Inspire BBQ

Inspire is a NO-​dine in, take out only barbecue place on H Street that has pretty authentic tasting barbecue. The ribs are fall off the bone tender and have a little bit of crispness on the outside. We also really enjoyed the pulled chicken, which had a great tangy flavor. The collard greens were similarly good, and the potato salad was excellent. I’m a big fan of sweet cornbread and this place has that as well! So all in all, the food is superb.
But there are some negatives: You don’t even need it because the food is so good, but the barbecue sauce is kind of a «meh» in that it’s just super sweet, excessively viscous. It’s more like a sweet ketchup than a true barbecue sauce. It lacks flavor and it is just too sweet without bringing anything else to the table. In addition, the prices are pretty high for almost everything. Not that this is unusual in DC, but a meal will set you back about $ 12 – 15. The ribs we had were tasty, but they contained a bit too much fat on them. I would say that about half of the ribs were not edible by us.
We’d come back for sure! The guy up front taking orders told us that the collards and mac+cheese are the top two sellers. I’m never impressed with mac and cheese, I mean, come on, whether you get it from a velveta packet or make it yourself, there’s nothing exciting about noodles with salty cream sauce. But the collards here are very good.
As another reviewer complained, Inspire does run out of things. We didn’t have a problem with this, but the guy taking orders had a list of items that were no longer available. Thankfully that didn’t include ribs because that would have been game over!

I bought an Amazon Local deal for this place and was eager to try it. When I went to use it, I was told by the cashier that they were no longer accepting the deal.
He said he was instructed by the owners not to take them not because it was expired (it wasn’t), but just because they couldn’t do it anymore. Look, I know these sort of deals don’t always work out for local businesses, but 1. You have to honor the deals purchased and 2. This business has done these sort of daily deals before with Groupon and such. They knew what they were getting into.
Just stop offering these deals if they aren’t working for your business. It’s better than this happening.

As much as I really wanted to like this place, I just can’t. They get two stars for their top-​notch friendly service and their uplifting mission, but their actual meats are pretty subpar.
The pulled chicken was bland and tasted like something you could make for yourself in a crock pot with minimal effort. Pulled pork is supposed to be stringy, fatty, and delicious. Here it was sort of globs of pork that tasted really dry and salty. Adding their sauce only made it worse.
Sides here run the gamut from average to just plain bad. Their collard greens and cornbread are solid, their baked beans taste like they are straight from a can, and their mac and cheese is pretty much mac with a few strands of cheese when I tried it.
This place has a great mission, and is worth stopping into purely in order to support their efforts. That said, it’s too bad their inspirational mission doesn’t come across in the food.

Quick friendly service, not all menu items available and a few other glitches. The ribs were good, sides, collards and Mac and cheese seemed way too salty and I even like salt. Cole slaw was more moist than I like but I am a Rocklands cole slaw fan.
Overall an OK experience and nice company mission make me want to like this place more, but with other good options around the city I will not likely be going out of my way to get here.

I love the concept of a business that «inspires» young people to get hands on experience and training on how to run a business and wish more organizations would replicate this model. Continuing on a high note, my ribs were tender and moderately seasoned. Ok, the two sentences before, «Ok» were the reason I gave this place three stars. Had I factored in what I am about to share the stars would not be so plentiful.
Like others who have reviewed this place, I too found it by walking by. I live in the neighborhood, love bbq and am desperately seeking a good rib joint in DC. Today I decided to stop in and give it a try. I looked at the menu that was brief and straight forward then a young man behind the counter acknowledged my presence and asked what I would like to order. While I was looking at the items on the chalk board that sat on the counter next to the menus, the young man behind the counter informed me that the items on the chalkboard were the same as the menu. I was a bit perplexed but decided to order the ribs, mac and cheese and collard greens. He took my order and told me it would be $ 16. Surprised, I pointed to the chalkboard (I didn’t notice any prices on the menu) and said, «This says $ 10» (I thought $ 10 was a bit much but decided it would be worth it to help young people learn the ins and outs of a business). He explained that the $ 10 price was just the lunch special and it ended at 3pm. I looked down at my watch and noticed it was 3:24pm. (What to do?! What to do!?) Against my thrifty notions, I pulled the trigger and completed the order (it was actually $ 16 and some change). So now my expectations for this bbq have been significantly elevated due to the premium price. I wait a few moments more and my order appears. I gather the environmentally unfriendly plastic bag and container that envelopes my meal and hurry home to savor the swine goodness while it is still hot. I get home, open the container and go right for the ribs (refer to the second sentence of this review). Then I go for the mac and cheese. It was a dense blob of pasta noodles and cheese like substance, bland and marginal in flavor at best. The collard greens were just ok and the corn muffin tasted eerily like Jiffy Mix. In summary, my food was just barely good enough not to be bad. Will I return you ask? Perhaps, but only because I really am a fan of the «mentor» business model and only before 3pm. I wish your business much success Inspire!

I ordered the pulled chicken sandwich, sweet tea and a side of potato salad.
I’m not a BBQ pro but the pulled chicken wasn’t too bad. It was a little on the dry side but I grabbed an extra side of sauce. It came on a decent roll which really helped the taste of the sandwich.
The side of potato salad was HUGE and pretty good overall. It’s big enough to share.
It’s a small place so seating room is limited. Stop by or call in a pick up order. The staff is very friendly.
It’s worth checking this place out for a quick lunch or dinner. I would go back again.

I probably won’t come here again. My ribs were not fully cooked.

I love ribs. I love exemplary customer service. I love places that give back to the community. Inspire is all three.
It’s a tiny place, some standing room to place your order but if several others are ordering, you’ll be waiting outside for your food. But that can’t be helped. If it’s cold or blazing hot outside, you may be annoyed, but you’ll get amnesia once the food comes.
The ribs are delicious; the homemade sauces are even better. The portions are huge. The cornbread is good. The sides are seasoned well and taste freshly made as opposed to something out of the box. The owner, who is there from time to time, is full of energy and always talking to everyone as if it’s opening day and he’s trying to get more business.
They have a program to work with the youth and give back to the community in every way that they can. Of course, sounds like they just do a better job getting people to see the employment of high schoolers as more than just that, but the high schoolers are well-​mannered (relative to fast food high schoolers) and very helpful for people there for the first time.
Whenever friends from out of town want BBQ ribs, we take them to Inspire. If not because of the good food and good portions, but because the owner is dedicated to the neighborhood, is so welcoming of everyone and it feels good to support a business that supports the next generation.

Over the course of three interactions with Inspire BBQ (one visit, one tasting at a recent elite event, and one office delivery), I’m definitely a fan. The meals of my first and third order were the same: ribs, collard greens, mac and cheese, and corn bread. I really like the ribs, which are fall-​off-​the-​bone tender with plenty of meat. The sauce is perfect — thick and a bit tangy. Mac and cheese is tasty, and so are the greens (which were one time way too salty for me, but the other times were great). I like the cornbread, but prefer a less sweet version (this one is slightly sweet). As for the tasting at the elite event, I tried the pulled chicken and liked it, and next time my office orders, will be ordering that to try a full sandwich version. I’ve yet to try the peach cobbler, but will hopefully get to do that soon.
The owners are very friendly, and Sia M. worked with Atif to coordinate our office order and it worked well. Plus, once I learned about the high school outreach that Inspire does, I was very impressed with their mission and the meaning of their name. Do note that it is take-​out only.

Late lunch. Early dinner. Call it what you will. All I know is I was feeling the tummy grumble in earthquake proportions as if it knew I could get a pulled chicken sandwich for $ 5.00 if I checked into Inspire on Unilocal.I did that. Inspire was out of pulled chicken by 5 that day. BUUUUT we worked a substitute /​compromise and it was all good!
Let me tell you something. The food they gave me had me peeping up into that little service window to see if my Mama was back in that kitchen holding it down. But I knew she wasn’t becase she was sitting at the little picnic table out front with me. Yes. The food is THAT good.
I had a quarter chicken dark. I added in macaroni and cheese, collard greens, cornbread, peach cobbler, half sweet tea/​half lemonade, and two (out of a possible seven?) sauces. Chicken? Hmph. Tender & flavorful as any you ever tasted. Mac? Huh. Tasted like it had the whole Wisconsin cheese convention stirred in plus my portion had the crispy corner bits. Greens? Well. They were at once bright green (a sign to some of sautéeing or under cooking), perfectly done, full of flavor, and pleasantly devoid of the glistening shine of pork fat overload. Aw Lawd. Cobbler? Still warm. Next time, I’ll stop in the corner store & grab a pint of vanilla ice cream to go with this because there’s none here. But that’s okay. No complaints. Tea/​lemonade mix? Let me caveat this by saying I loved this. But if you usually drink diet or sugar free bevs, this is NOT for you. It is super sweet. And I drank it all up!
Oh I’m planning to return really soon for the pulled chicken sandwich. And I hope I’ve inspired you to try it. Because I’m a fan.

I was super excited about this place because I really like BBQ, it is pretty convenient to my place so I bought two groupons for this place and only ever got around to using one of them. First time that’s ever happened to me. Why?
Well, first of all I tried to go here 3 times before I could actually get food. First time they were inexplicably closed despite it being well within the hours posted on their door. Second time they were out of every meat but chicken, with a one hour wait time till anything would be ready, so I took a pass. Third time they had the full menu.
So what did I have on my third visit — I tried the green beans, the collards, the brisket sandwich and the ribs. All the food was fine, but nothing spectacular. Lots of raves about the green beans. They were definitely fresh, but they were not my favorite at all. I like my greenbeans much firmer, and with less sauce. I also got a bunch of the wrong ends in my order (you know the part they were intending to throw out). The green beans are sitting, basically uneaten, in my refrigerator a couple weeks later and if I’m really honest with myself they are destined for the trash bin. I think that is probably more about my preferences then anything else.
As is written other places, everything is a la cart so your total ends up being really expensive for what you are getting. It is also mentioned that you only get two ribs with an order. While that is true, it should be noted that the ribs are the larger rib cut and I found it plenty of food for lunch with a side.
Combine the price with the hassle of actually not knowing what they will have, and I am certain i will never be back. In fact either one of those would probably be deal breakers for me.

Everything I’ve had from here has been good. My personal preference isn’t even dry rubbed meat but I still end up forcing myself to adhere to some sort of healthy food plan instead of driving here every other day for ribs, cornbread, sweet tea, collard greens, and potato salad (some of the best classic stuff I’ve had in the city).
They also feed my inner sauce hoarder, who has been known to go through three times the amount of packets that a normal person would use in a sitting. They have at least four kinds (spicy, NC mustard based, classic, and I cannot recall the others).
The only problem with this place is a lack of consistency. Sides have been forgotten and service can be a little slow even when there is no line. At least one food choice seems to be unavailable on almost every visit.
The food saves it and it will be a 4 star place if they can get it together.

I have been looking for a good barbecue joint around here for a while. I used to go to O’Brien’s in Rockville, but now it’s different and not as good. Anyway, I got a coupon from KGB deals to try this place and was happy to find out about it. It’s definitely not anything fancy — there are no seats, no tables — just a counter. But it doesn’t matter because what they serve is so good that I don’t care where I eat it… as long as there are napkins.
We shared the ribs, baked beans, cole slaw, greens, and green beans. The ribs were excellent. They were falling off the bones, so tender, so delicious, even as-​is, sans barbecue sauce. I did try the orange-​flavored bbq sauce, which was great, but unnecessary. The baked beans were awesome, and the cole slaw was some of the best I’ve had. The greens were good, as were the green beans, but they weren’t as memorable. The corn muffin that came with the ribs was sweet and delicious.
I would go back to Inspire again for sure!

Amazingly scrumptious food. I had the fish, mac n cheese and string beans. Tasty and not greasy. The corn muffins though were the best part of the meal. Or maybe they were just the an awesomely amazing accompaniment. I’m not sure. What I am sure about is that they are the reason I went back a second time the very next week.
Unfortunately, upon my return, the corn muffins were completely different. I’m talking not even the same recipe. I have to remind myself though that Inspire although a restaurant, is a youth program facility where at risk youth in the community receive food services training. So I’m guessing that it depends on who’s in the kitchen as to whether you’ll get fluffy corn muffins or something resembling a sad, frostingless cupcake. Or whether you’ll get creamy mac n cheese or it’s homely lumpy cousin.
I am going back with a friend for one more visit because I believe in the program and because I am hoping I will get lucky and get another one of version one, fluffy corn muffin from heaven.

I’ve got a soft spot for places that give back to the community. In Inspire’s case, they help train and employ at-​risk youth, and they’ve been on H St NE for a lot longer than it’s been trendy (10 years!).
It also helps that their food is actually pretty good. Especially the ribs. Ah, those fatty wonderful ribs that don’t need any sauce because they’re already so scrumptious!
And yes, the collards are very good (See Brian B’s review for an accurate description). Not too vinegary, not too sweet, with a little heat.
The cornbread and potato salad are also solid choices (very sweet pickley on the potato salad). Still have to try the mac and cheese. I personally wasn’t impressed by the pulled pork (it was chopped really fine, and was a little too sweet) but it’s nothing worth getting upset over. And someday, SOMEDAY they will have brisket available when I stop by. This inconsistency of availability, plus it being a little bit pricey for takeout, is what knocks them down to four stars.
The lunch special is $ 8 for an entrée plus side, or $ 10 for an entrée plus two sides. Normal prices are $ 8 – 9 per entrée, and $ 2 – 2.50 for sides.
Customer service is excellent, although the space is small and can get overwhelming. A handful of seats to sit down, but you’re mainly carrying out from here.

I wish I could give this a better review, especially since they make it a point to hire at-​risk kids and really try to make a difference in the community. However, I was fairly underwhelmed by the BBQ.
I went at 9:00 on a Friday with my girlfriend and they were out of ribs so we got the pulled chicken and pulled pork sandwiches with a side of collards. The pork actually wasn’t that bad, and really you could do a lot worse on H Street. However, it simply wasn’t as deeply meaty and smoky as I’d like in trully excellent, slow-​cooked BBQ pig. Maybe it’s my unreasonable BBQ standards… I dunno. I will say, you get an awful lot. Unlike most BBQ sandwiches, they serve theirs’ on a hoagie roll as opposed to a kaiser-​style roll or burger bun. Overall, an okay sandwich but not terribly great BBQ. I personally thought the chicken was a bit dry and flavorless. The sauces were underwhelming, but as most folks know, I’m rarely impressed by BBQ sauces. The real surprise here was the collards. I have no idea what they do to them but these were some of the best collards I’ve ever had. Instead of the heavily cooked, salty and vinegary collards I know and love, these were slightly less cooked and were slightly sweet with a subtle hint of nutmeg. Also, one side of collards easily feeds two people.
So, in total, I guess I’ll give it three stars because the ethos of the place really is praise-​worthy, the food isn’t bad (though it’s nothing too special either) and those collards were both delicious and different.

I really wanted to enjoy it. I did.
I’ve been hoarding a coupon from What’s the Deal for several months now and it was set to expire in a couple days so I figured it was about time to make moves on Inspire. A friend of mine met me there at around 7:30 on a drizzly Wednesday afternoon and we picked up menus at the front. We were immediately informed that they were out of greens and as far as meat goes, ribs and pulled pork were all that were available. Apparently they don’t do much grilling when it rains (though their kitchen appears to be indoors) so the options were sparse. Um, OK? Well, that’s likely what we would have ordered anyways. We got an order of each (to go, because there’s nowhere to sit indoors) with mac & cheese and potato salad on the side.
An aside for the sides: the mac & cheese was a bit dried out and lacked flavor. The potato salad though, was on point. It was chilled but had some spice and zest to it that I haven’t tasted in potato salad before. Definitely stole the show. A piece of cornbread was also included with our order but it was pretty tough and mostly inedible.
The ribs were on the dry side. If you like your ribs slathered in sauce and falling off the bone, look elsewhere. These are standard fare; definitely not anything to write home about. The three sauces they had available (though they all tasted the same) did do a bit to rescue the meat.
The pulled pork is served on a long roll and, similar to the ribs, was also a bit dry for my taste. Again, a healthy application of barbecue sauce will resurrect the taste.
Would I go back again? Perhaps with another deal on a day where weather can’t be used as an excuse for a stunted menu. The portions are generous for the amount you pay, the potato salad was excellent, and the sauces were tangy and enjoyable. I’d hate to write them off after one bad outing, but frankly, the DC food trucks do everything they do better with more bang for your buck.

This is based on our trips to Inspire after my last review…
We tried to go on at least five other occasions and while they were supposed to be open and they were closed… soooo frustrating!
One day, my husband walked in (the door was open) and the guy told him they were closed (the hours on the door said they were open!).
We give up. Too bad since they have good BBQ, but not worth the hassle.

I realllllllyyyyy like this place. Really tasty BBQ, very sweet and casual staff, and community-​minded organization.
There’s no posted menu, so it wasn’t really clear what was available. However, I find that quite charming instead of infuriating. I actually had to engage in dialogue to learn about what was for dinner, oh darn
I loved the ribs, they were huge, fatty, and tender! The pulled pork was delicious as well. Both could have been smoked a little more aggresively. I got a whole crapload of sides too; I wanted to try everything, but the greens weren’t ready.
Coleslaw — unique & spicy, crunchy! B+
Mac & Cheese — not very good (but I don’t like many), it was mushy & flavorless. D
String Beans — Tasty & fairly well spiced. B
Potato salad — I really liked it! Similar to the coleslaw in flavor. A
Baked Beans — prefectly fine, yummy. B+
Inspire BBQ will be a regular takeout dinner treat.

The only knock on this place is there isn’t any seating (except for two tables outside).
I purchased the ribs, green beans, and macaroni & cheese.
All was very tasty. My ribs were perfect. The grean beans were a hit — I am not sure what they do to them but I think they are steamed because they were cooked perfectly and were seasoned really well (not sure if it was italian dressing).
I woudl definitely go back again when I am in town.