I went to Home Plate Bar-B-Que with my girlfriend after reading the positive reviews on this website. I am trying to be objective in my appraisal of the food there, but it really was not good. It was bad enough for me to write this piece. The main problem: the worst Buffalo wings I have ever eaten. I am really angry because I don't think it would be possible for anyone to sell those wings if they had tried them first themselves. The wing problems:

1)they were coated with a Sichuan-style oil-based sauce instead of a vinegar-based sauce. The difference should be obvious to the most casual diner. The restaurant is saving money by buying local, but you can't cut corners on essentials, like American cayenne pepper sauce. It was sad to look at those little carrot and celery sticks wading in puddles of Sichuan oil.
2)the wings were breaded heavily(freezer-bag, cheap-pub style). The drumettes were almost round, the wingettes had a more oblong shape.
3)The biggest drumettes had bloody, chewy meat on the bones

The wings(38rmb) were part of the meal. We had the pulled pork(60rmb), which was passable. I had the cheeseburger(30rmb), which was filled with Jinkelong-quality ground beef, seasoned with pepper and salt. Fairly bland, fairly tasteless. The cornbread was alright -- same healthy cornbread taste as you'd get at a farmer's restaurant in the Beijing suburbs. The other dish we had was a side, frozen french fries in a basket. Now, help me people...

Why do so many local western-style restaurants refuse to make french fries? If you are a western-style restaurant charging western-style prices, you should have homemade fries. I won't start on dill pickles.

Home Plate Bar-B-Que gave me a bill of 168rmb for two people. The markup on the food and drinks is similar to that of many other local restaurants