RUB Authentic Texas Barbeque

Went to RUB in mid-​April 2011. Got a bowl of chili and a meat sampler plate.
The chili was the best I have ever had in my life. Very well seasoned with nice, chunky pieces of tender steak.
Everything else was bullshit bbq. It was not well seasoned, there was not much on the plate for the price, and their idea of bbq turkey is a thick slice of turkey lunch meat. Give me a f***ing break! I was expecting a slow roasted bird direct from your oven.
This by no means is anywhere near true Texas barbecue.

Rub is an okay place… okay bbq, okay sides, okay drinks, okay service… there really isn’t too much more I can say about it. I’ve been in there when it’s nearly empty and had terrible service and dry food more than once and it’s just a disappointment considering that Rub is the closest restaurant to the 101 Wells complex where hundreds of 20-​somethings live and have money to burn! The best thing I can say about is is that Rub doesn’t skimp on the portion sizes, you are definitely going to get enough to eat. I’d personally recommend going with either the 2 or 3 meat platters, with 2 sides, homemade pickles and texas toast… you get a nice sampling of everything, and on a good night, it’s delicious. Just be careful of their slow nights or going late in the evening when they sell out of some of their meat offerings.

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?

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 piña 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.

RUB is located on the outskirts of Federal Hill, which makes it great for parking in a not so crowded area.
My fav is the «pulled bird» and they have great sides. I also love the root beer in the frosted mug. They have good drink specials during the week as well.
The service, food, drinks, and atmosphere is nothing but the best!

3^rd 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.

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.

Well, I got pulled pork, my boyfriend got beef brisket. My pulled pork was meh. Spicy, not so good, and pretty dry. Pat’s brisket was dry and not appealing in the slightest. The fries were actually good, but woman can not survive on good fries alone.
I attempted to eat the peacan pie they offered, but that too tasted of rubber and nothing good. So with that, I really have to say, Andy Nelson’s is the best BBQ place in Baltimore.

Well… me and my guy love BBQ. But some reason had never been to RUB. So on our date night we decide to hit it up before a movie (A-​team).
UUMMMM not really impressed.
Service
It was a Friday night and it wasn’t busy at all, maybe 4 tables seated. Not really a great greeting, no hello how are you. no thanks for coming in tonight, no hows it going. Just how many. and have a seat wherever. We thanks for that warm welcome, the economy must be great in the bbq world, becuase you will never keep customers coming back like that.
We sit. wait about 5 minutes for menus (which like I said. there only 4 tables seated, so I’m not sure what took so long.) She plops the menu down and walks away… the menu are on this awkward clip board. So that was kinda strange.
We go through everything. carefully planning out out meal. SO I can taste and he can taste, you know share.
Food
I got the turkey with mac 7 cheese and sweet potato fries.
He got the brisket & ribs with green beens and fries (i think).
First let me say the turkey was awesome. But the mac cheese, god it was awFUL. I mean the amount of garlic in this stuff should be againist the law. Really it was offensive. Like I had 3 tastes of this stuff… after brushing my teeth 2x at night and 1x in the morning and rinsing with listerine… i couldn’t rid the taste. Moving on to the sweet potato fries… SALTY, SALTY, SALTY. I typically am a salt my food person, I love salt. But these were to salty. I also ordered a drink Mama’s Mango tea… no so much Mango. Tea yes… it was ok, just not what I thought when I saw mango tea… but the plus side it was large for a $ 6.
He said his brisket was GREAT, I am not a fan of brisket anyway… so I’m not the one to ask about brisket. But if said it was GREAT, then it was. The ribs… ha ha not so much. Ummmm they were dry and not a lot of flavor… and tough. He green beans were nothing special, kinda like out of a can! French fries were soggy.
So we wont be returning to RUB :-(
Which really sucks, because I really wanted to like this place. I’m tired of driving to DC & Philly for good food.
TWO stars… becuase the prices were decent, there was plenty of parking and the turkey& brisket were good.

For five years now my BF has been schooling me on what constitutes GOOD barbeque. I feel like an expert on the subject, though I’ve only been to San Antonio — and never had a bite of BBQ while there. Unfortunately, he’s yet to find any Q in the DC area that is worth revisiting (and if you happen to know of a great one, please message me).
On a long car ride to NJ with much too much traffic, we decided to stop in Baltimore for some Q that we found on Unilocal.I was hopeful this would be «the place» so we could put this neverending quest for Q to rest! Nope.
At first glance, the restaurant is in an odd location where lots of former factories seem to be its neighbors. The patio is great with large old barrels as tables and plenty of umbrellas to shade you from the glaring sun. The inside had about six booths, a bar and a bathroom in the STRANGEST location. Our server was great, giving us lots of wonderful recommendations and extremely friendly without being annoying. And we enjoyed listening to the music as we waited for our orders to arrive… good tunes pass the time nicely!
The tea was perfect. The BF prefers half sweet half regular and I prefer the Arnold Palmer (but ONLY when the lemonade is homemade). Both quenched our thirsts very nicely. My BF ordered the brisket, creamed spinach and corn pudding. Thumbs down for the brisket, I’m afraid. It was dry and lacked smoke-​flavor —though it was better than the average place that tries to call itself a BBQ joint. The creamed spinach=blech. The corn pudding=delish. I had the pulled chicken enchiladas, which by themselves would have been tasteless if it were not for the AMAZING rellenos sauce they were swimming in. I asked for the recipe without success. The sweet potato fries with Tabasco powder were top notch. They were not greasy, not processed, not overly salty, flavorful, hand cut and I didn’t feel like I was going to go into cardiac arrest for having eaten them. For the finale we ordered the pecan pie with vanilla ice cream. The pie slice came out hot, which is always good and had a boozy quality that ended the meal nicely. Overall, good food for the price.
One piece of advice to Rub: You cannot call yourself Texas BBQ and not serve beef ribs — nobody in Texas gets PORK ribs… sacrilege! Take it from someone who KNOWS!

Go south on Light, past Fort, yes keep going, hit the blocks of white trash holdouts in Sobo, keep going, and Rub is the last stop before the Patapsco River. They field the random tracer from Cherry Hill every so often. That Rub has stood the test of time in this desolate location speaks volumes. It also means you can find a parking spot. MMMMM, corn pudding is awesome! We’ve never struck out ordering brisket, turkey, sausage, by the pound to go. Killer sides. The Ravens pre-​game special is a steal, and the flat screens means this bbq oasis doubles as a great sports bar. If bourbon didn’t turn me green after college, I’d be in seventh heaven with the bar’s terrific selection of Kentucky’s finest.

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.

Do yourself a favor and skip this place. For $ 19 bucks we both got the 2 meat selection. Not only were they out of brisket and chili (HOW does that happen at a BBQ place?!) the food we finally got about 30+ minutes of waiting was cold and looked like it had been sitting around for a while. The ribs were dry, pulled pork was slimy and really fatty. My fiancé actually sent his back and got the food removed from the bill. The only thing that was decent was the sweet potato fries!
Seriously, don’t even bother. It’s not a cheap place, you might as well go to Famous Daves.

Great BBQ for the Baltimore area. A bit pricey, but worth it. The drink selection was also pretty good. This was our first time and we are looking forward to taking friends back for some authentic BBQ

The good: the ambience and décor 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.

Rub has excellent atmosphere and décor, but we would come back for the drinks — not the food.
We ordered combo platters and tried all of the offered meats — ribs were good, but not as smoky or meaty as we are used to from Andy Nelson’s. Brisket was good, and chicken was delicious. Had the sauces provided been more exciting, we would definitely be more enthusiastic to go back and have a big meal.
Menu of specialty drinks is extensive, and different kinds of tea are served in mason jars — rustic and delicious. These were the true stars of the meal, and were really great drinks, especially on a summer afternoon. Stop by and give them a try.

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.

I would give this place a 3.5 stars.
Rub is located away from the city near Locust Point. When we got there on a weeknight, it wasn’t crowded at all.
I got the brisket with 2 sides, but I’ve tried a lot of the sides that my friends got. The brisket is alright (I’m kinda biased in thinking that BBQ is best in Texas). I was mixed about the sides. Some were great (sweet potato fries, corn pudding, mac n cheese), and some were bland (creamed spinach).
I’d give this place another try, but only if I am craving BBQ.

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.

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.