MJ’s Barbeque

It felt good supporting a budding local business, especially since the guy was so nice. We were the only people in the place so he was very attentive. My first choice off the menu wasn’t available but the rack of ribs that ensued was fantastic so I’m not about to complain. The sauce was delicious. I would go back, but I would probably bring some more friends with me to tone down the echo.

Pros: Real fresh fried okra, yummy! BBQ sauce is unique, and I couldn’t get enough of the «hot». MJ is a very kind and funny man. I think he has a good heart.
Cons: Menu was confusing, many items on menu were not available. More expensive than similar BBQ joints in town. My wife and I were only one of two parties in the restaurant and it took 40 minutes to be served. They also forgot the bread on both our meet plates. Brisket was fair, coleslaw tasted store bought. The cook that served us disappeared shortly after we ordered, then reappeared with a couple grocery bags about 25 minutes later… then 15 minutes after that we got our food. Hmmm?

Great BBQ, and MJ is a great host! Non stop joking and interacting with the customers, and makes you feel very welcomed into his restaurant. We both ordered a 2 meat combo, with sides, he took our order, and we paid, then as we were seated MJ came out and asked if we wanted him to just give us a sample of everything. He ended up coming out with 2 plates with meats and 2 sides for each of us. The food was excellent. Hands down one of the best catfish I have had in the Reno area.

I really wasn’t impressed by MJ’s. First off the menu board has no descriptions or pictures. For items like ribs I understand, but for a specialty item like the «oohwee» burger a picture or description would be helpful. Secondly the prices are really steep for a smaller BBQ joint.
Either way I got the pulled pork sandwich and my husband got the burger. It took awhile for it to arrive and we took a seat. The dining room is really awkwardly set up and looks like an outdoor picnic at a park that was thrown together at the last minute. I understand you’re just starting out but if you’re not willing to put time & effort into your menu and dining room, your food better be amazing. Well spoiler alert, it’s not. We paid $ 12 for the burger and it came with no sides. Sure it had a hot link but nothing else spectacular. Also their «spicy» BBQ sauce was watered down, full of seeds and not spicy at all.
I had the pulled pork sandwich which was drowning in overly sweet ketchupy sauce. Honestly it was gross. The buns were def the kind you could get at winco and I’m pretty sure the Mac n cheese was from a box. When I go to a restaurant I expect something better than I could make at home. This was not that. A backyard BBQ would be better. Sorry guys, unless you step it up it doesn’t look good for you.

I like this place. Their brisket was flavorful and very tender. Potato salad, roll and max and cheese all a delight to eat. The minus one star is for the lack of dining room flair. Not their strong point but who cares? They have awesome food.

MJ makes really good food and my friends and I love to go there because it’s delicious. It seems like he doesn’t have very many people on staff, so it takes a little while, but it’s fine because he has video games and nice HD TVs to watch while you wait. He’s a nice guy and usually gives extra helpings of food or freebies.
The only reason I am not giving this place more stars is because when I went yesterday (I had been craving his pulled pork sandwich with some Mac and Cheese and a yummy bun for DAYS), he got my order wrong. As someone who has worked in food service and retail, I understand these things happen (I am guilty of them myself, everybody makes mistakes) and I told him nicely that it wasn’t what I ordered. He seemed kind of upset that I corrected him, and it was an awkward situation. When he remade the food, he took away my bun. :(Those buns are really delicious.
I know it was a one time mistake and I will still recommend his place to my friends and as someone who dislikes BBQ, I cannot get enough of it! The Mac and Cheese is delicious when dipped in the BBQ sauce!

I went here a couple weeks ago with a friend for lunch. There was only one other group of people dining there besides us. We were served by a girl who couldn’t have been older than 13 or 14, and when I asked her a question about the how spicy the spicy bbq sauce/​meat was she didn’t know. She was sweet but seemed a little young and shy to be working the front of a restaurant by herself.
My friend and I both got pulled pork sandwiches and I got mac and cheese as a side. I liked the meat, my friend didn’t. It wasn’t pulled pork though, just chopped pork and the flavor resembled hot dogs. It was different than any other BBQ flavor I have had. The buns seemed store bought and cheap, and the Mac and cheese wasn’t very good, and also looked store bought or like it came from a box. The wait for our food was three times as long as it should’ve been, which didn’t make sense since it wasn’t even near busy. Also, the environment is pretty low budget. There were just picnic tables with plastic table cloths grown over them. However, they did have a big flat screen with the most high definition picture I’ve ever seen on a tv!