Burnt Fork BBQ in Decatur

Burnt Fork BBQ in Decatur has been open for about a month now. Seems the place had been on the verge of opening for a while now, and it's nice to see them open and busy now in a rather uninspiring section of Church Street in Decatur. Seems it's difficult these days to walk a block or two in Decatur or Atlanta and not run into a new BBQ joint (or burger or pizza joint for that matter), but nonetheless, Burnt Fork is a welcome addition.

I stopped in for a couple lunches recently and have been unfortunately uninspired by the food. I hesitate to use this blog to post negative experiences with food. I mean, who the hell am I anyway? But, when a restaurant has a few obvious misses, I take notice. Burnt Fork has a nice vibe; the staff are attentive, the place is cozy, and the menu is loaded with options. The problem is the food; it just doesn't taste that good.

Recently, in one seating, I tried another Cuban, a Korean beef taco, and a pulled pork plate with macaroni and cheese and cole slaw on the side. Across the board, the food was lacking in flavor and personality.

The Cuban sandwich was served on bread that had already passed crunchy on its way to hard, and the stuffing of the sandwich just tasted tired. There was none of that bold and tangy punchyness that one looks for in a Cuban. It was a bit on the dry side, too.

The pulled pork plate featured a rather small serving of pulled pork for the $12.95 lunch asking price (can't help but make comparisons with Community BBQ which is less than a mile up the road from Burnt Fork). However, the price wouldn't be a deal breaker if the pork actually tasted good. It was quite possibly the least flavorful pulled pork I've had in a while, which includes my own hack jobs on my Green Egg in the back yard. Sorry, that's just the truth. The sides that came with the pork were flat out misses. Mac & Cheese that was utterly lacking in cheesy-buttery goodness (think insipidly flavorless noodles), and cole slaw that I think someone forgot to dress 'cause I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to be served a bowl of plain shredded cabbage.

The Korean Beef taco was tasty, at least it had more flavor than anything else I ordered that day. Still, it wasn't anything I'd go out of my to get, and at $3.50, it's not a great deal in the world of three-bite tacos.

The Burnt Fork space is funky and laid back. It's certainly a spot where I'd like to hang out and get my fingers dirty on BBQ while throwing back a few cold ones. However, the food needs some tweaking first.