Rochester’s Barbecue and Grill – Lawnside, NJ
I swear that good barbecue is in people’s genes and that it takes generations to perfect. With that being said, I am happy that I do not have to wait generations to eat perfected recipes and techniques which brought me to Rochester’s Barbecue and Grill (RBG). Ernestine Rochester in the late 1950’s felt she had created the best barbecue sauce she had ever tasted. Well fast forward some years and now her sons Vincent and Vernon took what they had learned from her and with a little mixing and matching of their own went a little further and set out for the world to taste their creations by opening RBG. RBG has a warm and welcoming décor, but the feel is slightly outdated. The staff was very friendly and a decent crowd was dining and I saw an electric piano set up in the rear so I assume they must have live music at times. It was time to order, and my heart was set on beef ribs. Sadly, I was told they would not be ready for another two to three hours from when I stopped in. Wanting to eat immediately I went with plan B.
My order would consist of pork ribs, Ollie’s triple beans, and collard greens. I will go with the fabulous first. The Ollie’s triple beans were bar none one of the better bean dishes I have had in a long time. I could have eaten a whole bowl of them alone by themselves. Stepping down from such a high would be the ribs. They were a very good incarnation of “Southern Style” pork ribs with a nice sauce that I wonder is Ernestine’s creation, but were a tad chewy and tough, and I have had better. The low point of the meal would be the collard greens which were very bland. It just seemed like they forgot to season them at all. RBG had some great, good, and bad all in one meal. I enjoyed RBG enough to certainly warrant another visit, recommend for you to try, and hopefully next time I will get to try those beef ribs I wanted to begin with.
Overall
Three out of Five Stars
BlueJeanFood 