BBQ Nerd’s Barbecue Blues & Rib Cribmas

Hope everyone had a great holiday!!! I went to my old stomping ground of Ada, OK (find out more about this town by watching Netflix’s The Innocent Man) and decided to try some more BBQ there. Billy Sims had just closed, so my options were few and far between. But a random lunch at The Blue Moon Cafe gave me an opportunity to sample their special that week- Brisket.

Now the first thing I would say is that Blue Moon is NOT a BBQ joint by trade. They do have ribs regularly on the menu, and this was a limited time item. But three sides plus toast for $8.99 was good value. I was also pleasantly surprised by the burnt ends hiding under the toast.

Unfortunately that’s where the pleasant surprises ended. The brisket was bland, and a bit dry. The burnt ends were much more moist, but were also devoid of ANY smoke flavor. This was more like lunch cafeteria roast. Even the sauce, overly sweetened, couldn’t help the dish out. The coleslaw was a bit on the sweet side as well, but the beans had plenty of flavor and weren’t too salty. The fries were perfection as always. This place serves good burgers, excellent sandwiches, and some tasty cheese fries. But their BBQ is seriously lacking. Needless to say I was itching for my BBQ fix. So the next day, my father and I visited Rib Crib. I had a two meat plate, with brisket and ribs.

Even from behind the beans, you can see the bright pink smoke ring on the brisket. Now, I’m going to caution folks- we all know that corporate BBQ can’t beat the greats in any region. But it can still beat mediocre BBQ. The brisket was moist, plenty of smoke, with a decent salt bark. The ribs were a bit over cooked, but still had decent smoke flavor. Their cowboy beans are some of my favorite, with a rich, spicy, meat-filled sauce encasing the pinto beans. The potato salad was pretty standard, I would have preferred a smidge more mustard. But at Rib Crib, as is the case with many corporate BBQ establishments, the sauce is key. And Rib Crib offers 3 different kinds- Original, Hot, and Carolina Mustard. The original is a bit on the sweet side, but packs a good smokey punch. The spicy is an improvement, with a vinegary kick along with the nice heat. You can really get the tomato from this sauce. Finally the Carolina sauce is also a hit (my personal favorite of the 3), and it’s the sauce I chose to coat my ribs in. It has even more vinegar flavor, with the mustard notes mixing perfectly with the smokey flavor. It’s a heavier sauce, but one that goes extremely well with pork.

And it looks darn good on a rib too.

Despite the disappointment in Blue Moon, I ended the year with a better than average plate of BBQ in Ada, OK. I call that a win!