RUB BBQ

sulin

The Baron feeds an Army! 29th September 2008

3 found this helpful

We had to find a place serving “traditional American food” that could seat 8 people at short notice - this was our mission. A quick search online led us to RUB - Righteous Urban Barbeque. I mean, barbeque is American right? Let’s leave out the part where there are different regions within America and that New York isn’t a traditional place for barbeque and just bear with me, okay? There were cranky people to feed, cranky people who’d been listening to talks since 8am and they were all carnivores. RUB had a lot of seating and a lot of meat - bring it on!

We started the meal with a couple of starters for the table: some finger-licking good barbeque chicken wings and fried green tomatoes. The tomatoes were just ok but not the fault of the restaurant, I think. This was my first time having fried green tomatoes and I was slightly disappointed to find out that they’re exactly as the name suggests - battered, fried slices of green tomato. Nothing mind-blowing.

I hoped to have The Baron - “A tasting of beef, chicken, pork, ham, pastrami, turkey, sausage, and topped with a quarter rack of ribs”. The waitress ensured us that this would feed three people and so I roped in two of my colleagues and ordered this.

What arrived was humongous. THREE people?! Are they insane? Maybe three giants. Or three rugby players. The chalkboard at the front said they were out of ham so this is the only thing missing from the platter.

My favourites were the pulled pork and the pork ribs and the brisket that just fell apart at the touch of my fork. On the table, there’s both their classic and spicy hot barbeque sauces, which were both delicious tomato based concoctions, but many of the meats didn’t even require extra sauce. I wasn’t a big fan of the turkey, which I found dry, but then again, I always find turkey dry.

It came with two large side dishes. I chose the onion strings while my colleague went for the super fries. The onion strings were greasy and good, exactly what I hoped for, and the fries were very good and actually were much better than I expected.

Needless to say, we didn’t finish the platter. We enlisted help from our other colleagues but they were struggling with their own orders.

We pretty much rolled out of there. And for a Londoner, the prices were frankly, ridiculously low. I mean, that Baron platter? The one that can feed at least six people? $45. And yes, that includes the two large side dishes. I’m not sure how much barbeque normally costs in the US, but this was a pretty good deal for so much food!

Photos here: http://tamarindandthyme.wordpress.com/2008/09/22/rub-bbq/

Niamheen at 30/09/08

Wow! Sounds amazing. We clearly pay too much here :(

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chrisp

BBQ heaven 14th August 2008

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NYC is, as you would expect for a major world city, packed full of incredible places to eat. I have it on good authority that the best steak, best BBQ and best sushi anywhere in the world (including Japan!) can currently be found in the Big Apple. So it's no surprise that those in search of great foodie experiences will find themselves here sooner or later. But just at the moment there's on extra very important reason that the British in particular are interested - the $2 pound. It wasn't long ago that American tourists in London would be fawned over by greedy restaurant and bar owners, a strong US economy and generous tipping culture making these visitors very welcome indeed. Now it seems the tables have turned, and it's the Brits who now find themselves taking advantage of Half Price City over the pond, swanning around like rich arab Sheiks with money to burn. So why not make the most of it while it lasts?

R.U.B. BBQ stands on West 23rd Street, near 7th Avenue, and is, I learn now, very well regarded in its field. I say this because at the time I had no idea whether it was supposed to be good or not, because I'd never heard of it. I visited out of necessity because I was hungry, jet lagged and because it was one block from my hotel. So on this occasion, it turns out my finely-tuned foodie sixth-sense actually worked for once and I was treated to a surprisingly tasty lunch. Rub apparently stands for Righteous Urban Barbecue - I suppose making its full title Righteous Urban Barbecue Barbecue, but let's not be pedantic - and is owned by a guy called Paul Kirk who, when not running this restaurant, travels the length and breadth of the USA on the competition barbecue circuit. I have always been slightly obsessed by the idea of competition barbecuing, and desperately want to go to one in the future. Only in America is the correct way to cook pulled pork turned into a competitive sport. Beats watching the snooker anyway.

So here we have buffalo chicken wings, half a barbecued chicken, onion rings, BBQ beans and something called "greens" which certainly included spinach as well as a couple of other ingredients I wouldn't like to commit to. And apart from the chicken being a little dry (we shouldn't have ordered it really - part of me knew that it would have been sitting around a little while because they can't get many orders for chicken in a place like this, but there you go) it was mainly delicious. The wings in particular had a lovely spicy flavour and the huge mound of onion rings were devoured in minutes. I can't remember how much we paid but I don't think it was more than £10 in total, and service was perfectly suited to the informal room - friendly and attentive.

Steviejeebie

For great BBQ 13th August 2008

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All you need to remember is to order the Burnt Ends!!!
Best thing on the menu

RUB's co-owner Paul Kirk is the self-styled "Kansas City Baron of Barbecue" and a pitmaster who has won hundreds of awards and competitions. His arrival in Manhattan is viewed by barbecue fiends as a significant event. RUB's interior exudes a tattered, utilitarian seeminess: the walls are devoid of decoration and painted light ochre, and the tables are dark beaten wood. The menu reads like a laundry list of delicious death foods (pork butt, burnt ends, deep-fried Oreos) from the nether regions of red-state America, served on unceremonious heaps on metal pie plates covered in wax paper, garnished only with slices of Wonder Bread and a scattering of pickle chips. The most popular item on the menu seems to be the Taste of the Baron, a hodgepodge of ribs, chicken, and smoked meats, including a choice of side dishes (good beans, dreary French fries or collard greens, passable cole slaw) served in Styrofoam cups. Cooking truckloads of meat to perfection 24 hours a day, six days a week, is a tricky business, and certain dishes will spark "This isn't like Memphis" lamentations, but the Baron's Down Home Pig Pick'n (pork butt hoisted to the table with bread slices, pickles, and four silver tongs) will make you think real barbecue has at last come to New York City.
NEW YORK Magazine