Who Went: Chelsey & Owen
Number of Visits: 1
What We Ordered: Beef Brisket, Fresh Garden Salad, Hand Pulled Pork, Smashers
What It Cost: Free (was at a catered event), but would have cost $22.68
What We Thought:
If you're going to only have a few things on the menu, those things better be amazing. Wallabys is known for its smoked meat, especially the shredded beef and pork. We sampled their food at Owen's mission reunion, and I have to say, I was pretty disappointed. Maybe it's because I grew up helping my dad with catering events, but I have pretty high expectations for catered food. Catering events are great advertising -- you want your food to be so good that people are intrigued enough to come to your restaurant in the future. There should be great presentation, helpful customer service, and plenty of food.
Wallabys had none of that.
The food was 35 minutes late, and was sloppily thrown into a few heating dishes on a table. They ran out of their famous "smashers" (mashed potatoes but with a cheesy Australian accent) before everyone was able to make it through the line, and if you forgot to try something on your first sampling, forget about seconds. The worst part was that they made it seem like it was our fault, telling people to take smaller amounts of the food so everyone could have some.
The food was okay...the beef brisket was a little too salty for me (sadly, most beef brisket is), but the pork was pretty juicy and tasted good on top of the smashers (for those who were lucky enough to get some). The fresh garden salad with housemade dressing was acceptable -- the lettuce wasn't too wilted but there wasn't anything interesting or unique about the salad toppings.
What You Should Do: Go if you have to. Now that they aren't located in the Alpine Village apartment complex, I don't think that it is worth the drive, but if you happen to be in Lindon, you'll get full and won't feel like you're getting ripped off. The prices are fairly decent and the portion sizes are large, but....the quest for decent barbecue near BYU continues!
I think you should give Wallaby's a second try. Maybe catering isn't their thing, but when I ate at the restaurant, I was dully impressed. I felt like I got enough food that I enjoyed for the price, it was relatively balanced for a cheaper restaurant meal, not to mention that I LOVED the coleslaw (I'm a huge coleslaw geek and I have trouble finding coleslaw that I like) and LOVED the cinnamon butter. Like I licked out the cup it came in.
ReplyDeleteYou should go try it out. I just went there last night and it was SO good! Best BBQ in the Valley, and their rolls and cinnamon butter are delicious!
ReplyDeleteLauren