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Awards, Testimonials and Quotes

Awards and Honors List
Event or Publication Award
American Royal Barbecue Contest

"Best BBQ Sauce in America"

Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine

"Best BBQ Joint"
Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine "Best New Restaurant"
Minnesota Monthly Magazine "Best Last Meal in Minnesota"
Minnesota Monthly Magazine "Best Desserts"
Minnesota Monthly Magazine Critic's Choice- "#1 Ribs in MN"
National Restaurant Chain Publication "Hot New Concept"
Minnesota Monthly Magazine "Best Ribs"
City Pages Reader Poll "Best Ribs"
Minnesota Monthly Magazine "Best Ribs"
Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine "Best Last Meal in the Twin Cities"
Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine "Best Ribs"
Minnesota Shopping Center Assoc. "Best Restaurant Design
Great American Rib Cookoff "Best Sauce in America"
Fargo Dome Ribfest People's Choice- "Best Ribs"
Fargo Dome Ribfest Critic's Choice -"Best Ribs"
Minnesota Black Music Awards Big John Dickerson- "Best Blues Vocalist"
Naperville Ribfest "Best Ribs"
Twin Cities Ribfest "Best Sauce"
Twin Cities Ribfest "Best Ribs"
Nation's Restaurant News "1997 Hot Concept"
Emerging Company Division "Entrepreneur of the Year"
Minnesota Monthly Magazine "Best Music"
Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine "Best Music"
Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine "Best Restaurant Promotor"
Twin Cities Business Monthly "Entrepreneur of the Year"
Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine "Best New Restaurant
Event or Publication Award
Des Moines Register "Best Ribs"
Minnesota Monthly Magazine Critic's Choice- "Favorite Ribs"
Minnesota Monthly Magazine Critic's Choice- "Favorite Music/ Ent.
Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine Critic's Choice- "Best Take-out"
La Crosse Tribune "Best Ribs"
Minnesota Monthly Magazine "Best BBQ Ribs"
Fargo Ribfest- People's Choice "Best BBQ Sauce"
Great American Cook Off- Critic's Chioce "Greatest Ribs in America"
Twin Cities Business Monthly Magazine "Best BBQ Ribs"
Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine "Best BBQ Ribs"
Minnesota Monthly Magazine "Best Music/ Entertainment"
Appleton Post-Crescent Reader "Best Ribs"
Madison Capital Times "Best New Restaurant"
TwinWest Chamber of Commerce- Mpls "Entrepreneur of the Year"
Madison Magazine "Best BBQ Ribs"
Madison Magazine "Best New Restaurant"
Minnesota Monthly Magazine Critic's Choice -"Favorite Ribs"
Great American Cook Off- Cleveland, Ohio "Best BBQ Ribs"
Twin Cities Ribfest "Best BBQ Ribs"
Naperville Sun Reader "Best BBQ Ribs"
West Suburban Living Reader "Best BBQ Ribs"
Minnesota Monthly Magazine "Best BBQ Ribs"
Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine "Best BBQ Ribs"
Fargo Dome Ribfest "Best BBQ Ribs"
Sioux Empire Ribfest- Sioux Falls, SD "Best BBQ Ribs"
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier "Best BBQ Ribs"
Mature Lifestyles Madison Reader "Best BBQ Ribs"
Cedar Falls Chamber of Commerce "Best Chicken Wings"
Great American Rib Cookoff
- Cleveland, Ohio		 "Best Sauce"
Event or Publication Award
Taste of Waterloo "Best Entree"
Mankato Ribfest "Best Pork"
Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine "Top 10 Restaurant"
Nightclub & Bar Magazine "Best of 1999- Music Club"
American Royal Barbecue Contest
Kansas City		 "Best BBQ Sauce in America"
Minnesota Monthly Magazine "Best Desserts"
Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine "Best BBQ Joint"
National Restaurant Chain Publication "Hot New Concept"
Ernst & Young NASDAQ, USA Today "Entrepreneur of the Year"
La Crosse Tribune "Best Chicken Wings"
Twin Cities Business Monthly "Best Ribs"
Rib America 2000- Indianapolis "Best Ribs"
2000 Great American Rib Cookoff- Ohio "Best Ribs in America"
Sioux Empire Ribfest- Sioux Falls "Best Ribs"
Ribfest and More in Fargo "People's Choice"
Pontiac Rib America 2000 Ribfest "Best Ribs"
Twin Cities Rib Fest 2000 "Best Ribs"
Minnesota Monthly Magazine "Best Ribs"
Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine "Best Takeout"
Isthmus Magazine "Best BBQ in Madison"
Madison Magazine "Best BBQ in Madison"
Taste of Waterloo "Best Food in Cedar Valley"
Cedar Falls Wing Ding Contest "Best Tasting Wings"
Post-Crescent 2000 Encore Award "Best Ribs"
Fox Cities Magazine 2000 Golden Fork "Best Ribs"
CitySearch The Best of the Twin Cities "Best BBQ"
Cleveland, Ohio 2nd "Best Ribs" Critics Choice
Cleveland, Ohio "Best Ribs" People's Choice
Sioux Falls, SD "Best Ribs"
Event or Publication Award
Twin Cities "Best Ribs" Critics Choice
Lincoln, NE "Best Ribs" 2nd Place
Cleveland Ribfest "Best Ribs" 3rd Place
Souix Falls Rib Fest- South Dakota "Best Ribs" 1st Place
Cedar Rapids Rib Fest "Best Ribs"  1st Place
Taste of Madison "Best Desserts" 2nd Place
Isthmus Magazine "Best BBQ" in Madison
Cedar Falls Wing Ding Contest "Best Wings" 2nd Place
Golden Fork- Fox Valley, WI "Best BBQ" 1st Place
Fargo Ribfest- People's Choice FIRST PLACE BEST RIBS
Best of CitySearch Mpls "Best BBQ" Editoral Pick
Best of CitySearch Mpls "Best BBQ" Audience Pick
Best of CitySearch Mpls "Best Dining with Music" Editorial and Audience Choice
The Dakota Southwest Review ÒBEST CATERINGÓ
Fargo, ND Ribfest "Best Ribs" People's Choice
Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine "Best Ribs"
Roseville Reader Best Catering
Madison Magazine "Best BBQ"
Madison Magazine "Best Ribs"
Chili Fes "Spicest Chili"
North Country Journal- Brainard area 1st Place-  Best Ribs
North Country Journal- Brainard area 2nd Place for Best Catering
Elgin Courier Best Ribs
Minneapolis Star Tribune: Readers Poll Best BBQ
The Nashville Scene One of the Top BBQ in Nashville
City Pages Minneapolis Best Place to Eat Out with your Kids
City Pages Minneapolis Best Blues Bar
Bliss Magazine Best BBQ- Bliss Award
The Times Daily One of the Top BBQ in Shoals
Taste of Chattanooga People's Choice Award
Taste of Chattanooga 1st Place Bread Pudding
City Pages Minneapolis Best Takeout
City Pages Minneapolis Best BBQ
Taste of Livonia People's Choice Award- Best "Taste"
Couirer Newa- Mountainside New Jersey Best Restaurant for Ribs
Sioux Falls Rib Fest 3rd- For Best Ribs
Join the Arizona PIG Club

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Catering Menu!

His trips to these most famous bastions of barbeque were like "pilgrimages" to the most "hallowed shrines" of barbeque!...
Click here to read more of
The Legend of Famous Dave

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After more than 25 years and many all-night cooking and tasting sessions, with thousands of batches of sauces, he finally...
Click here to read more of
The Legend of Famous Dave

Legendary Pit Bar-b-que
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"May you always
be surrounded by
good friends and
great barbeque"™
Testimonials from "Famous" Events






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Famous Quotes

“Barbecue is America’s food, and blues are America’s music.”
“Famous” Dave Anderson

EVERYBODY LOVES FAMOUS DAVE’S…

“Famous Dave's is Famous because he has great tasting food.” (Chattanooga Dine Out)

“Plan to check your diet at the door. The portions are huge!” (Thayer Wine, The Tennessean)

“In Famous Dave's the atmosphere is nice but the food is excellent. Famous Dave's has to be experienced to be understood.” (Walter Lambert, Knoxville News Sentinel)

“No matter how good the entree is, the entire dinner falls apart if the side dishes don't add up. The sides at Famous Dave's are delicious... Dessert is nothing short of an experience.” (Anne Braly, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

Minnesota’s Former Governor Jesse Ventura.
In Where magazine, said, “On the campaign trail, my favorite place to meet was Famous Dave’s – he’s got a great barbecue beef sandwich.”

“The ribs were tender and the meat just fell off the bone…The service was outstanding.” (Lincoln Journal Star)
“(George W.) Bush appeared to have some of the day’s most popular barbecue as supporters casually stood in a series of lines stretching at least 50 yards long.” (Sunday World-Herald)
“The place is a high-energy blast from top to bottom…ribs that are impressive in size, meaty in content (close-to-the-bone meat, not fall-off-the-bone meat) and impressively flavorful.” (Chicago Sun-Times)
“Famous Dave’s BBQ & Blues serves genuinely good hickory-smoked barbecue, slathered in a spicy sauce laced with sweet undertones.” (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
“A garbage can lid heaped with the All-American BBQ Feast delivers an embarrassment of riches.” (Chicago Magazine)
“Portions are plentiful, the grub is good, and the prices include cornbread muffins, corn-on-the-cob and a choice of two other sides…dainty it aint, but everything is well prepared, especially the lean yet tender St. Louis cut ribs. For dessert, there’s bread pudding with praline sauce so sweet your teeth will ache.” (Chicago Magazine)
“Famous Dave’s does some pretty mean ribs…slow-smoked over hickory. The result, any way you go at the ribs –fingers or knife and fork (ugh!) – is immediate and intense rib-eating gratification.” (Chicago Sun Times)
“The slab of bread pudding is excellent. It’s light as a feather (almost) and it comes with a dynamic caramel-nut sauce.” (Chicago Sun Times)
“Fall-off-the-bone good. Tangy, spicy; chicken or pork. As long as you like meat, you’ll love Dave’s barbecue. (Chicago Daily Herald)
“We ventured into Naperville for our own taste with skeptical buds. The bar was set so high, could Famous Dave’s live up to its reputation? After an XXL Rib Dinner, The Georgia Chopped Pork Platter, Shack Fries, Wilbur Beans, our Famous Bread Pudding, gobs of Texas Pit sauce and a tableful of other items, the answer is resounding yes.” (Chicago Daily Herald)		 “You know you’re in a good restaurant when you’re sitting there thinking of people you have to share it with. We’re still letting people know about Famous Dave’s…” (Appleton -- The Scene)
“If you’ve read my reviews, you know I’m a southern barbecue connoisseur. The food at Famous Dave’s tripped my trigger. The ribs were great. Pit-smoked and adorned with great sauce, they were scrumptious…The side dishes were also good. The corn bread muffin was moist and delicious, and the barbecued beans were exceptional…Famous Dave’s deserves its name.” (Janesville Gazette)
“The ribs, chicken, beans, and corn muffins at Famous Dave’s, reputed (with good reason) to be the best good old all-American fare around, have won an extraordinary following.” (Twin Cities Business Monthly)
“If barbecue were religion, Dave Anderson would be the Reverend Billy Graham.” (Twin Cities Business Monthly)
“Famous Dave’s has built its acclaim and a growing customer base on atmosphere and great food.” (Minnesota Business & Opportunities)
“As the season sets on the backyard barbecue, why not head to Famous Dave’s BBQ Shack, a popular joint with country charm and an award-winning recipe for ribs.” (Where Twin Cities)
“Minnesota has long lacked what the South has in such abundance – good, messy barbecue, served in an unfussy setting by someone who knows there way around meat and sauce…But Dave’s, with its kitschy, wooden-shack appearance, is as friendly as a southern accent, and the rich, smoky sauce and tender meat (from North Carolina pork to Texas beef brisket) would have even Scarlett O’Hara licking her fingers.” (Mpls/St. Paul Magazine)
“Famous Dave’s is BBQ Paradise…“It’s worth the drive from Des Moines or Fargo-Moorhead.”…”It’s fabulous.”(Dave Duff, Sun News)
“Dave is famous for good reasons…he does things in a big way.” (Dick Youngblood, Star Tribune)
“I am pleased to report that Famous Dave’s actually lives up to the hype. This place does what it does extremely well.” (Naperville Sun)
“The Wilbur beans should not be missed; a prime example of how a simple dish like baked beans can be elevated by a talented kitchen. Here, the beans are made with bits of brisket, sausage, and jalapeno peppers and slow simmered. Absolutely the best I’ve ever tried.” (Naperville Sun)
“These are the best ribs currently available in the suburbs. They are slow-cooked over hickory, not at all chewy, but not so abused that the meat falls off the bone. They are perfect for holding, admiring and dipping.” (Naperville Sun)“Famous Dave’s features hefty portions of hickory smoked St. Louis spareribs, Texas beef brisket, and herb-roasted chicken.” (Nation’s Restaurant News)
“The meat’s the thing at Dave’s…For a real blowout, there’s the All-American BBQ Feast, with ribs, chicken, choice of brisket or pork, coleslaw, fries, beans, corn-on-the-cob, and muffins.” (Des Moines Register)
“The brisket brought the thick, hearty, tender slabs I was hoping for (no stingy little shavings here); the chopped pork was plenty moist. The chicken, with an appetizing herb rub on the outside, also proved moist and meaty. And perhaps the most satisfying of all were the ribs – tender but not fall-apart messy, making them great hands-on food.” (Des Moines Register)
“The side fixins’ are just as good as the meats. The corn muffins are soft and moist, the slaw is peppery on the exhale, the beans are sweet and not mushy and the Shack Fries are golden and crisp.” (Chicago Daily Herald)
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