Good Ribs in Eastern TN?

Hi All,

I live in eastern tn (northeast corner) and can;t seem to find a good place for ribs. I'm willing to travel a bit if necessary (2-3 hours maybe?).

Tried smokey bones (decent brisket and q..fair ribs), red pig (not for me), dixie bbq (not for me), firehouse (good q - fair ribs), corky's (not for me)..think that's it around here so far.



ALL tips appreciated!

JC

Fred Sauceman is a good source for this info. If he is lurking, I am sure he can point you in the right direction in upper East Tennessee as he resides in Johnson City.

His stage name is Sauceman and he post pretty frequently on this site. You can email him and he will get back with you with so very good info.


I live in Knoxville and I can assure you that there is nothing here that you would want.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Thanks Paul...I'm actually considering a drive to knoxville to get some Sonny's ... better than I have found here so far. Forgot..ate at sticky fingers in chattanooga about 2 months ago. Not good either.

quote:

Originally posted by jcbbq

Thanks Paul...I'm actually considering a drive to knoxville to get some Sonny's ... better than I have found here so far. Forgot..ate at sticky fingers in chattanooga about 2 months ago. Not good either.

Good luck on Sonny's. I have never had much luck at Sonny's. Perhaps your experience will be better than mine.

Again, I would email Sauceman and I am sure he can point you in a better direction.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

quote:

Originally posted by Sundancer7

Fred Sauceman is a good source for this info. If he is lurking, I am sure he can point you in the right direction in upper East Tennessee as he resides in Johnson City.

His stage name is Sauceman and he post pretty frequently on this site. You can email him and he will get back with you with so very good info.


I live in Knoxville and I can assure you that there is nothing here that you would want.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Maybe it's your honesty,but your post made me laugh.Hard to believe no good bbq there but i'll take your word as you're a resident.

The fact that there is no good Q in Knoxville is another reaso I think Charlotte and Knoxville are sisiter cities. Knoxville had Kindston Pike and Charlotte has Sharon Amity. The feel of the two cities is scary in its commonality. I was born in Charlotte and have spent a great deal of time in Knoxville...they have much in common.

quote:

Originally posted by V960

The fact that there is no good Q in Knoxville is another reaso I think Charlotte and Knoxville are sisiter cities. Knoxville had Kindston Pike and Charlotte has Sharon Amity. The feel of the two cities is scary in its commonality. I was born in Charlotte and have spent a great deal of time in Knoxville...they have much in common.

Just moved from charlotte last year. Sonny's was probably the best place to get a rib there also imo. Not great...but edible compared to other products that people tried to pass off as ribs.

Hey Paul..was in Knoxville a few days ago. Grabbed some ribs from Sonny's, Famous Dave's, and Calhoun's.


Sonny's, while usually a "small tug" rib, was clearly kept overnight and was fall of the bone...soggy to me. Not good.


Calhoun's - The place was packed. No idea why. If "steamed" BB ribs are good...calhoun's is king.


Famous dave's - Not bad. Nice "tug", good flavor (flavor to me is some authentic smoke and a nice rub).


Verdict - I'll go back to Sonny's in a pinch - I'll go back to Famous Dave's when in town - Will eat a McRib before going back to Calhoun's.


Not that I have the credentials of a drsmoke02, but my ribs are far better than anything I've found in this region to date...but I hold out hope!


Anybody have a recommendation for ribs in eastern tn? I'm willing to travel!

Save your money Ribtater, good BBQ ain't here in Knoxville and it will be a while before it is. No one is here that does a good job.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

quote:

Originally posted by Sundancer7

Save your money Ribtater, good BBQ ain't here in Knoxville and it will be a while before it is. No one is here that does a good job.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

ribtater? never had tater's with my ribs...is that a suggestion?



Central TN anybody? Western Va? Western NC? Southeast KY?


Anybody?

Ribrater: Sorry for the misnormer.

Sincerely

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

No problem at all...was just funning with you.

quote:

Originally posted by RibRater.com

Thanks Paul...I'm actually considering a drive to knoxville to get some Sonny's ... better than I have found here so far. Forgot..ate at sticky fingers in chattanooga about 2 months ago. Not good either.

You are having the same problem as I am right now.
I would have to drive to Georgia to get some Sonny's. I like Sonnys ribs. In Florida they are everywhere and I ate there at least twice a week...
I am in the Myrtle Beach area and cant find a rib to save my soul, except for Baby Backs at the chains.
I want real ribs.
I am jonesing so bad for some.

Sad to say, but I haven't found good ribs in East Tennessee. My favorite barbecue place around here, The Ridgewood, does not do ribs. They've talked about it, but so far, they're staying with fresh ham as the only cut of pork that's barbecued. If I want good ribs around these parts, I do them myself.

Fred Sauceman

quote:

Originally posted by sauceman

Sad to say, but I haven't found good ribs in East Tennessee. My favorite barbecue place around here, The Ridgewood, does not do ribs. They've talked about it, but so far, they're staying with fresh ham as the only cut of pork that's barbecued. If I want good ribs around these parts, I do them myself.

Fred Sauceman

Thanks Fred.



That's that then. Back to the grill for now...but I'm on the road this summer so will be checking out the best of the best in a 5 state area.

quote:

Originally posted by roossy90

quote:

Originally posted by RibRater.com

Thanks Paul...I'm actually considering a drive to knoxville to get some Sonny's ... better than I have found here so far. Forgot..ate at sticky fingers in chattanooga about 2 months ago. Not good either.

You are having the same problem as I am right now.
I would have to drive to Georgia to get some Sonny's. I like Sonnys ribs. In Florida they are everywhere and I ate there at least twice a week...
I am in the Myrtle Beach area and cant find a rib to save my soul, except for Baby Backs at the chains.
I want real ribs.
I am jonesing so bad for some.

Not sure if they serve ribs but the only two places I hear have decent Q in myrtle are Three Pigs and Mr Pitts. Have you tried either of those? If so, how was it?

quote:

Originally posted by RibRater.com

quote:

Originally posted by roossy90

quote:

Originally posted by RibRater.com

Thanks Paul...I'm actually considering a drive to knoxville to get some Sonny's ... better than I have found here so far. Forgot..ate at sticky fingers in chattanooga about 2 months ago. Not good either.

You are having the same problem as I am right now.
I would have to drive to Georgia to get some Sonny's. I like Sonnys ribs. In Florida they are everywhere and I ate there at least twice a week...
I am in the Myrtle Beach area and cant find a rib to save my soul, except for Baby Backs at the chains.
I want real ribs.
I am jonesing so bad for some.

Not sure if they serve ribs but the only two places I hear have decent Q in myrtle are Three Pigs and Mr Pitts. Have you tried either of those? If so, how was it?

Little Pigs doesnt do ribs...
I drive past his place every day I go to work...
That was the first place I checked out...
I know lots of people around here like his pork,(it is chopped, and he uses hams)) but I wasnt too keen on it, but I will give them a 2nd chance. He does have some great sauces though.
I have found a couple places to get pulled pork right around the corner from me though.
But I WANT RIBS!

There are 2 more places that I am checking out this coming week.
Thanks, and am not familiar with Mr Pitts...I will check the phone book for that one also.
Thanks..

To be honest iI've never seen bbq ribs ona menu in E.Tn. Calhouns is so-so,IMHO, at best. Now w/ kraut we're taking a different story.

BBQ seems to be like nucs, epicenters is the concept. Kansas City, Memphis, Houston, and the greatest center of them all...Lexington. Sorry Kentucky but your Q just is not in the same league. There are more great Q places in all the above than most of the rest of the country COMBINED.

In East Tn eat collards, cornbread, creamed corn, sliced tomatoes (only in season), lima beans, green beans, greasy greeens, turnip greens and fried chicken. Thr fried squash, fried okra, tomatoes & bread, grits casserole, and livermush (not for me thank you) should not be missed either.

V960: Although I have seen most of what you mentioned in East, TN, I have not seen livermush? Perhaps it is here but I have not seen it.

You are correct, as there is no good BBQ in East TN. Sure do wish there were.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

There ued to bee a place way out west on Kingston Pike...Ott's? that was good but is gone now. Actually now it is like Charlotte and WAY out on Kingston Pike has houses for another twenty miles. When I first started coming to Knoxville, the Cedar Bluff exit was to h**l and gone.

Hold it, Sundancer. "No good barbecue in East Tennessee?" The Ridgewood is as good as ever, in my opinion.

Fred Sauceman

Sauceman,
I'm sorry but Ridgewood or Red Pig wouldn't stay in business more than a month in Lexington, NC. They're ok, maybe even good but.......

quote:

Originally posted by sauceman

Hold it, Sundancer. "No good barbecue in East Tennessee?" The Ridgewood is as good as ever, in my opinion.

Fred Sauceman

Fred, sorry about that but the last time I was there was about two years ago. It was aging a bit but perhaps it is improving. I hope so. It used to be very good. I am glad it still is.

Sincerely
Paul E. Smith
knoxville, TN

quote:

Originally posted by V960

Sauceman,
I'm sorry but Ridgewood or Red Pig wouldn't stay in business more than a month in Lexington, NC. They're ok, maybe even good but.......

I had some micro-waved ribs over at red pig (had microwave burn on one end).

in my book, that's about as bad as it gets. wouldn't go back on a bet.


(not to mention, when you go inside the red pig, they come up to you and shake your hand while you are standing in line. while that's a nice custom, I'm a bit of a germaphobe and I find it a little uncomfortable in the middle of winter )


I'm going to give ridgewood another try. just had some take-out and thought it was ok so I'll try to find a seat next time and soak it all in.

I lived just outside lexington for a few years. IMO, that may be the most over-rated BBQ town in the country. I think some of the que was good (not great) but the slaw, bread, etc was always poor. The town has done a great job promoting itself.

Ribrater,
You didn't like the Q in Lexington? Where do you like it? Lexington is serious about Q. Memphis, KC and Houston are all serious contenders for second place but Lexington is heads above for #1.

There has always been a pretty good rule of thumb that bbq in Ky/Tn started west of I-65.

It then becomes the basic food group.

Tom

Ridgewood and Red Pig don't belong in the same sentence.

quote:

Originally posted by V960

Ribrater,
You didn't like the Q in Lexington? Where do you like it? Lexington is serious about Q. Memphis, KC and Houston are all serious contenders for second place but Lexington is heads above for #1.

I thought it was good que as long as I could drag it home and serve some good bread (and some slaw now and then). I just think the town has done a great job promoting itself and the que was no better than many other places. I spent a lot of time in the eastern part of the state where a pig pickin was happening every weekend somewhere so there was usually some pretty good que to be found.

Oddly enough, I was once a que purist. If I didn't see a pile of wood I wasnt eating. But over the years I have decided that the end product is more important than the process. I've had good que in places where they use an electric smoker ala cookshack and i've had good que out of a barrel on the side of the road (don't see as many of these as I use to on the roads I travel).


(Rule of thumb at one time was: if you see an older man cooking ribs in a barrel stop and eat. Then, once while driving through New Hampshire, I saw an old guy cooking ribs in a barrel next to a big stack of wood...stopped to eat...and they tasted like he boiled them and slapped some sauce on them. So much for that rule. course it was new england so he may have started out the recipe with a can of soup like they do everything else up there )


anyway. i think lexington is good...I just don't think it's the center of the bbq universe.

I didn't weigh in with this when the discussion first started about ribs in East Tennessee because I hadn't visited this place until last Friday, April 21, but that day, I tried, for the first time, The Pig & Chick, outside Rogersville, Tennessee. It's on Highway 11W, about four miles east of town. The owners are some of the nicest people I've ever met. And they weren't the kind of restaurant owners who try to tell writers how to write their columns! They made one very nice request, that I credit the teenagers from Cherokee High School who have built the business through their table service, so I led the column with that quotation. I was very impressed with owner Richard Beets' knowledge of barbecue, although he demurely admits he has much more to learn. I enjoyed the ribs, the pulled pork, and the smoked tenderloin. Richard's wife Marty is responsible for the sides and desserts, all of which are made from scratch, including sweet potato casserole, cornbread salad, cowboy beans, and banana pudding, made with real custard, cream cheese, and real whipped cream. I thought Richard's ribs were cooked just right--they did not "fall off the bone." I had one restaurant owner in Johnson City bring me a plate of ribs to try the other day. He said, "They're great; they're falling off the bone." I then explained that you don't want them falling off the bone. He had clearly boiled them. Richard's, however, had the right amount of "tooth" and tenderness. If you're around that area, I recommend a stop at The Pig and Chick. Oh, and Richard's hush puppies, with one of his dry rubs mixed into them, are superb.

Fred Sauceman

quote:

Originally posted by sauceman

I didn't weigh in with this when the discussion first started about ribs in East Tennessee because I hadn't visited this place until last Friday, April 21, but that day, I tried, for the first time, The Pig & Chick, outside Rogersville, Tennessee. It's on Highway 11W, about four miles east of town. The owners are some of the nicest people I've ever met. And they weren't the kind of restaurant owners who try to tell writers how to write their columns! They made one very nice request, that I credit the teenagers from Cherokee High School who have built the business through their table service, so I led the column with that quotation. I was very impressed with owner Richard Beets' knowledge of barbecue, although he demurely admits he has much more to learn. I enjoyed the ribs, the pulled pork, and the smoked tenderloin. Richard's wife Marty is responsible for the sides and desserts, all of which are made from scratch, including sweet potato casserole, cornbread salad, cowboy beans, and banana pudding, made with real custard, cream cheese, and real whipped cream. I thought Richard's ribs were cooked just right--they did not "fall off the bone." I had one restaurant owner in Johnson City bring me a plate of ribs to try the other day. He said, "They're great; they're falling off the bone." I then explained that you don't want them falling off the bone. He had clearly boiled them. Richard's, however, had the right amount of "tooth" and tenderness. If you're around that area, I recommend a stop at The Pig and Chick. Oh, and Richard's hush puppies, with one of his dry rubs mixed into them, are superb.

Fred Sauceman

That's great Fred. Thanks for the tip and the review...I'll mosey on over there this week and give them a try.


(if you get time, can you pm me the "other" restaurant so I can steer clear of the boiled ribs? had enough of those ;-)


thanks,

larry