Food review: Memphis sweet-smoked pork

Restaurant: Memphis Minnies (San Francisco)
Food description: Barbeque pork shoulder smoked for 14 hours, side of macaroni and cheese
Food rating: 7.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

Food review: BBQ pork ribs

Restaurant: Big Nate's Barbeque (San Francisco)
Food description: Barbeque pork ribs with medium spicy bbq sauce and 2 slices of wheat Wonder® bread
Food rating: 7 out of 10
Times ordered: 10+

Mmm, there's nothing like a good ole order of ribs to satisfy a girl. Ordering from Big Nate's used to be my Sunday ritual, especially when I was feelin lazy, they delivered right to my door (yep, that's my lovely kitchen counter in the shot). Of course I got sick of it after a while, and started going to Memphis Minnie's, which was a lot better, but further and no delivery. Got sick of that too, so here I am, back where I started, until the next best thing comes along. Since I've had these ribs quite a few times, assume that I know what I'm talking about. The sauce is too sweet for my taste, but has a nice little kick to it. You can order it mild, medium, or spicy-- I like the medium, which is just barely spicy but creeps up on you after awhile. I have to add loads of salt to counterbalance the sweetness of the sauce, which works I guess, but isn't ideal. I really don't like how the ribs are drowning in the sauce, and maybe it should be served on the side so I can actually taste the meat, ya know? Speaking of meat, the cut of the ribs are 1/2 spare ribs and 1/2 country ribs. Spare ribs are thin and have lean meat that comes right off the bone. Country ribs are awful, they're thick chunky cuts that are part meat, part fat, part cartilage, and part bone which you gotta try discern one thing from the next (aka a royal pain in the ass to eat). Plus, certain the edges of these cuts get all dried out and taste like beef jerky. On the other hand, the spare ribs are wonderful--tender with a deep smoky flavor and no trimming needed--I still just don't understand the country ribs. Why!!!! I've seen most bbq places do this, so I'm sure they're just being cheap or something. Anyway, I thought the slices of Wonder Bread were a nice touch of southern authenticity, and provided the break from all that spicy sweet sauce. So, if you're a fan of bbq and want something good, cheap, and authentic (and not picky about the cut), give these a try. I recommend Memphis Minnie's over Big Nate's in terms of quality, but Big Nate's is much cheaper and more convenient (and definitely gets the job done).

Food review: Smoky mountain wings

Restaurant: Memphis Minnies (San Francisco)
Food description: Tangy smoked bbq wings
Food rating: 5.5 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

So I've been on an endless quest to find the best wings known to man, and figured I'd give the barbeque experts at Memphis Minnies a shot. Trust me, I've eaten a LOT of wings in my lifetime and these didn't come close to being my favorite. These wings couldn't decide whether they wanted to be sweet, spicy, or tangy, and quite frankly neither could I. The flavors kept pulling me in every direction, and at the end of the day, it wasn't all that enjoyable. The chicken itself was fresh and juicy, but there wasn't much flavor to it-all the flavor was on the outside skin. And since the chicken wasn't smoked the way that I'd hoped, I ended up doing what I do to all wings with soggy skin: picking it off. Very unfortunate indeed. Not to mention they were completely drenched with sauce. So all in all, I'd say nay to having these wings again.

Food review: Smoked cajun andouille sausage

Restaurant: Memphis Minnies (San Francisco)
Food description: Spicy smoked barbeque pork andouille sausage
Food rating: 6 out of 10
Times ordered: 1

You've gotta be really into sausage to eat this much sausage by itself--which I'm not--but I wanted to try something other than the same old pork ribs and beef brisket that I always get at Memphis Minnies. It was definitely way too much sausage, especially given how greasy it was. There was a little puddle of orange grease that was left after I squeezed it out of the sausage before I could eat it. Yes, I'm also one of those people who blot their pizza with a napkin. I can handle some grease, but not when it's the only thing you taste. Such was the case with this sausage. It tasted like spicy barbequed fat, and that's about it. Like I said before, I don't think it was meant to be consumed this way and prefer it mixed into something like an omelette or jambalaya. So that being said, I will not be ordering this again (the mac-and-cheese was good though).