Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 17, 1995 TAG: 9503180041
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOLORES KOSTELNI SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
We tasted the best and the worst. No two restaurants served identically prepared ribs. This experience inspired us to formulate our principle that ribs remain the last bastion of culinary individualism and originality.
We left no rib untasted. Our intelligence for this project directed us to a dozen restaurants, including a few that no longer serve ribs. Even in the face of this, we remained undaunted and continued our search for first-rate ribs. We judged all ribs on seven criteria: appearance, quality, the ratio of lean to fat, flavor, size, temperature and whether they could be eaten with a knife and fork.
Although I honor the tradition of sinking my teeth into the sweet meat of the sparerib I hold in my hands, this method would have been too messy during evenings out and not given me a real picture of the meat's tenderness. Rib fanciers say the best way for testing perfectly cooked ribs involves ``wiggling'' the meat from the bones. Using a knife and fork to lift or scrape the meat from the bones was a comparable technique.
Chinese-style ribs, although tasty, were eliminated from the running after two separate samplings, because the meat remains tight to the bone and defies removal with an ordinary table knife.
We directed our tastebuds to spare ribs and baby back ribs, although in a few instances, an easily identified country-style rib or two came with our orders. Spare ribs have the least meat, are the most flavorful and come from the underbelly or side of the hog. A full slab contains 13 ribs. Country-style ribs, cut from the rib end of the loin, are the meatiest. Although we were never served any St. Louis-style ribs, for definition's sake, these are spareribs with the bones removed.
Baby back ribs are smaller than both spare ribs and country-style ribs. They originate from the rib bones coming off the back of the carcass. ``Baby back ribs come from a normally aged swine and not from a young swine, as the name suggests,'' reports Dr. James Claus, assistant professor of food science and technology at Virginia Tech. ``The descriptive marketing name, `baby back ribs,' is not an official meat industry term.''
How the ribs are cooked has everything to do with their tenderness and taste. A double cooking process is the common thread, but even that has as many variations as the basting sauce. All rib cooks and specialists agree that at least one of these steps should be a slow-cooking process because it produces the tastiest, most tender rib meat of all.
And here are the winners!
|Excellent Ribs| We just couldn't get enough of the riblets at Applebee's. These uniquely shaped ribs consist of four or five short bones enrobed in lean segments of meat. These are specialty items custom cut to a smaller size to look specifically this way. Exceptionally tender and closely trimmed, the riblets go through a three-step cooking process involving an initial searing, them a steaming over seasoned water, and as the order are completed, a final browning on the grill. Presented in a handsome overlapping pattern on the service plate, these make a filling meal and taste better with only a minimum of the commercially prepared sauce slathered over them. (Riblet basket $6.99. Riblet platter: $8.99)
Succulent and wholesome describe the meaty baby back ribs at Longhorn Steaks. They are presented in grill-scarred perfection, in one gorgeous piece, and at the peak of flavor. The most natural in appearances because of no visible sauce on the surface, these ribs contain substantial meat and luscious fingers of meat between the bones. A two-step cooking process that includes slow oven roasting and a final grilling make these outstanding. They are a piece of cake to eat with the knife and fork. (Baby back ribs: $6.95-$11.95)
The baby back ribs are the main attraction for me at Texas Steak House & Saloon at Valley View Mall. These meaty ribs are first steamed and then grilled to order. I asked for a ``dry grill,'' meaning no added sauce, and that's exactly how they came. Although a slim ribbon of fat runs the rib of each rib, it's easy to trim off and it doesn't get in the way of the meat's goodness. (Baby back ribs: $8.95-$12.95)
|Good Ribs| At Bastian's in Salem, you can hunker down to some mighty tasty, heavily sauced, meaty ribs at any time of the day. The chunky sauce, with just enough kick, is the proud creation of owner Chris Bastian. It contains chopped celery and onions in a balanced tomato base seasoned with a dash of liquid smoke. The ribs undergo a two-step cooking process: a slow steaming and a final grilling. The meat slides off the bones and separates easily from any flavor-giving fat. (Combination platter of spare ribs and baby back ribs, $10.95. Spare ribs: $7.50-$12.95; Baby back ribs: $8.50-$14.95.)
Whether you favor the dinosaur-sized beef ribs or the baby back ribs or the spare ribs, at Mac & Maggie's they're all given the same unique treatment: an initial steaming, followed by a rub with a secret combination of dry spices and a final flame finish on the grill where the sauce caramelizes around the meat and bones. These attractive, tasty ribs have plenty of meat that cuts neatly from the bone and disconnects from the fat without difficulty. For those who enjoy dipping the meat in additional sauce, a pint container comes with every order. (Sampler platter of spare ribs, baby back ribs and beef ribs: $13.95.)
If Carolina BBQ Shack's baby back ribs had arrived at the table hot and not at cooler-than-room-temperature, they would deserve a better rating. Full of quality pork that fell from the bones, these ribs were covered with an abundance of the homemade house sauce that we scraped off to get to the meat. The sauce is well-balanced with enough of a kick and no overpowering ingredients. It keeps you coming back for more. These ribs are first simmered in liquid before they are put in the sauce where they stay until an order calls for finishing off on the grill. (Baby back ribs: $5.95-$9.95)
Applebee's
4942 Valley View Blvd.
563-5213
Open: Monday through Thursday: 11 a.m.-midnight; Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m.-1 a.m.; Sunday: 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Credit Cards Accepted: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover
No Smoking Section? yes
Bastian's Bar-B-Q
1020 Apperson Drive
Salem
387-2955
Open: Monday through Saturday, 6 a.m.-9 p.m; closed on Sunday
Credit Cards Accepted: MasterCard, Visa, American Express
No Smoking Section? Yes
Carolina Bar-B-Q Shack
2026 Electric Road at Southwest Plaza
774-0277
Open: seven days a week 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Credit Cards Accepted: None
No Smoking Section? yes
Longhorn Steaks
Tanglewood Mall
776-3011
Open: Monday through Thursday: 4 p.m.-10 p.m.;
Friday and Saturday: 4 p.m.-11 p.m.; Sunday: 4 p.m.-10 p.m.
Credit Cards Accepted: Visa, MasterCard, American Express
No Smoking Section? yes
Mac & Maggie's
Tanglewood Mall
774-7427
Open: seven days a week 11 a.m.-midnight
Credit Cards Accepted: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club
No Smoking Section? Yes
Texas Steakhouse & Saloon
Valley View Blvd.
265-1809
Open: Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Credit Cards Accepted: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover
No Smoking Section? yes
by CNB