As you drive into the middle of a residential Roxborough neighborhood, just north of Manayunk’s Main Street, you can begin to smell the charcoal burning and sweet barbecue brewing on a warm afternoon. If you follow your nose, it’ll take you to the middle of a stone courtyard where you’ll find an old converted garage and spot signs for Deke’s Bar-B-Que.
Grab a seat a booth or picnic table while you soak up the Southern fare and ambiance. If you’ve planned accordingly, you can tempt yourselves with a very affordable $12 BBQ buffet from Thursdays through Sundays. The buffet typically includes a couple meats and a few sides that vary each day. To top off the deal, you can add a half-rack of finger stickin’ ribs for an additional $8.
If you’re not feeling all-you-can-eat indulgent, there are plenty of (still indulgent) a la carte options. A great deal is the signature chicken & rib combo, which includes half smoked chicken, half rack of ribs, potato wedge fries, classic coleslaw and a piece of cornbread. It’s recommended to feed two, but hey, who said it can’t feed a hungry one!
There are salads and barbecue sandwiches that all happen to be good. (Plus: vegetarian options!) A flavorful favorite is the Fat Dude sandwich that has a little bit of everything: brisket, pork AND sausage topped with cheese, onions and bbq sauce. Or enjoy their “2 for Tuesday” sliders special every week. Of the sides, the mac and cheese is hands down the winner, but they’re all true Southern star-quality that you can depend on here.
Wash it all down with a bucket o’ pounder beers or some sweet, tasty mason jar cocktails. Find classics, such as Dark & Stormy, or a whiskey-based Rocky Top with housemade bitters. Come on Thursdays for their all-day 2-for-1 mason jar special. Of course, what kind of place would it be if there wasn’t also a generous whiskey list.
We would love to beg them to open for lunch, though, upon speaking to Deke’s wife, they want to hold onto the integrity of their smoked meats made fresh daily. With only so many hours in the day, the meats wouldn’t properly be ready for lunch (unless they didn’t sleep). So we can respect their dedication to maintaining quality over quantity. After all, that’s why we love small businesses!
P.S. The place is cash only, but there’s an ATM inside.
