102 Martinsburg Ave
Gordonsville, VA 22942
Phone:(540) 832-0227
Open 8am-11PM
There are
plenty of places to get ordinary quality food in Central Virginia, but we hope you will
find few meals as disappointing as the meal we ate at The Barbeque Exchange in
Gordonsville recently. If your
standards for Barbeque are very low, or if you are friendly with the owner, you
might actually write a positive review.
The Barbeque Exchange is
easy to find on Rt. 15 on the right as you come into Gordonsville from Zion
Crossroads or Interstate 64. If you eat
outside on the porch, you may catch some diesel exhaust from trucks in the
parking lot. On May 25, 2013, two of
us found the food to be unpalatable, though (with one exception) not quite
inedible.
All of the
“hot” food we ate was served in a lukewarm condition -- and on the cool
side of lukewarm at that. The lukewarm
Beef Brisket was slightly too chewy.
The Pulled Pork Barbeque was served rather too far toward the cold side
of lukewarm, and worse, it was served on a semi-stale roll that had been
neither steamed, nor warmed nor toasted.
It should be
unnecessary to point out that holding meat on a serving line at a lukewarm
temperature is a dramatic violation of basic sanitary procedure that the
proprietor should correct immediately.
Perhaps investing in a few instant read thermometers for the serving
line would the servers keep serving temperatures of the pulled pork and brisket
in the “safe” range.
Re-chilling and
then re-heating leftover meats that were held at a lukewarm temperature on the
previous night, might actually be a health hazard. I am sure it is something the Louisa County Health Inspector may
check before long.
As for the
coleslaw at The Barbeque Exchange, the cabbage had been chopped chunky instead
of being shredded, and … the dressing had scarcely any flavor.
The lukewarm
collard greens, which we love when done right (and which are hard to ruin), had
not been stewed long enough to create a suave mix of cooked greens and smoked
pork flavors in the pot likker. Worse,
one of the two servings we ordered had
plenty of grit (it was dirt, not salt or pepper, just gritty dirt or sand)
throughout one portion, indicating it had not been properly washed. Very little pot likker was served in the
cups. The hushpuppies, though tasty,
had cooled off before they were served.
We don’t balk at eating cold hushpuppies, but generally we save cold
hushpuppies for a dog we love. The Mac
and Cheese, recommended by a friend as outstanding, was served on the cold side
of lukewarm and had congealed to a stiff consistency when it should have been
creamy.
One element of
our experience at Gordonsville’s
Barbeque Exchange stood out as substantially less than lukewarm, however: the
level of hospitality from the cashier and the servers was impolite, unhelpful,
downright rude and could even fairly be called teenage-snotty. We had to carry a bottle of that good cane
sugar Dominion Ginger Ale back inside to get it opened.
That Dominion
Ginger Ale was the only thing we really liked.
We ate on the
porch on a Saturday night watching a gorgeous sunset over the Southwestern
Mountains. The Barbeque Exchange wasn’t
that busy, though a fairly large party of what seemed to be Mennonite farmers
and their bonneted wives just leaving as we came in.
The lukewarm
undercooked brisket at The Barbeque Exchange was actually slightly tough, and
we felt the slices were a bit too thick.
There were no burnt ends, and there was no smoky exterior crust. Worse, the brisket was so lacking in flavor
that we thought it might have been stewed before it was smoked. There was no fat on the brisket’s exterior,
and none on the interior neither. Only
the cheapest leanest old cows have that kind of brisket. Fat augments flavor. The pulled pork barbeque at The Barbeque
Exchange also lacked flavor, perhaps for the same reason.
We wondered why
the Barbeque Exchange enjoys such a good reputation, and concluded that, after
all, it is pretty much the only restaurant within a ten mile radius. The table sauces were fair.
We’ve had much
better barbeque recently, and truly outstanding sides at The Hogshead Café on
Broad Street in Richmond’s West End, where the Hogshead, the service is also
outstanding (and friendly) – and you can get a fabulous freshly-made limeade.
The good people at The Barbeque
Exchange in Gordonsville have a lot to learn, especially in the basic areas of
hospitality and serving hot food at a hot temperature. A bun steamer on the kitchen line might help. The ribs might have been better
than the brisket or the pulled pork, but after an experience like ours, well …
Would you hurry back any
time soon?
Despite all
this, we are glad there’s a restaurant in Gordonsville.
It’s been
awhile.
