Photo by Amy Smotherman Burgess // Buy this photo
Jim N Nick's Bar-B-Q restaurant on Lovell Road, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010. Ruby Tuesday has branched outside of its core restaurant brand with a licensing agreement it signed with Alabama-based restaurant which opened in Knoxville last month at the former Ruby Tuesday on Lovell Road.
Critic's star breakdown
- Food: 4
- Service: 4
- Atmosphere: 3.5
- Overall: 4
Honestly, I didn’t pay much attention to the arrival of Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q a few months back. Between Nick & J’s and Sam & Andy’s and Marlin & Ray’s, Jim ‘N Nick’s sort of blended right in to Knoxville’s sea of male-moniker restaurants. In addition, Knoxville really needed another barbecue place, right?
But after hearing positive reports about the Alabama-based franchise, which took over a one-time Ruby Tuesday shell on Lovell Road, The Grub Spouse and I dropped in for a weeknight dinner and discovered much more than we had expected. For starters, Jim ‘N Nick’s offers full bar service, including domestic and imported beers, signature cocktails and even some moonshine-inspired libations.
We had ‘cue on the brain, however, so we spent more time studying a menu that revolves around meats that are slow-smoked over sweet hickory and cooked with low heat. The daily selections include pulled pork, chicken, beef brisket, turkey breast, pork links and even ham. Each item is presented on its own, along with a choice of a dozen trimmings such as baked beans, potato salad, mac and cheese, creamed spinach, cinnamon apples, slow-cooked collard greens and onion rings.
Photo by Amy Smotherman Burgess
The "Pitmaster" plate is ready to be served at Jim N Nick's Bar-B-Q restaurant on Lovell Road, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010.
The Spouse and I figured we could cover the most territory by ordering two of Mr. Jim’s Deluxe Combos. The Spouse got The Rib & Meat Combo — four ribs (The Spouse went with spare over baby back) and a choice of another meat, which in our case was pulled pork. Cole slaw and mac and cheese were chosen as the two sides. I went all out with The Pitmaster’s Plate — three ribs (I took up the baby back slack) and a choice of three other meats. I ordered the smoked chicken, beef brisket and pork links as well as baked beans and potato salad as sides.
Given the size of our impending feast, we skipped over appetizers like barbecue nachos, Buffalo wings and bite-size spare ribs, but we did get immediate gratification from a basket of three-cheese biscuits. Resembling muffins more than biscuits, these warm, fluffy and cheesy gnoshables had a slightly sweet flavor as well and were a nice warm-up.
For all you contrarians who insist on going to a barbecue restaurant and ordering something other than barbecue, Jim ‘N Nicks’ menu features a half-dozen entree salads, several baked potatoes, grilled chicken and steaks, chicken tenders, catfish and an extensive selection of sandwiches (with barbecued meats and without) and burgers.
Since the smoked meats are essentially cooked already, we didn’t wait too long before our orders arrived in a fusillade of platters and side dishes. Overall, I would say the quality of the barbecue is certainly above average, although some items stood out more than others.
Photo by Amy Smotherman Burgess
Megan Bailey serves lunch at Jim N Nick's Bar-B-Q restaurant on Lovell Road, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010.
I actually liked the spare ribs more than the baby back ribs. I wouldn’t put either at the top of my “favorite ribs” list, but both varieties were amply meaty and separated easily from the bone, making them definitely worth the effort. The pulled pork and pulled chicken were both satisfying, and my least favorite item was the beef brisket, which seemed excessively fatty, even for brisket. Unexpectedly, the hands-down winner was the links, which delivered a winning combo of smoke-enhanced pork flavor.
Jim ‘N Nick’s homemade desserts are also worth the trip. The slices of thick-and-rich chocolate and coconut pies we ordered helped push this new barbecue restaurant toward the head of the ‘cue.
© 2011, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Comments » 3
D_in_10 writes:
So, how much was it??$??
steveald writes:
One has to wonder if they knew you were coming. We've tried them twice. And, each time, we noted how slow the service was. On our second visit, instead of receiving our food after a lengthy wait, we were informed that they were out of one of their main menu items which one of us had ordered - during peak dinner time. So we changed the order to another item they are known for. After a while, we were informed that they were out of that as well. So, we ended up with the brisket. We also had to tell them that everyone's food should arrive at the same time. When we requested a manager, we got two. The elder one did nothing but make excuses about how they are limited to what they prepare each day. To his credit, the younger one stuck around to make sure we got everything we needed and ended up comping the entire table. The brisket was "okay".
bob writes:
Dear Grub Scout: How much money did Ruby Tuesdays pay you to write a favorable write up of Jim and Nicks? Seriously, the BBQ at Jim and Nicks is disgusting! The BBQ sauce at Jim and Nicks is the most bland, tasteless bbq I have ever had. The Jim n Nicks sauce is basically ketchup and water. The sausage that the Grub Scout mentioned is INEDIBLE. If you want some honest to goodness Memphis BBQ(ya'll know Jim n Nicks is a franchise from Alabama), head around the corner to Archers BBQ on Kingston Pike, across the street from Sam and Andys. They are a local independent bbq place started in Tennessee by Tennesseans!
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