Searching for ribs

What's the name of the new bbq spot on River Rd near Zorn?

What's the name of the new bbq spot on River Rd near Zorn?

That would be "River Road BBQ". In the same building as "The Black Spring" bike shop.

While I cannot comment on consistency, having only been a single time, the ribs at Feast in New Albany were excellent when I ate there about two weeks ago. Dry rubbed, no sauce, good smoke flavor and extremely tender meat. My dad commented that they were some of the best he's had! Other items such as pulled pork, greens, mac n cheese, and baked beans were also quite tatsy.

The brisket was unlike what I have had before. The meat was pulled and stringy, but not a bad thing. It was mosit, and the flavor was good and seasoned heavily with black pepper I believe.

Give Feast a try...they are doing good stuff there. One recommendation for Feast, since I know Ryan Rogers posts here, please get a high-chair / child seat...the whole family likes Q, even our 17 month old son. DD

Just a reminder - we're looking for restaurants with CONSISTENT QUALITY ribs. I want to hear about actual experiences, not just a list of what SHOULD BE a good source.

All of the restaurants named are certainly CAPABLE of excellent product. I have actually had ribs from almost all of them. (OK, I have a rib problem. Let's not go there! ). The issue is the high number of times that I get BAD ribs.

This isn't KCBS contest judging where I pretty much expect to get a mix of quality. These are restaurants - I should be able to get very consistent product each time I visit -- not very good ribs one time and over-salted jerky the next time.

Dry rubbed, no sauce, good smoke flavor and extremely tender meat.

This is one of my favorite aspects of Feast. The meat speaks for itself, no need to drown it in sauce. I was disappointed with FABD last visit as my brisket was drenched in ketchupy sauce. The ribs there were great but I'm on the fence to say they are consistent. I will go to bat and say Feast is very consistent. Hammerheads too. I haven't had a bad plate of food there, ever.

You must try the ribs (beef or pork) and the wings at Momma's Mustard, Pickles and BBQ. http://www.mommasbbq.com/. This place is located in the space above Zazoo's on Bauer Ave in St. Matthews and has been open as a retail restaurant only about two months, after a previous life as a food truck, but I've been back nearly a half dozen times. Every time I go back I see someone in there I went with previously. The beef ribs look like something off the Flinstones and the pork ribs are as meaty and flavorful as any I've ever eaten. A half rack of either is all I can eat. Both are smoked out back with just the right amount of sweetness and smoke. The wings have become my favorite in Louisville...smoky and plump. And they cut their own fries on site and finish in what I'd guess is truffle oil. As long as they keep on the up and up and maintain the high quality product I will remain a big, big fan. By the way, they make their own mustard and bread and butter pickles and eventually hope to be jarring those items. Ask for samples.

You must try the ribs (beef or pork) and the wings at Momma's Mustard, Pickles and BBQ.

Been trying to go there - wish they'd open for lunch! Might have to plan on a late lunch on a Saturday. I am particularly intrigued by the beef ribs - they're a rarity that I do enjoy.

I've been to Momma's a few times, and can't recommend the pork ribs. I ordered them twice. I once found them average, and once pretty bad. Which isn't to say that Patrick is wrong, as BBQ experiences are so variable

However, The beef ribs were really good both times I tried them, and as mentioned, so were the chicken wings and most of the sides I tried.

BBQ Cowboy. The dude has a food truck/smoker trailer.

He mostly does Indiana and Spencer County. Find him on Facebook. AMAZING Texas smoked ribs. So flavorful. He does ribs once or twice a week, so you have to follow him to see when he is cooking them up. The guy that runs it is a good dude, and a total character.

Just a reminder - we're looking for restaurants with CONSISTENT QUALITY ribs. I want to hear about actual experiences, not just a list of what SHOULD BE a good source.

All of the restaurants named are certainly CAPABLE of excellent product. I have actually had ribs from almost all of them. (OK, I have a rib problem. Let's not go there! ). The issue is the high number of times that I get BAD ribs.

This isn't KCBS contest judging where I pretty much expect to get a mix of quality. These are restaurants - I should be able to get very consistent product each time I visit -- not very good ribs one time and over-salted jerky the next time.

Actually Jim, this is where I feel you're incorrect. It's actually much more challenging to put out consistent quality BBQ for the entire span of time that a restaurant is open during the day (without running out) than to cook a product once to a time that is previously specified.

We (restaurants) walk a tight rope every day between making too much and too little product and if something doesn't sell by the end of the day we're basically looking at a total loss (just for reference an entire rack of ribs wholesale, not including time/rub/brines/wood for the smoker/water/employee labor cost/energy costs storing the product prior to cooking/etc is costing us about $5-6. So if we have to throw away 10 racks at the end of the night we're out a solid $50, not including all of those other costs, and heaven help us if we run out of ribs before the end of the night as we've now ruined the nights of X number of patrons. It's a lose lose situation realistically for us, but we do it because we enjoy providing quality food to people at a fair price.

Now we're making X number of ribs a night (don't forget this isn't something that we can make in 30 mins; we brine our ribs for 24 hours, and rub them before they ever see the smoker) that are going to be ready at 5pm so that we can hopefully sell them until close (unless some guy calls in an order for XX racks in which case everyone else is screwed). But if you happen to be the last guy in getting your ribs at 9pm, they've been sitting hot for four hours waiting to be sold and they're definitely not going to be as good as the ribs that were coming out earlier.

Then of course there is user error, smoker was running too hot, ribs were held too hot, ribs were ordered for take out and waited for 30-45 minutes for the person to come pick them up, etc etc. We try to control this on our end as much as possible, but there are still working within the confines of what we have available and when people want to come in and order food from us.

Now if you've had inconsistent ribs from us I apologize and I would love to have you back in to give us another shot, on me.

Give Feast a try...they are doing good stuff there. One recommendation for Feast, since I know Ryan Rogers posts here, please get a high-chair / child seat...the whole family likes Q, even our 17 month old son. DD

Hi Derrick, thank you for the kind words, unfortunately we don't have the space to keep a high-chair/booster seat as we're bursting at the seams already, but if you have one feel free to bring it in with you.

Hi Derrick, thank you for the kind words, unfortunately we don't have the space to keep a high-chair/booster seat as we're bursting at the seams already, but if you have one feel free to bring it in with you.

Fair enough Ryan. I didn't get to say hello when I was in recently, but the whole family really enjoyed the meal. Miles, our little guy, sat in a "big boy chair" and did just fine. Thanks...we'll be back.

DD

To chime in on what Ryan said...

Ribs -may- be one of the hardest things in the world for a restaurant to get right -all- of the time. There are just so many variables that go into putting out a great product that consistency (which as I recall was the real issue here) becomes extremely difficult. Personally, after being disappointed countless times (including at some of the "iconic" BBQ restaurants across the country), I don't even bother to order ribs in a restaurant anymore because I know that 9 times out of 10 I'm not going to be pleased with the product. Besides...Given that I personally make the best "eating" ribs in Louisville, ...why go anywhere else besides my back yard.

I've consistently had the best ribs in Louisville at Smoke Town's "Red Neck Jewish Bar-B-Que" their motto, not mine. Not falling off the bone but close, with great vegetarian sides and a really nice down home feeling. I eat their at least once a month and I've never had a bad rib or brisket. Give it a try. They also have Flintstones with a thirty minute wait at the most. I think the prices are reasonable, and you can actually have a conversation, even with the live music on the weekends.

I can second Smoketown also

Had a late lunch today at Mommas. Didn't know that they had been reviewed in the CJ a couple days ago http://louisville.metromix.com/restaurants/restaurant_review/review-mommas-bbq/3427318/content so we had a bit of a wait. It was well worth it. Most of the customers were first-timers.

They were absolutely slammed - everyone walking through the door was warned about a 30-45 minute wait for food and encouraged to place an order for pickup later. Pretty creative way to handle an unexpected rush. They also turned their beverage area into a complimentary self-serve to make up for the long wait -- a classy move.

We ordered a half rack of both the pork and beef ribs. Brisket was already sold out (at 1:30!) due to some large takeout orders. I agree with Marty's review except for the potato salad comment - it definitely has their mustard in it.

We had plenty to take home, and added a pound of their sausage and a jar of pickles for later. Chad told us that he will be opening for lunch soon and will be staffing up to handle the crowds. This could be the new go-to for Louisville.

In response to Ryan's comments -- I do understand completely and agree with everything you noted. I doubt you would ever serve ribs like those I complained about from other establishments -- we've been to Feast twice and had absolutely nothing but the best experiences.

Susanne - We had the same excellent experiences as you did at Smoke Town. It's another of our favorites.