Churchville Inn Southampton

"Good food for a tavern, BBQ good but Rib Experts Could be disappointed. OK I'll be honest, I am a BBQ snob. I am from the South, worked my way through College as a chef, own a restaurant, and make my own competition grade BBQ on my smoker at home. I know what I am talking about here.

I was looking for the best BBQ ribs in Bucks county because it was my birthday and I didn't want to cook (and I live in Bucks County). After many reviews and recommendations we decided to check out the Churchville Inn. I went for the all you can eat Ribs and Chicken special on Wed Night.

First the chicken. BBQ chicken is the easiest and most fool-proof meat to barbecue. This is not barbecued chicken, it's oven roasted chicken with BBQ sauce. I was disappointed because the chicken did not taste all that fresh and had been dusted with something that tasted strongly of sage (probably poultry seasoning) and had been over-glazed with their KC style sauce. It was all you can eat and I didn't finish the first piece and didn't ask for more. But then again, the Ribs are what I came for.

The Ribs. Right off, these may indeed be the best ribs in Bucks County, They are pretty tasty for restaurant ribs and they do a lot of things right here. They do not seem to be smoked, but unless you have a pit out back, most restaurants don't smoke their ribs. The pork in the ribs was indeed fall-off-the bone tender (with a little fork pressure as it should be). Most importantly the meat was more moist than most restaurant ribs, but not as moist as dry-rubbed, basted, competition style ribs. I could taste the pork (with some difficulty because the sauce is strong) and it was somewhat flavorful but I would kick it up with a dry rub to get more flavor in the meat itself if it were me.

Now the sauce. OK I know it's a matter of taste, however the sauce here is a sticky very sweet tomato based sauce in the Kansas City style. As KC sauces goes, this one was very sweet, with almost no heat. To me it tasted like a jar of Open Pit BBQ sauce, doctored with French dressing, maybe a hint of mustard with a too-strong influence of cinnamon. The flavor was very sweet, somewhat tangy and very strong (overpowering the pork taste). The sauce and the pork should marry and enhance but not mask the pork flavor.

Sadly in the restaurant biz, you sometimes have to give the public what they are expecting and not necessarily what would be the "best". 80-90% of the average public would think these were great ribs. Hence the good reviews and best in Bucks County reputation. Indeed they are the best commercial ribs I have tasted in Bucks county. But to Rib experts, they would not be the best in any county south of the Mason-Dixon line.

The Mrs. had clam chowder and crab stuffed mushrooms. The clam chowder was New England style, plenty of clams, tasty (a little salty). For the mushrooms, the Crab had been frozen and was therefore watery. This made the texture and taste mediocre. Otherwise they were a passing grade. The bread served was very fresh, crusty on the outside, tender on the inside. A good compliment with the clam chowder.

Inside the Inn, it was clean and the decor was typical with dark wood straight back booths (without padding) dated (but not antique) carpet and lights. The server was personable , attentive, and gave useful recommendations. This place has a large and active bar. TV Monitors stream sports with extra monitors in the dining room. Probably a great place to see "the game". Beer and Wine were $6.

Overall a decent casual dining experience and not too fancy. Nice local Inn atmosphere. The BBQ was the reason I went and even though I admit I am a Q snob, I ordered and enjoyed seconds on the Ribs. Not the best I ever had, but the best I can find locally on a Wed night, without doing it myself. Price wise it seems just a bit high for the quantity and quality of the food but not too bad either. I will go back again.