Z’s Smokin Bonez

First time there and was great. Suggest brisket. Make coleslaw right there, that was very good, too. Cranberry sauce and Alabama white BBQ was great. Going back again! Only down fall is only open 11 to 2 on Sundays.

Delicious food, great service, and the root beer selection is unmatched in the Twin Cities area. My girlfriend and I love trying new kinds of root beers, and we will definitely be coming here to try out the varieties — many of which I have never before seen!
The variety of bbq sauce is also a treat, with lots of experimental flavors — wasabi bbq sauce, anyone?
Definitely come for the meat, stay for the sauces and root beers.

Excellent Barbeque. Tried the St. Louis style spare ribs, the baby back ribs and sliced brisket. All were very good, both flavor and tenderness.
The chili with Mac and cheese and fritos was really outstanding as a side.
Prices were very reasonable and people were friendly.
Will definitely be back.

Awesome ribs. Sides are amazing. Great place that won’t be a secret for much longer.

It’s not easy running a bbq place since so much relies on the freshness of the meat and trying to cook brisket, pulled pork, ribs etc so they are ready on demand is a tough feat.
We took some family friends out to dinner around 6 ish and there was not a soul to be seen… Sad Panda… We waited for our friends to arrive and then ordered. They were clean out of ribs which was a huge bummer and somewhat of a mark against this place. If you’re going to offer an item make sure you have it available… if you run out, tweet, facebook or let us know when we walk in.
The food was a-​ok. I didn’t think it was great or made my taste buds jump but most of this is due to it just sitting. I had the bbq brisket (somewhat dry and clumpy) but not bad. Pulled pork was decent and the potato salad and beans were the same. They clearly know bbq. but execution and presentation is everything. Lots of bbq sauces to try. The chipotle tasted like liquid smoke. the original was again just a ok.
This definitely wasn’t my favorite and I wouldn’t make my way back to Maple Grove just to get BBQ.
I hope they put a little more effort into their food. There’s just something that turns me off about the chipotle style of serving. Seeing some of the food through the sneeze guards was a huge turnoff.

I have been here several times. The ribs are fatty, mostly tasteless and simply not worth eating. On the other hand, the pulled bbq pork sandwich is fantastic. Not sure why this is, as they make it by taking the pulled pork out of the heating dish, put it in a bowl, add bbq sauce to it, and mix it right in front of you. Not exactly a bbq pork sandwich, but it is delish, and the bread (get the large round bun) is also excellent.
Go for the sandwich and ignore the ribs. Instead, go to the Rib Cage if you want the best smoked ribs you have ever eaten.
Also, yes, the owner is not the friendliest person when you first interact with him, but in fact, he actually is a very nice guy. I have had a few conversations with him and he is not what he first seems. His customer service is simply not conducive to repeat customers, but if you try the pulled bbq pork sandwich you WILL be back,

For a third ring suburb of Minneapolis… the BBQ was surprisingly delicious. Rib tips were very meaty. For decent BBQ without driving into the city… I’ll definitely be back.

If you like blah BBQ with no flavor this is the place for you! Signature brisket had no flavor! Rack Shack BBQ in Burnsville has hands down the best BBQ in the state it’s worth the extra 45 minute drive!

Awesome food, and sauce you have to try there bacon bbq sauce. The service was fast and friendly.

The chocolate cupcake has bacon in it, lots of tough, chewy bacon that doesn’t add anything pleasant to the overall taste.
And, it’s not refrigerated — yikes!

2 years later and they still haven’t figured it out. They sold me Burnt Ends — what they gave me was sliced from the point, not real Burnt Ends. To make it worse, it was not cooked long enough as the fat had not rendered in the brisket. The pulled pork was shredded and dry. And finally, the corn bread was heated in the microwave before being served to me
This is what Southerner’s think we serve as BBQ.

First timer, it was the 10% off check-​in special on Unilocal that brought us to this place. The layout is a bit odd but not a big deal. The kids work there seem a bit cool but did offer help while we were observing the menu.
I had the smoked pulled pork and hubby ordered 1lb ribs. Good portion and taste pretty decent. The kid explains where to grab their homemade sauces, etc.
The bathroom is clean. We had a good experience and will return for sure.

Yuck… dirty… poor layout… staff who no nothing about customer service. They dug all of our food out warmers. The top layer had oil they managed to scoop up with my food. Poor taste. Famous Dave’s or Dickies do it better.

Zs Smokin Bonez just made my taste buds happy! Best BBQ I’ve had in the longest time! If you have a craving, I must suggest Sliced Brisket and the Ribs. You won’t be disappointed.

I’d seen this place off of 494 many times n
But never stopped. Today on my drive by I had committed to stopping. I’m glad I did.
Solid bbq, unique stuff. I ordered the whole hog it is brisket, pulled pork Mac n cheese topped with onions and crunchy slaw. I’m going to come back here for sure.
Great smell, good flavor, unique sauces and very unique soda selections.
Check this place out.

OMG if you love BBQ and great people. You have found it hear. Small town conjeneality with big town taste. I ordered ribs and when the women said their big I said I was hungry, I could only eat 2. The smoked pickled egg and loaded backed beans to die for. You’ ve gotta check this local biz out its worth the trip!

For BBQ, it was good for being in the middle of minnesota. The pitas terms uses a pellet smoker, so it doesn’t have that same pit character, but the consistency can be better managed.
So how was it? I had the brisket. A light chew, mild smoke flavor, and moist. Good selection of sauces, NC mustard, AL white, KY smokey, TX pep. This isn’t a signature or competition BBQ place, but more of a middle of the pack Q, and better brisket than the average joe, and sauce it how you like it. A little on the salty side, but that may just be me as we don’t salt at home.
I also had the ribs, but they were more roasted pork flavors than smoke or ‘cue. They were meaty, and came off the bone with a little tug, but not tough. You will need to sauce these ribs, they have just a salt and pepper rub.
Ribs are by the pound, and they’re not all bone, so 4 large end ribs, 2 sides, and the brisket lunch special ($ 9) came to $ 30.
In closing, pass on the ribs and pay the extra $ 1 for the brisket. Next visit I plan to give the burnt ends and the pulled pork a try.
The sides were the usual fare, several choices (creamy or vinegar slaws) but no standouts. The beans do have pulled pork «debris» as we call it (I grow up in New Orleans), and it gives it good smoky and meaty umami goodness.
Lastly, I think this place tries to offer a ‘tour’ of BBQ styles and flavors, but only really through the sauces. Notably missing is Memphis dry rub style, but that has to be cooked in. I gave it 4 stars for the try, and the rarity of BBQ in this part of the country, but it’s really a solid 3 stars. If you’re looking for something resembling your part of the country’s BBQ, you could to worse, so it might be worth a try.
The owner, as others have noted, is not much of a people person. That doesn’t mean he’s not passionate about what he does with the ‘pit’ he has. He opened up and relaxed a bit when I didn’t take a BBQ snob approach or expecting it to be a competition-​caliber BBQ like you see on TV, and talked to him like you would the guy running the church BBQ on a summer weekend.
Brisket & beans if you’re stuck and can’t decide.

My husband, brother, brother’s girlfriend, and I came later in the night, closer to closing time. The owner was very nice and informative. We know our meats and we like it tender. Unfortunately, with the timing, they were out of rib tips and beef brisket. The owner informed us that the burnt ends are fattier but because of this are really juicy. So we got ribs, burnt ends, pulled pork. All was really good and well seasoned. We were really impressed with the burnt ends. It’s like the ribeye but of the pork origin. The sides were just ok. It did compliment the meats without taking away from it. All in all we would come back at an earlier hour so we can try more things.

I was reluctant in writing a review because I honestly have nothing good to say. After reading other reviews and hearing people say the same thing over and over it became frustrating. How does this family expect to have a thriving business when they don’t listen to their customers?
My family walked in (all first time customers) and awkwardly walked up to the counter. The owner and his son just sat there looking annoyed. When my husband said «hi, we are first time customers!» The owner didn’t say a word. We were the only people there and it was 6p on a Saturday night. It was obvious all the workers were family, they kept yelling at each other. Bathrooms werent cleaned, food was bad. Burnt ends were so fatty I couldn’t eat ¾ of them.
I left regretting spending a dime there, it just put me in a bad mood. Everyone seemed unhappy and stressed and couldn’t even offer a smile or decent customer service. I’m not surprised of these reviews, because I was treated the exact same way. I won’t be going back.
– To add icing on the cake the owner sent me a nasty reply telling me to «go eat at McDonald’s» and doesn’t even use proper English in his insults. McDonald’s would have been a better choice, you are right about that.

As others have said the service is pretty weak. The sauces are ok but nothing special and the hogie buns are not robust enough to hold up to the sauce and Q. The mac and cheese was passible but forgetable.
All that said the reason I still gave 4 stars was the quality of the brisket. Tender but not failing apart, juicy, and the smoke penatrated every bit if it. Hand sliced after I ordered. Fantastic!
The pulled pork is also very good but not in the same league as the brisket. Mildly smoky, and not dried out.