We’ve been to Waldo’s plenty of times in the past.  The Web-Op team goes about once every other month.  However, this friday we decided to make it our destination for our end of the week lunch.  It was the same ol’ Waldos experience.

Atmosphere:
Waldos BBQ is located on main street between Val Vista and Green field.  Sharing a wall with the restaurant is a antique store full of tourist impulse buys and other forms of knick knacks.  Give your eyes a few seconds to adjust to the lightening and you’ll be greeted with an array of pig-infused posters decorating the walls.  The posters are country inspired yet give a comedic spin on pigs because you are in fact eating at a restaurant that mostly serves pigs (no pun intended).  The decor is supposed to mimmick a barn interior and it seems some of the patrons take the theme to a whole new level.

Service:
Our server was very prompt with getting our order.  She was quick in asking for our drinks and serving them, then she was quick on asking for our meal order and then promptly server it.  However I think the server was a little bit overwhelmed by the sheer size of our group. There was about 16 of us and near the end of the ordering process you could tell she was ready to get things over with.  I wouldn’t neccesarily say that she was rude but I wouldn’t say that she was nice and friendly either.  Here’s on of the situations:  “I’ll take the large pig with french fries please” and she reponds with “Ok, next.”  She was very short with us and seemed quite irritated at points.  Who knows…maybe she was having a bad day?

Food:
Although not necessarily food, my favorite part of eating at Waldos are the drinks.  They serve all of their teas and soda in mason jars (see attached picture).  These not only give you a great size drink but the glass container gives the extra chill that defines the difference between a aluminum can and a glass bottle.  It’s quite the perfect combination.
For the meal I decided to go with the large pig (pulled pork) and french fries.  The pig was perfectly cut and strung across the large bun but the barbecue sauce soaked through the bun and at times was difficult to pick up due to the soggy nature of the bun.  Regardless of the circumstances that led me to this point, the sandwich was delicious.  The sauce does tend to be a bit runny but the sweet tangy flavor gave my taste buds the bbq experience they really deserved.  For you who want more bbq sauce, Waldos brings out a pan full of more sauce (some dip their fries in it).

closing thoughts:
I enjoy my American home cooked cuisine.  It reminds me of several of my child hood memories back home when I enjoyed the local county fair.  Waldos is also a family friendly environment that is reasonably priced equivalent to other restaurants such as Applebees and Red Robin.  I can defeniently see myself coming back to Waldos a few times before the new year.

Atmosphere:7
Service: 7
Food:8