So I went back and the new manager did fine. He seemed to be more in the picture, out amongst the customers than in the office and the food and service has gotten better. Alas, a few weeks later he was gone, back up at his old store and things went back to normal in this location. The place is clean and a great staff. It's the style they call ribs and I don't call ribs.
To be fair, as a food, ribs are like opinions and politics and there are plenty of opinions. Sonny preaches his slow fire cooked “Florida” ribs over a open fire. I express it slightly differently; “the ones I had were like a feral pig running through a brush fire” ultimately dying enroute after being burnt to death. This is a management problem and revolves around whether the product has sat for too long and should like some hamburger joints, throw it in the three G's, the gut, let the help eat it, the garbage, or the grinder and stick it in the Chili.
Sometimes I felt I was getting yesterdays ribs. An ex-waitress told me that was possible. I did not want to hear that. Most folks from Alabama, Mississippi, North and South Carolina think these things qualify as pork meat, but not true ribs. Some aficionados’ wouldn’t feed on these ribs. I know I met them at other places like Chilies eating Chili's ribs and Chillis are pure commercial ribs, not a taste of Memphis either.
Avoid the “all you can eat on ribs”. It's hit or miss on the reorder. They do a fairly good job on chicken, if you like a red colored chicken, not me. The pork both pulled and sliced is usually quite nice, they give extra nice size portions of garlic toast, taters, fries and the usual beans, green beans and slaw. Beverages come in huge glasses and if you are a tea drinker ask for half sweet and half un-sweet or no sugar at all. The "Southern Sweet Tea" is a prelude to diabetic coma and way too sweet for me. Tell the girl to make it half and half or put your own sugar in. They now do serve Beer and now a mini-sports bar at this location.
NOTE and SURPRISE: Tampa must be a different management staff. Sonny's does the catering for the Strawberry Festival Media affair held in Plant City usually around March. The food served fresh at this affair was EXCELLENT, top drawer and the same ribs you could choke on at my location were perfect. Like I have stated before, the management makes the difference. believe it!.