Entering Sadie's Saloon is sort of like starting a choose-your-own-adventure book. Stepping through the front door, you find yourself in a tiny foyer with two doors. If you turn left, you walk into the bar; right, and you're in the dining area. The two are separated by a half-wall that does a good job of separating the drinking crowd from the eating crowd and vice versa, but you can always look over to the other side and see what would've happened if you'd chosen the other path, sort of like when you mark your page with a finger and read both options before continuing.

Like most choose-your-own-adventure books, though, the path you should take is completely obvious. If you're eating at Sadie's, you should be getting one thing and one thing only: the steak tips. There are plenty of other good items on the menu: the pulled pork sandwich is excellent, as is the buffalo chicken salad, and the onion rings are very, very good. But going to Sadie's and not getting any sort of tips is like going to Ben & Jerry's and ordering plain vanilla, waffle cone, no jimmies. Nothing wrong with it, but you're missing the point.

The meat, the original marinade, the cooking process...all have been perfected at Sadie's to a level beyond the reach of ordinary mortals. The turkey tips and teriyaki steak tips are delicious, but they are only shadows of the original, mere prints of a Monet. The steak tips are a transcendental experience that must be sampled to be appreciated. I cannot say enough to do them justice, and it pains me to know that my poor words paint such an inadequate picture, so I will say no more.

Most of the sides are excellent--the aforementioned onion rings, the above-average french fries, and the garlic mashed potatoes particularly stand out, and the salads are very good if you're looking for something cool. Service is always friendly and fairly efficient. TVs of various sizes are tuned to sports channels to provide entertainment should you find the conversation flagging. The beer selection is adequate, if unoriginal. But then, if you want beer, you should really be across the street at Watch City or Bison County. You're at Sadie's for the tips, remember?

Bison County occupies a prime location on Moody Street, near Jordan's Furniture. The entry opens onto the busy bar and some tables in view of the grill. A second room offers quieter dining. The decor features rustic brick walls, wood floors, booths, and wood topped tables, with classic advertising posters. A pint of draft or bottle of microbrew goes for 3.50, and regular beer for 3.00. An endlessly refilled soda is 1.50. The wagon train entree (13.25) features turkey, beef, and buffalo, nicely grilled to order. The baby back ribs (16.95) are an ample serving of meaty ribs, available with a Texas or southern sauce. The service on this visit was deemed brusque.

My daughter and I are visiting in Waltham for 5 weeks. We''ve eaten out at Bison Country twice now, once just us and again with another family with an infant. I wanted to say, having looked at the reviews, that we had a very good experience. We loved the food, considering ourselves BBQ-knowledgeable. The baby back ribs were excellent, as were the sweet potato fries -- and we think we know our SP fries, given our experience at the New Jersey shore boardwalk joints. We had the Steak Caesar, burgers, brisket sandwich and pulled pork sandwich. All recommended. The service both times was good (not brusque as someone else mentioned). The front room near the bar is cooler, since the rear room overlooks the open grill, but the latter is fun to watch for the fiery action there. So, all in all, way good chow there.

Like peanut butter and jelly, Nomar (Nomaaaaah) and the Red Sox, and Elvis and polyester jumpsuits, blues music and barbecue are meant to be together. Jake and Earl's Dixie Roadhouse does its best to combine good music with good barbecue. Of course, since we do live north of the Mason Dixon line, it is unreasonable to expect Jake's to get every detail correct. For the North, however, they do a pretty damn good job.

The giant neon "Jake's" sign and B.B. King's mellow music greeted us as we walked into the restaurant and bar. The walls are painted yellow and lined with 100 bottles of hot sauce. The bar to our right had a few people drinking beers and watching the Red Sox game on one of the overhead TVs. We, however, did not come here to drink, be social, or watch the game. We came here to eat.

Fortunately for us, Jake's was ready to feed us. As the waitress showed us to our seats, we passed by a couple that had just received their plates of food. At first I was in shock; "Did those people order three entrees each? How on earth are they going to eat all of that food?" I was convinced that there was some sort of mix up in the kitchen or that those people had tapeworms. It is not possible for people to eat that much food.

We sat down, perused the menu and after a brief debate, my girlfriend Katie, my friend Dan, and I decided what to order. Dan and I started out with an order of Kings' Wings($7.95). Living in the North, I have grown accustomed to buffalo wings that are small and spicy. The King's wings are spicy, but by no means small. Each wing was about the size of my fist. The wings were smoky and covered with moist tender chicken that falls off the bone. Simply fantastic.

For dinner, I had the Texas brisket($12.95). The plate was piled high with tender brisket, three kinds of BBQ sauce, Cole slaw, baked beans, a brick of corn bread and slice of watermelon. The cornbread was a little dry and not very flavorful. The rest of the food, however, was fantastic. The brisket was tender and irresistible once it had been drowned in BBQ sauce.

Dan ordered the Delta Double (ribs and chicken, ($15.95). This entrée is aptly named because only Delta Burke could eat the whole plate. The ribs were tender, juicy, and perfectly cooked. In most restaurants, a piece of lettuce is used to garnish a plate. Not at Jake and Earl's. Instead, they use half of a chicken. Like all of the other meat, the roasted chicken was perfectly cooked, tender, and delicious. The only problem was that Dan was so full that he did not have room to eat it and had to take it home for lunch. The Delta Double could easily feed two or three people.

Katie, who doesn't east most types of meat, ordered the Deep Fried Jumbo Shrimp($13.95). Once again, Jake and Earl's did not disappoint, serving great tasting food, and plenty of it. The ten or so jumbo shrimp were covered with a slightly spicy batter, fried to perfection, and served with a tangy dipping sauce that expertly balanced the spiciness of the batter. The shoestring fries served on the side were also good, but got a little greasy after a while. Except for the lack of sweetened ice tea (if you are from the South, you will understand that sugar mixed in to ice cold tea does not compare), she left satisfied and stuffed.

After eating all of these wonderful oversized plates of food I had only one question, "How on earth can anyone be blue after eating here?" I paused and thought for a minute and answered my question, "They are singing the blues because they no longer fit through a doorway, let alone into their own pants." Good thing I was born a northerner.

Just wanted to let you know, I recently visited Jake's Dixie Roadhouse with several friends. The service was horrendous; it took an hour to get our food, the food was mediocre at best, and when we complained, the management was rude and unaccomadating. I would NOT reccomend visitng the restaurant, and wanted you to be aware of our experience.