I am a North Carolinian and I DO KNOW ""Q"" ! There is NO shortcut to getting awesome BBQ ribs. It takes roughly four to five hours of slow smoking at no more than 275-300 degrees and you must add seasoned hickory to the coals to get good smoke flavor ( or fruit woods work as well like apple wood or peach or cherry wood chips and chunks ). PERFECT ribs should NOT fall off the bone !!!!!! Thats the first sign of pre boiled ribs. If the meat fall off the bone, they've been boiled to begin with and more than likely also overcooked as well.. Otherwise, the ribs were ""ok"" but NOT GREAT . Period ! The kiss of death for Cannons was the last thing they did to my rack of ribs just before serving them to me and that was the put the whole rack in the microwave for five minutes to ""re-heat"" them. YUK. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG ! Great Ribs and microwaves DO NOT MIX. PERIOD. The problem is that in NC, BBQ is a way of life. In Portland, its foreign. Sure, people have been throwing a rack of ribs on grilles here for years but then what you get is ""grilled ribs"". YUK. GREAT ribs have to be S L O W smoked for hours and served right off the grille. No two ways about it. Not going to find GREAT ribs anywheres in Portland unfortunately. By far, the closest I have found to good ol' southern Q'd ribs is the Dixon Family BBQ place which is on Alberta Street, not far from Cannons. Go give them a try and you'll immediately see the difference. NO shortcuts taken there, I guarantee it. Other than Dixon's, finding GREAT ribs in Portland is like trying to find fresh salmon in Kansas.
Bon Apetite !!!!
Pros: quick friendly service
Cons: ribs are boiled to begin with and nuked to heat before servi
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