We,ve got a new Q place in town, just opened, called the "Rib Crib." I understand it's a chain with joints in OK, KS, MO, NM and FL. Anyone familiar with them? Do they actually smoke their ribs or are they boiled then briefly grill like so many other places touting their ribs?

Thanks!

There was a thread on here last year.

Seems like we have some in the greater Tampa Bay area.

Ribdog might know.

Click here for The Rib Crib. Franchise operation based in Tulsa. More than 50% of their locations are in OK with most of the remaining in the surronding States.

Never been to one myself, but I'm sure some of the OK members can fill in the blanks.

Thanks dls - had already been to the website. Was just curious as to first-hand experience.

I have eaten at the Rib Crib in OKC several times, I have always enjoyed their brisket sandwich. I am easily fooled by restaurant techniques, but they did have a smoker and a pile of wood on premises - I wouldn't order ribs from anyone who didn't. I would love to see one in our town, as brisket is a foreign food around here.

I have had their smoked chicken and it was good.This was before I had my own cookshack but still was good.

Rib Crig is better than no Q at all.

Yes, I'll admit, I've eaten there (hard to admit eating at Q establishments).

They have an all you can eat rib night, that if you get there early is okay (because you can eat a lot)

They have a Bar-B-Rito that's more than a handful.

Like all restaurants, the quality depends on when you get there.

try it and you tell us.

Smokin'

I ate at the one in Tulsa this summer, in a word: lousy product. The whole family disliked the food. It's a typical chain place, even though the service is fine, but the Q' is very forgettable.

When it comes to chains Bandanna's or Famous Dave's are better. But when it come to truly good eating, the local joints are always the best bets.

Funny, but Rib Crib IS a local joint in Tulsa, that's where they started.

My opinion of ALL restaurants. It all comes down to timing. If you get there and the timing on the food is right, the ribs, etc will probably be decent to good. If you get there and the ribs are undercooked or they've been holding a long time or the brisket is dried out, etc. etc.

But I do agree, smaller joints (whether BBQ or not) will always be better than most chains.

Smokin'

Hey SmokinOkie, I love reading your posts, you may single-handedly be the biggest reason I ended up buying a CS and are certainly a big reason why my MB worked so well when it was my main box, so thanks for all your hard work up here.

I too thought the Rib Crib was a local joint at first, but as I drove though the Southwest & Missouri Ozarks, it became clear that there must be more than few dozen of 'em throughout the area.

But it�s kind of funny how around my house where everyone is now a BBQ critic, (they are a tough crowd) to this day, the mere mention of the Rib Crib gets them all fired up about what a lousy meal we had and how we must have missed out on something better that day being that we were in Oklahoma. I admit, they did have the distinct disadvantage of being the very next place we ate on the BBQ trail after Earls in OK City, and what a tough act to follow, no matter who you are! But I know that out of the many, many places we hit on that trip it was by far the least appealing.

I do agree with you about how time of day and holding of product, or even how much traffic a place generates can affect the quality. But the fact is, if its good food, it's going to be good tasting for awhile with shades of degrading freshness, but flavor and texture generally hold well, while moisture and heat don�t.

Being that I live in Gurnee which is home to well over 150 restaurants within a 5 mile radius and of those 150, 95% are chains (you name the chain we probably got it, or will get it soon), I�ll admit to just having a general disdain for most large corporate chains anyway. In fact I've become jaded at this point, I know I can see though chain restaurant BS with the things they do: the long waits to sit down (with those darn pagers) and the ridiculous price tags attached to these places ($8-10 appetizers, drinks and deserts? C�mon!), the frou-frou waiters with their �flare� and all the themed junk screwed onto walls with photos of people who never even ate at the place. Plus the food is ALWAYS overpriced, with medium portions and will be of a mediocre quality at best.

Not that there aren�t the occasional exceptions, like Portillo�s in Chicago which I find to be amazing since they can consistently maintain decent quality at such high volumes. And if you�ve never had ribs at Portillos than you�ve never had Chicago Style Babybacks! But as a general rule, I rarely find chains to worth supporting with my business. Support your local Mom & Pop places!! They need our business!

-Burt