Back to BBQ in Cincy

We have found that Burbanks has the best BBQ in Cincinnati, although I think they could improve by cooking their ribs a little longer and a little slower under a lower temperature. Their sauces aren't bad. The real star of the menu is their side items. The slaw is good, the sweet potatoe caserole rocks, and they have authentic collard greens all the time, and they are alomst like my grandma used to make. The greens are so awesome, I have bought pints of them and taken them home. I can eat a pint in about 5 minutes flat. A little hot vinegar, and cornbread, and a couple of the fried catfish fillets and I am in heaven. We cook our own cheese grits. It's the best thing in town. The only ding I could give them is their beans. Nothing to brag about. If you know about Earl Pitts, then you know that radio character is none other than Gary Burbank, a Cincy radio personality on a local AM station. This is his resturaunt. The menu has some of the Earl Pitts stories on them. Its the closest thing to a non-yankee place you will get up here.

When we ate at Burbanks, one of the waiters told us to try this place about 15 minutes away called "Big Art's". He said if we really liked ribs, we needed to try that place. So we did. We drove over there a few days later and it was more like, "Big Disappointment". They boiled the ribs (heresy), and they covered the ribs with so much sauce, it was like they were hiding something. And they were! They had MSG injected into just about everything. Cynthia ordered her ribs dry because of the MSG and they were boiled off the bone and had NO FLAVOR whatsoever. Their beans were way too sweet, and their slaw was gushing with mayonnaise....ughhh. It is a little hole in the wall that shares a parking lot with a gas station. I am not so concerned about the decor or the class of place it was. As any good BBQ seeker knows, the closer the building is to being condemned, the better the Q is. Except in this case. So for now, Burbanks is the place to be.