Here's the RUB - Christmas Gifts For Under $10

Here's some recommendations for some more cheap Christmas presents. Everything on this list is under $10 and available on line.

This time it's RUBs. What's a RUB you ask? Well there's dry rubs and there's wet rubs, but all a rub is is, a spice mixture that is placed on the outside of your meat prior to smoking, grilling, or roasting.

Today I recommend a few of them for your perusal and approval. They're in no particular order as I love all of them and they all have different uses and flavor profiles. Hell, if you can afford it, buy them all! They make great stocking stuffers.

First up is Plowboy's BBQ Yardbird RUB. This RUB was developed for competition, this award winning rub has a balance of sweet and salty with just a little kick. Works well on seafood, pork, but it really shines on chicken.

Next is a rub I discovered on my many trips to the Texas Hill Country; Rudy's Country Store and Bar-B-Que's Rudy's Regular Rub. Now this rub is a true Texas style rub, primarily salt, pepper and paprika. It's got a nice kick, but nothing this Yankee can't handle. This rub works best of beef, but also shines on pork. Rudy's was my first bbq experience in Austin, Texas and their rubs will always have a place on my spice rack.

Next up is SuckleBusters Competition BBQ Rub. This Rub is made for the competitive cook. This award winning formula is excellent on beef briskets. It has a sweet and savory flavor with an excellent aroma. The rub is mild but flavorful and can be used alone or combined with other ingredients for a more robust flavor profile. The recipe was designed by competition cooks, for competition cooks and has already already won multiple GC and RGC awards at BBQ contests.

And one last recommendation, a sampler pack of rubs from Fred's Music and BBQ. The sampler pack of Tasty Lick's BBQ Company includes one bag of each flavor - approximately 3 tablespoons of rub per bag - Flavors included are: Savory Poultry, Smokin Guitar Player's Original Rub, Mella Yella, Ribit Rib Rub, Redeye Redmeat Rub, Acapulco God, Dixieland Dust, Tree Hugger and Flyin' Swine. I like just about all of these and the folks over at Fred's Music and BBQ are some fine folks.

Nuff said.

BBQ Joints: Virgil's

Virgil's Barbecue
152 W 44th St
New York, NY 10036
(212) 921-9494

Last week I mentioned that I joined Gary from PigTrip for a mini crawl through two of Manhattan's BBQ joints. We had a mission when we set out on this trip, but unfortunately we didn't meet any of our goals. But, we did get to eat some fine food.

I know I'm doing this out of order as our second stop of the day was Virgil's BBQ in Time's Square. I should really start with post about Southern Hospitality, but not today.

Virgil's may qualify as the grand daddy of real barbeque in New York City. Some people give Blue Smoke the credit for sparking the barbecue renascence in NY, but Virgil's set the fire, Blue Smoke, Daisy May's and RUB stoked it. Before Virgil's arrived decent real wood smoked barbecue was not found in Manhattan.

Back in the day, I used to frequent Virgil's frequently as I worked at MTV just up the street. Back then Virgil's was good, but very inconsistent in its quality. Some days the food would be so burnt and dry it was almost inedible, others the food was close to perfect. It was a real crap shoot. So when the new kids arrived, I stopped going to Virgil's. The new places were so much better.

In my quest for the best barbecue in New York, I would be remiss to dismiss Virgil's based on its past performance. How's it doing now was the question that Gary and I tried to answer.

But we were thwarted by our own gluttony. As I mentioned, earlier in the day we stopped into Southern Hospitality for a sampling of their food and we were feted by the ever hospitable Dr. BBQ. I'll talk about that visit in another post, but let's just say that we rolled out of Southern Hospitality with our bellies and heads full.

We arrived at Virgil's without much if any, of an appetite. But in the name of research we trudged on. We ordered the Texas Red Chili and the BBQ Chicken wings. Both were good, but neither were the best of NY. The chili had some nice flavor which was dominated by Ancho chili, a little heat, but was not smokey at all. It also contained a smattering of beans which are not included in a bowl of traditional Texas Red.

The wings were good, but as with most smoked wings, the skin was a bit rubbery. They were sauced just enough for my liking, but unfortunately I wasn't a big fan of the sauce. There is a citrus base to the sauce that becomes overwhelming if you eat more than one.

That said, the wings were intriguing. The crust was nice, the smoke level good. They were good enough to raise other questions; how's the ribs? The brisket? The grilled hot dogs? Look's like another visit is in order. Gary? You ready?

BBQ Films: A Texas Love Story

Sorry for the short notice, but tonight at the infamous Water Taxi Beach, they're showing a film about barbeque. At least I think it's about barbecue. It has Barbeque in the title right?

Saturday, Sept. 8th
8:30pm - Tasting Rachel Ray - 3 mins.
8:35pm - 4H at the Missouri State Fair - 4 mins.
8:40pm - An Afternoon With Daddy Bruce - 7 mins
8:50pm - Barbeque: A Texas Love Story - 46 mins
9:40pm - Dial S For Sausage - 15 mins
closing - XXX - An Unconventional Love Story - 1 min.

Anyway - take a chance and head over to the Water Taxi Beach. Even if the film's no good, I have no idea if it's good or bad, the food will be great with both RUB and Hill Country providing the chow.

BBQ Restaurants

This just in to my mailbox... (Even if it is a bit of old news, it's great news! Congratulations Andrew and Paul)

RUB BBQ Set to Spice Up Las Vegas This Fall With First Location Outside of New York City

RUB to Preview Cuisine at All-Star Charity Tournament on July 5 During the World Series of Poker® at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino®

LAS VEGAS (July 2, 2007) New York City's highly-acclaimed RUB BBQ will add some extra heat to Las Vegas early this fall with its new location inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. This will be the restaurant's second and only venue outside of the New York original.

The 9,000-square-foot RUB BBQ at the Rio will feature championship level barbecue created by Paul Kirk, aka The Kansas City Baron of Barbecue and The Ambassador of Barbecue. The original RUB BBQ in New York opened to much praise and immediate popularity in 2005 and has remained ahead of the growing trend in barbecue restaurants cropping up in major cities across the country.

We're excited to introduce the RUB BBQ concept to Las Vegas and to the West Coast, as the demand for high-quality barbecue continues to grow throughout the country, said Andrew Fischel, owner and creator of RUB BBQ. When we looked at where we would open our next location outside of New York, Las Vegas was a no-brainer. With the sheer amount of visitors the city sees every day, combined with the lack of traditional barbecue on or near The Strip, the Rio was clearly the perfect home for us.

The menu at RUB BBQ will satisfy any level of a barbecue connoisseur's taste buds, with standard dishes such as Barbequed Ribs prepared St. Louis-style, Barbequed Sausage and Pastrami prepared the old-fashioned way, slow-cooked over wood in pits for 14 hours. Specialty menu items include Burnt Ends, smoked twice until crispy and lightly sauced; Szechwan Smoked Duck; and a The Taste of the Baron that includes a tasting of beef, pork, ham, pastrami, turkey, chicken, sausage and is topped off with a quarter rack of ribs. All selections are prepared fresh daily so once they’re gone, they're gone.

Located on the second level of the Masquerade Village inside the Rio, RUB BBQ will serve lunch and dinner seven days a week and will feature live bands on the weekends, from a variety of musical genres.

It is with great pleasure that we welcome the deliciously famous RUB BBQ to the variety of restaurant favorites at the Rio, said Marilyn Winn, president of the Rio All-Suite Hotel Casino. "We truly believe RUB will offer our guests the best in BBQ cuisine with an unforgettable atmosphere."

In addition to frequent appearances by Chef Paul Kirk, Chef Walter "Skip" Steele will be the resident "pitmaster" at the new Las Vegas location. Steele comes to Las Vegas from St. Louis where he co-owned the popular Super Smokers BBQ restaurant chain. Steele has spent years perfecting his barbecue craft and has scores of accolades to show for it including numerous awards from the Illinois State Championship and the Award of Excellence from the National Barbecue Association. Steele has also competed and placed in the famous Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Contest for more than 10 years.

Introducing its cuisine to Las Vegas for the very first time, RUB BBQ will cater the celebrity/VIP room for the World Series of Poker's Ante Up for Africa All-Star Benefit taking place at the Rio on July 5. Ante Up For Africa is being held to raise awareness and funds for the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. The event is slated to include some of the biggest names in poker and entertainment including Don Cheadle, Annie Duke, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and many more. The Ante Up For Africa poker tournament kicks off at 4pm. In addition to catering the All-Star Benefit, RUB BBQ will also tempt the palates of media by filling the press room with its signature dishes.

"What better place to introduce our award-winning barbecue to Las Vegas than at the Rio during the World Series of Poker? It just doesn't get any better than this", Fischel said.

RUB BBQ was designed by Nevada-based Cypress Architecture and Design. The 230-seat restaurant, which includes a 30-seat bar area, will be a modern take on the industrial loft look allowing guests to enjoy their barbecue favorites (as well as some mouth-watering RUB originals) in an open, high-energy atmosphere. Wall accents of deep, fiery reds will contrast with the weathered metals and will be set near aged brick and warm rustic wood floors and ceiling beams. Combined these elements will create a sophisticated, yet relaxed environment to experience a taste of Americana.

An exact opening date for RUB BBQ will be announced later this summer.

Restaurant Review: RUB

It's great to see that New York's barbecue restaurants are finally getting the respect they deserve. Finally, the reviewers are reviewing New York's barbeque restaurants without comparison to their southern counterparts.

This is some great news. New York Magazine has just named RUB Barbecue, NYC's best. Andrew and Scottie at RUB are two of the nicest guys you'll ever want to meet. (In the interest of full disclosure, I consider them both personal friends of mine.) I wish them much success.

Here's their review:

Rub BBQ

208 W. 23rd St.; 212-524-4300

Barbecue is its own world, moving to unalterable rhythms and primordial fumes. That makes it hard to produce in New York City, where everyone wants to be fed five minutes ago, and the words “it’s not ready yet” might as well be in Ugaritic. Only one barbecue in New York really hews to those artisanal rhythms, and it shows. Unlike most of the city’s other big barbecues, which make their food in batches and store it for later reheating, RUB’s small size allows it to pay attention to each rack of ribs and each brisket end individually—and, in most cases, to send it from the hot pit directly to your waiting maw. And unlike the city’s newer, smaller places, it cooks with real barbecue equipment, not cut-rate Easy-Bake versions. The ribs, both spare and baby back, are competition-quality; the beef may be even better. Burnt ends, twice-smoked cubes of intensely succulent, tender beef brisket, are available every day, and unutterably rich short ribs on Mondays and Tuesdays. Don’t miss out on the house-smoked bacon, either, made from Berkshire pork bellies and cured with a recipe blessed by Tennessee pork guru Allan Benton. Only in the chicken category is rub second best; Dinosaur’s birds are tastier and crispier, both whole or as wings.

While I agree that RUB is one of the best, my experiences with Dinosaur cause me pause. Every time I've been there, I've been un-impressed. Has Dinosaur gotten its game together since my last visit? Seems like your intrepid blogger has some research to do.

RUB - No, not like that!

I was just listening to Food Talk on WOR 71 radio, and the host Michael Colameco and Ed Levine were discussing a recent dinner they enjoyed at Paul Kirk & Andrew Fischel's RUB restaurant. Josh Ozersky from Grub Street and Rob Richter from the soon to be opened Hill Country restaurant and competitor at Grillin' On The Bay were also in attendance. (Boys, I must have missed the phone call.)

Mike and Ed were raving about the recent addition of spicy bacon to the menu (damn good stuff if I say so myself) and how Andrew and Scottie, pitmaster at RUB, keep the smokers full with a wide variety of offerings. From Peking duck to turkey to the more traditional items like brisket and ribs, RUB's menu offers something for everyone.

But then, Ed Levine let loose the ultimate compliment (?) - "Andrew at RUB is a barbecue slut." I haven't laughed out loud at the radio in a very long long time. I can't wait to see what Andrew thinks about this!