Philadelphia is not exactly a barbeque town. The quality places are few and far between. For every gem like Sweet Lucy’s Smokehouse, there’s a Famous Dave’s (dinner in a fake log cabin anyone?) or a place that claims to serve “Real Barbeque” (quotes intentional).
I’m obviously excited when I hear of a new BBQ place opening. At the Garry Maddox BBQ Challenge, I sampled the food on Restaurant Row of a new place called Rubb. The food was great, so when I inquired about their location, they said they were opening in Manayunk in September 2009. Based on the menu card they gave out, it looks like they’re going to try some ‘high end barbeque’ (which would do well in Manayunk).
Their menu will include the standards like hand-pulled pork, beef brisket, ribs (St. Louis or Baby Back), smoked turkey breast, organic chicken and chili. They’re also going to do homemade sausage, smoked Berkshire pork belly and a hand-pulled Elysian Fields lamb leg (Elysian Fields is a humane and holistic farm in Waynesburg, PA. that grows their own feed and is considered some of the best lamb around.)
The tasty-sounding sides include: Hush puppies, Poblano ketchup collards with ham hocks and hot sauce, something called ‘Hand-slammed Fries’, Corn on the cob with roasted garlic lime butter, Sweet tart slaw, BBQ’d black-eyed peas, Sweet potato salad, Corn bread and the old standby: Mac and Cheese.
What really enticed me was the selection of sauces: Black Pepper, Memphis mustard, Chocolate chipotle, Banana Jerk, Roasted Garlic Ancho, Chimichurri and Mombassa Pepper.
I’m sure the menu will be tweaked before opening, let’s hope it’s as good as it sounds.
Rubb is located at:
4445 Main Street
Philadelphia, PA 19127
(215) 482-1900
http://www.rubbphilly.com
