yours at that moment.

i cant imagine anything more rude than someone who believes that they deserve to be seated somewhere more than somene else who has already paid to be there.

in conclusion, sir. how does anything we're discussing right now have anything to do with what or how or how good or how bad hammerheads does anything?

it is what it is.... I was so impressed with the brisket sandwich and then I tried the burger several weeks ago, what a disappointment. expecting something special and no. preformed frozen patty very disappointed. Just didn't measure up to my expectation after being blown away with their brisket. I think I would just take that burger off the menu.

After passing a very busy Come Back Inn on Saturday night, my wife and I had dinner at Hammeheads.It was my second visit, and though I applaud the success they have achieved, they need a little fine tuning in the kitchen. First on a minor note, we were served old bitter iced tea, and informed by the very nice waitress that they weren't fancy enough to have soda, spring, or mineral water, which I found amusing after my wife had the very expensive Crab burger/ no sides, which was loaded down with salt and a little small. I had the brisket sandwich on my other trip which was good, but once again very small for the price. I had the ribs which were the best value on the menu and quite tender and smoky, and a mixed green salad (no bigger than our house salad at twice the price) with a very vinegary dressing with little taste. The mac and cheese is good, but then again, so are a lot of places. Very hip crowd, and very crowded. I wonder about the prices, and the value of what you get for that. Forty bucks for the two of us with no alcohol. I would have been stuffed at the Come Back with a doggie bag to boot. I wonder how all these twenty something kids afford to frequent places, eat and drink 6 dollar beers, without living at home with their parents. We are in heart of the east end and I would shudder to ask the prices these guys do, but then again, if you can get away with it why not. They have plans to expand I've heard and I wish they the best of luck. Just wish they would make the place a little more value driven, but I'm also raising two teenagers and becoming an old curmudgeon about prices vs volume vs taste.

i cant imagine anything more rude than someone who believes that they deserve to be seated somewhere more than somene else who has already paid to be there.

in conclusion, sir. how does anything we're discussing right now have anything to do with what or how or how good or how bad hammerheads does anything?

...and I can't imagine anything more rude (or air headed) than two people lingering an hour and a half over ice water...in a VERY small restaurant... when 5 feet away, in plain sight, there are eight people waiting to be seated (four of whom ultimately left without being seated).

My comments (and I believe Marks reply) were not directed toward the restaurant per se but rather toward a number of thoughtless patrons. As a patron, there are times when it is appropriate to "linger" and there are times when it is not. A busy Friday night in an extremely small restaurant is NOT one of those times. This is not an issue of someone (me) thinking they "deserve" another patrons table, rather it an issue of common courtesy...Were the shoe on the other foot I (and I believe most thoughtful people) would have recognized the situation for what it was and at least offered to move my conversation to the bar in order to make a table available for the next paying customer...Then again I'm also an old school curmudgeon who's mother taught him to hold the door for ladies and to give up my seat on the bus to the elderly...

Steve writes:


"Then again I'm also an old school curmudgeon who's mother taught him to hold the door for ladies and to give up my seat on the bus to the elderly..."

.......and say please and thank you......yes ma'am and no sir........very nice to have met you..... ask people politely to pass things, not curse in front of children, never hit a woman, stick up for the weak and wear our pants around our waist. Firm and loyal friends, slow to anger and fearsom' when riled. What my Mom calls "walking around sense". Well met, brother.

After passing a very busy Come Back Inn on Saturday night, my wife and I had dinner at Hammeheads.It was my second visit, and though I applaud the success they have achieved, they need a little fine tuning in the kitchen. First on a minor note, we were served old bitter iced tea, and informed by the very nice waitress that they weren't fancy enough to have soda, spring, or mineral water, which I found amusing after my wife had the very expensive Crab burger/ no sides, which was loaded down with salt and a little small. I had the brisket sandwich on my other trip which was good, but once again very small for the price. I had the ribs which were the best value on the menu and quite tender and smoky, and a mixed green salad (no bigger than our house salad at twice the price) with a very vinegary dressing with little taste. The mac and cheese is good, but then again, so are a lot of places. Very hip crowd, and very crowded. I wonder about the prices, and the value of what you get for that. Forty bucks for the two of us with no alcohol. I would have been stuffed at the Come Back with a doggie bag to boot. I wonder how all these twenty something kids afford to frequent places, eat and drink 6 dollar beers, without living at home with their parents. We are in heart of the east end and I would shudder to ask the prices these guys do, but then again, if you can get away with it why not. They have plans to expand I've heard and I wish they the best of luck. Just wish they would make the place a little more value driven, but I'm also raising two teenagers and becoming an old curmudgeon about prices vs volume vs taste.

Bill,

I'd eat at your place over Hammerheads every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

-----

The prices are reaching, the portions are small, and, given some health-based dietary restrictions, the menu is very limited. Someone earlier said there were a lot of options. The options are fried, meat, fried, meat, fried, meat, and maybe a few token exceptions. Setting aside my personal context, the portions remain small and the prices are steep. Increase the portions by 20% or knock the prices 20%, and I might consider going again.

i cant imagine anything more rude than someone who believes that they deserve to be seated somewhere more than somene else who has already paid to be there.

in conclusion, sir. how does anything we're discussing right now have anything to do with what or how or how good or how bad hammerheads does anything?

...and I can't imagine anything more rude (or air headed) than two people lingering an hour and a half over ice water...in a VERY small restaurant... when 5 feet away, in plain sight, there are eight people waiting to be seated (four of whom ultimately left without being seated).

My comments (and I believe Marks reply) were not directed toward the restaurant per se but rather toward a number of thoughtless patrons. As a patron, there are times when it is appropriate to "linger" and there are times when it is not. A busy Friday night in an extremely small restaurant is NOT one of those times. This is not an issue of someone (me) thinking they "deserve" another patrons table, rather it an issue of common courtesy...Were the shoe on the other foot I (and I believe most thoughtful people) would have recognized the situation for what it was and at least offered to move my conversation to the bar in order to make a table available for the next paying customer...Then again I'm also an old school curmudgeon who's mother taught him to hold the door for ladies and to give up my seat on the bus to the elderly...

The real issue here is that both of you have totally fair points, but the review did read to me, Steve as though you were holding Hammerheads a bit responsible. It's a dicey situation with campers, it can be frustrating, but they paid to eat, and at the end of the day it's their decision as to when they want to leave. Discussions on camping seem to often be a lose-lose on here for restaurants. I've seen a lot of people mention how disgusted they were when asked to make room for a waiting table or reservation after camping out for quite a while, and then you get debates like this one.