Restaurant Review: Brother Jimmy's BBQ

The other day I was craving some bbq. I was in the Chirping Chicken on Amsterdam Avenue and West 77th Street in Manhattan and was considering ordering their barbeque ribs. Now, I've never had Chirping Chicken's ribs, and they may be pretty good, but they don't have a smoker. So I says to myself, "WhiteTrash? Why don't you go to a real barbecue joint for ribs? Brother Jimmy's is just up the street." "Good idea," I says and so I go.

I arrive at Brother Jimmy's and notice the lunch special. For $9.95, I could choose from Brunswick Stew, Chili or a side salad, 3 spare ribs and two sides. I chose the Brunswick Stew, 3 dry rub ribs, beans and a side salad with blue cheese dressing.

I looked around the restaurant, and my old reviews came flooding back to my mind. Same place, different work staff and waitresses that were no where near as pretty or perky as in previous visits. I was beginning to regret my decision.

Then the Brunswick Stew arrived. It was smokey, flavorful, packed with chicken and vegetables. I was pleasantly surprised, added a little hot sauce and really enjoyed the stew. It was served with a little corn muffin, which was warm, unlike in previous visits where the muffins were ice cold. This was a great start to the meal.

An odd episode with the stew. I was served the stew with a teaspoon by a runner. When the waitress came by to check, I asked her for a larger spoon. She was perplexed, but came back in a couple of minutes with a tablespoon, announcing that this was the largest spoon they had in house. I said that it was perfect, thanked her and took the spoon. She stood there for a bit, saying nothing. I then handed her the teaspoon and said it was hard to eat the stew with so small a spoon. She looked at that spoon like she had never seen a teaspoon in all her born days. She finally silently walked away.

When the ribs and sides arrived, with two more corn muffins, my first thought was "what a lot of food." With the auspicious start from the Brunswick Stew, I was really looking forward to this meal and dove into the food.

The salad was a nice mixture of fresh vegetables overdressed with a tasteless creamy concoction that they claimed to be blue cheese. The beans were watery, strongly flavored with vinegar and easily the smokey-ist thing on the plate.

And what about the ribs you say?

Well, have you ever had one of those meals where you wish that the ribs were boiled in Kraft Barbecue Sauce instead of whatever wretched method that was used in the preparation of the food you are eating? Well this was one of those meals. These are by far the worst ribs I've ever had from any of the real barbecue joints. Ever. Anywhere.