I have vague memories of Racks Ribs, especially their first branch in Tomas Morato many, many years ago. If I was not mistaken, they were the first restaurant that highlighted ribs on the menu. I was not really a fan of their dry style ribs, where you had to drench it with their bbq sauce. When I received an invite to try out their new product, I was excited to go since its been years since I’ve been there.
I though at one time they had closed down, but I later found out the present group bought the last remaining store in 2006. They kept the recipes for the classic ribs, barbecue sauces and the southern fried chicken then developed a whole new menu to complement them. They also changed the interior from the clinical all white it was before to a more cozy light beech and white color scheme.
The first dish they served us was an abstract looking thing called the Onion Brick (P195). Thinly sliced onions, battered then deep fried into a brick like shape and served with remoulade and barbecue sauce. It’s a bit hard to start eating it, not knowing where to start getting, like removing the knots form a string. Once we decided to just slice away, we could not stop, crispy and crunchy and made more awesome with a dip in the barbecue sauce. Perfect finger food while waiting for the ribs.
Before serving serving their new dish of the quarter, they presented The Kansas City Style Babys (P785). A whole rack of ribs cooked Kansas City style, served with a side salad and two side dishes of your choice. I’ve never been to Kansas City nor tried their version of ribs so I wouldn’t know how authentic these are. Once they were laid in front of me, I knew it was far different from the usual Racks ribs, this one was basted with sauce while being grilled. One taste and I was hooked, I think I finished off at least half. I could not get enough of the sweet, sticky sauce that had a bit of spice on the back.
If you want more of the Kansas City style sauce, you can just request from the waiter since the one on the table is their pair of classic sauces.
After that encounter with the Kasas style ribs, the Pork Belly Brisket (P465) just seems anticlimactic. The flavors of this dish are much subtler, paired with a nice red wine gravy. I’m thinking this would appeal to those that enjoy a bit of fat in their meats. This dish is served with two side dishes so would definitely be big enough for two people.
We finished off with some Mississippi Mud Pie (P140).
I’ve been back twice to RACKS ribs after this little reintroduction, together with Irene and Lauren. We tried out the Memphis style baby ribs as well as the Southern Fried Chicken. Lauren gave her thumbs up to the fried chicken. I was not too fond of the Memphis ribs so the second time we were there, had the Kansas city style babys again. I prodded Irene to try and she loved it as well. I’m guessing we’ll be regular diners of RACKS ribs.
RACKS Ribs
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