Cincinnati isn’t technically the Barbeque Belt, but our unique porky history bestows honorary status. So in tribute to our fair city’s Porkopolis heritage, CityBeat’s Best of Cincinnati Taste Test Crew ran with the pigs to dig out the best BBQ joints the area has to offer.

We picked six contenders from throughout the city based on their word-of-mouth reputations. After visiting each, the crew rated the contestants in several categories on a scale of 1 to 5: 1 bringing a scoff from any serious pit man or woman and 5 being hog heaven.
While we rated each joint on services, atmosphere and food, anyone who’s serious about barbeque will tell you that it’s really all about the meat.

“The sauce should simply enhance the taste of the meat, not smother it,” says Darren Blase, barbeque addict and co-owner of Shake It Records. “If it’s done right, the sauce should be an afterthought.”

And while meat remains the uncontested focus throughout the Belt, sauces, types of meat and cooking methods vary. In eastern North Carolina, the meat of choice is pig that’s been chopped or sliced and the sauce is a peppery vinegar sort. In South Carolina and Georgia, chopped pork is doused in a yellow mustard-based sauce. Memphis ribs and pulled meat are typically served up with a sweet tomato sauce, and in Alabama the ribs and pulled pork have a spicier red sauce. Texas, in true Texan fashion, throws out the pork and applies fiery sauces to beef.

All of this variety made the BBQ Crew’s job tricky, but we brazenly plunged forward, moist towelettes and plastic forks in hand. I was joined by CityBeat food writers Chris Kemp and Michael Schiaparelli, Arts & Entertainment Editor Jason Gargano and meat addict Emeline Tolod. (NOTE: Lora Arduser is CityBeat’s contributing editor for the Diner section.)

The Rib Shacks

BBQ Revue
4725 Madison Road, Madisonville, 513-871-3500
Overall: 3.1
Food: 3.2
Service: 3
Atmosphere: 3
Essentials: Brisket is hickory smoked 12 hours, ribs two hours and chicken two hours
Items Ordered: Half slab of ribs, half chicken, pulled pork sandwich, beef brisket sandwich, cole slaw, green beans, mac & cheese, cornbread

Our adventure got off to saucy start before we even stepped into the building. The smell of burning hickory filled our nostrils and cranked up the ol’ salivary glands as we got out of our cars in the BBQ Revue parking lot.

Inside, the Revue was very much like a neighborhood bar. There were decades of Ohio license plates trimming the ceiling of the dining area and a TV running the local news. Michael, being the group’s drink guru, immediately took note of the old Hudepohl, Schoenling and Weideman signs. But the crew was a little disappointed in the small number of actual libations the Revue had to offer, which included Rolling Rock, Samuel Adams, Budweiser, Miller, Corona and Killians.

The counter service was friendly with a do-it-yourself feel. We took our cafeteria-style trays to long banquet tables to eat off Styrofoam plates with plastic forks. Somehow that all felt right to me.

The food itself was good, but the crew wasn’t overwhelmed. Chris’ pulled pork was wet enough to make the day-glo yellow bun soggy, much to his and Emeline’s dismay. The ribs were good, but we had to work at them a little harder than we wanted.

The brisket was probably our favorite cut of meat. It was sliced and served naked on a bun so you could liberally douse or just dribble. The tomato-based sauce had just a little hint of heat but didn’t raise any eyebrows.

We were divided on this sides: While Michael loved the mac & cheese and green beans with pork, he found the cole slaw too wet. Jason liked the cole slaw but found the beans left him wanting and the mac & cheese a little light on the cheese.

Ms. Helen’s Grill
Market House at Findlay Market, Over-the-Rhine, 771-0345
Overall: 3.1
Food: 3.4
Service: 2.6
Atmosphere: 4
Essentials: Everything charcoal grilled and smoked “a long, long, long, long time.”
Items Ordered: Whole slab of ribs, pulled turkey sandwich, mac & cheese, green beans, garlic cheese potatoes

Smack dab in the middle of Findlay Market, Ms. Helen’s challenged our reviewers in how to rate the atmosphere. Many of us found the bustle of Saturday market day and the proximity of raw meat to our cooked ribs exciting. Others didn’t feel there was any atmosphere to comment on.

This was undoubtedly the messiest of all our stops, perhaps because the ribs were so difficult to pull apart. By this time we’d learned that the messier the experience the tougher the meat. We had also learned that double-dipping rules don’t apply to eating BBQ.

At our first stop the crew was careful not to lick plastic forks and then plunge them into communal side dishes. By Ms. Helen’s, our last stop, we were practically licking our sticky fingers and plunging them into the side dishes.

While several of our stops offered a variety of sauces to mix and match, Ms. Helen commits to her one and only sauce. And though I couldn’t wheedle the ingredients out of her, the crew tasted a hint of cinnamon in the sweet, red sauce and generally liked its flavor. Chris said that the cinnamon and brown sauce provided “a real soul food take on a classic.”

And while the meat itself didn’t wow us, the sides were some of the best anywhere. Ms. Helen likes to change things up, so the same sides aren’t always available. Along with the ones we ordered you might find smashed potatoes, collards, buttered corn or candied yams.

This stop unanimously won the mac & cheese category. It was cheesy with a crusty brown topping that gave it texture the others lacked. And Chris found the cheesy garlic potatoes addictive — we couldn’t pry them out of his sauce-soaked fingers.

City Barbeque
3804 Paxton Ave., Oakley, 513-871-8890; also 7706 Voice of America Centre, West Chester, 513-755-0518
Overall: 3.2
Food: 4
Service: 3.3
Atmosphere: 2.4
Essentials: Pulled pork is hickory smoked 18-20 hours, brisket 16 hours, ribs four hours, Amish chicken five to six hours
Items Ordered: North Carolina pulled pork sandwich, City Sampler Platter (beef brisket, pulled pork, sausage and turkey breast), Deluxe City Sampler Platter (quarter chicken, half slab of ribs, pork and beef brisket), greens with pork, mac & cheese, baked beans with brisket, hush puppies and cornbread

Being a feisty bunch of liberals prone to standing up for the independent restaurant owner, we all had to sheepishly admit that the food at this regional chain was pretty damn good. The mediocre red-meat fan of the bunch admitted to not being able to keep his eyes (or mouth) off the brisket, and I was an immediate fan of the pulled pork sandwich, which was topped with vinegar and cole slaw.

The ribs were a little more tender that the Revue’s but not fall-off-the-bone. Since there were signs on the wall warning us it would be a little work, no one ended up feeling cheated.

Once again our sides got mixed reviews. The mac & cheese didn’t bowl any of us over, but the vinegary greens and crusty hush puppies most certainly did.

The restaurant serves all the sauces on the side so we could mix and match. No one was crazy about the vinegar and onion-based Carolina sauce — it seemed flat and tasteless — but the original sauce was sweet with a hint of kick and the mustard sauce made a good dip for everything from the pulled pork to the hush puppies as far as I was concerned.
City Barbeque also has counter service. The people were pleasant and greeted you as you walked in, but other than that there was little interaction. Some of our crew felt a little cool about self-service. Others, who were used to ordering their barbeque from a trailer, weren’t bothered. For me, a more casual service style seems appropriate for the communal, messy nature of the BBQ joint.

The only thing we unanimously agreed on as a minus at City Barbeque was the contrived roadhouse feel. This is where the restaurant shows its chain roots. Most of us seemed to want a grittier experience for our dining experience and felt the vibe was a little too polished.

Walt’s Barbeque
6040 Colerain Ave., Colerain Twp., 513-923-9800
Overall: 3.3
Food: 4.4
Service: 2.7
Atmosphere: 2.8
Essentials: Brisket and pork are pecan smoked 14-16 hours, ribs four to six hours, chicken three hours
Items Ordered: Good Ol’ Boy Plate (half slab of ribs, half chicken, pulled pork and brisket), Pit Special (pulled pork, pulled chicken, brisket and a half slab of ribs), mac & cheese, collard greens, green beans, cornbread and sweet potato casserole

Walt’s Barbeque got high numbers in the food category. The meat was definitely the smokiest we had all week. Maybe it was the pecan wood that owner Walt Bohn trucks up from down south, or maybe it has something to do with the dry run he uses. Whichever, the tantalizing smell of smoked meat filled our nostrils as we pulled apart the tender ribs.
Emeline wasn’t as crazy about the smoked flavor on the pork as I was. For her it seem to mask the flavor, but she did say the brisket reminded her of her mom’s — delicious.

Being a little phobic about chicken bones (we used to think my great aunt was a witch because she said she ate chicken bones), I was impressed by Walt’s pulled chicken option.

Walt’s also offers a variety of homemade sauces with spicy and mild versions. The spicy original got high marks, but the mustard received split reviews. I felt it had a little too much of a Plochman’s yellow mustard taste, but Michael liked it.
Unlike most of the other joints, Walt’s sides were small, making it hard to share. We ended up getting two orders of mac & cheese. One was crusty and had that bottom-of-the-pan look. The other, newer batch was much creamier. Oddly, a few of us liked the crusty portion because it had a little texture.

Reviewers were split on the cornbread and beans. Some thought the cornbread was moist, but for Michael it brought back memories of Jiffy.

The atmosphere at Walt’s wasn’t conducive to good digestion the night we were there, but to be fair we arrived on All-You-Can-Eat Ribs night. Seating was chaotic, with people standing at the door shifting their gaze from their competitors to anything that resembled a group getting ready to leave.

The building itself looks like an old Taco Bell and the seating is crammed, making for more of a communal experience than some might be comfortable with. Fortunately, this will all change next month when the restaurant opens its new addition, increasing the seating from 36 to 175 and including a bar and patio.

Walt’s Hitching Post
3300 Madison Pike, Covington, 859-331-0494
Overall: 3.5
Food: 2.4
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 4
Essentials: Pork is hardwood smoked five hours, chicken one hour, ribs 17-20 minutes
Items Ordered: Whole slab of ribs, half chicken, pork sandwich, french fries, home fries, cole slaw and green beans

Walt’s Hitching Post was probably the oddest bird in the bunch. First, unlike the other joints, Walt doesn’t focus solely on barbeque. The restaurant offers a full menu that also includes steak, chops and seafood.
Second, it had linens, real silverware and, well, ambiance. The wood paneling and gun décor create a hunting lodge feel and brought a whiskey maker’s study or smoking room to mind for Emeline. Jason described it as “kind of like a holiday dinner at your better-off uncle’s house.” It definitely encouraged us to relax, take our time over coffee and talk politics.
At the other stops the BBQ Crew seemed simpatico about the food, but comments on Walt’s were all over the board. Michael liked the sauce, noting a “nice balance of tomato sweetness and peppery heat” that didn’t overwhelm the meat, but Chris and I felt it was too much like a “thin jus.”
Most of us liked the smoky, tender chicken, but the ribs were difficult to eat and some of the messiest. While we thought the flavor was good overall, they weren’t as meaty as some of the others we ate.
Another high note at Walt’s was the service. Our table was a bit confusing that evening, with two people in our party arriving late, but our server took it in stride. Unlike the other joints, where the servers seemed young and green, Walt’s had a seasoned bunch. Our server even served our moist towelettes on a plate, bless him.

Pit to Plate
1527 Compton Road, Mount Healthy, 513-931-9100
Overall: 4.6
Food: 5
Service: 4.3
Atmosphere 4.6
Essentials: Pork and brisket are hickory smoked eight hours, ribs four to eight hours
Items Ordered: Whole slab of baby back ribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, BBQ Sundae, mac & cheese, sweet n sour hot slaw, garlic parsley taters, green beans and jalapeno cornbread

We hit Pit to Plate on Day 5. Emiline was having meat nightmares by this time, and the rest of us were fretting about what a steady diet of meat was doing to our cholesterol. But we cowboyed up for another round. And what a fine round it was — Pit to Plate was the easy favorite for all of us in all three categories: food, service and atmosphere.

The only real negative was that the joint doesn’t have a liquor license. Luckily, Michael took care of our libations, calling ahead and toting a six pack.

Everyone loved what Michael described as the “retro Western kitsch” décor, which came complete with redneck wind chimes — six beer cans tied together with twine — and cow print tablecloths. Like the majority of places we visited, Pit to Plate is small, but it felt homey rather than claustrophobic.

We assumed our young server might have been part of the family that owns Pit to Plate. She was energetic, funny and attentive. Humor can be a fine line to walk in the service industry, but she had it well in hand.

I know sides aren’t supposed to be the focus of a BBQ joint, but all of us felt the Pit came in strong in this area. The mac & cheese rated higher than most of the others, described by Jason as “some mighty fine mouth-waterin’ stuff.” And Michael loved the vinegary hot slaw topped with bacon, noting that there are “few foods that can’t be improved with addition of crumbled bacon.” The jalapeno-spiked cornbread and the garlic butter potatoes were easy favs as well.

I insisted on ordering a BBQ Sundae just so I could say I ate one. When we asked the server to describe it for us, her first comment was that it’s not for people who don’t like their food to touch. It’s kind of like a western version of a seven-layer Mexican bean dip, but in this case the layers are baked beans, cole slaw, pork (or beef), fried onions and cheddar cheese.

Even though the meat here is so tender and flavorful that sauce almost seems like sacrilege, the homemade sauces were all good. They offer sweet hot, sweet mild, Gold Rush sweet hot mustard, Horsey (horseradish and mayo), spicy wing sauce and a vinegar-based North Carolina sauce.

As for the meat itself? Pit to Plate was the definite winner. Owner Dianne Creech’s mouth-watering brisket, ribs and pork are served with the sauce on the side on purpose because the meat is so succulent, she says. And the BBQ Crew whole-heatedly supports that claim. ©