The south end of Park Street has been seeing some new businesses sprout up recently, including JB’s Eat-A-Bite BBQ, which opened in the winter. It took over for the space once occupied by Mario’s Pizza and is adjacent to 7-Eleven.
The menu is full of wonderful southern items, from chicken gizzards to frog legs to candied yams. Of course, it has the staples, many of which are found in the sandwich section.
The BBQ pork shoulder ($5.99) was my favorite. It was tangy, tender and had just the right amount of fat. That made the BBQ beef brisket ($5.99) surprising, as it didn’t have any gristle and was a bit tougher than I would expect. Even without the right texture, the right flavor was still there. I also had the chopped steak burger ($6.99; it’s actually in patty form) and adored it. I was pleasantly surprised how tasty this was–it was a like super soft sirloin steak.
From the “single orders” section I had the macaroni & cheese ($2.49), which was fairly ho-hum, and the alligator bites, which were fine on their own but needed some kind of dipping sauce.
The catfish fillets ($9.99), found on the dinner menu, were crispy yet moist. They were good straight up, though I added some hot sauce. The accompanying cornbread was disappointing, however, as it was dry and didn’t taste like or resemble cornbread.
Last but not least, the ribs ($17.99 for a full rack). You could taste the smokiness of the ribs through the tangy sauce. I appreciated that there was plenty of meat on the bones. It wasn’t fall-of-the-bone good, but these are still worth a try.
JB’s Eat-a-Bite is open Tuesday-Sunday for dine-in or carryout. I recommend calling ahead, as sometimes they are out of ribs.
The accompanying sides were a mixed bag. The coleslaw was dry, the potato salad was straight out of a container, the baked beans were surprisingly tasty despite looking like refried beans and the corn bread had no firmness (it broke apart too easily) but was still enjoyable.
