Blue Ribbon BBQ — Restaurant in Arlington

I took a trip to this restaurant for my 80+ Neighbor and also my teen Daughter. The Atmosphere is your typical Arlington, Mass ave fast food place. A few seats, not a huge seating area, yet there is seating. It's a no frills type of place, the license plate decorations definitely add to the BBQ traditional atmosphere if you are eatting at one of the tables.

Both my Neighbor and Daughter raved about the meat! My Neighbor said the Ribs were the best she has had since she moved to New England. (She is from Georgia) Also my Daughter was very impressed with the Brisket. She said it was flavored perfectly, not to much smoke, just right. She said the sauce was not too sweet or overly hot spicy yet great flavor (I ordered her the Gold sauce). She said the meat was not dry or gristle covered, she said the marbling and cooking were on point!

I did not order for myself, because I haven't eaten meat in a long time, yet my Daughter insisted I try her side dishes. They were OK. Slight smoky flavor in the vinegar style southern potatoe salad, and the mashed potatoes were seasoned pleasantly with butter and garlic.

The staff were not the most knowledgeable or best at communicating with each other, However they were polite, which is a must for any BBQ place.

They made a slight mistake by forgetting my neighbors cornbread and that the orders needed to be in seperate bags. (Communication issue between staff most likely.)

When I asked for the cornbread one of the staff members wanted me to give him back my Daughter's order so he could take the cornbread out of it.

That's a No, No.

First off we paid for a second cornbread seperate for my neighbor. Also you never take a plate back from a customer to move food off a plated and served order. Food safety 101 and also Mass law. No cross contamination please. Also even though it's line style serving, you can't see them plateing which I do not like when I eat somewhere.

My Daughter told me I better not take stars off this review because her food was Awesome Sauce.

If you like meat, and you want southern style BBQ while your in the area, this place has what your...

I was looking forward to this from the rave reviews and a recommendation that said this was the best place for BBQ. My taste buds and stomach say otherwise. I do however give them 5 stars on the baked beans - best in the Boston area - and the dirty rice (could have done away with the gravy.

I got the pulled pork sandwich and was expecting it have a slathering of delicious BBQ sauce on it, but that wasn’t the case. I know before I even opened the paper wrapping off I was in trouble, as I could feel the grease saturate the bottom of it. The bread ending up being soggy, and falling apart. That didn’t detract from the mission of eating the sandwich, it only made it harder. I tried a bit, and while moist and fatty and tender, something tasted a bit off. I tried several their BBQ sauces but nothing did the job to the satisfaction I was expecting. I ended up having to toss away half of it as it wasn’t tasting right and sure enough after my stomach started feeling sick. I even got the lone bone St. Louis rib - which I commend them on being able to try a single one as opposed to a whole or half a rack, but even with that, it wasn’t impressive. Normally, I’d try a place again but with trying two different meats and not digging any of the sauces, I doubt I’ll be going back.

Redbones isn’t the best but their sauces are good and if you get them on the right night, their BBQ can be good. I’ll save the real BBQ to those...

May '23 edit: I knocked it down a star because when I've gone in there recently, the skinny guy, (I believe he's the manager), has been nothing but miserable when taking my order and acted like I was an imposition. Their food is still great, but his attitude leaves a sour taste in my mouth. 😖

Do better, do better my man.

BLUE RIBBON BBQ ~ Love it, love it, love it...

First, they provide curbside service and practice good Covid19 protocol.

I adore Blue Ribbon BBQ. They're just a brief jaunt up Mass Ave from me so I'm frequently doing takeout. Their BBQ is delicious, coming in generous portions. I've grown so fond of the staff they feel like friends, especially Dave. We frequently talk photography while awaiting my order. So yeah, the BBQ dishes are yummilicious. But my true love goes out to their potato salad and coleslaw; home style, the type you'd expect at a Southern BBQ get-together, or in my mom's fridge. I buy it in bulk so I never run out of it at home. I've even made a delicious shrimp salad with the coleslaw - add a ton of cooked shrimp and blend in Zatarain's Creole seasoning to taste. I take it to potlucks and people rave about it as it disappears quickly. Or substitute "real" BLUE CRAB "back fin" meat to make a tasty crab salad.

Oh, did I mention I love the...