Rooster's

Ever feel like getting yourself a little side of some real, down home BBQ only to suck in your breath with resignation as you pick up the ginormo menu at Famous Dave's? I've got the answer for those cravings. Being the Memorial Day weekend the TV has been a constant stream of BBQ marathon shows, contests and exhibitions. (Well, the TV in my house which is specially programed to only show food related programming.)

Tucked away in a blue collar neighborhood and just off of 35E and Randolph is Roosters. They have been garnering awards for years as the best BBQ in the Cities and it's true. Their pork is dry rubbed, slow roasted and topped with some truly kick ass sauce. They've got damn good fried chicken, too! It's perfect for the picnicker that doesn't want to deal with all that prep.

But this isn't the deep fryer weekend - this is Barbecue time. Bar BEE Q! And what better time to go than after I'd just put on my favorite white and floral cowgirl shirt? I ordered the small BBQ sandwich with the hot sauce. Now, I like my stuff spicy and this wasn't too spicy hot, but it was spicy, sinful good. Although, I did err a bit on my approach. Stupidly, I tried to pick it up and dunked my cuff right into the sauce. I got no food, the meat started to slip out and I was a greasy, hot mess. Dumb. There's a fork there - use it. The fork is your friend.

I can't even fully describe to you the goodness of this pork - it is so tender, so juicy, so sweet, smokey and deeply spiced that you really can't imagine the complexity of its beauty without taking a big, honkin' bite. I wonder now if I was remiss in not getting it Memphis style - with the coleslaw on top, but I'm too full to think too much about that.

You know how it is when the Ribfest thing is going on and you keep reading about the contenders, or smelling the sweet wood fires from downtown? You go planning on seeing some once great rock band for free and taste some real winner ribs? Then you get the stupid tickets, which are expensive and never in the right domination for your food needs, grab the greasy little suckers and head for one of the table tops where you can dig in and down a cold one? Then you eat the ribs and think, hey wait a minute.... these aren't that great. But then, all of a sudden you're full and broke and just with the stupid band would come ON already so you can get out of this sweaty, smoky crowd because that guy in the hog T-Shirt is not getting any fresher? Know what I mean? No? Then you don't go to Ribfest for a few years, because man, they burned you and you would not be fooled again only to find yourself there 3 years later, because damn some barbecue sounded good and that band is gonna be AWESOME!? No!? Sigh. Well, if you can at least sympathize know that you will never need to be burned by those half assed ribs again. The craving never needs to reach that fever pitch, because all you have got to do my friend, is take yourself a quick visit to St. Paul and dine on the best BBQ this state has to offer.