Uncle Willie's BBQ in Orange, CT??

Hi rib-lickers,
My wife reported today that a usually reliable source told her that there is (or will be) an Uncle Willie's BBQ on Route 1 in Orange, CT., in the old Clark Dairy location. The source says that she drove by and saw it recently. Clark Dairy was a place where she could get good Greek salads and she will miss it. We would rather have Willie's ribs closer than Waterbury. Has anyone else heard about this?
I will try to check it out later, but right now it's a summer Friday on I-95 and so we can't get there from here until tonight or tomorrow.
hungrycharlie

I'll take Clarks Dairy over Uncle Willy's Any day. I ate a Uncle Willy's in Waterbury once and Never will again. It was horrible and expensive. The brisket was a slab of fat and the ribs were so tough my dog had a hard time eating them - Yeah, that's right, they were so bad I gave them to the dog.

Charlie -

A friend of mine that lives in Orange told me this a couple of days ago.

Hi rib-lickers,
I did get over to check out the new location and it is indeed Uncle Willie's, blended with Clark's. No time to eat, but I grabbed a copy of their menu, which has this message:

TEMPORARY MENU
Please excuse our appearance and our abbreviated menu during our transition from Clark's Dairy to Uncle Willie's. We will be keeping most of your favorites from Clark's and adding all of Uncle Willie's Award Winning Fried Chicken, Barbecue, Burgers, Dinners and Desserts. Thank You for you patience.
We look forward to serving you!


Hey efuery, you sure that it was Willie's? [|)] I been there many times and nothing like that ever happened. Just BBQ Ambrosia at a good price.

hungrycharlie

Is that the same Clark Dairy that used to have stores near Armstrong Tire in West Haven and near the Y on High Street in New Haven?

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Hoffman

Is that the same Clark Dairy that used to have stores near Armstrong Tire in West Haven and near the Y on High Street in New Haven?

Yes. There were four that I know of, originally. There was also one in New Haven on Whitney near Audubon, where the Arts Center is now. They all withered away except the Orange location. I believe that the chain changed owners a few times before expiring.
Maybe we're seeing adaptive evolution. The temporary menu makes for some interesting reading, with Clark Dairy stuff and BBQ dishes intermingled. Chicken salad sandwiches followed by Volcanic Wings (Hot or Death or BBQ) and Meatloaf (Regular or Cajun).
hungrycharlie

I forgot about the one on Whitney. I used to go to the one on High Street a very, very long time ago. I haven't lived in New Haven since 1965.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Hoffman

I forgot about the one on Whitney. I used to go to the one on High Street a very, very long time ago. I haven't lived in New Haven since 1965.

I believe it was Howe St., corner of George.
Anyway, do you remember Ice Milk? One of their special features, it must have been an early attempt at lower colesterol dessert.
hungrycharlie

Drove by the new Uncle Willie's in Orange. It was open, while a crew was hanging up the new signs. Didn't notice a big pile of wood in the back, so I'm not sure if he's doing the smoking at that site. I'm going to give it a try soon.

Hungrycharlie-
I am positive it was Willies - the Waterbury location. I had heard so many raves about the place that I went out of my way to try it. As I said before - It was horrible. The brisket was more fat than meat and the ribs were so tough that I would have had an easier time eating a boot. I will say that while waiting for my crappy food a couple of kids were served burgers that looked very good but since the place was called "Uncle Willy's BBQ" I assumed (big mistake)that they might have decent BBQ - Well I found out the hard way that they don't.

I'll add a second to efuery's experience, qualified by the fact that it's based on only two visits. I found that the meats (I've had the brisket, ribs and pulled pork) tasted more of gas than either meat or smoke, and the sides were pretty uninspired. I did enjoy all the desserts that I tried. Both times I made the mistake of going at the dinner rush, and the wait was horrendous. I may give the place another try but won't be in any hurry to do so.

Based on my disappointment with Uncle Willie's I recently tried Wood's Pit in Bantam, which I thought was far superior.

quote:

Originally posted by hungrycharlie

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Hoffman

I forgot about the one on Whitney. I used to go to the one on High Street a very, very long time ago. I haven't lived in New Haven since 1965.

I believe it was Howe St., corner of George.
Anyway, do you remember Ice Milk? One of their special features, it must have been an early attempt at lower colesterol dessert.
hungrycharlie

Of course it was Howe Street. When I wrote that I'd just returned from a coffee shop on High Street in Columbus.

I do remember ice milk.

I'll be third with efuery and Paulie. I have been there twice as well and was not very impressed. I had a burnt ends sandwich the first time that wasn't too bad but there were several small bone pieces in the sandwich which made for careful eating. The second time I had the ribs and they were not too good. I agree they were very tough! I don't remember what sides I had but none of them made any lasting impression. I might mention I was there around 4:30 or 5:00pm and they were not busy at all. My 2 cents.

efuery, I live right near Bantam but have never tried Wood's Pit. Kind of funny because I'm always right next store at The Bantam Cinema. I also recently noticed a new Pit BBQ further up route 8 in Plymouth. You get off the route 6 exit and go East about a mile or so. Haven't tried it yet though. When I do I'll report.

I tried the new Uncle Willy's Orange location last night. I'm afraid the food suffered the same problems others have noted -- the burnt ends were OK, but didn't have enough flavor to add much to the taste of the sauce. And there were bone pieces. The baby back ribs (they were out of the St. Louis ribs) had a nice smoky taste, but they were much too dry. However, the Uncle Willy's sparking water was fabulous -- old fashioned long-neck bottles, icy cold. Not enough of a reason to go...

Greasewheel,
I have eaten at Wood's Pit several times. Right now it is my favorite BBQ place in CT. The only bad experience I have ever had there was one time I got a ribs and ribs basket and the single beef rib I was served had almost no meat on it. I have ordered them since and they were wonderful so in my experience the anorexic rib was a fluke. I find their BBQ to be consistently good and the service very good as well.

After going to Uncle Willie's several times in Waterbury, we finally decided to try the Orange location on Friday night. I think Willie is still getting the kinks worked out, and I heard mention that he really doesn't have all of his kitchen equipment installed there yet. So he was pretty overwhelmed.

Today I tried Wood's Pit and I was very impressed. It's a bit more formal eating than Willie's Waterbury location, and there is quite a difference in price. So it's not really a fair comparison. While Wood's is some of the best BBQ I've ever had, it's also the most expensive.
Willie's has a much more diverse selection of sides. In fact his menu is huge.
I will wait until Willie gets his Orange location in full swing before I pass judgement. I know the best BBQ deal in the Northeast is when Uncle Willie's has the all-you-can-eat buffet. But go on Sunday. By Tuesday it's like third hand leftovers.

Dearfolk,
In September of 2001, my friend Eelranch and I journeyed from his then-home in Litchfield to Waterbury. We ate at Uncle Willie's and pronounced it excellent; I don't remember what day of the week it was, though.
We also went, on another trip, to a different BBQ place on Thomaston Avenue, just a tad north of the main east/west route into town. It was run by an expatriate Floridian (from Arcadia), and it was nearly as good as Uncle Willie's, which is saying it was good.
We also took in Wood's Pit BBQ in Bantam on a third occasion and found it quite to our satisfaction.
Now if only we could convince the folks at Shiek's Sandwich Shop in Torrington to build a pit out back and take appropriate 'cueing lessons from someone down in these parts, they'd be responsible for the best BBQ in Connecticut. As it is, though, any of these three I've mentioned here will do quite nicely. My tummy felt right at home.
If Distantly, Ort. Carlton in Windy Athens, Georgia.

Ate at Uncle Willie's in Orange on Sept. 1. They really don't have it together yet and were running out of supplies like cups as well as not having the full menu yet. The staff were amazingly cheerful but very overwhelmed. The place was packed and it was after 1:30 in the afternoon on a week day. (Doesn't anybody work?)
I had the burnt end sandwich and it was good and had no bone pieces though I can understand how finding them could be enough to put you off your feed.
One side that deserves mention is their cole slaw which is the best I have ever had anywhere hands down.
Give them some time and get the cooking done in-house and I think they will be a hit.

I've eaten at Uncle Willie's in Orange 3 or 4 times now, and have found it consistently excellent. The burnt ends have been exquisite; the brisket has had just enough fat to make it moist and flavorful; the ribs (St. Louis) have been the requisite fall-off-the-bone tender, and all the meats have stood on their own (no sauce needed). The fried chicken is first-class, as well. The sides (especially greens, cheese grits, and jalapeno mashed potatoes) have not disappointed. My first visit was in January of 2005, so perhaps they've corrected some earier deficiencies. I'd rate it on a par with the beloved Redbones (in Somerville, Mass.), the standard by which Northeast BBQ is (or should be) judged. By the way, both the Orange and Waterbury locations have sizeable wood piles out back.

Of note, I tried the Waterbury Uncle W's a few months ago, and made the mistake of ordering the buffet;steam tables are not compatible with BBQ. The ribs were tough, the burnt ends were soggy from bobbing in a pool of sauce, the fried chicken had lost any semblance of crispness; the brisket and pulled pork were OK. I think those problems were probably more the result of the holding method than of the preparation.

Hope to Give Wood's Pit a try soon.