Ribs n Things

 

15

135

Joey C.

Oakland, CA

The BBQ here is just average tasting. Nothing very special. Pork ribs are pretty tender and tasty. The links are better then average. But the sliced beef is pretty much cardboard tasting. They drown all the meats with bbq sauce. Which cant fade Everrets and Jones, but hey who can? I would have to give the meat here 2 Stars. But the service is great i would have to give that 4 stars. Everything else in there is just plain, try-to-be southern food.

I would give this place a shot, they look like some hard working people. Just need to make some improvements.

The place looks real nice.

2 Stars for Food
4 Stars Service
Parking is great, they have big lot

Over all for Ribs N things I give them 3 Stars for trying.

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225

50

Rudy R.

Oakland, CA

Once again, "Hayward in the House......"
TPT, pimps and Hobos all day in this area.

Three Solid Stars. Family Owned, Good people. Get a better location.

This spot is right next to my favorite store, The "79 CENT STORE".
It sits comfortably between a mom and pop Chinese Food Joint, a Liquor Store and a local Bar.
Its about a block and a half away from the Famous Vals Burgers Joint.

On with the food...

I got the 3way BBQ meat combo, cause I wanted a variety to taste.
I'll admit, I did get full..... but it felt like I was full of shit.....

I chose the Pork Ribs, Tri-Tips (or Should I say "DRIED-TIPS") and Links.
I *ucked up though. I Forgot to say "Sauce on the Side" when I ordered. The whole plate was drowned in KC BBQ Sauce. Not my style....I like to taste it, not chase it.

The ribs were Ok...Tenderness and smoke ring was there.
The Dried Tips was ALL BAD. Toothpicks and Floss recommended. It was left over "pieces" they collected into a pile for me.
The Links were Sausages. Taste like, out of the pack Showboats from Pak n Save.
For the sides, I chose the Fries and tato salad. The fries were dipped in warm oil for about a minute. It wasnt cooked thoroughly, so it absorb all oil and was filhty soggy. The tato salad was average, not much to say there.

The only thing I liked, was the service. The service was excellent. It felt like I was in the South. Very Friendly and polite. Makes you feel like family. Eating and Chating among your brothas and sistas....

Basically, They need to step up their game with the BBQ. i wasnt really feeling anything here. The sauce has got to go also.

Only thing I'll come back for is the Service.

Bambi's Foot Productions.

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1

9

Jenn E.

Hayward, CA

Came here after hearing about it from a friend. Hot night and didn't feel like cooking grabbed a 2 meat combo.  Tri tip and pork ribs.  Obviously family owned as the waitress gave my order to Granddaddy.. Took the combo home "thought" it was pricey until I opened the box.  None of us were starving but my two roommates and I all dined on it. I loved the tri tip, may try the beef ribs next...

Now what person in the East Bay knows of a good BBQ place that isn't in a somewhat "shady" neighborhood? Carmens on A st? (hardly...)  Everett and Jones?? (not exactly)..

I have two reasons for not frequenting either of those two I just mentioned... #1 Carmens squished a COCKROACH with the cleaver on the cutting board and acted like I DIDNT SEE IT!  #2 Got food poisoning from E & J and then found out one of their cooks had just been arrested on drug charges while working (though that was a few years back)  

Somehow I just cant bring my self back to either of those.. But I will be back to Ribs and Things!

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1

37

Rafael H.

Castro Valley, CA

Let's make a few things clear:

Ribs n Things is located in a strip mall near the corner of what I like to call the Drunkards Triangle.  Why there are so many liquor stores and other such terrible establishments in this vicinity, I haven't a clue.  If you are easily frightened by such surroundings, don't bother coming here (in fact, don't bother coming to any part of the East Bay between the San Mateo bridge and Downtown Oakland).  I am not really bothered by this - I just like good food.

The decor of this place is terrible (Read: wallpaper that features brick on it!).  There is a clearly out-of-place plasma stuck on the wall.  It's function is clearly to entertain the proprietors as the volume is unreasonably loud (presumably to project to the prep area).

"So what's with the four stars?!"

Again, I come here for the food.  I am a BBQ nut.  Like many in this area have the palate for wine, I have a palate for BBQ.  I usually go to Armadillo Willy's in Pleasanton to get my fill (and it is quite mediocre).  I am so glad to find a place close to my house that is much better and cheaper.  Here's the breakdown:

Ribs (real ribs, not that 'baby back' nonesense)
- The rub is good.  I've been here twice and can only say the time of day must affect the quality.  During lunch the meat seemed over smoked.  During dinner, the meet was fantastic.  Both the pork and beef ribs are great.

Sausage
- They serve a variety of sausages.  Again, the quality varies a bit on time of day but overall the sausage is juicy and has great texture.

Sauce
- I like my BBQ dry with sauce on the side.  Here, you have to specifically request that.  I tried the hot sauce and while it had enough kick to it (and I have a high threshold for spicy pain) it was a little too sweet for me.

The prices are good here and your best option is to order a combo which allows you to choose two to four different meats.  Sides are good (I recommend collard greens and candied yams).  As a bonus, the owner of this place is super nice and is ready to start a conversation at any time.

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Elite '08

64

176

Jocelyn F.

Chicago, IL

A solid 3 stars. The meat is prob 4 stars and the best this side of Oakland. I had a rib dinner. They have a def deep smoked flavor to them, which you just don't get in Cali anymore. That is straight down home (having spent some time LIVING (don't ask) in Tennessee and Mississippi) The sauce is sweet and not as vinegary as I would like, but it's not bad. The combo says 11.50, but when I requested  "Soul Food sides"(candied yams, collard greens, green beans, mac and cheese, red beans and rice) they charged 2.50 more (a piece). I didn't like that. Mac and cheese is standard BBQ fare, I am sorry. The dinner I was given seemed more like a lunch size, I am full, but wanted more damn-it" You get a lot more meat at E and J's. All in all not bad, I recommended the place to some people at the bar and they moseyed over. Umm, no, they don't have baby back ribs, you want that yuppie shit take your ass to chilli's. No REAL soul food place carries that. Matter of fact they will laugh your posing ass straight out the door, and you don't get no kool-aid. I was eyeballing the gumbo, but they can keep it for 18 bucks a bowl. I know a dude who will make a Crockpot full for 80.  Now that is the best I've ever had, let me know if you wanna go in on that! In the bay area BBQ places seem to jack the sides, here the potato salad was good, but the mac and cheese was..."interesting" velveta orange, with a cheesy stringiness and a flavor that well, I couldn't place.

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Elite '08

181

152

Marla C.

Livermore, CA

Tues. night we went to pick up our puppy at SFO at 5:30 pm.
45 minutes+, we arrived.
About 45 minutes later we departed to..
Heavy traffic.
We were starving Marvins.
So, we decided on some BBQ that the (other) half had told me about down from Val's.
We find it, Ribs "n" Things, in a shotty strip mall, with plenty of thug lookin' characters abound...
Not one to be daunted, we proceed, albeit with caution...
First, no my pup can't come in, not even in a cat sized carrier...
OK, health codes, etc.
But, hell! This place is no where near clean lookin' to me!
Whateveh!
We continue...
No baby back, nor Cincinatti style ribs to be found..
What eveha's...
I order a combo of hot links and ribs with mac-n-cheese, oh why? and a green salad, Samantha orders ribs and salad with bbq beans.
We wait..
And wait.
No one else is in the place..
But a suspicious lookin charater is pacin' the parkin' lot..
Back and forth..
Back n forth...
Prob-ly plyin' his trade...
Back n Forth
So, our plates come 20 some minutes later...
Slathered and drenched in thick dark sauce.
Mine is medium, hers is mild.
Mine is HOT!
Damn!
And waaaaaaaaaaayyy sweet,
YUK!
The sausage is thick and sliced, crumbly, reminiscent of slim jims on steroids. Eww..
The sides are meh...
With Jiffy cornbread on the side.
One bite is enuf.
The ribs..
The 2 fat ones are very fatty, but nice smoke flavor after trying to get off much of the over-powering sauce. The small ones are inedible.
The waitress is missin' some teeth, and well a bit skancksterish...
But, hell, what do you expect from the ghetto?
Not too ez on the funds, ya' know?
Ended up throwing away the left ovahs!
Maybay, I just wasn't feelin' tha gangstar/swankstar/crankstar love that night!

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5

5

Rheem B.

Hayward, CA

This place is located in a strip mall that quite frankly scares me but we checked it out during the day so it was cool.  The inside of this place is nicer then what I expected, there are about a 6-8 tables with lovely little vases with giant fake flowers, nothing fancy.  Looked pretty clean but either way we got ours to go.  The menu was a bit confusing and the guy taking our order seemed annoyed with our questions so I am still left confused.
  I got the pork ribs with mac and cheese and baked beans.  I thought the ribs were pretty tasty but the sauce could have used some heat,  I would have thought they would have different types of bbq sauces but we were not given that choice.  Also the rib meat was a bit on the tough side, definetly didnt fall off the bone.
The mac and cheese was really good in my opinion and I have never met a baked bean I didnt like so no complaints there.  
 So this plate cost $14 came with about 4 ribs, a small scoop of beans and small scoop of mac and ceese with a cornbread muffin.   That seems a bit overpriced for take out bbq, I would have at least expected a more generous portion of the sides.

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