*3.5 stars*

In the interest of supporting local AZ businesses, my husband and I had dinner here on my b-day (5/13). The first thing I observed is that they have a couple walk-up windows on the southside of the building so you can place your order and get food without having to go inside. Thought that was pretty clever! We arrived close to 8 pm and it was still pretty busy inside, but the line moved quickly. 

The restaurant is set up cafeteria style with a kitschy country look. There is a huge mural on one wall dedicated to farm living and a John Deere tractor with accompanying bric-a-brac on the other side. Once we got through the line, I choose the meat plate with 2 sides...beef brisket and pulled pork for my meats, mac 'n' cheese and beans for my sides. I really wanted to get chicken instead of the pork, but they had unfortunately run out of chicken :( . My hubby got the full slab of pork ribs with sweet cut corn and mac 'n' cheese for his sides. We shared a piece of cornbread and for dessert, split the root beer cake. Happily I received a discount on my meal because it was my birthday (they advertise a "free" meal, though it's basically $10 off).

The beef brisket and pulled pork were so good! Tender, juicy, and delicious! Those meats really are the best reason to go Joe's. The beans and mac 'n' cheese were just ok...so far Fleming's beats everyone hands down when it comes to mac 'n' cheese! The cornbread was so-so, tasted like it came from a box, but the honey butter that comes with it made it pretty tasty. Regrettably, my husband's pork ribs were pretty fatty as compared to Lucille's (Tempe Marketplace). The root beer cake was good, but not as delectable as we thought it would be. Maybe we were expecting too much after reading how much fellow Yelpers enjoyed it? Another thing worth mentioning (some others have commented on it too) is how strange the beverage station is. It's smack dab at the front of the line where you get your food so you have to fight your way through the crowd (if there is one) to get a refill. Weird.   

To conclude, Lucille's is still our #1 favorite place for BBQ, but we would still go to Joe's again.