Ted Cook’s 19th Hole Barbecue – Minneapolis, MN

Since HotGirlsBrother and I are still on a mission to find the best BBQ places in the Twin Cities, we decided to hit up a place that was recommended to him - Ted Cook’s 19th Hole Barbecue. He didn’t know anything about it except its location, so we were going in blindly. I picked him up after we freaked out about the same time because the other person hadn’t called yet. Hilarious moment of panic when we both called each other at the same time to make sure we hadn’t gone without the other one. Ha ha ha.

TC19HB is one of those places where there’s no seats inside – you get what you need and get out. I’ve decided if that is your business plan then your BBQ has a 93% chance of being better than a sit down place. Just my own calculation, of course. This place was even better. There were like 10 framed photos on the wall – that was the menu. Ribs and sides (also peach cobbler for dessert). And when you order your food, you shout it over the counter to a guy in a little window (like an African American Keebler Elf) who writes it all down and makes sure you get what you asked for. Then to pick up your food, someone comes through the doors in the back (which are about 3 feet off the ground) and leans down and hands you your food. If you still need to pay, he’ll hop down the 3 feet and man the register for you. Very unbique customer interaction at this place.

Hot GirlsBrother and I always get the same thing, so we both ended up with a half slab of pork ribs (medium-spicy), Jo-Jos, and cole slaw. I’m not a slaw guy, so I ordered an additional side of Black Eyed Peas. And as a bonus, the peas come with cornbread – wurd. HotGirlsBrother was impressed with the amount of food I ordered, but I really wasn’t scared. I don’t have a mouse stomach like some people… The meals also come with two slices of bread (one white, one wheat – no bread racism here).

The orders came out and the guy hopped off the pedestal to take our money. HotGirlsBrother and I were anxious to get in the car and start eating. Yes, we planned to eat it in the car and listen to metal. We opened our Styrofoam containers and both said, “there’s no way we can eat this in the car.” It was simply too saucy and messy and would have been disastrous. So we headed back to his place to consume these awesome looking meals.

Seriously, these were some good ribs. The sauce was really tasty, and just the right amount of spice to get your lips tingling, but no tears. The fries were circle-cut potatoes deep fried and were delicious. The black eyed peas were decent, but a little gritty for my taste, not like grandma used to make. Not bad though, don’t get me wrong. We gorged ourselves while watching The Soup and then 30 Rock, while the dog looked longingly at our dinners. The food was really good. I’m thinking the next couple of places have a pretty high bar to surpass TC19HB. I’ll be going back here, for sure.

Top 5 things about Ted Cook’s 19th Hole Barbecue
1. Medium BBQ sauce - wonderful
2. Ribs were pretty tender
3. Jo-Jo potatoes
4. General ambiance of the place with the Keebler Elf window
5. Eating ribs and watching The Soup

Bottom 5 things
1. Gerd loved BBQ, and would have made me buy a T-shirt
2. Didn’t get to metal out in the car eating handfuls of meat
3. Black eyed peas were a tad gritty
4. The slogan is “BBQ as Tender as a Mother’s Love” is kind of creepy (besides, the ribs didn’t leave a handprint on my face – ha ha ha)
5. I would have thought this place would be near a golf course being it’s the 19th hole

http://www.tedcooks19thholebbq.com