Cedar Rapids Restaurant Guide

My husband and I love good barbecue. We decided to try Al and Irene's in Cedar Rapids. The staff were friendly, but everyone seemed tired. We ordered rib meals with beans and coleslaw. The meat was as tough, the sauce tasted like tomato paste,the beans were hard and the coleslaw was tasteless. We ate a little, threw the rest out and cut our losses. I think this is the place to go if you love barbecue, simply because it is called barbecue. But if you want delicious barbecue, I'd suggest you do some research for the area. I've had much better tasting barbecue than this many times in my lifetime.

I eat @ A & I everytime I travel to IC/CR area from Indiana.

i read about al and irenes, and was pretty fired up about going there to try the ribs. we were there right at 11.00 am opening. iwalked in and asked if they were open yet, and in the back ground someone said you got in the door didnt you, i fiqured that this was the rude person i read about. it turned out she was actually a very friendly waitress. i was disappointed in the ribs, they were a little tough, my wife wasn,t satisfied with her pulled pork sandwich, they poured bbq sauce over the top of it, turned out to be a sponge more or less, had to eat with a fork. might just have to give it a try later in the day when maybe al might be in.

We have been regular's of this "rib joint" since it opened in CR as Jim's Rib Haven. This is the best BBQ we have ever had! WE try BBQ when we travel, and ALWAYS compare it to Al and Irene's. A&I's is always the winner. Hands Down. And...remember, this is a casual place, nuttin fancy! But so dern good!

When you find this little place off the main strip you'll be pleasantly surprised. The food is excellent and their sauce is the best around. If you're in a rush for lunch don't go there pressed for time cause the place is jammed packed. Their meats are Hickory Smoked to perfection and when you put that sauce on it oh my goodness. TOTALY AWESOME

There sauce is some of the best there is There meats are well prepared and smoked to a very high standard The service is slow and the servers are rude The atmosephere is sparce but clean I would eat there on a regular basis if the service were better

Family owned. Excellent cuts of meat smoked to perfection. Choice of two homemade sauces: Mild and Hot. The facility is nothing fancy to look at, but then, this is what a casual B-B-Q house should be.