Today we broke our cardinal rule for BBQ tours:  we visited a BBQ chain.  While we normally restrict our BBQ adventures to Mom ‘n’ Pop places, we thought it only fair to include one chain restaurant in this year’s tour, just to see how it would stack up against the rest of the contenders.  So, we struck out for Florence where we settled in for some ‘cue at Famous Dave’s BBQ.

Inside, Famous Dave’s is indistinguishable from any other chain restaurant with names like O’Fridlebees.  Or something like that.  You know…knick-knacks on the wall, spunky servers in uniforms, manufactured kitsch everywhere.  Still, we weren’t there to marvel at the decor so we quickly made our selections from the menu and waited for the ‘cue to arrive.  Service was relatively expedient — drinks were promptly refilled and the food arrived quickly and efficiently.  I ordered up a half slab of baby back ribs and some brisket, which came with cornbread, corn on the cob, and two sides.  I went with the mac-n-cheese and baked beans for my sides.

The brisket was an interesting case.  It was tender, but the flavor and texture was just…off.  A little rubbery, and tasting a little bit of liquid smoke.  I was never able to put my finger on it, but there was just something about the brisket that wasn’t right.  The fact that they were sliced into perfect little rectangles exactly the same size and width was a bit disconcerting and in no way helped my overall impression of it.  But, the ribs were actually pretty good.  They came sauced, but only with a light coating.   I enjoyed that the ribs had a little fight to them, having to gnaw a little bit to separate meat from bone.   Definitely a step above the ribs you usually find at the megachains and a pleasant surprise.  Famous Dave’s offered six sauces to choose from, all of which were entirely too sweet for my tastes, but none of which were truly horrific like the sauce we ran into at Hooligan’s.  The sides were all average, although the cornbread was better than most.  Just a hint of sweet, unlike the cake that passes for cornbread all too often these days.

So, after all that, how does Famous Dave’s stack up against its smaller competition?  Surprisingly well!  You’ll never walk out of a Famous Dave’s thinking to yourself, “Man, that was GOOD BBQ!”  But if you need a quick BBQ fix and there’s a Famous Dave’s nearby you could certainly do much worse.

BBQ Revue is a perennial favorite, so we figured it would be a good idea to stop by for a benchmark as the 2009 tour winds down.  Located in an old Frisch’s on Madison Rd. next to Madison Bowl, BBQ Revue has been churning out high-quality barbecue for many years.  From the smoker around back to the large pig in front of the entrance, the place screams BBQ.   The aroma of smoked meat that greets you upon opening the door is enough to knock the most die-hard vegetarian off the wagon.

With the mood set, it was time for some serious BBQ eating.  First off, BBQ Revue serves up the best back ribs in Cincinnati.  Good ribs can be had elsewhere, but all pale in comparison.  The ribs at BBQ Revue are full of smoky flavor and just the right kind of chewy, but it’s the rub that really sets them apart.   The rub has a little black pepper kick to it that accents the other flavors that permeate deep into the meat, making for an almost otherworldly wallop of flavor that hits you with every bite.  The accompanying sauce is vinegar based and thin, perfectly complementing the complex flavor of the ribs.  BBQ Revue also is a standout in the mac-n-cheese department.  Unlike most mac-n-cheese you find at other BBQ joints, at BBQ Revue the macaroni hasn’t had all its texture baked or boiled out of it, and the oh-so-creamy cheese blend maintains interest beyond the first few bites.  The chicken is excellent, but the pulled pork and brisket are merely average.

With one day left on this year’s BBQ Tour it seems likely BBQ Revue will be maintaining its stranglehold on “best Cincinnati ribs” for another year.

Since Hooligan’s Pub advertises having the “Best Ribs in Town,”  “Winner of the Great Ohio Rib Cook Off,” we decided we had to stop by and see if the braggadocio was warranted.  Hooligan’s Pub is located in a former Howard Johnson’s near the corner of Ridge and Highland in Pleasant Ridge.  It features a spacious restaurant and bar area, along with nice outdoor seating next to some beach volleyball courts.

As there was nothing else BBQ-related on the menu, we all ordered up half slabs of ribs, bantered with the friendly wait-staff and eagerly awaited our ribs.  The ribs appeared after a short wait and we all dug in.  The first thing you notice about the ribs is the sauce, which is thick and sweet.  (Think Montgomery Inn.)  Sadly, the sauce was cloyingly sweet and nothing could remove the flavor from our mouths.  That’s a shame because the ribs were decent.  The ribs were clearly baked instead of smoked and were fall-off-the-bone tender.  The lack of smoke meant the rib meat didn’t have much flavor other than that provided by the slightly sickening sauce they were slathered in.  The texture was good, but just couldn’t compensate for the other shortcomings.  All-in-all, decent “bar food” ribs, but nothing to warrant a second visit.

We’re not sure what “The Great Ohio Rib Cook Off” is or was, but we imagine it might have been two guys in their backyard.  For my money, Hooligan’s doesn’t even have the best ribs in the neighborhood.  That said, we were impressed with the friendly service and overall atmosphere.  Hooligan’s Pub seems like a fun place to watch the game, have a few brews, and enjoy some bar food.  Just don’t expect much from the ribs.

The tour resumed today at KT’s BBQ and Deli located in Reading near the intersection of Reading and Galbraith.  The first thing you notice about the place is the busty mannequin, “Barbe Q,” greeting visitors by the front door.  Barbe Q, you’ll remember, has caused quite a stir recently.  The store itself has a small area inside which is decorated with headshots from famous folks who have dropped by, along with a counter for placing orders but no room for indoor dining.  There is a picnic table and two smaller tables outside the restaurant, but most of the business is clearly carry-out.

KT’s had just reopened today after a three week hiatus for vacation and as such had only a limited menu to choose from.  Pulled pork, chicken, or brisket sandwiches with green beans or cole slaw were the only menu items available, although mac-n-cheese was “in the oven.”  We’ll have to return another time to try the full menu, but we walked out with two pork sandwiches, a brisket sandwich, and two orders of slaw.

My brisket sandwich was very good, especially with the thin, vinegary BBQ sauce provided separately in a small plastic tub.  It’s hard to really give the lowdown on KT’s given the lack of food available, but I can say without hesitation the sandwiches were excellent.  Service from two ladies at the counter was friendly and efficient, although the frequent intrusions by the owner to bark out reasons for the limited menu (no one was asking) suggest perhaps he could use another three weeks of vacation.

The tour continued today with a trip to Findlay Market where we hoped to visit both Ms. Helen’s Grille and Mr. Pig.  Unfortunately, Mr. Pig was closed so we concentrated our efforts on Ms. Helen’s Grille.  Located in a booth inside Findlay Market, Ms. Helen’s Grille presents a cheery storefront with a menu of BBQ and soul food at reasonable prices.

We were disappointed to discover they were out of back ribs for the day, but happily settled for some rib tips and, out of curiosity, “turkey ribs.”  Our orders were completed with sides of mac-n-cheese and “smothered cabbage.”    The rib tips were succulent and full of flavor, covered (but not drowning) in Ms. Helen’s own, excellent BBQ sauce.

Frankly we’re still not sure exactly what part of the turkey comprised the “turkey ribs,” all we know is that they were absolutely delicious.  Fall-off-the-bone tender and very flavorful.   The sides were of equally high quality — both the mac-n-cheese and the smothered cabbage received high marks from the whole group.  Ms. Helen promises they’ll have ribs if we stop back on a Friday, which we will definitely have to do.  For once, we had consensus — Ms. Helen’s Grille ranks among the best in our tour.

Know of a local (non-chain) BBQ place we’ve missed?  Drop me a note in the comments and we’ll try to check it out!

Our final BBQ tour stop for the week was at J&W BBQ located at the corner of Montgomery and Landsdown in Norwood/Pleasant Ridge.  Unlike the other “brick-and-mortar” BBQ joints we’ve visited, J&W BBQ is a trailer in a small parking lot along Montgomery Rd.

Upon exiting the car, we were greeted by the sweet aroma of BBQ as we made our way over to the trailer to place our order.  Wanting to sample as much as we could, we ordered up a full slab of spare ribs, some beef ribs, a whole chicken, some pulled pork, mac-n-cheese, collard greens, candied yams, coleslaw, and potato salad.  Hey, there were five of us!  Since J&W BBQ didn’t have anywhere to sit and enjoy our food, we went down the road a bit to Drake Park where we picnicked under the shelter and enjoyed the fine of view of beautiful I-71.  I started in on the beef ribs first.  Picking the massive rib bone up in my hands and gnawing the meat off the bone made me feel like I was in a Flintsones episode and thoroughly satisfied the carnivore in me.  The beef ribs were the only item we got in the mild sauce, which was a little sweet for my taste.  The beef ribs were very chewy and required a lot of effort to separate the meat from the bone.  Fun to eat, but not especially tasty — no surprise it isn’t offered at most of the BBQ places around here.

Next I started in on the spare ribs.  The hot sauce was a definite improvement over the mild, although it was at most a medium heat.  The spare ribs were a little on the chewy side and had little, if any, smoke flavor.  The chicken was a real bright spot — crispy skin on the outside and tender, juicy meat inside.  If there was anything wrong with the chicken it was the fact that it, like everything else, was absolutely drowning in sauce.  We each shared a bit of the pulled pork sandwich and all agreed that it was a step up from, say, JTM, but still nothing special.   I thought the mac-n-cheese was pretty good, but I was alone in that opinion.  The collard greens, potato salad, and slaw were all unremarkable.  Good, but not great.  We all found the candied yams to be delicious.

The general consensus was that of disappointment.  I was the lone “I liked it!” vote from our group.  While I did enjoy my meal there is no doubt that it comes in a distant 4th out of the 4 places we’ve visited thus far on this year’s BBQ tour.  It’s worth a stop if you’re in the neighborhood and craving BBQ, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to return.

Today we ventured out to Rachel’s Bar-B-Que And Soul on Seymour Ave. near Jordan Crossing.  Rachel’s Bar-B-Que And Soul has two small tables inside, and a nice covered picnic area outside.

The menu includes burger, coneys, fried chicken, fried fish, a plethora of Sunday dinners, and or course…BBQ.  Since our BBQ contingent dwindled to three die-hard BBQ hounds today, we ordered the full slab rib dinner which included two sides.  We opted for mac-n-cheese and baked beans as our sides, and got a slice of sweet potato pie to share.  The sides were both excellent.  The baked mac-n-cheese had a nice consistency and weren’t drowning in cheese.  The baked beans were sweetened with brown sugar and were easily the best baked beans we’ve encountered on this or any other BBQ tour.   But we didn’t go to Rachel’s Bar-B-Que And Soul for the sides, we were there to try the ‘cue.  The mountain of spare ribs we got were drowning in a sauce best described as average, but even that couldn’t cloak the pitch-perfect texture and flavor of the ribs.

These ribs fell off the bone with just a slight nudge from a fork or knife, something I’m used to seeing with back ribs, but never with spare ribs.  Despite receiving what appeared to be an absolutely gluttonous amount of ribs, the three of us had no trouble polishing them off, and still had room to split the piece of sweet potato pie which was moist and delicious with a nice cinnamon aftertaste.  The perfect way to polish of a fine BBQ lunch.

Day two of the BBQ got off to an inauspicious start.  We had originally planned to visit KT BBQ in Reading, but arrived to find them closed while the owner was on vacation.  Undaunted we headed over to Forest Park to see what Scott’s BBQ had to offer.  Scott’s BBQ is located in a strip mall on Northland Blvd. and doesn’t have a terribly promising storefront.

Upon entering the restaurant we were further disappointed to discover that it was decorated about like a conference room at the Marriott, complete with sleep-inducing smooth jazz emanating from speakers throughout the room.  Not exactly the motorcyles and blues we found at the Landen Smokehouse.  Still, while ambiance is nice, BBQ is king and we were there for BBQ.  We ordered up a whole mess of ‘cue with all the accoutrements.  Two slabs of spare ribs, a large order of rib tips, brisket sandwiches all around, mac-n-cheese, baked beans, and potatoes-and-onions, along with a couple of cornbread muffins.  (I saw some peach cobbler be delivered  too, but I’m pretty sure it was gobbled up before it hit the table.)

Everything was slathered in “Big Bob’s” BBQ sauce, made on location from a recipe that’s been in the Scott family for 80 years.  Ordinarily I prefer my BBQ with the sauce on the side so I can get a good taste of the meat before saucing it up, but this sauce was so good I can’t complain.  Scott’s BBQ owner Larry Scott was kind enough to drop off a bowl of their hot sauce as well which was an excellent addition to our spread for those of us who like things a little more on the spicy side.   As someone who prefers back ribs to spare ribs, I can honestly say these were some of the best spare ribs I’ve ever had the pleasure to encounter.  Just the right amount chewy, not too much gristle, with lots of smoky flavor.  The rib tips were, not surprisingly, of the same high quality as the ribs.  But the brisket sandwich, oh the brisket sandwich.  Full of flavor, not too dry — hands down the best brisket sandwich I’ve had in the Cincinnati area.

Easily the best stop of the tour thus far, and I suspect will give some of our favorites from our last BBQ tour a run for their money when we revisit our favorites at the end of this tour.  If you’re ever in the neighborhood, be sure to give Scott’s a try.

After a 2 year hiatus, the annual BBQ tour is back and better than ever!  (View our last tour here.)  For our first stop on the tour this year, we visited a relative newcomer to the Cincinnati BBQ scene, Landen Smokehouse.  Pulling up in parking lot immediately piqued our interest, as the sign outside is crafted from sheets of plywood.

Inside, the mouth-watering smell of smoked meat hung thick in the air and John Lee Hooker played over the stereo as we sidled past a few vintage motorcycles on the way to the counter to place our orders.  I couldn’t pass up the “Meat Sampler” which consisted of a 1/2 rack of ribs, pulled pork, and brisket for $15.  Several sides were available, but after watching the meat be piled into my styrofoam container I figured the meat was going to plenty on its own.  A half dozen different styles of BBQ sauce were available, all but two of which are made onsite.  The “House” and “Zesty” sauces were particularly good.  But enough about all that — we were there for meat, and meat we got.

The ribs were excellent.  Lots of smoke flavor and and a not-too-chewy texture put these within hog-calling distance of any other ribs in town.  The rub had a little black pepper spice to it that added a nice kick.  A few in our party were a bit put off that the membrane on the underside of the ribs wasn’t removed, but it was easy enough to remove before or while eating — not something that bothered me in the least.  The pulled pork was absolutely fantastic.  Lost of flavor, excellent texture…probably the single best item I sampled.  The brisket, while promising, ultimately failed to deliver.  The brisket was rubbed in what tasted like the same rub as the ribs and served to nicely compliment the brisket as well.   Again, the smoke flavor was evident throughout the brisket slices, but unfortunately the brisket was a little on the dry and chewy side.  Good brisket is almost impossible to find in the Cincinnati area, but even so there is better brisket to be had elsewhere.

All in all, I found Landen Smokehouse to be a worthy addition to the BBQ scene in Cincinnati and a fine way to kick off this year’s BBQ tour.

I really meant to write up the previous two days in Paris as they happened, but…more on that later. Sunday we started the day at Notre Dame, which was especially impressive as services were in progress and organ music filled the cathedral. From there we walked around the area, exploring several churches, Pont Neuf, the Latin Quarter, the oldest tree in Paris, etc. etc. We stopped for lunch in the Latin Quarter where I had an absolutely delectable duck confit. After lunch we got a little lost before finally finding our way to the Orsay Museum, which has the best collection of impressionist paintings in the world, along with a large collection of sculpture. After all the walking we’d done that day we decided to briefly return to our hotel to rest before heading out to dinner. I noticed as we were walking to dinner that, very suddenly, I was no longer particularly hungry. By the time we’d sat down to eat, I was beginning to feel slightly ill. I had only a few bites of food and hurriedly paid the bill and scurried back to our hotel, thankfully only a few blocks away. I then proceeded to spend the rest of that night emptying my body of pretty much everything in it. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it turns out I probably had come down with Norovirus. I felt a little better in the morning and allowed myself to be dragged around the Louvre where we saw all kinds of things, notable among them the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. After a quick nap I was feeling much more myself and took a walk down to Trocadero to view the Eiffel Tower. From there we hopped on a Seine river cruise and then headed up to the top of the Eiffel tower. After returning to the ground, I was actually feeling just a little bit hungry and was able to choke down about half a hot dog and a bottle of water before returning to the hotel for the night. This morning we arrived at the airport to find our flight closed, so we’re at an airport hotel waiting for our new flight in the morning.