1st Place: all fired up (A)
Long meaty ribs with hot/sweet sauce on a knife-edge balance. Fab!
The Stockyards, $15
Runner up: in harmony (B)
A little smoke, a little sweet, a lot of spice in the tender pink flesh under dark gooey BBQ sauce.
Barque, $21
Smoky edge (C)
These are melt-in-the-mouth ribs, super tender and meaty with a smoky tang.
The Carbon Bar, $21
Beautifully balanced (D)
The only beef ribs we love, these are superbly moist, meaty and spicy, dry rub with a sweet/sour sauce and a great crust.
Electric Mud BBQ, $15.50
Trad ribs (E)
Ordinary ribs with standard liquid BBQ sauce. Tastes like sauce you’d buy at the supermarket.
Stack, $20
Great equation (F)
Wonderful ribs: hot, sweet, meaty and fatty.
Baju BBQ, $9
Hint of smoke
The meat is tough but the dark sauce has good sweet/sour balance and has been well absorbed by the meat. A nice touch of smoke.
Smoque N’ Bones, $17.90
Top-notch toppings
Super smoky spicy ribs. These are the iconoclasts of the rib world: Topped with basil pesto and baked tomatoes.
Big Crow, $17
Classic goods
These classic dry rub ribs are dry, meaty but bland.
Buster Rhino’s, $20
Plenty of spice
The ribs are unevenly meaty with too much dry rub — making them both too salty and too spicy.
AAA Bar, $15
Want more of our meaty coverage of the city’s best southern-style smoked food? Check out the rest of the BBQ City stories below: