Rock N' Roll Ribs

Price: $$$
Atmosphere: 4 out of 5
Quality of Service: 2 out of 5
Food Overall: 3 out of 5

As any good red-blooded American will tell you, BBQ (or ‘Bar-Be-Que’, if you want to get picky about it) is a staple to a normal, everyday diet. In fact, out of the four basic food groups (Bacon, Cheese, Pork and Beef), BBQ heavily involves two of them. Oh, and before you correct me by saying ‘Bacon IS pork’, I’m fully aware of this fact. That being said, Bacon will ALWAYS deserve its own grouping.

Moving on…

Living in South Florida, we are rife with BBQ eateries, more so than your stereotypical BBQ locations, like NC. So, being an aficionado of the smoky, tasty flesh that these joints produce, I’m always on the hunt for the next great ‘que. Sometimes these adventures are hit or miss. Rock N Roll Ribs in Coral Springs is a bit of both.

First off: This is ‘Rock N’ Roll’ ribs. Meaning, it is owned by the drummer of Iron Maiden, and the décor is littered with signed cymbals,  drum heads, Eddie (Iron Maiden’s skeleton mascot) statues and sarcophaguses, and even a full drum kit on a ‘mock’ stage. There’s a large HDTV center stage that plays concert footage from rock bands while you chow down.

I apparently missed the memo prior to dining here, as most of the clientele we donning their heavy metal tees and spiked bracelets. It was like eating at a concert. I love my heavy music, but not enough to dress up for it so I can consume a rib or two. But the place has style, if you’re into that thing. It has that ‘event’ vibe.

The Service: Sucks. My wife and I sat down and were greeted promptly enough, and placed our drink orders. It took about 15 minutes to bring those back, and for us to order (bear in mind we just ordered club soda and tea; nothing fancy or requiring an umbrella).

Our salads showed up 30 minutes after that, and the lettuce was wilted and just not good. When we addressed this with our waitress, she looked and said ‘Oh, I’m sorry about that.’ Then left. Didn’t even take them off the bill, which isn’t what we were looking for; just wanted to let them know to check their produce for future patrons. But that’s what I get for ordering a salad at a rock joint.

When our dinners finally arrived (another 40 minutes AFTER the salads), it was impressive looking, I’ll say that. Served on a large pizza tin, it looked to be a smorgasbord of flavors: ½ rack of ribs, pulled pork, coleslaw, baked beans and garlic toast. I was intrigued and ready to dig in. And boy was I….adequately satisfied.

Ribs: Tender, with a perfect smoke ring around the entire layer of meat. A little chew to them, but in a good rib, that’s ok and even expected. Great rub, great sauce (and sauce selection as well), and really just a tasty, tasty rib. I would definitely order these again.

Pulled pork: Probably the juiciest pork I’ve ever had. Ever. And I’m part Cuban. Tender as all get out. And flavorless. Yes, you heard me. There was virtually no flavor to this pork at all. Sure, you could sauce the hell out of it, but that kind of defeats the purpose of good BBQ in my opinion. No rub, no sauce…just juicy, plain, no flavored pork.

Coleslaw: It’s coleslaw. Granted, I love my coleslaw, and a great slaw I’d write about for days. But this was just your run of the mill, ho-hum slaw. No big deal. Same thing with the garlic toast, but then again, throwing that on a plate of ‘que is like other restaurants including a sprig of parsley with your steak. It’s like you HAVE to do it.

Baked beans: Honestly? The star of the show. These were the best baked beans I’ve ever had in my life (sorry Ma). They were sweet. They were tangy. They had meat and just this unctuousness to them that…well, words fail.

All in all? It was an experience. Was it a great one? No. Was it a good one? Yeah, we had a nice time, and the rock atmosphere really makes it a fun dining adventure. Will I go back? Most likely, but it’ll probably be for a full rack and a tub of beans, hold the sleepy slaw, wilted salad and flavorless pork. Oh, and I’ll be sure to don my rock tee so I get better service.

But if you’re in the neighborhood, and you’re a BBQ fan (and a metalhead doesn’t hurt), stop in and check it out. It’s a good time and there are some good vittles here if you play your cards right.

After all, it’s just Da(m)n Good Decent Food.

Rock N’ Roll Ribs
4651 State Road 7 (US441)
Coral Springs, FL 33073
954-345-RIBZ (7429)
http://www.rocknrollribs.org