The BEST beef short ribs from Blue Ribbon BBQ

I have been a big Blue Ribbon fan for a long time, and I'm not talking about the restaurant in New York City. I'm talking about Blue Ribbon Bar-B-Q in West Newton, Massachusetts, a real, local, barbecue institution "inspired by the roadside barbecue joints that dot the American south." I have been a big supporter of Blue Ribbon ever since I moved down the street from the restaurant several years ago. They have something for everyone including Big Green Salads if you're a health conscious barbecue lover - add some of their pulled chicken or amazing spicy chicken salad on top - or giant stuffed burritos if you like your barbecue with a little Mexican flair. They stuff gigantic, flour tortillas with rice and beans, cabbage, salsa, cilantro and sour cream along with your choice of pulled pork, chicken, or burnt ends. I used to eat one of these nearly every week.

*image of West Newton's exterior "borrowed" from Blue Ribbon's Flickr feed

I could go on and on about everything on their menu because honestly, in my opinion, nearly everything is great. I don't particularly like their cornbread, it's not consistent and usually dry, but seriously, everything else is superb. I love their pulled chicken, it's always super tender and delicious and their burnt ends are heavenly. Even their pulled pork is something every hog on the farm probably dreams of - tender and perfectly seasoned. They also have great ribs and great sides too. Their baked beans are some of the best around and I could live on a diet of their coleslaw alone. Seriously, good stuff.

What really sets Blue Ribbon apart, though, is their specials. Every day they have new specials up on the board; sides, platters, sandwiches, and desserts. One of my favorite sides that occasionally makes the specials board is their beets vinaigrette. Tender, sliced red beets with red onions, parsley and a delicious oil and vinegar dressing. They are sweet and tart and simply amazing. They even have a great meatloaf that appears on the board from time to time.

If I haven't already set Blue Ribbon up to be a great barbecue joint, it gets better. On Monday night I stopped in to pick up dinner for J and I. J asked me to pick her up a half jerk chicken, which is awesome, but I was still undecided when I walked in to the restaurant. Looking up at the specials for the evening, the beets vinaigrette was absent, but their mac & cheese was up, which I ordered. And there was also a line up on the board for some smoked beef short ribs. Unfortunately I forget what the glaze on them was, but wow, delicious. These beef short ribs might have been the BEST barbecue I have ever had from Blue Ribbon. I'm not kidding, I love everything on their regular menu and have never had anything bad from them, but these beef short ribs were just amazing. Two big, thick, meaty short ribs with a BEAUTIFUL smoke ring. They were tender, flavorful and just absolutely perfect examples of great barbecue. I hope they become regular visitors to the specials board, or better yet, regular menu itesm, because I will order them every single time I stop in.

Amazing beef short ribs with coleslaw and mac & cheese

Look how thick and meaty these ribs are!!

Look at this amazing smoke ring!

If you live in the greater Boston area and are looking for great barbecue, I highly recommend you stop into Blue Ribbon for some 'cue. They have two locations, the one I visit often in West Newton and a second in Arlington. Eat there, you won't be disappointed.

Blue Ribbon Bar-B-Q
1375 Washington St
Newton, MA 02465
Phone: 617.332.2583

or

908 Massachusetts Avenue
Arlington, MA 02476
Phone: 781.648.7427

New York Tour de Barbecue

On a recent trip to Manhattan I decide to embark on a mini tour de barbecue so I consulted with my friend Gary over at Pigtrip.net - he is a barbecue genius. I asked Gary where I should go for the best ribs in New York and as I expected he gave me some choices; Wildwood for saucy ribs or RUB (Gary's personal favorite) for smoky au natural, also known as dry rubbed. If it's beef ribs or brisket I'm looking for, Hill Country is where it's at, which happens to be just 4 blocks from RUB. So after considering my options and looking at a map, I decided I would start at RUB for some of their smoky ribs and then make my way over to Hill Country for those famous beef ribs.

RUB, which stands for Righteous Urban Barbeque, is a small place with a takeout counter on the right, seating with wait service on the left, and a bar in the back. With several rib cut options on their menu I needed some assistance. First was the choice between St. Louis ribs or baby back ribs. I was leaning towards the St. Louis because they are usually meatier. But then I had to choose between the short end or the bony end. The short end is the last seven ribs off the slab and is also known as the tender end; the bony end is first six bones off the slab and is usually much meatier. Meat was what I was after so I went with the bony end with a side of their vinegar based cole slaw. The ribs were very smoky, almost too much, but they were very tender with a nice smoke ring and crispy bark. The slaw was outstanding, I like creamy coleslaw as much as the next person, but this vinegar slaw was excellent and perfect alongside the ribs.

Next stop, Hill Country Barbecue Market. I stopped in around 3:30pm so the restaurant was pretty empty. I was greated by a nice young woman at the front door who asked if I had ever been there before. I said no, and quickly got a lesson in the barbecue market. Upon entering the market, I'm given a meal ticket. Meal ticket rules can be seen in the second image below, but basically you take your ticket to the butcher counter where you order your meat, I ordered one big beef rib, and the butcher will weigh and price your meat. He'll affix a deli counter style sticker to your meal ticket and direct you towards the sides and trimmings station. With hot and cold sides to choose from I settled on Cool as Cucumber cucumber salad and Confetti Cole Slaw.

The beef rib was big, tender and very delicious, and the cucumber salad was sweet and sour vinegary perfection; if I was a cucumber I would want to be made into this delicious salad. Finally the confetti cole slaw, lightly dressed this cole slaw was a little creamy and a lot good. If I hadn't come from RUB I would have ordered more than one beef rib and may have tried some of the other great sounding sides. I don't know about you, but beer braised cowboy pinto beans and campfire baked beans with burnt ends sound pretty awesome to me. In hindsight, I wish I had at least tried their skillet cornbread. I'll have to wait until next time, and trust me, there will be a next time.

The next time you're in New York City and craving some barbecue, you should definitely check these places out. I'd suggest you start at Hill Country first, with live music everyday and fantastic Texas barbecue, it's a real treat.

Hill Country Barbecue Market
30 West 26th Street (Between 6th and Broadway)
New York, NY 10010
Phone: 212.255.4544

RUB BBQ
208 West 23rd Street (Between 7th and 8th Avenues)
New York, NY 10011
Phone: 212.524.4300