Welcome back to Omaha Fattie Reviews! I feel like it has been forever. I’ve been very active on social media but hadn’t released any official reviews on the website since 2022. Time to get back to it and represent in 2023! I was toying with the idea of doing video reviews as an alternative to writing, but it hasn’t happened yet. Maybe I will get off my duff and make that happen this year.

BBQ on my mind! For years I have been saying that I was going to get out to Hartland Bar-B-Que located at 5402 NW Radial Highway in Benson and a few days ago it finally happened! Hurray! Man, thinking back on it, I wanted to make sure to support them back when a vehicle ran into the building. I’ve been to the Benson area so many times, but always drove by this location.
Can you smell the smoke? I most certainly could as we walked towards the entrance. Their sign out front says, “Where you can taste the smoke”. We were about to find out if that statement was true or not. Let’s go!
As we walked in, there was a couple in front of us that were just placing their order. When it was our time to order they heard us say that it was our first visit and they excitedly explained that they love Hartland BBQ. They drive an hour to claim their Bar-B-Que goodness. Okay. Things just got interesting. Not like we need to get hyped up for BBQ.
Being that it was our first visit, I had to make sure we experienced a variety of menu items. The menu is not too extensive here, so that cut down on a lengthy decision-making process. I rocked with the Brisket Sandwich, Half Spicy Sausage and 3 Bone Rib Special that comes with 2 sides and cornbread. A bonus was that we had gone an hour before closing and I think because of that I was blessed with an extra rib. Or maybe this Omaha Fattie thing does really come in handy? In any case, I was happy! I chose potato salad and wanted to get green beans, but they only had 1 order of those left and my daughter wanted them too, so I let her have them knowing that we were going to share anyway. I selected the coleslaw as my other side.
So, you’re probably wondering what my wife and kids ordered, right? “It Doesn’t Matter!” Whoa! I’m sorry! I’ve been watching a lot of old wrestling clips and The Rock’s catchphrase was floating around in my head. Seriously though, my wife ordered the Half Chicken Dinner and selected the potato salad and baked beans. She doesn’t normally order baked beans but decided to give them a go. My oldest daughter went with the Pulled Pork with a side of potato salad and as previously mentioned, the green beans. My youngest wasn’t super hungry and only wanted potato salad.

We were equipped with plenty of sauces. There was mild, sweet and hot. I began my meal with a cut from the sausage. It was pleasant. There was a nice snap when I was cutting into it and a gentle heat as chewed it. I would have been okay if that heat level was turned up a notch, but super solid. The ribs were not sauced which allows you to experience a more direct flavor sampling and you can sauce to your comfort level. The exterior of the ribs had a nice texture. It was like a glossy crust. I first tried with no sauce, and it was okay. The meat was well cooked, however, there wasn’t a huge punch of smoke like I thought there would be. Not a strong hit from the seasoning either. The meat didn’t fall off the bone though it did easily separate. The hot sauce was a bit too hot for my liking, but the sweet was on point and made a nice addition. I think there may have been honey in this one and it was good! The Brisket Sandwich was of the pulled variety rather than the sliced. I don’t have a preference as long as it tastes good. The first thing of note was the big soft bun. If I had to guess, I’d say it was a Rotella’s bun. The brisket itself looked appealing to the eye with a mix of nicely charred bits and little moist pieces. Like the ribs, I didn’t find any flavor that blew me away and I applied sauce to round out my bites. I think the meat was also cooked well.
My wife said that the chicken was okay. It wasn’t as moist as she would have liked, and she wanted it to be more seasoned. This is something that she has found more than once at restaurants. The chicken tends to be drier than preferred. Gotta find that sweet spot with chicken and it may be harder to obtain. For her order, the beans made the biggest impression. Again, she doesn’t typically order beans, so this was a welcomed surprise. A little something unexpected was the pieces of apple that were in the baked beans. They brought the flavor with this side!

My oldest daughter’s opinion was in line with what I have said so far. Her pulled pork was okay. We didn’t go into much detail about it, but she did find the nice slice of bread prize at the bottom of her pulled pork. That is always a plus! You can pour your sauce on the meat and let the bread soak up all the goodness at the bottom of the pile. Her green beans were good. I got my few mouthfuls in and agreed. I asked the wonderful lady working the front counter what was in the green beans and she said just salt, pepper and butter. I surely thought there was something else in them because I couldn’t place the flavor. My wife thought it might have been because they use real butter and that is something that we don’t use in our house. Whatever it was, it worked!
Okay, we know that the green beans and baked beans were good, but what about the potato salad, coleslaw and the cornbread? I’m not even going to wait to tell you that the cornbread was exceptional! Like…so good! It was almost cake. Sweet and so soft. Probably some of the best cornbread that I’ve had. The potato salad was good, but if there was a sprinkle of smoked paprika included it would have taken it to the next level. I don’t know about you, but we like deviled egg potato salad, and there were pieces of egg spread throughout. My youngest daughter is a potato salad fiend and she was satisfied. On to the coleslaw. It was okay. It was mayo based and had a good crunch to every bite. I would have liked a more generous use of sugar here. Whenever I think of coleslaw, I think of what they serve at KFC. I’ve always enjoyed that. Don’t come for me!
The service was excellent! This small space was kept clean and maintained by the front counter person. She was the cashier, brought the food to the counter when it was ready, and cleaned. One of the biggest things that stuck out to me was when she was cleaning out in the dining room, and I asked for a couple of boxes. Not only did she immediately stop to help, but she said, “Just let me go and wash my hands.” Yes, I know that seems like common sense. I also know that everyone doesn’t exhibit that behavior in the food service industry. Bonus points in my book! She also recognized US from Facebook which is always cool. I think what is even cooler is that it isn’t just me that people recognize, but they recognize my family too.
Overall experience was…okay. That seemed to be the theme of a good amount of this review. The smoke and seasoning weren’t as prominent as we hoped. I did find that after a few bites from the ribs I was getting a smooth and subtle smoke on my tongue. There were some stars here though! The cornbread, the service, and even the price. For all that we ordered, the total was only $63.01. Oh, and we got a Jarritos, 2 lemonades and another drink. The steal of the day was the 3 bone rib special with 2 sides for only $9.95. That is a marvelous deal! Would I travel an hour for Hartland Bar-B-Que? Probably not, but I would travel 24 minutes again and give them another try. I absolutely want more of that cornbread! There is a lot of tough competition in this area for BBQ.
I give Hartland BBQ 3 Fatties. Have you been? If so, what do you think?
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my thoughts on food. You are amazing!


