Calvin's Royal Rib House

Conventional wisdom says that any place with extremely limited hours is likely to be very good (see Shopsin's). Unfortunately, conventional wisdom can often be wrong (would anyone like to start a land war in Asia?). This may be the case with Calvin's Royal Rib House in Bed Stuy. It's only open three days a week-- Thursday, Friday and Saturday until the food runs out-- but these limited hours don't necessarily translate into a meal worth seeking out. That's a shame too, since I'd love to be able to find authentic Southern barbecue in New York City (beyond the Big Apple BBQ).

I admit that East Carolina barbecue, with its signature tangy vinegar sauce, is far from my favorite regional style. When I lived in Georgia, the local barbecue was similar, but (much) lower quality. Maybe that clouded my perception (you can see how hard I'm trying to be nice), because in my experience (and in many other's) the vinegar sauce completely overwhelms the flavor and smokiness of the pulled pork. This results in a sandwich that tastes like meaty vinegar with cole slaw. At least where I frequented in Georgia, this meat-vinegar was served on "Graecian Bread" (essentially extra-buttery Texas toast), which mitigated things somewhat (along with copious boiled peanuts).

Fette Sau: Go Meat!

Of all the foods there are perhaps none are more American than barbecue. A quick point of clarification, the word "barbecue" should not to be confused with grilling. Where grilling is a method of cooking with direct heat, barbecue is a method of slowly cooking with indirect heat and smoke. I know, New York is not exactly what you'd call a barbecue destination. We don't have vinegar-based sauces or chopped pork like the Carolinas, have smoke ribs and pull pork like Memphis, tomato-based sauces like Kansas City and even prepare our brisket differently than Texans, but rest assured, there are a growing number of quality barbecue joints in New York City and last weekend a bunch of friends joined The Chief and I in Williamsburg to sample one of New York's best.

RUB Burger Update

After the first time I tried the RUB Burger, I wrote that it was one of the best burgers I'd ever eaten. A second visit confirmed its greatness. This time we have pictures:

The RUB Burger in all its glory

Served with pickles, caramelized onions and velveeta cheese.

All pictures by the DegustationAsian.