Big Bad Wolf's House of Barbecue has unique and tasty sauce selections

Ms. Classy and I were jonesing for a cheap dinner and I also felt it high time to grace my readers with another Pulitzer-worthy post (oh mark my words, when the people from the Pulitzer Board come down to the Baltimore, get hungry, then realize they have little more than pocket change on them, who do YOU think they’ll come to for advice? Hmmmm?) I hopped onto urbanspoon.com and checked my wish list and barbecue ribs seemed to hit the spot. We had been to Andy Nelson’s twice (blog post still to come and I’ll link to it as soon as I bother to post it) and we wanted to try some place different. So we set sail (read: hopped into my little Ford Focus) and set our navigation equipment (read: dashboard GPS) for the exotic Harford Road.

The ordering, serving,

dining, and waiting

area - All in one.

We arrived at the little yellow shack unscathed. We stepped to the ordering area, which also serves as the waiting/seating/dining area and pondered the menu. Like every barbecue shop, the aroma alone would turn any vegetarians who are questioning their lifestyle choice. Ms. Classy even noted they could increase their profits if they figured out how to package and sell it. We had read the sides were not good at all, but we don’t go for ribs for the sake of the sides. However, we were intrigued by a limited time only sauce: blueberry barbecue. We inquired and the gentleman said they were out for the day and it was his brother who concocted the recipe, who was also out for the day. On a happier note, their Carolina Mustard Sauce was in ample supply. We placed two half racks of spare ribs, one with Carolina Mustard Sauce, the other with Kansas City Sweet Sauce. Since the “cozy” spatial arrangements of the dining area would require us to be more intimate with strangers, we decided to take our order to go.

This is one of two plates
filled by our order.

When we got home, I hit that meat like a lawn mower. I had to remind myself to slow down, savor the meat and sauces, and put my eating experience into soul-moving, unforgettable prose (Pulitzer, remember?). After removing the meat from the Styrofoam package, we sopped up the sauce drippings with the cornbread (not the greatest cornbread, but good enough). The Carolina Mustard Sauce was my favorite. If you’ve never tried such a thing, I suggest you go out and try it. A half rack of spare ribs is only $8.49 and enough meat for a full meal. The Kansas City Sweet sauce was also perfect for that style: smoky and sweet! As far as the meat goes, I found it on the not-so-tender side: no falling off the bones, no pulling into little shreds. I prefered the meat from Andy Nelson’s, but liked the sauce selection at Big Bad Wolf’s House of Barbecue better than Andy Nelson’s. Ms. Classy endorsed Big Bad Wolf’s all the way.

Maybe if Andy Nelson’s utilized those plastic pigs in some sort of Big Bad Wolf’s unique sauce smuggling ring, or if the Big Bad Wolf huffed and puffed and stole Andy Nelson’s piggy meat, then either place could brag the best ribs this close to the Mason-Dixon, but not this side of the Mason-Dixon.

Does anyone have any suggestions about a barbecue place that can rival the meat of Andy Nelson’s or the sauces of Big Bad Wolf’s House of Barbecue?

-Mr. Cheap