GoodWood - Eagle and Boise

GoodWood - 2 locations. Eagle & Boise

To make this a fair and comprehensive review, I have to make some comparisons between GoodWood and their newest rival, Dave's Famous Bar-B-Que, which just opened a couple months ago on eagle Road. I will do this first as a review of GoodWood, and then I will list the pros of cons of each. In that way, you can decide which you prefer.

GoodWood has been my favorite Bar-B-Q restaurant here in the Boise area for a long time now. But a couple months ago, they got some competition. Dave's Famous Bar-B-Q. I went to Dave's several times and wrote a review of my experiences. I have since returned to GoodWood.

GoodWoods food is consistently good, which is not something I can say about Dave's. If you want good Brisket, you need to be at GoodWood. Dave's Brisket is tough, fatty and unappetizing.

GoodWood gives off the air of being a good ole Texas Bar-B-Q restaurant. Right down to the roll of paper towels that you will find on each table. Yet they lack some of, what I consider to be, the primary ingredients of such a restaurant. In any good restaurant in Texas, you will find Sweet Tea. Pronounced Swait Tae. GoodWood, like most restaurants in Idaho, seem to have failed Physics class. If they had paid attention in class, they would have learned that sugar just does not dissolve well in cold liquid. If you want good swait tae, you have to mix the sugar in while the tea it is still warm.

Wheres the okra? Another thing you will find in most good Texas restaurants is Fried Okra. If Fried okra is done right, its just about one of the best things you will ever have. Ok, I will admit it. I’m from Texas, so maybe I’m just a tad biased.

The next thing missing is Chicken Fried Steak. GoodWood has Chicken Fried Chicken, which I guess is the northern version of the Texas dish. But this just aint good enough. Com’on guys, if you are going to go Texan, go all the way or not at all.

Ok, now that I got those rants out of the way, lets move on.

GoodWood is as nice and friendly a restaurant as you will run across. The staff is eager to please and very personable. The beans here are my 5 year old daughter’s favorite food. Many bar-b-q restaurants beans taste like modified Pork-n-beans. In fact, I went to one bar-b-q place that will remain nameless.... at least for now, that severed "Ranch Style" beans straight from a can. GoodWoods beans taste like the real thing.

Their sauces are some of the best I’ve ever had. (One word here. Bar-b-q sauces are very high in salt content. How bout some bar-b-q sauce for those of us that are on low salt diets?)

There just is not a whole lot more I can say about GoodWood. Good Food, Excellent Service, Good Variety, Excellent atmosphere. If you are looking for a good all around bar-B-Q place, then GoodWood is for you!

Goodwood
Pros

• Consistent food quality
• Brisket is lean
• Good Sized Portions
• Very Friendly staff

Cons

• No pre-sweetened Iced Tea (Swait Tae)
• No Chicken Fried Steak
• No Fried Okra
• Brisket does not have an ideal smoky flavor

Dave's famous Bar-B-Q
Pros

• Very good selection of bar-b-q sauces
• Sweet Iced Tea (Swait Tae)
• Very good Ribs
• Good menu variety
• Excellent Hamburgers, even if not as described in their menu

Cons

• Food quality is not consistent - hit and miss
• Food is often served in unappetizing clumps
• Brisket is tough and fatty
• Brisket does not have a good Smokey flavor
• Food items are not served as they are advertised on the menu
• Poor Portion size
• Very young inexperienced staff that is not as friendly as they could be