Lucille's Smokehouse

Lucille's Smokehouse
12624 North Main Street
Rancho Cucamonga, CA, 91739

Lucille's Smokehouse is the Cheesecake Factory of barbecue. It's always crowded, the portions are big, the prices are higher than average, and, while the food is decent, there is nothing special about it, and certainly nothing special enough to justify the crowds.

There are several things I really like about Lucille's: their "Memphis BBQ sauce" is very good, their Dixie egg rolls (chicken, andouille sausage, corn, greens and cheese) are a great appetizer, their shoestring fries are cooked perfectly, and their Ball jars of sweet iced tea are a nice touch. But they miss on the big stuff. Their meat has no smoke ring and more often than not needs to be drenched in sauce for moisture. The buns they use for their sandwiches aren't always fresh, and I won't even go into the time I paid $2.95 for an ear of sweet corn that was charred black on the outside and frozen inside.

Pictured above are a ham sandwich that they claim is marinated in Coca Cola and molasses (but had no real flavor) and a pulled pork sandwich. I had to add plenty of sauce to both.

So, I guess, like most barbecue chains, it's hit and miss on what you get and when you go. That's not the kind of place I like to wait an hour to eat at.