Yesterday we had lunch at Rub's Backcountry Smokehouse. We liked it a lot!
This was our first visit; we had never been there before, neither their current location (which opened on Friday) or their previous incarnation as Rub's Barbecue (same building, but with the entrance around the corner on Lunt). I'm told they have a big sign but it hasn't been installed yet, so at the moment there is almost no signage. It's right next door to Jesse's Mexican Grill, just south of Lunt on Western.
When you walk in, you place your order and pay at the host stand at the entrance, then sit down. (This makes tipping a bit confusing, because if you want to put it on your charge slip, you have to guess at an amount to tip, and it's not clear whether this is a serve-yourself-drinks type place or not. As it turns out, the staff is very friendly and helpful with bringing food and drinks to the tables, so on our way out we took advantage of the tip jar at the host stand to add a few dollars to our previously charged tip amount.)
The seating consists of a row of basic wooden four-top tables with a bench on one side and chairs on the other. On the other side of the room is a table that would fit six, with benches, and a larger table with benches (formerly a church pew perhaps?). There are no smaller tables (no two-tops), and I'm not sure whether people sit with strangers when they get busy. They were actually rather busy on our Saturday lunchtime (roughly 12:45-1:45) with all the tables occupied but no one waiting for seating.
So how was the food? Very good indeed, and much better than the older posts above would indicate.
We had the spare ribs, which were in the dry-rub/smoked style. I really liked these. They were meaty and had a lot of smoked flavor; as noted above, the cooking techniques have changed and they now use only wood for cooking them, no gas or electric. The downside of spare ribs (compared with baby back ribs) is that they can be rather fatty, but not here! They were tender and moist, with a lot of meat but almost no fat, undoubtedly thanks to long slow cooking. Also, they were completely cut into individual ribs, so they were easy to eat without having to split them apart.
We also had the brisket, which was excellent as well. There was a definite smoked flavor, and the meat was incredibly moist and rich. (It looked nothing like the old photo posted above.) As is customary with brisket, there was fat that needed to be trimmed off, which was no big deal (although we mentioned to Jared that cutting and trimming the brisket would be easier if they were served on some sort of plate rather than in the small cardboard basket).
The sides were great too. We had the truffled mac and cheese, which had a lot of truffle flavor. It was not as hot as it should have been, though - Jared, I hope you're reading this! - so we ended up enjoying the leftovers more at home than the part we ate there.
Now, about that custard-filled cornbread. I thought it was great! Although, as Jared mentioned to us, it's a "love it or hate it" item; those who like it think it's terrific, and those that don't, really don't. Rub uses the classic recipe from Marion Cunningham in her cookbooks,
the Fannie Farmer Cookbook and
the Breakfast Book; in the latter, she mentions that it was popular in the thirties (and rediscovered by Jane Salfass Freimann). I found
this website which gives the recipe with some nice step-by-step photos.
I also enjoyed the house-brewed root beer, but wasn't that wild about the iced tea (which will disappoint those who enjoy theirs on the strong side).
We didn't get to try the brisket burger, whose description on the menu sounds appealing also.
While we noticed quite a few folks stopping in for carry-out. I can understand how that would be; it's the kind of food that travels well, and on-street parking in the vicinity is easy.
All in all, I think Rub's Backcountry Smokehouse has some really good barbecue, and is worth trying for those who have never been, and worth a return for those who haven't been lately. We'll be back again soon!