text: When I was a wee little chit I really enjoyed the myth of the cowboy Seeing how I am a native of Arizona there were plenty of places that satisfied my preoccupation with fried rattlesnake and buffalo burgers ghost towns and hole in the wall saloons where I would feel like a hot shit sitting down for a sarsaparilla nnOne of my favorite places to frequent as a kid was Bill Johnsons Big Apple where there was sawdust on the floor the wait staff carried pistols and sported Texassized big hair and the whole rustic feel piqued my excitementnnI recently returned to this place after a year hiatus once for breakfast and once for a Fathers Day lunch and I was sorely disappointed that it no longer held the same mystique It is really not the food or the atmosphere that has changed It is the same old place it is always been it is just that my expectations that have risen over the years I have had some truly superior barbeque since I was a kiddo and Bill Johnsons no longer measures upnnBreakfast is simple with a variety of hearty combos The hash browns were a disappointment soggy oily potatoes with no other flavor The biscuits were mediocre and extremely thick more like fresh hard tack than a fluffy treat Eggs fried breakfast meat and chicken fried steak are difficult to screw up so that all came out fine Not exemplary but perfectly acceptable nnAt lunch my father two sisters and I had five different barbequed meats between us and a steak with a bunch of sides to share and sample All of the meat aside from the steak had a smoky flavor that was not too vinegary or sweet as some barbeque sauces tend to be The pulled pork and beef brisket were delicious but had huge chunks of fat floating around in them that repulsed my gristlehating taste buds with their texture so I had to be vigilant There was nothing extraordinary about the steak or the pork sausage and the chopped pork sandwich was a bit on the dry side nnSide dish wise I was very disappointed The coleslaw was terrible swimming in mayonnaise with no hint of any other flavor The chicken noodle soup was decent with doughy noodles but also was lacking in flavor and contained very little chicken The barbequed beans tasted nothing like their exemplary meat counterpart However the chili was quite good with cheddar cheese onions green peppers pinto beans and plenty of meat There was not much spiciness to it but the flavor was great Or I was just exceptionally hungry nnFor dessert we had their deep dish apple pie which tasted the same as it would have from the freezer at my local grocer nnI was mildly disappointed by the service each time I went The wait staff were slow and terse and at one point insulting My littlest sister is adopted and the woman straight out asked Oh you are just visiting these good folks are not you At which point my jaw dropped she gave the woman a quizzical look and said No I live with them That is down right rude to me but seeing how it was Fathers Day we kept on smiling and munching on home cookingnnIm not sure if I would return again based on the overall experience but I know I will always have fond memories of it from childhood