Cafe La Crumbs
327 Union Street
Date Inspected: 11/23/2010
Score: 97

CALS COUNTRY KITCHEN
222 WOODRUFF
Date Inspected: 12/2/2010
Score: 95

Calypso Cafe East
301 Gallatin Road
Date Inspected: 12/15/2010
Score: 91

Carolyns Homestyle Kitchen
1305 Jefferson St.
Date Inspected: 12/20/2010
Score: 95

Farmers Deli & Grill
900 Rosa Parks Blvd.
Date Inspected: 12/23/2010
Score: 95

Fletchers Pizza
2715 Old Lebanon Rd
Date Inspected: 12/20/2010
Score: 96

H & T Homecooking
2371 Murfreesboro Road
Date Inspected: 12/9/2010
Score: 95

Hardees
400 South Cartwright
Date Inspected: 12/15/2010
Score: 94

Jersey Mikes
211 Union Street
Date Inspected: 12/7/2010
Score: 96

LAS MARCAS
2704 GALLATIN RD
Date Inspected: 11/29/2010
Score: 96

LAS PALMAS
1400 ANTIOCH PKE
Date Inspected: 11/29/2010
Score: 99

OPRYLAND FINDLEYS PUB
2800 OPRYLAND DR
Date Inspected: 11/18/2010
Score: 93

OPRYLAND OLD HICKORY STEAKHOUSE
2800 OPRYLAND DR
Date Inspected: 11/18/2010
Score: 95

OPRYLAND PAISONAS
2800 OPRYLAND
Date Inspected: 11/18/2010
Score: 92

Shadowbrook
5397 Rawlings Road
Date Inspected: 12/7/2010
Score: 99

Sonic Drive-In
3904 Dickerson Road
Date Inspected: 12/8/2010
Score: 95

Steak & Pizza
1102 Gallatin Road
Date Inspected: 12/21/2010
Score: 93

Stones River Cafe
3055 Lebanon road
Date Inspected: 12/15/2010
Score: 90

Taco Bell
4300 Harding Road
Date Inspected: 12/14/2010
Score: 94

Thai Taste
395 Haywood Lane
Date Inspected: 12/15/2010
Score: 90

The Melting Pot
166 2nd Avenue North
Date Inspected: 12/17/2010
Score: 91

The Rawlings
5395 Rawlings Road
Date Inspected: 12/9/2010
Score: 99

Zackies
1201 5th Avenue North
Date Inspected: 12/9/2010
Score: 99

Low Scores:

EMPANADAS MARIA ISABLE MOBILE UNIT
5200 NOLENSVILLE RD
Date Inspected:  12/3/2010
Score: 54
Major Violations:
* MEATS STORED AT IMPROPER TEMPERATURES
* UNABLE TO SANITIZE DISHES
* PREPARING FOOD IN UNAPPROVED KITCHEN

Uno Billiard & Cafe
617 Millwood
Date Inspected:  12/10/2010
Score: 55
Major Violations:
* Employee smoking inside bar area
* Mice droppings observed in kitchen area
* Water not hot enough at hand sink in bar

Always on the look out for good BBQ joints, my husband and I decided to try Judge Beans last night. The restaurant sits right off of Church Street in Brentwood, across the street from Royal Thai. If you aren’t paying attention when you drive by, you’ll easily miss it. When we got out of the car, the air was filled with the smell of charcoal, wood smoke, and smoked pork – all good signs. When we walked in my first thought was, “this place should be on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives because it’s definitely a dive.” For some reason the best BBQ spots are usually dives so the ambiance just added to the anticipation for me.

We ordered the Sampler Platter with Cowboy beans so would get a little taste of everything. The sampler included ribs, hot  wings, smoked sausage, shrimp diablo, brisket and a side of your choice for 18.50. This was plenty of food for two people to split for dinner. Unfortunately I was so excited when the server brought us the platter, I forgot to take a picture of it. Trust me, it was piled high.

• Ribs – Tender with just enough sauce on the outside to give it a tangy smoky flavor.
• Brisket – Nice smoke ring, tender
• Hot Wings – probably my favorite. Had a smoked taste that wasn’t overwhelming. Perfectly seasoned.
• Smoked Sausage – Had an authentic smoked taste – could have been cooked a little longer
• Shrimp Diablo – HOT, HOT, HOT – smoked shrimp with stuffed in a cheese filled jalapeno pepper wrapped in bacon. I probably could have done without this one. Generally I love anything wrapped in bacon but the taste was drowned out by the heat.
• Cowboy Beans – These were great. They reminded me of mexican charro beans. There were well seasoned and the spices blended well.
• Hush Puppies and Texas Toast

Overall, our food was pretty good. The only complaint I had was that some of the items on our sampler were barely warm when they got to our table.  The table contained two different sauces, both of which had strong vinegary smokey (maybe liquid smoke) flavor. Something in the sauces didn’t work for me. They were so strong that they overwhelmed whatever you put them on.

We’ve committed to going to back sometime soon to try some other things on the menu but our first trip was promising. Judge Beans might replace Martin’s as our favorite BBQ spot.