CJ on BBC: Five yard penalty for unnecessary roughness

[Robin Garr]

Marty is pretty rough on BBC today, despite his kind (and well-deserved) words about the St. Matthews' brewpub's beer. He doles out a two-star rating and judges the fare "lackluster." It's a tough judgement call. I go to BBC fairly often and in fact was just in Thursday night, curiously enough sampling the same two new summer brews he mentioned (Summer Wheat and Vienna) along with a third (the nicely clovey "El Jefe" Weizen), along with some of the usual pub grub, wort hog wings, an Angus burger with blue cheese and a small sausage and garlic pizza.

I was a little disappointed to find that the summer menu has been trimmed back a bit, with some favorites gone for the season. And frankly, in the current iteration of BBC, I generally don't go for the short list of more upscale menu items. Judged as a brewpub, though, which is after all their core mission; and based on the consistent quality of the pub grub items and pizzas, I would keep BBC at three stars.

Five yard penalty to the gentleman at Gannett for unnecessary roughness, and a quiet scolding for bringing the most effete language of old-fashioned wine tasting to beer analysis: "<i>lithe</i> balance"? Heh.

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As I understand the BBC has just hired a new Executive Chef (correct me if I am wrong) and he has barely had time to come in and revamp a whole menu let alone he has several locations to control... jeeezzzz, that's alot of kitchen. I completely agree with you Robin, it is a Brew Pub and I can't complain about the grub, I enjoy the BBC and I am pretty fond of the hummus as an afternoon snack. I have heard that the one on 4th Street is doing quite well considering its rough opening.

You are correct Allison. We have recently gained a new executive chef. Marshall Jewell, formerly of La Peche, joined our staff and has undertaken the rigorous job of overseeing both BBC St. Matthews and BBC on 4th. He joined our St. Matthews staff a little over 2 weeks ago and has done a fantastic job! Once he gets settled in, I am sure that Marshall will be producing another menu update in the Fall or early Winter.

We're thrilled that you enjoy the hummus--its one of our best sellers! Thanks for the support!

Cheers!
Becca at BBC St. Matthews

I would keep BBC at three stars.

I would disagree. The two stars reflect my experiences there with food at least, it was "fair". Not good and not bad I think is a fair assesment. But far from the three star "very good", in my personal opinion.

I'd like to see him review Cumberland. I live pretty much the same distance from both of them and always go to Cumberland. Why? In my opinion everything is better there from the beer to the food being far superior. I'd rate Cumberland with three stars.

Again, this is my opinion but I think most ppl who tried both places several times would agree.

Where's the Cumberland Brews review Marty? Let us see something for comparison!

[Robin Garr]

I'd like to see him review Cumberland. I live pretty much the same distance from both of them and always go to Cumberland. Why? In my opinion everything is better there from the beer to the food being far superior. I'd rate Cumberland with three stars.

I do like Cumberland for the beer, and I've had good food there, although I would paint both with the same brush in terms of "really good bar food." I need to get back to Cumberland, too, being also pretty close to midway between them. Frankly, my main disincentive at Cumberland is just that it's so small, I figure the chances of getting a table are slim. I wouldn't take off from its rating for that, though!

I'm glad to see that there is in fact a new chef at the BBC--even though it seems like it's been a revolving door in the almost ten years I've been here.

Based on the last few times I and my family have been--admittedly prior to the last two weeks--I'd not only agree with Marty's two star review, I'd even agree with the Gannett headline. It was profoundly disappointing the last three times, and that's because we've been going there for years. It's one of the first places my wife and I went when we moved out here, and it's always been one of those default restaurant choices for us. It's been maybe two years since I've had a completely satisfying meal there, but I was willing to let things slide; one or another element might be off, but the rest of the meal would make up for it. But we stopped cold after the last visit.

One issue I've had is, despite the revolving chef door, the basic menu hasn't changed or altered much at all. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, because many of the sandwiches were very good, and the garlic fries with the just-cold-enough ketchup were wonderful. But. With each year, the things that have been staples have gotten less consistent. The last few times, the sandwiches have been soggy and sliding apart, which makes them hard to hold and less than appetizing to eat.

And if the argument is that they're a brewpub and at least the pub grub is still okay, I'll counter with the onion rings. In the past, they've been light and tasty. Our last visit, we took bites out of five rings--all of which looked done--and each time, the ring exploded in a puff of flour and raw onion. I'd almost rather have them overly greasy, at least I'd know they'd been cooked.

What about the rest of the pub grub? The beer cheese served with the pretzels has tasted less and less like beer or cheese of late. Marty's right, the garlic fries have been disappointing for some time, either too soft or too crispy, with room temperature ketchup. (Nothing against room temperature ketchup in general, but the finely chilled ketchup was the perfect accompaniment, and one touch that had set BBC apart for us.) The chicken tenders have been too crunchy for me, let alone my 5 year old who normally loves them. The chili has been bland. And the potato skins vanished from the menu at some point, which is a shame. (Considering the wild inconsistency, maybe it's not a shame...)

The beer has been, still is and likely will be wonderful. For the moment, that's not enough. Beer is indeed food, which I live by in my own kitchen, but it doesn't do much when you're hungry for a meal. I'm glad to see that there's a new executive chef. Maybe he can whip things back into shape. I look forward to finding out.

Frankly, my main disincentive at Cumberland is just that it's so small, I figure the chances of getting a table are slim. I wouldn't take off from its rating for that, though!

Don't forget about the room upstairs, Robin. I go up there quite a bit and never have trouble finding a seat.

You are correct Allison. We have recently gained a new executive chef. Marshall Jewell, formerly of La Peche, joined our staff and has undertaken the rigorous job of overseeing both BBC St. Matthews and BBC on 4th. He joined our St. Matthews staff a little over 2 weeks ago and has done a fantastic job! Once he gets settled in, I am sure that Marshall will be producing another menu update in the Fall or early Winter.

We're thrilled that you enjoy the hummus--its one of our best sellers! Thanks for the support!

Cheers!
Becca at BBC St. Matthews

Your new chef is one of the best. Ms Cary tried to keep him when he left the first time and welcomed him back when he returned. Been a number of places but a definite plus when Cathy Cary wants you as one of the top chefs in her organization.

what happened to jj kingery. i thought he was the chef @ bbc?

Frankly, my main disincentive at Cumberland is just that it's so small

Yes Robin, based on the date of your last review I'm not even sure there upstairs addition was open, I"m always able to get a seat there.

[Robin Garr]

Frankly, my main disincentive at Cumberland is just that it's so small

Yes Robin, based on the date of your last review I'm not even sure there upstairs addition was open, I"m always able to get a seat there.

For the record, I've been back quite a few times since that review, but I don't do a re-review every time I hit a place unless I think things have changed a lot.

I'll say again, I like Cumberland Brews just fine for beer and food.

I"m always able to get a seat there.

you must not be going on Sunday. Half the time I go there on a Sunday I have to leave because there's no place to stand or sit.

I go to Cumberland about every other Sunday. I get a table because I'm there right at 1pm. It's a popular place on Sunday because of the all-day Happy Hour prices on pints.

Cumberland, BBC, Browning's, and NABC all have great beer. It's good to have quality choices.

Tony, I believe JJ moved on a month or so ago from BBC.

For the record, I've been back quite a few times since that review, but I don't do a re-review every time I hit a place unless I think things have changed a lot.


so for the record, did you know they had an upstairs with just as much seating as the downstairs and have you had trouble getting a table there since they opened the upstairs which was 4-5 yrs ago(I'm guessing)?

Also, I applaud the owner of CB. Read something in the paper where he went smokless Jan. 1 of this year because he had a vote of employees and they voted to go smoke free. I think it is admirable that he gave his employees a voice in going smoke free before the official ban went into effect.

That used to be my main complaint at CB, it is small and the heavy smoking took away from the atmosphere, for me anyway.