Old Blue BBQ

PHENOMENAL!!!

The food is aahhhmazing. Every SINGLE Bite! They catered my church luncheon today and I had 2 plates. If you know me...you know I don't eat that much, but every item was amazing.

The silverware is "super fancy plastic" in my church sister's voice.

Just beautiful!

Came here for lunch. Was a little difficult to find, it is in a warehouse type building, nothing I associate a restaurant being located. Very small entrance with no dine in service. Friendly staff will take your order to go.
I had the pulled pork with the sweet st Louis bbq sauce and fries. The pulled pork was good especially the bbq sauce. French fries come salt and with pepper which was nice.
I would come here again but not convenient if you are just passing through.

Really good BBQ spot! Stopped by here a couple weeks ago to check it out due to all the good reviews. Spot is located in an industrial area off Eisenhower Ave. in Alexandria, not too far from Eisenhower Ave. Capital Beltway exit. The entrance is in the back of an industrial park so might be slightly hard to find.

Went on a Sunday morning around noon after church. First thing I noticed is there's no sit-down area or even a counter to order. It seems this business is primarily a catering/large order service, though they do take smaller, individual take-out orders as was my intention.

There was no one at the front greeting customers as you come in - in the front they have some QR instructions on how to order via their Square website which seemed kind of impersonal, but whatever. After a couple of minutes of navigating their menu online someone from the back did eventually come out to take my order.

I ordered their "Two + Two" option ($18), which was any two meats and any two sides. I got the sliced brisket and pulled pork, along with two orders of mac and cheese.The meal comes with two complimentary sauces, though they gave me a 3rd one to try for free, which was nice. (Not recalling the sauces I ordered, though I asked for the spiciest ones.)

Order came out in 4-5 minutes, which I took back home since the spot doesn't have seating.

The food itself was fantastic, especially the brisket and mac and cheese (though the pulled chicken was pretty good as well). Very tasty and larger-portioned than most BBQ spots that I'm used to. I'd put this spot right up there with any in NOVA in terms of food quality, and it might even be the best within 15 minutes or so of D.C.

If I was grading based just on food quality, I would give this place 5 stars. But just given the lack of sit-down options that nearly all other similar BBQ spots have and the lack of a front-facing counter to order, feel like I have to downgrade slightly to 4 stars, sorry! The lady who eventually came out to take my order was very pleasant though.

Noticed all the cooks and the manager were latina/latino, which was cool, though not something I've seen often at local BBQ spots.

This spot is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays for takeout. Overall the food was great and I'll definitely be back again multiple times to check out the other food options!

Great BBQ! Ordered from them for a promotion party - totally the easy button. They delivered, set up, came back and took it all away. The food was delicious. Many gluten free options which several guests needed. The only issue was our poor set up guy was given the wrong address, so he was a little late and frazzled. But delicious food, responsive service. Recommend!

Best bbq ribs in the DMV area! Before I tried old blue bbq, I am always loved Rockland's, but now I guess I have a new favorite.
Staff are so friendly and easy to chat with.

I ordered delivery thru Uber Eats and I really like my food. Very good. They did a great job packaging everything! I ordered the two meat entree with brisket and chicken. My sides are Mac and cheese and potato salad. Also I ordered some smoked wings. The sides are really good and I love the brisket. Very tender. I would definitely order from here again.

I had the opportunity to try Old Blue at the Christmas Market in downtown DC, and it was a nice experience! The cost and ease of ordering was so great, especially at such a crowded market.

I ordered the pork tamales and Mac n cheese. Both were pretty tasty! I loved the chunks of meat in the tamale and the spiral noodles in the mac. Both could have benefitted from a little more flavor--they had been sitting in a heater for a couple hours, so I understand why it might be better fresh. But I enjoyed them nonetheless!

Very good bbq, wings were very tender and juicy, brisket was great and pulled was excellent. All sides slaw, beans Mac and cheese and Texas caviar were excellent!

OMG delicious! We have used other BBQ catering companies and Old Blue is SO much better than the others. Delivery was prompt and service was exceptional. They provide all utensils and plates etc as well as amazing food. The brisket was tender, juicy and the BBQ sauces were excellent as well. Tons of food and plenty of leftovers, which was great for the next day. Wish I had gotten pictures, but it was that good and people were crowded around it so that is why I didn't get to it.

Pitch-perfect. The Roger Federer of DC metropolitan barbecue.

As soon as you pull up to that slightly ajar door in an industrial park to pick up your order, the difference between Old Blue and everyone else is apparent. The operation is unassuming and clinical. Serving size containers are neatly packed before you arrive. It's not a restaurant - if you're not getting catering, it's either delivery (free for online orders currently!) or pick up and eat elsewhere (there's a park nearby).

I had the brisket and pulled pork (meats come with excellent coleslaw/pickles thrown in and some interesting sauce choices), cornbread (comes with good butter), peach bourbon baked beans (basically beans meets peach cobbler - savory and sweet, but feels like a main course side, not dessert), and mac - which stole the show. It's hard to comment specifically because everything is of such uniform excellence, you can only pick highlights from personal preference.

The operator's competition pedigree is obvious - absolutely everything from the perfectly even cuts, complex and precise flavor profiles, the deep pink smoke rings, and balanced consistency (halfway between fall apart and firm), even the presentation. Somehow it just looks incredibly neat and professional even though it's simply unadorned meat in a tin.

The only "critique" I could possibly present - which is only a matter of philosophy, not quality - is that Old Blue makes you feel like a judge at a competition. Of course, competition vs. restaurant style is completely different, but nonetheless the BBQ is so tame and perfectly executed, it left me wanting more grit and bite. The soft bark, smokiness and flavor are all excellent, but understated, without some of rough around the edges brashness that can make less perfect barbecue more memorable. This is good BBQ, period, but it'd be perfect for first-timers and people who think they don't like BBQ.