Sunday, October 10, 2010

Boneless rib sandwich (The Rib Stand)

The Rib Stand's sign

When I was a younger, I absolutely loved eating ribs. Except for the bones part. I had fat fingers, I didn't have particularly good coordination, and I had the patience of... well, a child. As a result, it was pretty difficult for me to truly enjoy ribs to their fullest extent since I'd probably leave 50-75% of the meat on the bone. Sad, I know. I like to think that I've overcome this problem with age (not unlike people who can't turn left), but let's be honest... if you advertise that you make a boneless rib sandwich. I'll be all over that like white on rice.

Boneless rib sandwich combo

Which is where 'The Rib Stand' in Reading Terminal Market comes in. I think the combo of a boneless rib sandwich and 2 sides ran something like $8.75, but I can't be entirely sure since the woman at the counter gave me back more change than she should've (thanks!). By default, I tend to go with fries and mac and cheese as accompaniments if they're available. Their mac and cheese was pretty standard, nothing that would make me fight someone for it or anything, but it is what it is... well cooked macaroni drowned rich and creamy cheese sauce. Maybe if they gave me a serving from the freshly baked (and beautifully charred) batch, and not the last scoop from the almost finished tray... I'd think otherwise *whistles*. The potato wedges are the bees knees though, thickly cut and cooked to perfection... soft to the core, but a certain feel of rigidity. No one goes for the fries and mac and cheese though... it's all about this:

With sauce...

~Drooool, boneless rib sandwich. Basically a 10" hoagie roll stuffed with rib meat that they ever so graciously pull off and pulverize for you. Tender and juicy enough to be eaten alone, I made the mistake of piling on the sauce before tasting for real. It's not that their sauce is bad or anything similar, but the overwhelming tangy flavor from the sauce masks the beautiful scent from the unadorned pork. Note to self, in the future, skip the sauce... enjoy the sandwich in all its pure unadulterated glory. To be completely honest, I don't know if the sandwich is worth the cost (given other alternatives when it comes to sandwiching), but out of convenience of not having to deal with ribs and bones, in concept... methinks it's pretty nifty.

6 comments:

kim said...

Boneless ribs sandwiches should be marketed to senior citizens as well (Not that I'm saying you are one :P)

I'm no meat-eater, but why aren't there any good philly sandwiches in NYC? We've got the burgers down (Shake Shack line??) and as cosmopolitan as NYC is, certain regional cuisines (though there's an upcoming of New Orleans influx in Brooklyn) are lacking here.

Nicholas said...

Kim - :) haha, old people would probably love this stuff, you're right.

NYC has its fair share of good sandwiches that I haven't found in Philly, off the top of my head the Cubano at Margon, and the selection of banh mi in Brooklyn, so it's not a one sided affair! As for cheesesteaks and the like, it's only fair for Philadelphia get to keep its culinary identity... right?

esther said...

I hope boneless rib is not like boneless chicken "wings" - chicken strips dipped in sauce which are NOT the same! =) looks scrumptious, though I don't mind bones in ribs, as long as they come off easily!

Nicholas said...

esther - I assure you this is different! It's actually pork pulled from ribs, shredded into strands of beautiful fibers of pig. As for bones... I've learned to handle them with an artful efficiency (thanks Korean fried chicken!), but I'll still take the easier noob option every time :)

Danny said...

so how do they cook them ribs? i think if someone pulled the meat off of the bone for me, i'd totally go for a rib sandwich. or a mcrib, which is not a rib sandwich. what is that exactly? haha. i actually like having to take time to eat the meat off of the bone because it saves me from consuming too much. sort of.

Dominic said...

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