Big M BBQ, old bridge NJ

This place looks cool. http://thebigmbbq.com

I don’t think there is a thread on it. Halal BBQ that cooks with charcoal! Sign me up for this. Prices look fair and look at some of the pics on yelp and google. Those dishes look hearty.

That mixed grill for two people at 29.99 is calling “someone’s” name! :smile:

It is good to see one of the few restaurants around keeping it real with charcoal. @goodparmesan. Any Intel?

Greg this place looks diet friendly lol. I think you need to add this to your blog.

1 Like

Egyptian shawarma shop? I aint complainin- photo on google

2 Likes

I’d love to hear a report if you get there. The place looks interesting.

There’s also a new place in Old Bridge called The Halal Spot. Next to Wawa in a spot where a couple of sub shops have failed.

1 Like

Hmmmmmm whose name??? That’s a tough spot for a place like this, wish them well but time will tell. What are you doing up in this neck of the woods?

@ebchower yeah that place is very close to my office, I haven’t had the courage yet to give them a try. Hopefully they got the Subway stinky bread smell out of the place. lol

1 Like

Bob that mixed grill is calling your name! To be serious, it actually looks good. For 17 bucks (one person ) I really want to try this spot but I’m not in that area much.

Dave, are you in that area at all? I know you get around!

2 Likes

@corvette_johnny, I hadn’t heard of Big M BBQ before you posted. It’s 10 minutes from our house. I might give it a try soon. If so, I’ll report back.

1 Like

Sounds great. The prices look pretty good and again, charcoal and I get along!

1 Like

And there was another place after Subway. I see the same thing in South Brunswick. About five years ago they built a new strip mall and next to it, a Wawa. The Wawa is always extremely busy while about half the units in the strip mall remain vacant. A Subway in the strip mall closed in probably less than a year, and a hot dog joint that took its place literally lasted a month and a half. A Jamaican place was there for a few years but recently closed. Despite all that, another strip mall across the street has just been built and they are attempting to lure tenants.

1 Like

I have to say that putting a sub shop right next to America’s favorite sub shop (Wawa - look it up) is a terrible choice. I pass by every day and I’m sure one day I will stop and get some Halal bbq at the new place.

1 Like

Nice Dave! Did you check out the menu? Hopefully one our team members can get here and report back. The pics online look interesting. They seem to have some large portions.

Do you think it’s a high rent issue? I always root for small businesses and so many fail. I always wonder why they close.

Lol. Sorry, I meant the other new Halal place on rt 18. Haven’t seen anything about them yet.

Most small businesses close due to poor/incompetent management. People have an idea and some money but no real idea how to run a business. And they are resistant to learning. Have you ever watched Bar Rescue or any of those shows? Same story every time. The place is a filthy pit, the owner can’t manage the staff, the inventory, the customers or themselves and has no idea why his bar is failing.

Other common reasons include poor planning in the original idea (No - Giovanni’s Original Pork Sausage Factory is NOT going to succeed in an Orthodox neighborhood), financial over extension and personal issues.

Running a small business takes time, effort, commitment, creativity & sacrifice. Most people don’t have that.

I’m on my 3rd small business. 1 & 2 were very successful. # 3 is still TBD.

3 Likes

Ah my mistake. Well if you want to meet up on a weekend let me know. Weekdays are kind of tough as I know you like to eat early. I probably couldn’t get there before 645 or 7.

1 Like

Several years ago, two Subways opened in Marlboro: one on 79 in the shopping strip near the Asian market; the other on Route 9 where Lowe’s is located. Both closed in very short time. There is now a Subway on Route 9 South, open 24 hours, attached to the gas station right near the Net Cost shopping strip.

I’ve never had one, but my folks LOVE the Wawa meatball sub. Go figure!

there was a Wawa right across street from my favorite college bar, Bar let out at 3AM- they would have more people on staff at 3AM than at 3PM. This was before automated system so you would have to wait inline to order. Lines would be like 30 deep. Used to love chicken salad with o/V and extra mayo, pickles, provolone. Have had it since and I think they changed the recipe (or perhaps after 8 or so beers it takes a different taste). Sometimes I would just grab a cpl sizzles and hash browns if I didn’t feel like waiting on line. I’m gonna have to try the meatballs…

3 Likes

To drag this back to the original subject:

So Mark and I took one for the team and went to Big M BBQ for lunch Friday. We shared grilled chicken and a kofta wrap. The kofta was good, but the chicken was a bit overcooked. Mark ordered fries and the server brought rice but when we pointed it out, she brought over French fries as well. The restaurant has a vestibule (yay!) but apparently someone had turned the heat down and it was still too cold.

The portions seemed a bit small, but they gave us a discount (about 10%)–I don’t know if it was a senior citizen discount or what. Total (inc. tax and tip) with a soda was $24. (Note that because it is halal, the cost of the meat is higher, so the prices will be a bit higher or the portions a bit smaller than for a haram place.

(Haram is to halal as trefe is to kosher.)

Lino’s/Tino’s has nothing to worry about, but this is only three miles from us, so I suspect we’ll be back for the kofta and possibly kebabs.

4 Likes

Thanks for the review! And especially for the heads up about there not being sufficient heat. That is a giant no-no for me, so we’ll not be going there until the weather warms up.

Last week, we went to Jersey Shore BBQ in East Brunswick intending to have lunch. When we got inside, insufficient heat made it cold. We were surprised since we’ve been there before during cold weather months and not encountered this problem. Maybe it was a temporary heating problem. We didn’t ask. Just left.