Applebees is Better

We have some of those Texas places here in NC. I have to say anything would
beat NC barbecued pork. It comes to the table looking already chewed, and
they expect you to pour vinegar on it.
ugh.
Jackie
"Damsel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Yesterday, the Crashman and I tried out a new little restaurant. It's
called Taste of Texas Barbecue.

For $7.95, you got a half dozen slices of brisket, three babyback ribs,

two

Quoted message said:

slices of bread, and two sides. I got wheat bread, pinto beans, and

potato

Quoted message said:

salad. Crash got white bread, cole slaw, and jo-jo potatoes.

Should have known it was too good to be true. The meat wasn't smoked. It
wasn't even finished off on something involving flame. Crash thought the
ribs were boiled. I theorize that the meat was braised. It was extremely
tender, but also very dry and completely flavorless.

When I say completely flavorless, I mean that, when I put brisket slices
with (Arby's-type) barbecue sauce on my bread, the Wonder-type bread's
flavor overcame that of the meat. Tofu has more flavor than that meat

did.

Quoted message said:

Crash liked his coleslaw. I enjoyed my pinto beans and potato salad.
Actually, if they were to put hard boiled eggs in their potato salad, I
could buy it and pass it off as my own. I'm going to remember that for

the

Quoted message said:

next time Crash wants potato salad and it's too hot to boil taters.

Everything on the menu can be bought in bulk. I have to check out the

bulk

Quoted message said:

purchase price for the brisket. Although flavorless, the meat is much
nicer than the stuff you buy in a deli. I'd gladly use it to make French
Dip sandwiches.

Applebees has good smoked babybacks. Seems weird to go to an

international

Quoted message said:

chain for something like that, but it's the closest we can get to the real
deal around here.

Carol

--
Coming at you live, from beautiful Lake Woebegon

Damsel said:

Applebees has good smoked babybacks. Seems weird to go to an
international chain for something like that, but it's the closest we
can get to the real deal around here.

Carol

Smoke your own... it's not difficult and you don't have to have a big
smoker. I've done all sorts of ribs on my Weber kettle over low, slow coals
with the lid on. Apple wood is nice, so is hickory. Mesquite is overrated
IMHO; too sharp for my taste.

Jill

J. Davidson said:

We have some of those Texas places here in NC. I have to say
anything would beat NC barbecued pork. It comes to the table looking
already chewed, and they expect you to pour vinegar on it.
ugh.
Jackie

LOL they do not expect you to pour vinegar on it! They offer you a
vinegar-based sauce. I don't care for the tomatoey-mustardy sauces, either.
In fact, no sauce, thanks (except maybe some hot sauce). I'll admit to not
caring much for pulled pork but the last thing I'd describe it as is
"already chewed" if they pulled it correctly 🙂

Jill

Quoted message said:

"Damsel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Yesterday, the Crashman and I tried out a new little restaurant.
It's called Taste of Texas Barbecue.

For $7.95, you got a half dozen slices of brisket, three babyback
ribs, two slices of bread, and two sides. I got wheat bread, pinto
beans, and potato salad. Crash got white bread, cole slaw, and
jo-jo potatoes.

Should have known it was too good to be true. The meat wasn't
smoked. It wasn't even finished off on something involving flame.
Crash thought the ribs were boiled. I theorize that the meat was
braised. It was extremely tender, but also very dry and completely
flavorless.

When I say completely flavorless, I mean that, when I put brisket
slices with (Arby's-type) barbecue sauce on my bread, the
Wonder-type bread's flavor overcame that of the meat. Tofu has more
flavor than that meat did.

Crash liked his coleslaw. I enjoyed my pinto beans and potato
salad. Actually, if they were to put hard boiled eggs in their
potato salad, I could buy it and pass it off as my own. I'm going
to remember that for the next time Crash wants potato salad and it's
too hot to boil taters.

Everything on the menu can be bought in bulk. I have to check out
the bulk purchase price for the brisket. Although flavorless, the
meat is much nicer than the stuff you buy in a deli. I'd gladly use
it to make French Dip sandwiches.

Applebees has good smoked babybacks. Seems weird to go to an
international chain for something like that, but it's the closest we
can get to the real deal around here.

Carol

--
Coming at you live, from beautiful Lake Woebegon

"Damsel" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Yesterday, the Crashman and I tried out a new little restaurant. It's
called Taste of Texas Barbecue.

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Carol

How's Crash doing? hobbling or running?

Dimitri

jmcquown said:

Damsel said:

Applebees has good smoked babybacks. Seems weird to go to an
international chain for something like that, but it's the closest we
can get to the real deal around here.

Carol

Smoke your own... it's not difficult and you don't have to have a big
smoker. I've done all sorts of ribs on my Weber kettle over low, slow coals
with the lid on. Apple wood is nice, so is hickory. Mesquite is overrated
IMHO; too sharp for my taste.

Crash has a big honkin' smoker. Like a long, horizontal barrel. I think,
if we ever find affordable raw ribs, we'll smoke a lot of them. The only
times I've found them available for purchase, it would have been more
cost-effective to go to Applebees than to smoke our own. Why the heck are
those things so expensive?

Carol

--
Coming at you live, from beautiful Lake Woebegon

Dimitri said:

How's Crash doing? hobbling or running?

Something between hobbling and frolicking. 🙂

He's getting around surprisingly well, and is becoming more and more
independent. I was in so much pain (shoulders and back) from helping him
that I finally just told him he was on his own. As my pain increased, my
tolerance for hearing, "Hon, I need ...." decreased. I'm becoming more
pleasant each day. Thankfully. 🙂

Thanks,
Carol

--
Coming at you live, from beautiful Lake Woebegon

On Thu, 30 Jun 2005 16:25:21 -0500, Damsel <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Yesterday, the Crashman and I tried out a new little restaurant. It's
called Taste of Texas Barbecue.

The [censored].

Quoted message said:

For $7.95, you got a half dozen slices of brisket, three babyback ribs, two
slices of bread, and two sides. I got wheat bread, pinto beans, and potato
salad. Crash got white bread, cole slaw, and jo-jo potatoes.

Should have known it was too good to be true. The meat wasn't smoked. It
wasn't even finished off on something involving flame. Crash thought the
ribs were boiled. I theorize that the meat was braised. It was extremely
tender, but also very dry and completely flavorless.

The [censored].

Quoted message said:

When I say completely flavorless, I mean that, when I put brisket slices
with (Arby's-type) barbecue sauce on my bread, the Wonder-type bread's
flavor overcame that of the meat. Tofu has more flavor than that meat did.

The [censored].

Quoted message said:

Crash liked his coleslaw. I enjoyed my pinto beans and potato salad.
Actually, if they were to put hard boiled eggs in their potato salad, I
could buy it and pass it off as my own. I'm going to remember that for the
next time Crash wants potato salad and it's too hot to boil taters.

Everything on the menu can be bought in bulk. I have to check out the bulk
purchase price for the brisket. Although flavorless, the meat is much
nicer than the stuff you buy in a deli. I'd gladly use it to make French
Dip sandwiches.

FRENCH dip? (Actually, I'm reading a charming little memoir by an
American woman who lived and cooked for years in a small town in
Normandy right now. Her food is wonderful, but it's not barbecue.)

Quoted message said:

Applebees has good smoked babybacks. Seems weird to go to an international
chain for something like that, but it's the closest we can get to the real
deal around here.

You deserve better, lady. My experience up north led me to seek out
black folks for barbecue. At least that's how it was in Omaha and
Terre Haute. By the time I got to Pittsburgh, I'd learned to do my
own. Get Crash a smoker and some lump charcoal. Tell him to get to
it. Bat your eyelashes and giggle while you hand him a side of ribs.

modom

Damsel wrote on 30 Jun 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

Crash has a big honkin' smoker. Like a long, horizontal barrel.
I think, if we ever find affordable raw ribs, we'll smoke a lot of
them. The only times I've found them available for purchase, it
would have been more cost-effective to go to Applebees than to
smoke our own. Why the heck are those things so expensive?

Carol

Just the baby back ribs are expensive...the regular spare-ribs aren't
too pricey...They taste fairly good too, if you do a little
prep...remove the membrane on the boney side and cut off some of the
excessive fat. Some grocery/stupidmarkets will even cut them to size
(make them into two racks from one rack).

--
It's not a question of where he grips it!
It's a simple question of weight ratios!

A five ounce bird could not carry a one pound coconut.

Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?

On Thu, 30 Jun 2005 22:03:04 -0500, Damsel <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Dimitri said:

How's Crash doing? hobbling or running?

Something between hobbling and frolicking. 🙂

He's getting around surprisingly well, and is becoming more and more
independent. I was in so much pain (shoulders and back) from helping him
that I finally just told him he was on his own. As my pain increased, my
tolerance for hearing, "Hon, I need ...." decreased. I'm becoming more
pleasant each day. Thankfully. 🙂

Thanks,
Carol

Sounds like you're on the true path to equilibrium.

Now, what should I look for by way of a midnight snack? I'm leaning
towards soba noodles and smoked chicken leftovers with fish sauce,
chiles and basil. But maybe it'll be a Little Debbie cream pie. Or
two.

modom

modom said:

On Thu, 30 Jun 2005 16:25:21 -0500, Damsel <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Yesterday, the Crashman and I tried out a new little restaurant. It's
called Taste of Texas Barbecue.

The [censored].

YEAH, dammit!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

For $7.95, you got a half dozen slices of brisket, three babyback ribs, two
slices of bread, and two sides. I got wheat bread, pinto beans, and potato
salad. Crash got white bread, cole slaw, and jo-jo potatoes.

Should have known it was too good to be true. The meat wasn't smoked. It
wasn't even finished off on something involving flame. Crash thought the
ribs were boiled. I theorize that the meat was braised. It was extremely
tender, but also very dry and completely flavorless.

The [censored].

YEAH, dammit!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

When I say completely flavorless, I mean that, when I put brisket slices
with (Arby's-type) barbecue sauce on my bread, the Wonder-type bread's
flavor overcame that of the meat. Tofu has more flavor than that meat did.

The [censored].

YEAH, dammit!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Crash liked his coleslaw. I enjoyed my pinto beans and potato salad.
Actually, if they were to put hard boiled eggs in their potato salad, I
could buy it and pass it off as my own. I'm going to remember that for the
next time Crash wants potato salad and it's too hot to boil taters.

Everything on the menu can be bought in bulk. I have to check out the bulk
purchase price for the brisket. Although flavorless, the meat is much
nicer than the stuff you buy in a deli. I'd gladly use it to make French
Dip sandwiches.

FRENCH dip? (Actually, I'm reading a charming little memoir by an
American woman who lived and cooked for years in a small town in
Normandy right now. Her food is wonderful, but it's not barbecue.)

Okay, Italian beef sammiches. Better?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Applebees has good smoked babybacks. Seems weird to go to an international
chain for something like that, but it's the closest we can get to the real
deal around here.

You deserve better, lady. My experience up north led me to seek out
black folks for barbecue. At least that's how it was in Omaha and
Terre Haute. By the time I got to Pittsburgh, I'd learned to do my
own. Get Crash a smoker and some lump charcoal. Tell him to get to
it. Bat your eyelashes and giggle while you hand him a side of ribs.

Yup,there are several very good black owned and operated barbecue places up
in St. Paul. Crash does have a smoker and a chimney and hickory and lump.
What he doesn't have is ribs that we can afford to buy and smoke. 🙁

Maybe we can scrape our pennies together and do a birthday barbecue in a
month. If not ribs, brisket. That's far more affordable, at least in our
neck of the woods.

I think that the reason "Taste of Texas Barbecue" is in Minnesota is that
the Texans ran this guy out of the state for misrepresenting braised meat
as barbecued.

Carol

--
Coming at you live, from beautiful Lake Woebegon

Monsur Fromage du Pollet said:

Damsel wrote on 30 Jun 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

Crash has a big honkin' smoker. Like a long, horizontal barrel.
I think, if we ever find affordable raw ribs, we'll smoke a lot of
them. The only times I've found them available for purchase, it
would have been more cost-effective to go to Applebees than to
smoke our own. Why the heck are those things so expensive?

Just the baby back ribs are expensive...the regular spare-ribs aren't
too pricey...They taste fairly good too, if you do a little
prep...remove the membrane on the boney side and cut off some of the
excessive fat. Some grocery/stupidmarkets will even cut them to size
(make them into two racks from one rack).

Thanks for the encouragement. Spare ribs are a lot more plentiful than
babybacks here. And one store has something called St. Louis style spare
ribs. Anyone know anything about those?

I've never wanted to make my own spareribs because I didn't like the greasy
ones my mom made. Not her fault. Ribs and kraut was what she knew. We'll
give them a shot.

Carol

--
Coming at you live, from beautiful Lake Woebegon

modom said:

On Thu, 30 Jun 2005 22:03:04 -0500, Damsel <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

He's getting around surprisingly well, and is becoming more and more
independent. I was in so much pain (shoulders and back) from helping him
that I finally just told him he was on his own. As my pain increased, my
tolerance for hearing, "Hon, I need ...." decreased. I'm becoming more
pleasant each day. Thankfully. 🙂

Sounds like you're on the true path to equilibrium.

Yeah, and I didn't even cast any yarrow stalks!

Quoted message said:

Now, what should I look for by way of a midnight snack?

Lemon sherbet. 🙂

Carol

--
Coming at you live, from beautiful Lake Woebegon

On Thu 30 Jun 2005 09:01:08p, Damsel wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

Thanks for the encouragement. Spare ribs are a lot more plentiful than
babybacks here. And one store has something called St. Louis style spare
ribs. Anyone know anything about those?

From Lobel's Butcher Shop:

"St. Louis pork ribs are essentially full spare ribs that have the brisket
bone removed. The result is a rack of ribs that is uniform length and density
so they cook evenly whether you decide to smoke, grill, barbecue, or oven
roast."

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

---
avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean.
Virus Database (VPS): 0526-3, 06/30/2005
Tested on: 6/30/2005 9:09:23 PM
avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2005 ALWIL Software.
http://www.avast.com

Wayne Boatwright said:

From Lobel's Butcher Shop:

"St. Louis pork ribs are essentially full spare ribs that have the brisket
bone removed. The result is a rack of ribs that is uniform length and density
so they cook evenly whether you decide to smoke, grill, barbecue, or oven
roast."

Thanks, Pookie!

Carol

--
Coming at you live, from beautiful Lake Woebegon

Damsel wrote:
(snip'n'edit)

Quoted message said:

I think that the reason "Taste of Texas Barbecue" is in Minnesota is that
the Texans ran this guy o ut of the state for misrepresenting braised meat
as barbecued.

Carol>

================================
Carol, have you & Crash eaten Famous Dave's ribs?
He's not black (he's Native American) and it is a chain
but the ribs are good and the sider are too.
We had a black guy here in Fargo - Vernon Tate -
who had a place called Ribs West. Won our RibFest twice,
but he couldn't market against Dave's. & went out of business :-(
Now I go to Space Aliens Bar & Grill (no lie!) for ribs.
There are only 2 Space Aliens that I know of, Fargo & Bismarck.
Is that enough to be a chain? They're really hokey but the food is
good.

Taste of Texas was here for a fancy schmancy food tasting thing
(Tickets $20+ - I got a free one) and their stuff was pretty much as
you described it!

Lynn from Fargo

Damsel wrote on 30 Jun 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

Monsur Fromage du Pollet said:

Damsel wrote on 30 Jun 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

Crash has a big honkin' smoker. Like a long, horizontal
barrel. I think, if we ever find affordable raw ribs, we'll
smoke a lot of them. The only times I've found them available
for purchase, it would have been more cost-effective to go to
Applebees than to smoke our own. Why the heck are those
things so expensive?

Just the baby back ribs are expensive...the regular spare-ribs
aren't too pricey...They taste fairly good too, if you do a
little prep...remove the membrane on the boney side and cut off
some of the excessive fat. Some grocery/stupidmarkets will even
cut them to size (make them into two racks from one rack).

Thanks for the encouragement. Spare ribs are a lot more plentiful
than babybacks here. And one store has something called St. Louis
style spare ribs. Anyone know anything about those?

I've never wanted to make my own spareribs because I didn't like
the greasy ones my mom made. Not her fault. Ribs and kraut was
what she knew. We'll give them a shot.

Carol

I don't have a smoker...I just use the way my mom used to do it...Well
I never did remember her method...But Barb's sweet and sour Spare rib
recipe had 'Mom's' Techinque almost pat...So Thats what I use. But a
BH&G mag I was reading the other day suggested using the foil method on
the grill as well. (Got the peach chipotle glaze idea outta there too).

I'm not a pineapple and pork lover so I do this recipe with a favorite
BBQ sauce instead.

The pineapple sauce made in this recipe is very good in yoghurt by the
way. And not bad as a topping for cheese cake...From my un diabetic
days.

@@@@@ Now You're Cooking! Export Format

Barb's Sweet And Sour Ribs

none

4 lb country style ribs or spareribs; (4to 6 lbs)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 cup water
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate; thawed
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 can crushed pineapple (15 1/4 oz.); undrained
1 small onion sliced (see my note)

Sprinkle ribs with salt and pepper; wrap in heavy duty foil, folding
over several times to seal. Place packets on cookie sheets or shallow
baking pan. Bake at 350° for 1 hour.

Skip this part if using BBQ Sauce

*Meanwhile, in medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, cornstarch and
*ginger. Gradually add water, stirring until smooth. Add orange juice
*concentrate, vinegar, soy sauce, and pineapple with juice. Mix well.
*Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and clear.

Start up again here.

Remove ribs from foil and drain. Place cooked ribs in shallow baking
dish; add sliced onion. Pour sauce over ribs. Return to oven and
bake,
uncovered, at 350° for 1-1/2 hours or until tender. If desired, serve
over rice. Makes about 6 large servings.

Notes: Source: Minneapolis Tribune Sunday Food Section, 5/26/85.
Have made these -- quite good. I don¹t think they take all of the
second time period to finish baking, though.

Alan's notes: Use 2 medium onions instead of 1 small

** Exported from Now You're Cooking! v5.66 **

--
It's not a question of where he grips it!
It's a simple question of weight ratios!

A five ounce bird could not carry a one pound coconut.

Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?

modom said:

Now, what should I look for by way of a midnight snack? I'm leaning
towards soba noodles and smoked chicken leftovers with fish sauce,
chiles and basil. But maybe it'll be a Little Debbie cream pie. Or
two.

Well, it's not midnight, but we've been super-snacky today. I had four
(four! small ones, but four!) bowls of split-pea soup. Carin had a bowl
of butternut squash bisque at the cafe where our friend was playing
music. James had kipper snacks and toast. I don't think we're gonna
bother with dinner tonight -- we all snacked ourselves out of wanting to
eat any more today.

serene

Lynn from Fargo said:

Carol, have you & Crash eaten Famous Dave's ribs?

Yeah, we ate there frequently when the restaurants first opened. Even
bought the frozen meats. Then the frozen stuff started to go downhill.
Soon after, the restaurants' "pulled" meats were actually chopped meats.

We'll look for some ribs and/or brisket when we shop for the weekend's
festivities. I have a feeling Crash can do better than Famous Dave can.

Oh, another thing that tarnished my view of Famous Daves ...
They had a young man who was in a halfway house working for them. We were
there when they publically fired the guy for missing work one day. The
reason he missed was that there was a lockdown, and no one could leave for
any reason. I was horrified. I e-mailed the director of personnel and
Dave himself. They never bothered to respond.

Famous Dave sucks
Carol

--
Coming at you live, from beautiful Lake Woebegon

Monsur Fromage du Pollet said:

Damsel wrote on 30 Jun 2005 in rec.food.cooking

Quoted message said:

Crash has a big honkin' smoker. Like a long, horizontal barrel.
I think, if we ever find affordable raw ribs, we'll smoke a lot of
them. The only times I've found them available for purchase, it
would have been more cost-effective to go to Applebees than to
smoke our own. Why the heck are those things so expensive?

Carol

Just the baby back ribs are expensive...the regular spare-ribs aren't
too pricey...They taste fairly good too, if you do a little
prep...remove the membrane on the boney side and cut off some of the
excessive fat. Some grocery/stupidmarkets will even cut them to size
(make them into two racks from one rack).

"Country ribs", which aren't ribs at all but a portion of the butt, are even
less expensive than spare ribs and have twice the meat. Usually around
holidays (Canada Day counts!) stores put these and regular spare ribs on
sale in anticipation of outdoor gatherings.

Jill