Low Tide at Highwaters Grill

Highwaters Grill, located on Mill Run Road (RT 381) between Mill Run and Ohiopyle would appear to be a winning concept. Casual barbecue located a few miles from one of the highest volume rafting rivers in the country seems like it should be a sure bet, but the only winners here are the owners at the expense of the customers. My first stop at this restaurant was for some quick take out on my way home one evening from Falls City Pub. The menu was a rather confusing chalkboard located to the side of the ordering window. I ordered a half rack of ribs ($12.50) and was informed that a choice of two sides were included. When I inquired what sides were available, I was told rather rudely to “look at the menu”. Now, if there were a dozen sides offered or if there were other people in line waiting to place orders, I could understand a bit of impatience on the part of the employee. However, only five sides were listed and there was no one else waiting. Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.Would it really be too much to expect the girl to simply say “corn, slaw, fries, onion rings, or beans”? Anyway, the order arrived in a flash and I was off to home with the ribs, corn on the cob and cole slaw. The ribs were slathered with a nondescript commercial sauce, the brand of which I couldn’t identify. The ribs appeared to cooked okay, but were oddly lacking in taste. I thought at the time perhaps they were simply overpowered by the sauce. The corn was fresh and sweet, but I found the slaw to be as tasteless as the ribs. I was willing to cut some slack on the slaw as it had sat in a box with the ribs and had warmed up. I wasn’t happy with the meal, but it wasn’t so bad that I wasn’t willing to give them another shot. About a week later I made another trip down the mountain, arriving shortly after 6:00 PM. There was a server there, but she was busy talking to a table of friends. When she finally acknowledged me, I was informed that since “no one was in town”, no food was available, only ice cream. Needless to say, I wasn’t overly thrilled with this turn of events. I made one last attempt several weeks later, this time ordering the Combo which is a ½ rack of ribs with ½ a chicken at $22.50. For those of you a bit slow with math, that means they’re charging $10 to add ½ a chicken to the rib dinner! And this from a “restaurant” that is basically self-service. I ordered the meal sans sauce, so that I could taste the meat and took a seat on the deck where I noticed they were giving away draft beer, hence the “free Solo cup” on the sign out front. Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.I also spotted the 5 gallon buckets of BBQ sauce, so the brand they used was no longer a mystery. My meal soon arrived, and naturally it was covered in the Ken’s Sauce, so I had to send it back. The corrected order arrived promptly and before even tasting it I could tell there were problems. It was clear from just looking that both the ribs and chicken had been cooked hours earlier and had been held in an overly moist environment. The ribs had been grilled off first, but the holding had completely robbed them of any residual crispness the charring had provided. Upon tasting them, it seemed as if they had been held in water as they were soggy and tasteless. If they had been rubbed or marinated, it was no longer apparent as all the flavor had leached out. In addition, the membrane had not been removed from the ribs. This is a mistake I can often live with, but in this case since the ribs had been charred, the membrane split and left unappetizing blackened shreds on the underside of the meat. The chicken was as tasteless as the ribs and also was totally lacking in crispness, which was a shame as I could tell that at one point it had been properly cooked. Both the ribs and chicken were barely warm, leading me to question how they were held prior to service. The slaw was as bland as the first time I tasted it and the beans appeared to be straight from a can. After taking only one bite of each item, I simply got up and left. I honestly cannot think of a single positive thing to say about this meal, and at $22.50 it is clear the customer is being taken. The best BBQ joint I know, Big Mike’s in Smithfield, charges $15.99 for the same meal, and at Mike’s it’s REAL BBQ. I really cannot even imagine a sorrier excuse for BBQ than what is served at Highwaters Grill.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.