950 Glendale Ave
Sparks, NV 89431
775-355-1227

Local Reviews
for sparks, nv

Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars based on 374 customer reviews

Map of Sparks NV

Bad food, warm beer, lousy service...



...but a five-star rating?? Okay, I admit it, that headline was clickbait. As it turns out, Clay and his staff could not have been more accommodating and the food could not have been more delicious. We opted for the brisket for our company Christmas party and it was outstanding, as was the mac and cheese. Cornbread was...well...cornbread, but that's not why you eat there. What took the award for best food though was, hands-down, the beans. They were hearty, with giant chunks of meat, and the flavor was mind bending. My 3.5-year-old and my 17-month-old ate more of those than they did the desserts and the amazing thing is that beans are usually the only thing they DON'T eat at home. Great job. One metric by which BBQ joints are assessed is by the sauces. Carolina offers four (if memory serves - perhaps it was five) and all are on point. The habanero hot is not super hot, which I appreciated because some places aim specifically to light your hindquarters ablaze, nor was it too "habanero-y," which I also appreciated because that is just not a pepper whose flavor I enjoy. Frankly, it was probably my favorite of the bunch. I mentioned beer, and that "warm beer" thing was only partially untrue. As a beer geek I appreciate that it wasn't served so cold that I had to wait 10 minutes to drink it. As with anything, when beer is served ice cold, it numbs the taste buds and the only beer you want do to that with is crappy beer...so you can't taste it... The extensive selection of craft beer (Founder's Curmudgeon's Better Half?!?) was impressive and my less sophisticated friends appreciated the presence of at least one tap of basic PBR. Friendly and prompt, the staff were all outstanding, hence the high rating. My only knock would be that the restroom on the bar side is a bit, shall we say, run down. Not dirty, just worn. However, I know the history of that building and it was not well maintained for many years. As a small business owner myself, I also know that margins are pretty thin and rehabilitating a facility is often not at all worth the cost and so long as it is functional, you keep it that way and just manage the best that you can. If you're one who evaluates restaurants based on bathrooms as some are wont to do, you might skip this place, but that would be a terrible mistake. Everything else is clean and well maintained and the food is dynamite. Thanks to everyone for a wonderful time and we'll see you in the future!