The reviews swinging across the spectrum just goes to show good 'que is all about the taste of the person judging it. I'd hazard a guess that restaurant reviewers like Bon Appetite etc wouldn't know what "we" consider good if it bit 'em in the arse. Kind of like a french chef reviewing a mexican place. What the heck would he know about Carnitas? Also, don't forget that you can
buy good reviews from many mags and tv shows with Ad dollars.
The other thing that we've found is it's really,really hard to eat restaurant bbq after A. Judging and eating some of the top stuff in the world. B.Cooking our own. C. Having been in the food business in past years. And finally, measuring it against some fantastic places like Q to U and others in many different states. Q to U is one of a
short list of places that doesn't cook "production" bbq like the chain restaurants do (famous daves,corky's,sonny's etc) and that's why it stays on the top of our short list of AZ bbq though I do have to admit we haven't gotten down to Tucson to bug Mark yet (sorry old friend) but it
is on the list.
As for snobby or arrogant owners or cooks, I've got no time for 'em and will not patronize places that have 'em. When you don't care about the customer or think you're doing
them a favor by allowing them to eat your food it usually suffers badly and the place won't last.