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.