Sweet Cheeks Q

LOCATION: 1381 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02215 TYPE OF FOOD: Barbeque (the name of this place kind of throws you off, doesn't it?) REVIEW: We all have heard of the Bravo reality show Top Chef, one of the most brilliant shows on television currently. The idea is having a group of professional chefs compete against one another in a series of creative competitions to see who will come out on top. Many contestants have gone on and have never been heard of again, but a lucky few have actually become famous in their right. One of those contestants is Tiffani Faison, who placed second in Top Chef's first season. After placing, she worked in Todd English's brasserie in New Orleans before coming to Boston and opening Sweet Cheeks Q (not the greatest name I've ever heard of, honestly, it's like calling your diner America's D), her first restaurant. And I walked right past it. Yep, I walked right past it and I made this review as a joke. So you all can get on home- okay, I'll get to the review. I used my two femurs, patellas, tibias and fibulas to find a seat and look at the menu. As any reader of this blog would know, I am usually a pretty healthy human being, always finding the tastiest, healthiest option and deciding that to eat. So as you might imagine I might have gotten some chicken and greens or something and called it a day. And since I tricked you so cleverly the last time (I know, I know, I'm brilliant), I will not try again to ruin such a perfect record that I established. I chose the rib platter aka a half rack of red meat (dun dun dun). The platter came with two sides, so I went with collard greens and a carrot and raisin salad. One note: I really, really, really hate American Southern side dishes. I mean, really hate. I mean, REALLY HATE. I MEAN, RRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL-okay, you get the point. The ribs were literally fall-of-the-bone. The first bite I took stripped all of the meat off the bone. And it was DEELISHOUS. They did not have much fat to them, and they were cooked perfectly with a great dry rub. Seriously, it was very good eating, and despite the nutrition not being on-par (what can you expect with "The Other White Meat: The Best Piece of Nutritional Propaganda Since Those Corn Guys With That Completely Baseless 'Sweet Surprise' Campaign"? Seriously, I die a little every time I see those ads.), I ate those seven ribs with satisfaction. Next came the side dishes. I tried the collard greens first and my predictions came true: I couldn't even eat one bite. I'm not exactly sure what was in them but they were sweet, not what I was expecting at all. I spat it out. Next came the salad, and guess what: I really, really liked it. The salad had a vinegar-based dressing or a vinaigrette which gave a nice savory taste to it. The carrots had a good crunch with the raisins giving an added bit of sweetness which complemented the other components nicely. Nuts (I believe they were walnuts) also complemented the dish perfectly which added a (of course) great nutty taste. (insert long sentence involving an intricate description of walking here; seriously, isn't that a bit cliched?) SERVICE: The service was, as perfectly usual, friendly, patient and quick. My waitress seemed to be in her twenties (but I am a horrible judge of age), and seemed to know what she was doing. All in all, the service did extremely well. But what do I know? I'm a horrible judge of what's hip, what's out, video games, cars, architecture, fashion, sports and cellular phones. Maybe I shouldn't be saying that when I am a critic. Well, it's on the Internet now, and whatever is on the Internet is permanent and factual. That I learned in fifth grade health class. ATMOSPHERE: Where to begin? The atmosphere was very unique, almost on the border of overwhelming. There was a large photo on the wall of a guy eating, but why it was there is beyond me. Also present was Restaurant Cliche #32: Having multiple televisions turned on to sport channels while blasting music (seriously, tell me you haven't see that before). The restaurant also had many (what I assume) rusty scales all about the place which I found unique but odd. Perhaps the biggest, most confusing things for me was in the bathroom. The first was the stringing of Christmas lights all about the walls (keep in mind this is June, people), and I don't just me a fragment on one wall, I mean two or three strands all around the walls. But the single most confusing thing about the restaurant was this: a merchandiser that wasn't a game distributing toys inside of plastic Easter eggs. A number of questions with this: what does a toy distributer have to do with the American South? Why of all places do you put the distributer in the bathroom? Wouldn't it make more sense to put it by the front door? In fact, why have it at all? It's just a distraction, so why? In fact, that is the six words that describe this restaurant's atmosphere: "It's just a distraction, so why?" Period. PRICE: The platter, meat and sides, was twenty-two dollars in total. The quality was consistent throughout with very good portions (they do not lie when they say it's meant for a whole meal for one person). Although one of the sides was bad, they gave me quite a bit of it, and I admire that. While twenty-two dollars might be pricy for some, I conclude that this meal is perfectly worth the price at Sweet Cheeks. Q. R. S. T. U. V. W. X. Y. Z. And now I know my ABCs. :) That's a smiley face. I'm hip. RATING: Sweet Cheeks Q is a bit of an enigma, and I'm having a tough time deciding how to grade it. Let's look at the pros first: the portions are generous, but not overwhelming, the service decent, the price matching well and the food for the most part good. The cons are that the service is just decent, nothing remarkable, the food has some flaws and the atmosphere is just plain inconsistent. I did enjoy the atmosphere though, but it just doesn't make sense with the theme of the restaurant. I am going to give Sweet Cheeks Q (I know this is a nitpick, but I can't get past the "Q" at the end of that, either say "Sweet Cheeks" or "Sweet Cheeks Barbeque", but once again it's a nitpick, I'm not going to hold it against the restaurant) a three out of five, but in a different way than usual. It's not a bad restaurant, it just has some flaws, and one I would love to go back to again (like how I felt about The Hunger Games). Some may disagree with me, based on their own experiences or what I said in the review, but I am going to stand by my rating. Sweet Cheeks Q gets a (good) three out of five.