Taste of Lincoln

Please note: This was just a critique of ribs, not the total menu.  Many of these places have the best brisket in town or I go there for other items.  In each case, I tried to just sample ribs with no sauce (naked) in the restaurant so there were no issues with it getting cold when I got home.  I tried to focus on locally owned businesses only.   I came up with my own modified Kansas City Barbecue Society modified scoring which is listed below.  In the event of a tie (which did happen) I used service as the tie-breaker.

Here are my rankings for the 6 places I tried:

1. BBQ4U
2. Hog Pit
3. Paul’s
4. Phat Jacks
5. Parker’s Smokehouse
6. Busters BBQ

Congratulations to BBQ4U.  I’ve been there many times, but I don’t think I’ve ever ordered ribs there.   Service was good and even without sauce the ribs were full of flavor.

Listed here are the scoring criteria I used and the weight each category has.  This is how I came up with the total score for each location.  If you would like to see my scorecard, you may download it here.  Scoring for each of these four categories ranges from 2 (inedible) to 9 (Outstanding).  So a perfect score would be a 44.884.

Appearance (Weight 0.5714): In KCBS judging, entries must follow specific criteria.  In my unofficial capacity, I just looked to see if there was care in the presentation.  Did the cook try to at least arrange things in an way that kept everything separate.

Taste (Weight 2.2855): Although the most subjective, this is really the ultimate deciding factor.  A rib can be slightly over cooked, but if the flavor rocks, I’ll come back for more.

Tenderness (Weight 1.1428): Until I became certified, I really didn’t understand this category.  As we were taught, ribs that fall off the bone are over-cooked.  Ribs that you need to tug at to get the meat are generally under-cooked.  A perfectly cooked rib will pull away from the bone, only around your teeth marks.  The bone, once exposed should dry quickly.

Service (Weight 0.9876): This is not an official category, but I had to come up with some way to break a tie.  To me, service is very important if I’m ever to come back on a regular basis.  I felt that the weight should be higher than appearance, but not as high as the Taste and Tenderness categories.

Announced via their Facebook page, Paul’s will be serving Ribs, Chicken and Pork late night. They are in the old Billy Brown’s location next to Iguana’s.

Pauls BBQ is now available downtown on the weekends after hours. Located just west of Iguanas pub on O street. Ribs, chicken, and pork will be served. Please stop in and get your BBQ fix.

I’m past my O street days, but I may travel down there some Saturday night and have a little late night snack!

We went over to a friends house Saturday night to watch the Heisman and stopped off at the Hog Pit BBQ on 14th and Superior for some take out.

First the good:

1. Probably the best brisket I’ve had in a long time.  It was machine sliced really thin, but we got a healthy portion for around $9.
2. The side dishes.  Normally this doesn’t matter to me at a BBQ place, but this was something to call out.  We had the Mac ‘n Cheese, Baked Beans, Green Bean Casserole, Potato Salad and corn bread.  All were awesome!  The Mac ‘n Cheese was ridiculously good!!
3. The service.  The new owner was working and incredibly nice while I waited for my food.  He knew his stuff and wanted me to let him know what I thought.

My Constructive Criticism:

1. In addition to the brisket, we got a full slab of baby back ribs.  They were cooked well and cut into individual bones.  The only thing with our rack was the rub was still very grainy on the bones.  It tasted great, but we may have gotten some with a little too much rub that kind of clumped on the ribs.

Truthfully that wasn’t enough for all of us to think it was anything but great BBQ!!  Please visit this location and help support a local BBQ joint.  Please don’t disgrace Lincoln BBQ like this article did.  Paul’s is still my favorite, but as a resident of North Lincoln, the Hog Pit will see a lot of me!!

We saw several people going up to the door and then turned away.  There was a sign that said the restaurant will reopen under new ownership on November 12, 2009.

We’ll have to give you an update once they open again.