Stopped at The Ribcage for dinner on a Sunday evening after a Pickleball tournament at Saint Joe high school and was very pleased with my pulled pork sandwich and fries. The pork was tasty and a bit on the dry side, which I like. That’s what the sauce is for. I don’t want wet pork. The fries were hot and crispy, and my Pibb Xtra was buzzing with effervescence. In my book, that’s key. A restaurant needs to get the mix right and keep the pop bubbly—that can be hard to find, especially at a sit-down joint. The service was great, as was the overall experience. I’ve lived in Champaign for decades and had never eaten a bite of food in Saint Joe, but I will be back soon.
Richard Bishop
The food was really good. Fried pickles were awesome as were the "adult" shake ups. Our server was very attentive. Highly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lemon Shakeup
Robert Garbus
Fantastic pulled pork and creative sides. Stopped on a road trip home. Was served within 5 minutes of ordering. Much better than ubiquitous fast food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jacob Hutson
Had lunch, super food, super service!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Brisket Sandwich, Pulled Pork and Carolina Sauce
Pat Reynolds
Excellent local place. Food is great, service is outstanding, good beer selection. Always an enjoyable experience
Dreamy Winters
This place deserves NO stars AT ALL. My brother worked at this establishment and unexpectedly passed away of a heart attack. He could be in the hospital for days and be discharged against medical advice because he needed to be at work - they needed his help and he wouldn’t let them down. We have asked these ppl to help cater his home going service and after everything but begging them - they said best they can do is 10% off. He devoted himself to this restaurant. It’s so unfortunate they don’t offer ANY health or life insurance. Heartless they don’t care about their employees AT ALL!!!!!!If you have any morals at all STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!!! And if you work there, don’t kill yourself for them. My brother did ???
Derrick Mckee
Originally got the brisket sandwich, the bisket was like chewing on a peice of rubber it was aweful, then I got the pork it came out cold and was dry and had a very bland flavor. I was highly disappointed. This happened on 2/15/2024
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 5
ISU alum2010
Good BBQ and really friendly service with the servers and also had a great bartender when we went back the next night just for drinks. They have a very long bar with many seats.
The food is good for a local restaurant. The service was great. Of course the server forgot my sides. I got a discount for it. They know how to make up for poor service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Don Barden
First time stopping in to eat. I'm from out of town but, my family lives close by. I ordered a brisket sandwich with pit beans. Brisket was a little undercooked but, it had good flavor. It had a good amount of meat for the price. The rest of the family had the pulled pork nachos. The pulled pork needed shredded more or needed chopped. One clump was over 9 inches long. That doesn't really work with nachos. Candied jalapenos were not very good. This was my family's third time there. They were disappointed this time. My glass sat empty for over ten minutes. One thing I hate when I go to small town restaurants, is to have owners and staff drinking hard liquor or any liquor out in public. It's just not a good look on the business. The atmosphere was pleasant. I would probably make one more trip to try another meal.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
bad wolf
I'm normally the first person to say that you can't beat small town food and service and The Ribcage is another fine example of that. I got something like the whisky wiener (sorry that I got that name wrong, it was the Wednesday special) and they sent it with extra sauce. But, dude! The sauce on it and the way it was prepared, you couldn't make it any better! And the corn muffin was perfection. So good. And then there's the service, there is nothing like small town/ home town service. She was great! This is definitely worth the stop!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pulled Pork Platter with Side Mac and Cornbread, Spicy Cheese Curds
lisa winters
We stopped in for lunch as we were passing through St Joe. Very cute place! Our food came out very quick and healthy portions but the pulled pork was really dry with lots of hard pieces. I put the bbq sauce on my sandwich that was brought out in a little side cup. Not realizing it was straight out of the fridge making the sandwich even less desirable. The Mac and cheese was good. We were completely finished with our meal and boxed up before our appetizer ever came out. There was no acknowledgement from wait staff that it came out as we were ready to go. Our drinks were also empty. However, our waitress was the only one, everyone else just came out of the kitchen and stood at the bar and watched. I tipped her well but I was not impressed with the food which is not her fault. I did ask if the bbq was always served cold and she said yes and I politely expressed how it surprised me & she said “yes me too”. Apparently you have to ask to have it warmed which we didn’t know because we had never been here before! It’s expensive to eat out anymore & the food and service just continues to get worse as prices go up! Is sad!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
CHRIS TATMAN
The Ribcage hosted our shop Christmas party last night and we were very pleased. the place was absolutely beautiful. Our server and the manager were extremely attentive to our orders and refills, and the food was all beyond amazing. I will definitely be traveling the 45 minutes to St. Joe with my family in the near future to try it again. Thank you.
Great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I have yet to be disappointed by any selection here. Simply great food and service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Potato Skins, Buffalo Pork Egg Rolls, Loaded Macaroni and Cheese
Stopped at The Ribcage for dinner on a Sunday evening after a Pickleball tournament at Saint Joe high school and was very pleased with my pulled pork sandwich and fries. The pork was tasty and a bit on the dry side, which I like. That’s what the sauce is for. I don’t want wet pork. The fries were hot and crispy, and my Pibb Xtra was buzzing with effervescence. In my book, that’s key. A restaurant needs to get the mix right and keep the pop bubbly—that can be hard to find, especially at a sit-down joint. The service was great, as was the overall experience. I’ve lived in Champaign for decades and had never eaten a bite of food in Saint Joe, but I will be back soon.
The food was really good. Fried pickles were awesome as were the "adult" shake ups. Our server was very attentive. Highly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lemon Shakeup
Fantastic pulled pork and creative sides. Stopped on a road trip home. Was served within 5 minutes of ordering. Much better than ubiquitous fast food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Had lunch, super food, super service!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Brisket Sandwich, Pulled Pork and Carolina Sauce
Excellent local place. Food is great, service is outstanding, good beer selection. Always an enjoyable experience
This place deserves NO stars AT ALL. My brother worked at this establishment and unexpectedly passed away of a heart attack. He could be in the hospital for days and be discharged against medical advice because he needed to be at work - they needed his help and he wouldn’t let them down. We have asked these ppl to help cater his home going service and after everything but begging them - they said best they can do is 10% off. He devoted himself to this restaurant. It’s so unfortunate they don’t offer ANY health or life insurance. Heartless they don’t care about their employees AT ALL!!!!!!If you have any morals at all STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!!! And if you work there, don’t kill yourself for them. My brother did ???
Originally got the brisket sandwich, the bisket was like chewing on a peice of rubber it was aweful, then I got the pork it came out cold and was dry and had a very bland flavor. I was highly disappointed. This happened on 2/15/2024
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 5
Good BBQ and really friendly service with the servers and also had a great bartender when we went back the next night just for drinks. They have a very long bar with many seats.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
The food is good for a local restaurant. The service was great. Of course the server forgot my sides. I got a discount for it. They know how to make up for poor service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
First time stopping in to eat. I'm from out of town but, my family lives close by. I ordered a brisket sandwich with pit beans. Brisket was a little undercooked but, it had good flavor. It had a good amount of meat for the price. The rest of the family had the pulled pork nachos. The pulled pork needed shredded more or needed chopped. One clump was over 9 inches long. That doesn't really work with nachos. Candied jalapenos were not very good. This was my family's third time there. They were disappointed this time. My glass sat empty for over ten minutes. One thing I hate when I go to small town restaurants, is to have owners and staff drinking hard liquor or any liquor out in public. It's just not a good look on the business. The atmosphere was pleasant. I would probably make one more trip to try another meal.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
I'm normally the first person to say that you can't beat small town food and service and The Ribcage is another fine example of that. I got something like the whisky wiener (sorry that I got that name wrong, it was the Wednesday special) and they sent it with extra sauce. But, dude! The sauce on it and the way it was prepared, you couldn't make it any better! And the corn muffin was perfection. So good. And then there's the service, there is nothing like small town/ home town service. She was great! This is definitely worth the stop!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pulled Pork Platter with Side Mac and Cornbread, Spicy Cheese Curds
We stopped in for lunch as we were passing through St Joe. Very cute place! Our food came out very quick and healthy portions but the pulled pork was really dry with lots of hard pieces. I put the bbq sauce on my sandwich that was brought out in a little side cup. Not realizing it was straight out of the fridge making the sandwich even less desirable. The Mac and cheese was good. We were completely finished with our meal and boxed up before our appetizer ever came out. There was no acknowledgement from wait staff that it came out as we were ready to go. Our drinks were also empty. However, our waitress was the only one, everyone else just came out of the kitchen and stood at the bar and watched. I tipped her well but I was not impressed with the food which is not her fault. I did ask if the bbq was always served cold and she said yes and I politely expressed how it surprised me & she said “yes me too”. Apparently you have to ask to have it warmed which we didn’t know because we had never been here before! It’s expensive to eat out anymore & the food and service just continues to get worse as prices go up! Is sad!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
The Ribcage hosted our shop Christmas party last night and we were very pleased. the place was absolutely beautiful. Our server and the manager were extremely attentive to our orders and refills, and the food was all beyond amazing. I will definitely be traveling the 45 minutes to St. Joe with my family in the near future to try it again. Thank you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5