Food: Bono's Pit Bar-B-Q

The stranger from a foreign land often gets shunned. Such is the case with Bono's Bar-B-Q, a regional barbecue chain that I recently visited. You see, Gainesville is Sonny's territory - Sonny Tillman himself is a big Gator fan, and his restaurants dominate the town. The only Bono's I know of, meanwhile, is a single place near I-75 and Newberry, perched almost precariously, as if the city itself has pushed it to the fringe.

It's good to have choices, I suppose, but does North Central Florida, and Gainesville in particular, really require all these barbecue chains? I wonder why on Earth there isn't a decent Italian or Chinese restaurant around here. In any case, Bono's isn't really anything to write home about.

Which isn't to say that the food is hatefully bad. But the old saying "Quantity has a quality all its own" applies here; if you do a side-by-side comparison, every dish Bono's makes is inferior. Sonny's has better baked beans, better banana pudding, a full salad bar, and (most importantly) better or equal meats. But Bono's is a cheap experience (7.79 will get you a BBQ plate, two sides, and banana pudding to boot), while Sonny's has recently raised prices. So like I said, it's good to have choices.

2/4 stars