Greetings. I’m No Sauce Guy. I prefer my food without sauce. I will have reviews from Sauce Guy 1 & 2 (names WIP) alongside my own.
Together, you should be able to get a reasonable opinion. I review things based on my personal opinions and tastes. I’m a vinegar-based barbeque enthusiast and lover of food, generally. My favorite meat is Duck - to give you an idea. I think food should taste good without sauces. If it isn’t good without a sauce, the sauce is a crutch. Many of my friends think food is just a vessel for sauces. Thus, the blog. There are dozens of us. Dozens.
These are basically all going to be “I could go here once a week” kind of places. I like to eat out around once per week. I try to keep my costs to under $50-60, usually aiming for $20-30. Hard in Northern Virginia, but it’s my style. I typically tip 25% at full service restaurants as a matter of course. This will usually be included in the pricing.
I use the following rating system:
1 -> I wouldn’t recommend it even if it was free.
2 -> I would recommend if someone else was paying for most or all of it.
3 -> I would pay full price if I was nearby and hungry. I would not drive more than 20 minutes or so.
4 -> I would encourage you to make a trip to eat this. I would drive up to 45-60 minutes.
5 -> You should prioritize making a trip to go eat at this place. I would drive multiple hours.

1: Avoid at all costs. Food poisoning-tier.
2: Extremely disappointing, even if it were free.
3: If someone else is paying, suddenly it’s acceptable.
4: Might be okay if you’re desperate and nearby. This place is probably empty.
5: Decent food, nothing special. Wouldn’t go out of my way, just if I wanted that type of food.
6: Worth considering heavily if you’re in the area and hungry.
7: A good experience. I would prioritize eating lunch here. I would not drive here to eat, but if I was nearby I’m probably going here unless I have a desire to eat a certain kind of food.
8: Very good. Worth a short trip.
9: Excellent. Worth a longer trip.
10: Once in a lifetime.