Mmm, we love ribs. Hmm, love may be the wrong word and definitely an understatement. We’re obsessed with ribs. We try them everywhere we go and have become amateur pit masters, and by amateurs, I mean we own two smokers and one grill, we attend (but do not compete in) local barbecue competitions and we always ALWAYS make our own dry rubs, wet marinades and sauces. We still have a lot to learn, but it’s pretty much life for us.
While in Naples, Florida, we’d heard about a spot that had “championship-worthy ribs”. A statement like that scares us and almost immediately forces lowered expectations. We visited on a random night and had what we thought were fairly *not* random ribs.
Before we talk ribs, let me offer that the rest of the platter was okay. The sliced pork was nice but my dining companions kept referring to it as deli meat. It wasn’t that bad, really. It just wasn’t impressive. The fries were adequate as was the cole slaw. The beans had way to much mustard or something similar in them; they were tart in a pretty unimpressive way. The Texas toast was pretty good – thick, buttery, toasty, crunchy – yum.
The ribs were equally yum. In fact, I loved them so much we ordered a second rack of ribs (along with our second helping of Texas toast). They were tender, warm, smokey and very easy to eat. They were also complex with a very delicious rub and quite accessible sauce, something everyone would enjoy. My husband and I took notes to make sure we tried some new spices in our rib rub and marinades this summer.
I was a bit troubled by the fact that the ribs came from Denmark where the animals are tulip-fed. I suppose there’s something special that happens to meat when it’s fed with flowers, but I didn’t notice. And why Denmark? Doesn’t the U.S. of A. have pretty amazing meat? Wouldn’t it be far more affordable to ship from a few states away rather than across an entire ocean? Food for thought for the Michelbob’s folks…
If you’re down near Naples, ignore all those sides. You really don’t need to bother with the beans, slaw or fries. Frankly, I wouldn’t bother with anything besides the ribs and the Texas toast. Well, there’s one thing you must try. Start your meal with an order of onion rings. The batter on those local onion slices is crisp and spicy. None of us could keep our hands off the plastic bin that was overloaded with the deep fried bulbs.
Lastly, and you’ll see it below, the key lime pie was delicious. DELICIOUS. I’m not a key lime pie expert but I do always bring back several bottles of the juice to meet my friends’ key lime pie addiction all summer long. I loved it so much that one of the guests packed up an extra slice as a little take-home gift for me. It was quite sweet, even though I never got a chance to eat it all down. Our flight came too quickly. That said, I’m sure my father-in-law took care of the job for me.
