Piggly Wiggly
(Elizabeth Malby/Sun Photographer)
I’m originally from Tennessee, so I should know more about barbecue than any of you Northerners who live in Maryland, but I don’t. Plus I don’t get to as many barbecue joints as I’d like to, because I’m too busy reviewing “finer” restaurants.
With a little help from my friends —mainly Happy Eater Rob Kasper and Marty Katz, who says his business card says “BBQ Research” and swears it’s a tough gig — I compiled this list for today’s Top Ten Tuesday. The places aren’t in any particular order, and they aren’t really favorites this week. It’s more that if you’re doing BBQ research, you ought to visit each of these at least once...
1) Andy Nelson’s BBQ in Cockeysville is the one with the pig on the roof, and seems to be the favorite of the barbecue aficionados I talked to. The draw is slow-cooked, hickory-smoked barbecue, including pulled pork and ribs with deliciously charred, fall-off-the-bone meat.
2) Big Bad Wolf’s House of Barbeque in Hamilton was one of my two 4-star establishments for 2004, to the horror of some of my readers. I loved the the crusty, meaty beef ribs with the Kansas City Spicy Sauce. (There were six different styles of sauce offered when I ate there.)
3) Corner Stable in Cockeysville was reviewed by the Sun’s other restaurant critic, Karen Nitkin. She liked its ribs almost as much as I liked the barbecue at Big Bad Wolf’s. (She gave the food 3 ½ stars). They’re baby back ribs from Denmark, cooked with an secret heirloom sauce, not too sweet or too tart.
4) Carry Out Sam Sessa recommends Smokey Hollow BBQ Co. in Laurel. From his description, I've got to try it: "Texas brisket [is] heavy and smoky but soft enough to slice with the side of a plastic fork." One of its sauces took fourth place in the 2006 National Barbecue Association Awards of Excellence.
5) At Bare Bones in Ellicott City the house specialty ribs are meaty and dripping with good sauce, but they don’t come cheap. Still, they are a favorite of several in the know. Thanks to Dave for pointing out that they caramelize the sauce on the ribs. Hard to find.
6) Thanks to John Surrick for suggesting Bayside Bull, on Rt. 214 in Edgewater, which he says “always has great BBQ and ribs.” Our in-house BBQ expert Rob says it’s a place people have told him about, but he hasn’t gotten there yet.
7) If you can stand the idea of barbecue with wi-fi, I recommend the barbecued chicken at Milton’s Grill downtown. This isn’t a barbecue joint, but a restaurant with good barbecue. Don’t miss the soft, hot giant roast sweet potato that comes as a side.
8) Ray Lewis’ Full Moon Bar-B-Que in Canton is owned by a guy who once said that he doesn’t let his body fat fall below 7 percent. I love that. Have some more of your fried onion rings, ribs, potato salad and pecan pie, Ray. The barbecue isn’t bad at this opulent shrine to our favorite linebacker.
9) Blue Agave’s Michael Marx opened Rub in South Baltimore last year. The place is quite stylish in its own way (kind of weird but nice in a barbecue joint), and meat is the star: It involves dry rubs, an oak wood smoker and long hours of slow cooking.
10) Razorback’s in Towson is proud of the fact that it’s not a typical rib place, but the baby back ribs are still good. You can get them with four different sauces: Kentucky bourbon, Caribbean spiced rum chili mango, a spicy Louisiana-inspired sauce or traditional. Pulled pork comes in a sun-dried tomato tortilla. How trendy is that?
Comments
Rub should be on this list. Razorbacks and Bare Bones should be stricken.
Posted by: Bill | May 22, 2007 10:25 AM
What about Mr. Chelsea's Barbecue in Owings Mills? When it was reviewed by the Sun back in 2005 it got 3 stars.
Posted by: Jessica | May 22, 2007 10:38 AM
Mr. Chelsea's BBQ on Reisterstown Road in Owings Mills is great!
Posted by: cecbalto | May 22, 2007 10:52 AM
Bill, take a look at #9. Rub is on the list
Posted by: Jeremy | May 22, 2007 11:04 AM
Well, since you are from Tennessee, I will add some of my favorites of that state.
Ridgewood BBQ outside of Bristol is great. They do a fresh ham BBQ that you have to try. Most Tennessee BBQ is either shoulder or ribs.
Bar-Ba-Cutie in Nashville is great on the name alone, but the pulled pork there is worth repeat trips.
Calhouns, which is small chain has good ribs. The location in Knoxville has a great atmosphere right on the Tennessee River and right next to UT.
Posted by: Robert | May 22, 2007 11:14 AM
As I previously posted in "Hog Heaven", my major complaint with ribs in the Baltimore area (and I have been to most of those listed here) is that while they use good ribs and good sauce, the sauce is not burnt/carmelized onto the ribs. In most cases it is simply poured over the ribs at the end. Bare Bones comes as close to way I like them, otherwise you have to head south to at least Richmond.
Posted by: Dave | May 22, 2007 11:57 AM
Well - I am from Tennessee as well and have searched in vain for good BBQ in Maryland. Robert posted and mentioned Calhoun's and he is wise beyond all measure. Absolute heaven - and Calhoun's on the River before/after a UT game is perfection. Get a full rack, spinach maria and some sweet corn bread muffins and you'll never be the same. You can actually order their ribs online and have them delivered to you. All that aside Rub really is the only place in MD that I have found even comes close to getting it right. Don't waste your time with their spinach maria but definitely get the sweet potato fries. Rub gives Full moom BBQ an old fashioned wood shed beating - no comparison.
Posted by: Wes | May 22, 2007 12:22 PM
I think bbq is a matter of personal preference coupled with regional pride. I have a friend from south Texas and she doesn't think anyone here does bbq properly. Personally, I come from a state without a great bbq tradition - Maryland - so I'm sure my opinion doesn't count. All I ask for is tender meat, not too smokey, and a sauce that has flavor and some kick, but isn't too sweet. Your post got me thinking about the late great Arbaugh's, where my family went when I was a kid. Nowadays, I happen to like Razorback's and Bare Bones because they fit my criteria.
Best ribs I ever ate, however, were at Brother Jimmy's in Chicago, about 15 years ago. They were so spicy, my nose hairs were tingling before I got the rib to my lips, but so goooood!
Posted by: Kathy | May 22, 2007 1:42 PM
I don't know my URL. pls. e-mail inst. on how to become a contributor to chat. thnx -steve
Don't worry, just start talking. Many people don't have URLs (or Web sites). There aren't any real instructions, but the informal ones can be found here. If you have time, go to the category on the right of the main page labeled "Commenting" and you'll see lots of entries on the subject, including how to link, choosing an exciting user name, and so on. EL
Posted by: steve devito | April 13, 2008 6:13 AM
Yes, Steve--no need to get all fancy here, but you might want to choose a catchy modifier for your name.
Welcome!
Posted by: Dahlink | April 13, 2008 10:46 AM
Bare Bones in Ellicott City has good ribs and chicken!! One night out of the week is all you can eat ribs-hop on it!! It's worth it!
Posted by: Jennifer | April 22, 2008 2:05 PM