Big Daddy’s BBQ – St. Paul, MN

It’s probably about time to resurrect the Twin Cities Rib Quest that HotGirlsBrother and Low-Vee and I started last year. We were trying to find the best ribs in the Twin Cities and would randomly descend upon various rib joints and compare and contrast them. We ate a lot of ribs in 2009. One place we kept meaning to go was Big Daddy’s BBQ. This place used to be called Big Daddy’s Saturday BBQ and was only open on Saturday – which is a brilliant work strategy for those of us who prefer to work about 10-12 hours a week. HotGirlsBrother and I had eaten here a couple of years back, but we needed to pit it against (get it? PIT is against… nevermind) the other rib places in the Twin Cities.

D.Rough and I found ourselves hungry on a Saturday recently and because we’re of like mind, we both thought we needed to eat at Big Daddy’s. She was concerned that I didn’t have my usual rib partners to partake in this venture (well not THAT concerned), but I assured her, as good as it was last time, I’d be THRILLED to eat there twice in a short period of time. No worries at all on that front. We had already sleuthed out the location since the old building where it had been had been torn down. They moved across the street to a much smaller, but cleaner operation. There’s a small front area where you order your food and there is even a small railing/counter where you could stand and eat your lunch, unlike the previous location where you HAD to leave to eat your food.

We walked in checked out the menu. Simple, but to the point. Pork Ribs, Pork Rib Tips, Southern Style Beef Ribs, whole or half chickens, and some sides (collard greens, potato salad, and cole slaw). After a great deal of deliberation, we decided on a half slab of beef ribs and a half slab of pork ribs. Each half slab comes with a Ziploc bag of bread (white or wheat), so we scored that as well. A couple of drinks (strawberry pop – dur) and a side of potato salad and we had our order in. Most of the food is pre-made (meaning smoked for hours and hours) before you get there, so it’s super fast to get your food. The guy and girl working the counter are really fun people. They genuinely appreciated we were there and had some fun with us (especially when I couldn't decide on things). These people are great.

We grabbed our food and headed home for a little living room picnic in front of the television. We jumped right in. The beef ribs were really awesome. Very tender and came right off the bone with a fork. They’re served dry (without sauce - not technically "dry"), but they give you your choice of hot or mild bbq sauce – we went with the hot. The hot sauce is a sneaky one: it starts out really flavorful and you comment that it’s really not that hot. Then the minute you stop eating for a tiny bit, your mouth starts to feel the burn. I love this kind of spicy sauce burn. The beef was perfect paired with this sauce. The pork ribs were a little tougher than the beef ribs. They took some maneuvering to get the meat off the bone, but it did come off mostly intact. While the pork was a little tougher than the beef, it wasn’t bad by any stretch. None of the ribs went to waste. I didn’t get a verdict on the potato salad, so I can’t vouch for it, but I’m not a potato salad guy. We finished up the meal with pieces of white bread (mainly, that was stop our mouths from bursting into flame when we stopped eating).

Seriously, Big Daddy’s has some awesome ribs and I will be back. I’m looking forward to my Rib Quest partners to go there with me as well. I know they’ve been to the same places I have so I’m curious as to how they’ll rank these ribs against the others in the area. I’m going to rank them pretty high. I don’t think they’re going to beat out Lee and Dee’s, but I still think Big Daddy's is up there really close.

Here’s where the Twin City Rib Quest ranking stands right now:
1. Lee and Dee’s
2. Big Daddy’s Saturday BBQ
3. Ted Cook’s 19th Hole BBQ
4. Rudolph’s
5. Rooster’s BBQ Deli & Catering
6. BBQ Carwash (J.J.’s Ribs)
7. Scott Ja-Mamma’s
8. Cap’s Grille

RIP: Mr. B’s
Still to try (let me know if I’m missing one): C&G Smoking BBQ, Market BBQ

Top 5 things about Big Daddy’s BBQ
1. Beef ribs
2. Pork Ribs
3. Spicy Hot BBQ sauce
4. Super awesome staff there
5. They’re open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday now!!!

Bottom 5 things
1. Can’t eat inside very easily (though there is room to stand with a railing now – great idea)
2. There is nothing else bad about Big Daddy’s – they do everything right.
3.
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www.bigdaddysbbq-stpaul.com