Cole's Corner

Cole's Corner
25 S. Greenville Road
Greenville, MI 48838

We have gone here before. The last time I was here, I ordered the fried chicken and it tasted like fish. It turns out obviously that they deep fry their chicken in the same fryer as the fish, and to me that is a mortal sin. I walked out exclaiming, never again.

But tonight my wife Penny suggested we give it another chance, and so I acquiesced.

Of course tonight I stayed away from the chicken. I opted instead for Cole's Corner's self-proclaimed specialty, smoked barbecue pork. One of the specials tonight was actually smoked barbecue pork with fish. Huh? But yeah. Smoked (there on the premises) barbecued pork is the main thing they do here, and I have been hankering ribs for quite a while so I went for the half rack. And a baked potato and baked beans.

Penny went for the Prime Rib, with a baked potato, and her obligatory tossed salad. Salads are....how shall I say.....BORIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG.

Penny's Prime Rib came with the Au Jus on the side and I never like that. Soak the Prime Rib in it, and let the miracle happen. Au jus on the side seems a little too Mickey Dees style for me.

For two of us with baked potatoes the butter was a little light. Sure they were wonderful about bringing us more, but really shouldn't they just bring enough to begin with? But the big plus in my eyes, was that it was soft. It wasn't frozen. That means a lot to me.

I ordered the half rack of ribs and the baked potato, with baked beans on the side. And holy moly. For a guy that looks forward to traveling to the south every year just to be able to eat at a Sonny's Bar-B-Que, this was Heaven. I have no idea why they gave me a knife to go at the ribs with, since with a little help from the fork, fell right off the bone. Tasty beyond belief. I tried the baked beans. Couldn't believe it. I asked Penny to try the baked beans. She ended up eating a bunch of them. She said the baked beans were like eating a dessert.  Just as an explanation, the beans came in a strong brown sugar barbecue flavor complete with shredded pork in the mix. Awesome. Both Penny and I declared...."the best we've ever had."

To be honest, on a Saturday night, for Prime Rib, this isn't the place. But anything pork related, this is DEFINITELY the place. They are trying. Are they Sonny's? Who knows? But they are the best we have here in the great white north.

The Good: Great Ribs, and other smoked pork entrees. And I would bet the smoked beef brisket is pretty great too. The Baked beans are second to none. Go just for these. Sonny's wishes their Campbell's baked beans could be this good. Trust Cole's when they brag about their pork. They are not lying.

The Bad: Their hours. They are closed Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. On Friday and Saturday they are open from 9 am until 9 pm and on Sunday 9am until 3 pm. That's it.

The Ugly: They actually will drop your chicken in the same fryer wherein they drop the fish. This should be against the law. This is horrible. NEVER ever get chicken here.

Grade: B