Yam Yam's Southern Cooking Barbecue

04/24/07

Food was overcooked, no meat on the Beef Ribs.

by sacorbin

I was so excited when I learned that Portland had an outstanding southern style BBQ place, I heard from people that it was the best in town, I even read on the net that the food was great! Being from Alabama, I consider myself a fair judge of good BBQ. My trip to Yam Yam's unfortunately did not translate into a good eating experience. I ordered both Pork Ribs and Beef Ribs because I wanted to enjoy a little variety. The pork ribs were tender and the sauce was good but the beef Ribs did not actually have any meat on them, it was all fat. I realize that beef ribs do tend to run a little fattier than the pork ribs but I could hardly find any meat on the beef rib at all..... The sides were an even bigger disappointment; the collard greens were mushy and not very appealing in both flavor and texture. The cornbread was very dry and needed a lot of butter and honey to make it palatable, hmmmmm, anything with that much butter and honey would have to be good.....The fried okra was good but how can you go wrong with fried okra as long as you do not cook it to death. I guess I am still looking for that excellent BBQ place in Portland.....

• Pros: Easy to find, fairly good Pork Ribs.
• Cons: Beef Ribs are fatty, sides were disappointing

10/26/09

I always wondered..

by cosmozack

Todays Oregonian states this resturant was a front for a 300k $ per mo Cocaine drug ring.

10/07/09

Best Fried Chicken In Town!

by Delectibly Delicious Diva

I love Fried Chicken and am VERY picky about where I eat it from and how it tastes! This is the first place in FOREVER that I can honestly say I am IN LOVE with their Fried Chicken! It is SO YUMMY for the tummy! O BOY the Yam Fries are Delicious! As is the Cole Slaw YUM!

I like the service and they are a family atmosphere. One would have to get acquired to the neighborhood to know that the more you go the friendlier they get. They pride themselves on their food and treat their customers like family once they have come in a few times. At first they seem reserved, but once they get to know you they are VERY loving FOLKS!!!

• Pros: Their Fried Chicken is SOoOoO GOOD!!!
• Cons: bathrooms aren't 'spick and span', but WHO CARES!!!

09/07/09

The Northwest's VERY WORST BBQ

by Ray Redmond

Dirty kitchen.

Dirth Bathrooms.

Dirty booths.

Very poor service.

Worst BBQ I ever tasted.

Run away!

• Pros: Only pros are the prostitutes in the parking lot
• Cons: Only people that would like this fare are cons

11/07/08

Greasy, FILTHY, and thats the good part

by bfloating

I went there last Sunday for their BBQ buffet and I literally left in mid-meal. I am from NC and I know great "Q" ! Believe me when I say that because I've owned a BBQ restaurant back there for several years. Before getting into the restaurant biz, I sampled BBQ from all the southern places I could including Texas, Kansas, Georgia, Alabama and so on. I KNOW GREAT "Q".

Yam Yam is anything BUT good "Q". with a few exceptions. The place is filthy. If you can, BEFORE you order, get a peek into their filthy kitchen. You'll probably have to "sneak a peek" as the Owner will most likely not allow you see it. Thats a VERY BAD sign, eh ?

There is nothing good about their left over, reheated food. Good "Q" has smoke rings, theirs had none. Their ribs are cooked in a microwave and then drenched in some god forsaken sauce to cover up the lack of taste. The collard greens were surprisingly tasty, as was the candied yams and the mac 'n cheese. But the meats were horrible. Nothing Southern about them. The tables were greasy as were the chairs. Food crumbs in every place imaginable, the bathrooms were disgusting and the service was horrible... a bunch of illegal Mexican immigrant kids, I would guess, who had no clue what they were serving and barely spoke English.

I took one bite of the greasy, undercooked beef ribs and we left in a hurry.

AVOID this sh*thole at all costs. Its a disgrace that they are still allowed to be open !

• Pros: ample parking
• Cons: GREASY food, disgusting cleanliness in the kitchen and bathroom, HORRIBLE unfriendly service.

08/10/08

Embarrassingly Slow and Over Priced

by chihaimap

After just coming back from the South and having great Southern hospitality and great food we went to Yam Yam's. We stood at the counter for 10 minutes before our order was taken. Our presents was not even acknowledged and no apologies was offered. We then proceeded to wait another 25 minutes for food that was already prepared. I would have left had it not be embarrassing to my step son. When we got our food it was nothing that I could not have cooked better at home. I ordered the beef rib dinner and received 3 4-inch ribs. Where do you find cows with 4-inch ribs anyway? It was clearly overpriced and the quality was not good. My wife and I and her son all left hungry and went to Campbell's to get some real Southern food.

• Pros: none
• Cons: Very bad service, over priced, below arerage food.

05/31/08

Reheated Meat!!

by needs2Bgood

This has got to be the most god forsaken BBq I've ever had!! No smoke present and smells like the "gas and go" grease deli!! Meat cooked hours if not days before then dipped in sauce and reheated when you order!! Gag reflex abound!!!Never eat here!!

• Pros: None
• Cons: everything you can imagine

05/30/08

Not clean. Average Food.

by shyoot

I have heard good stuff about this place. Though it was a couple years ago.

When I arrived, I was greeted as I entered the door by a few flies. Hmmmm.... oh well, it was summer and flies sometimes get in when the door gets opened. OK, fine. I sat down and my arm stuck to the table from somebody doing a shoddy wipe-down. When I scooted across the seat to let my husband sit next to me, I got what looked like cornbread crumbs all over my legs. When my husband was brought a high chair for our toddler, he was handed a crusty wooden high chair that looked like it had been used at least a dozen times before we got it. It had rice, beans and macaroni and cheese smeared in all cracks and crevices. Must have been the same person in charge of wiping it down as the booths.

We started with chicken wings as an appetizer. They were average. Nothing to rant and rave about. They were pretty large though. Then I moved on to the catfish. Not bad. But not impressive either. The mac and cheese was pretty good. And my son liked it. My husband ordered brisket. It was a little dry but the flavor was good. He also got succotash and it was pretty good.

Make sure you don't have to use the bathroom when going there. It's a scary endeavor.

Overall I was not impressed with this place. I figure if they can't make the dining area presentable and comfortable for their patrons and they can't even keep the bathroom up, what kind of shortcuts are going on in the kitchen?

The food wasn't great enough to overlook the shoddiness of their cleaning and prep for customers.

• Pros: Parking.
• Cons: Dirty.

04/29/08

Avoid until they have better SERVICE

by chilango26

I think the amount of food you get for the price is not good. The SERVICE is horrible. I dont think this place welcomes new customers. :( I drove 30 min to get the worst service.

• Pros: Easy to park
• Cons: too many to list

04/07/08

Prepare To Not Be Blown Away

by JodyGrinder

Collard greens, okra, yams were all good. The sauce was tangy but for my taste too sweet. I ordered rib tips. The meat left on the tips was on the thin side (bone to meat ratio) and the barbecue flavour was far from stellar. Not much smoke ring, the meat was firm and required cutting, the meat tasted very under smoked/cooked. However, staff was nice. The price is cheap. For cheap neighborhood soul food it is o.k..

Pros: Staff, sides, price

Cons: Barbecue

01/03/08

Can't stand the heat??

by strangewink

SO... After reading the terrible reviews for one of MY favorite places on here, it occured to me that maybe Yam Yams is not for everyone. The food is standard BBQ as you would have it at any stand or small order joint in the south. The staff are not friendly to some, but if you go in there and act stuck up or scared you might have a reason for their behaviour. On the whole I have been to YY many times, I go whenever I am in the area and although the staff has never offered me a fresh hot towel or a back rub, they deliver my order and leave me alone, which is exactly the experience you should be expecting. Their deep fried pork chop is one of the best things I have had to eat in this town, and yes there mac and cheese is not the best in the world, but their okra makes up for it. The place is not as repulsive as some reviews here would lead you to believe, its not a dentists office, but its not a trash compactor either. This is the place to go if you are craving good soul food at a damn fin price! Its not a French bistro, so all you food network quoting arm chair enthuisiasts should go somewhere else!

• Pros: Great deep fried pork, great okra, no over-enthusiastic wait staff
• Cons: small booths