RUB Authentic Texas Barbeque

The atmosphere, food and drinks are great but the service is severely lacking.

RUB is located on the outskirts of Federal Hill, but it just makes for easier parking. When the weather's nice, they offer outdoor seating which I recommend taking advantage of. But if you're inside, make sure to check out the animal hide covered bar stools.

Their drink menu is great - you'll want to work your way down the featured drinks. Try the Black Cherry Slushy, it's delicious. As for the food, we've enjoyed everything we've ever ordered and the portions are quite generous for the price. My husband loves the authentic smokiness of the ribs and I've alway found the pulled bird to be tender and juicy. The sauce can have a strong mustard taste now and then, but it's still tasty. RUB makes great sweet potato fries too.

My biggest complaint is the service. Servers are super nice every time they stop by, but it's so infrequent. Our most recent time here, we were able to make our way through our entire entrees without being checked in on. We would have loved to order another round of drinks but couldn't flag anyone down to do so. I had to stop a runner to get a glass of water and had to go to the bar to ask if we could have our bill. It's a shame that the service can be so hit or miss when the food is really worth going for.

Pretty Great little BBQ Joint. Has the Juke Joint vibe, appropriately dark, reasonably priced. Fun music. The kinda place if someone stands on the table for a toast, it's not going to be that out of place.

Brisket was moist and had great flavor. Pretty good sides, creamed spinach and corn pudding. We also had some ribs and a sampler platter. Everyone loved the food and the well appointed bar.

Great fun for a casual dinner or late night meal.

a Texas-style BBQ on the South-End of Light St. The building is in a more accessible spot for SoBo and has tons of room, unlike a lot of the former-row-house types that you mostly find here. The wall was adorned with pictures drawn from kids professing their love for Rub, but don't let that make you think that this is a family-only joint. The bar is plentiful and stocked not just with tons of tap and bottled beer and booze, but there are 15 or so different frozen beverages that you can get. I tried to go with a margarita, but they were out, so I opted for something that was pina colada'ish. It was really tasty, but after one I switch to beer. The Sunday special had me pounding Coors Lights for only $2 a piece.
So, on to the food. For 10-15 bucks you can get a platter with your favorite BBQ, but what is even better, especially as a first time visitor, is for $16 you can get three meats, plus two sides. With two people there, that means you can try just about all the meats, and about 1/3 of the offered sides. So here is the review of what we had.
Plate 1:
Sausage: Good enough. i probably wouldn't get this on its own, but it was spicy and the texture was a perfectly dry and smokey.
Smoked Turkey: This is one of my husband's favorite meats and he wasn't disappointed. It is always a little odd to me to eat turkey that tastes like ham, but with this one it didn't matter, and it didn't need any sauce, it was great on its own.
Brisket: I think that I like my brisket to be cooked sloppy. It just wasn't doing it for me to do the dry-rubbed with my own sauce. To me, it is just too close to roast beef when it is done this way.
Beans: Spicy and sweet, half texas-style pinto, and half baked beans with a BBQ-y thickness.
Coleslaw: It was alright, kind of tasted like slaw you would get from the deli, but we are kind of ruined after tasting the slaw at Mother's.
Plate 2:
Pulled Pork: Good, but a bit vinegary for my taste, probably would only get it on a sandwich
Flat ribs: Some of the best ribs I have ever had. I am quite finicky about ribs and these were good. The meat was just dry enough, but still fall-off-the-bone and was great with or without sauce.
Chicken: Sweet and tender with good spices coating the outside. I wouldn't get it again, based on how awesome the ribs were, but the hubbie said it was one of his favorites.
Corn Pudding: I had just asked what this was a few days ago, so I was excited to try. I was impressed, and about lost myself in it. It was a sweet and spicy concoction of bread, corn, Serrano peppers and milk. I wouldn't be able to resist this... ever.
Mac N Cheese: Really good, very creamy, and the combo of pepper jack and American cheeses was a nice variation. The garlic was a little harsh at first, but after a few bites it earned its keep.

The good: the ambience and decor are appealing. Lots of good alcoholic drink options. Fantastic sides- absolutely loved the corn pudding (soooo good) and sweet potato fries (apparently they were voted in the Top 10 in Baltimore and I would certainly agree).

The bad: The meat itself wasn't all that good (we tried both the ribs and the brisket). Sure, the ribs were tender and fell off the bone- but considering the place is called "Rub" the meat tasted bland and unseasoned. The brisket wasn't even very tender. The sauce was just okay. Disappointing after how delicious the sides were. Next time we go, we might just get sandwiches, or else apps with corn pudding on the side.

I'm not from Texas, but my boyfriend is & he is always on the search for good Texas BBQ. RUB offers GREAT Texas BBQ! When we still lived in Baltimore, we went to RUB all of the time. Now we live in Cali (where there is NO good TX BBQ), and we miss it, but it's always on the must-do list when we go back home for a visit.

My boyfriend always gets the brisket, perfectly smokey, perfectly delicious. He will usually order the 3 meat plate, and get the sausage & ribs along with the brisket. I love the smoked turkey breast & have been known to get the Smoked Bologna sandwich once or twice... it's delicious, who knew?

One thing that I LOVE about RUB is that they have an excellent assortment of apps & sides. So many BBQ places outside of TX are sadly lacking in this department. The Aunt Jenni's Salad is really yummy, but I usually go with some traditional combo of creamed spinach & pinto beans or green beans & mac n' cheese... all really good!

I would definitely recommend the Fried Green Tomatoes as an appetizer, although I don't know how they compare to traditional Fried Green Tomatoes since RUB was the first place I ever tried them.

RUB also has plenty of seating with limited outdoor patio seating, as well as ample seating on the main floor at the bar & booths, as well as an entire upstairs full of booths which is hardly ever busy, so it's pretty quiet up there.

Hey RUB, do you think you could open a location in Redondo Beach?

Rub is in a strange, newly gentrified warehouse neighborhood that reminded me a bit of SoMa in San Francisco. Regardless, the food is pretty good. The ribs are sumptuous and fairly saucy. The sides are pretty good too.

The ambiance is a bit strange, though. Lots of corrugated and unfinished wood made it feel like I was in a little shack on the prairie. Water is consumed from mason jars, which add a certain feel to the place.

I have had much better bbq in Baltimore, in some grittier Jamaican places up north. This place is much friendlier, but the food doesn't taste as zesty. I recommend Rub anyway, especially if you are closer to the downtown area and don't have the wherewithal to look for a gritty Jamaican place, or the dough to throw down for some Roy's ribs (which are some of the best!)

Rub is good, pay 'em a visit.

Wonderful dining experience! We were able to walk in and get a seat early on an Saturday night. Parking is limited to the street so it may be hit or miss depending on when you go. After being seated we were given menus on oversized clipboards that featured apps, salads, and various types of bbq.

We had the pulled pork sandwich and the two-meat platter with pulled bird and pulled pork. The portions were large, and each came with a side (or two sides for the platter). Beware of the Serrano pepper on the plate!

The homemade rootbeer is a must have!

3 stars because Rub is in a cute gentrify part of Baltimore, and the service was all right. It gave me a hooters-esque vibe for some reason.

I remember their ribs to be very dry, with really cold sides. I've had way better bbq. It's not worth going out of your way to eat at, but if you're in the area you might as well drop by.

Rub will probably set you back 45 dollars for two people, which isn't too bad but it isn't great either for the food you are getting.

I visit friends in Baltimore every few months, and every time I'm in town I make sure to stop by Rub for brunch. There's nothing better for a hangover than a beer (or cherry slurpie with rum) along with some great BBQ

(A quick disclaimer: being from NYC, my opinion on what makes good BBQ is probably vastly different than someone from Texas)

In all of my visits there, I've yet to be disappointed. Solid menu, tasty sides, quick & friendly service, and reasonable prices. Strangely, brunch has never been crowded..although I hear that's not the case for dinner.

All in all, it's a great place to chow down before heading north on I-95 back to NYC..

3rd time is the charm. Haven't been for a while. This time the help was helpful and the food was really good, much better than before. Give it a try.