Okay - I love barbecue...love it. Any type of barbecue, NC style, KC style, SC style, really any type. And here's the other thing - I only have one demand when I eat barbecue...that the meat is cooked properly. I visited Jenkin's on a trip to visit family in Jacksonville and I've got to be honest, I was horrified by the food and the restaurant. Well that's actually not fair, it had a small, simple, yet clean seating area - the restaurant was fine...it was the person at the register who was a little ""off"". I was greeted by a man behind the counter who had gold covers on his teeth. I'm not sure what they're actually called, but they were on his top and bottom teeth, so he had difficulty speaking when answering questions that I had asked...that was the first danger sign, but I thought ""well now, let's not judge"" and besides, the open faced grill, which is visible from the interior of the restaurant, was releasing such a delectable aroma that pretty much anything would have been forgiven at that point. I ordered several dishes (I'd heard several good things about this restaurant and two friendly gentlemen who were eating as I entered raved about how many years they'd been visiting Jenkin's; that cemented the fact that I was in the right place). I ordered the pork sandwich, a plate with chicken breast cole slaw and potato salad, and a dark meat plate with baked beans. Let's start with the pork sandwich: the pork was sliced which was surprising but not necessarily a bad thing, the sauce was very straightforward and clearly mustard-based. I happen to like mustard, so I quite liked the sauce; if you don't, then this sauce is not for you (there are mustard-based sauces that don't highlight the sharpness of the mustard as much as this one does, so don't discount all mustard-based sauces; you may just prefer one that is a little more subdued). The pork was slightly more fatty than I prefer and I'm not sure if it was overcooked or had simply sat under a warming light for too long. Whatever the case, it was a bit dry but the sauce compensated and helped make the sandwich edible if not slightly enjoyable. The chicken breast was quartered - which I hate, but it was done INCORRECTLY (horizontally and not vertically...yes there is a proper way to quarter a breast...when I think of it maybe it was cut into eighths which I've never seen done in a bbq restaurant). If that wasn't enough, it was among the most overcooked pieces of meat I'd ever eaten...the texture fell somewhere between beef jerky and carpet. The dark meat was only slightly less repulsive. Though this meat was also overcooked, dark meat generally has the advantage of being more fatty and is therefore more able to withstand overcooking. The sides...dear God the sides were awful - I'm convinced that all the sides were dumped out of containers from the Piggly Wiggly or whichever grocery chain is popular in this part of the south. The potato salad had a cloying sweetness that reminded me of what antifreeze must taste like. I typically encourage people to try restaurants even if they've gotten bad reviews...maybe the day the reviewer went was an off day, maybe you'll happen to like the cooking. Same goes for Jenkins, while I can't recommend this restaurant, if you're in the area I do encourage you to try it and make up your own mind. I've given it a generous 2 stars for serving what is actually a pretty good mustard sauce (again, only for those of you who don't have an aversion to mustard).
Pros: Good sauce
Cons: Obscenely overcooked food
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