Weekends are always a welcome break from the weekday grind. I find comfort in cleaning the house, doing laundry, typing long blog entries and rewarding myself with baby back ribs for the things that I haven't accomplished. Yes, I love myself too much that I go on eating binge, retail therapy and doing nothing productive for hours... just because I want too!
I have shared a few times that I am steering clear from red meat (pork and beef) most of the time to compliment my healthy lifestyle. Weekdays are reserved for tuyo, pritong galunggong (in trans-fat laden cooking oil), sinigang na bangus and bulanglang (the most uninspired sabaw na gulay, ever!). However, on weekends, INDULGE is the name of the game: I have red meat in a meal or two, I eat more pieces of chocolate and pancakes with butter are in order for Saturday brunch. The past four weekends are special, I had my serving of one of my favorite red meat meal: baby back ribs. Walang palya, baby!
Person A even spelled out my name with the bones that I polished, to remind me how I love my ribs.
Baby back ribs are pork cuts taken from the top of the rib cage between the spine and spare ribs and from market weight hogs. A rack of back ribs contain 8 - 13 bones. The meat and bones are slow-cooked (baked) while drenched in your sauce of choice. Lesson learned: if the rack you ordered has less than 8 bones, you've been cheated.
Kidding.
Here's my round-up of some of the baby back ribs in town that has contributed to the stubborn fats happily living around my belly.
Rack's Baby Back Ribs (half-slab, PhP 330)
The more famous among the baby backs. The meat is well done making it dry and a bit stringy. The saving grace are it is still fall-off the bone and the barbeque sauce goes well with the meat. It is also the cheapest among the baby backs in town with 2 side dishes. We like ours with mac and cheese and I wash it down with Rack's brewed iced tea.
I'll get Rack's if I want baby back and I am on a strict budget cap.
Apartment 1B's Baby Back Ribs (PhP 630)
Honey bourbon marinade, comes with garlic mashed potato, corn and vegetables.
The meat is medium done, fall-off the bone perfection while the barbeque sauce dominates the flavor of the meat and the mashed potato. The mild sweetness of honey and tang of bourbon are mixed to the right proportion. The mashed potato is also awesome. This is my favorite.
Burgoo's Oklahoma Baby Back Ribs (PhP ~ 595)
Seasoned pork ribs, marinated overnight in Oklahoma-style sauce, char-boiled and basted with Burgoo's barbeque sauce.
I was disappointed. This is my first time to try Burgoo and I had high expectations. The meat is stringy, well done and is not fall-off the bone. I like the sauce though. I will be ordering a different dish the next time I visit. The rice pilaf is okay.
Myron's Baby Back Ribs with Mesquite Sauce (PhP 495)
The meat is tender, medium done and also fall-off the bone. These 2 are my criteria for a great baby back. What sets this apart is the sauce, I like the sweet, smokey taste of the marinade on my meat. I am still thinking whether I should downgrade my favorite baby back in favor of Myron's.
Also worth the try!
Mr. Jones Orange Baby Back Ribs (PhP ~ 500)
The meat is also soft and tender with the fall-off the bone bit done right. The sauce is something that Person A and I can't seem to agree. The base is your typical marinade goodness, barbeque with a hint of sweetness but the tang bit is given by the orange. I like it in its unique but Person A finds it too dominating.
Nonetheless, this is a great order if you are in the Glorietta-Greenbelt area. Don't miss out on their mac and cheese, it's heavenly.
In summary, value for money order is from Racks, my personal favorite is Apartment 1B's while Myron's and Mr. Jones are also in my runner-up list.
Share with me your baby back ribs find, let's get fat together.
