HELP! Where is good barbecue near Princeton/Trenton?

[crazykidkate]

Looking for good old fashioned pit barbecue - ribs, pork ESPECIALLY brisket! We have great Chinese, Italian etc., but where's great casual barbecue? Any help would be appreciated, willing to drive 30 minutes or more!

[flourgirl]

How about the R.U.B. Hut in Manville - it's pretty darn good. Even the sides are tasty. I almost never can bring myself to eat the "slaw" that is dished out at most restaurants. I actually like theirs - not as good as mine, of course, but good. :)

[ambrose]

I was talking to someone just last night about this place, which is pretty close to 30 minutes from Princeton. It's now the Grub Hut. Apparently they changed the name to avoid confusion with the NYC place (don't know if litigation was involved). In any case, I hear very mixed comments about this restaurant, which means I will have to check it out myself! Here's a year old review that weighs the pros and cons.

http://pigtrip.net/review-GrubHut.htm

[flourgirl]

Definitely give it a try and let us know what you think - but I should have left in the part I originally wrote and than decided to delete for some reason - it IS pretty good - in comparison to all the other so-called BBQ places that my family and I have tried in Central Jersey. Most of them are terrible IMHO.

[crazykidkate]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I will try the Grub Hut, Manville is close enough! Off topic, there used to be a country dance place called the Yellow Rose out there, I'm sure it's closed down now like the rest of the "roadhouses" hereabouts! Thanks also for the H I Ribs suggestion, they are OK but overpriced for what you get, don't think they have brisket. I told my husband we should open a place and he said there probably aren't many places with pit barbecue because there's not much space left in Jersey to build a place with a smoker that the neighbors wouldn't complain about! The Front Street Smokehouse sounds interesting too!

[The Engineer]

Front Street Smokehouse is the best BBQ in New Jersey, how's that for a backhanded compliment!? Really good though. You can order your stuff to go and sit in the small park across the street where you get a great view of ships in the Kill.

Grub Hut is ok, and they get automatic points just for actually BBQing rather than doing it the cheater way, but their smoke flavor is too weak for me. They use sassafras wood, which I guess imparts a milder flavor. I'm only 2 miles away from Manville, but I rather drive to Elizabeth.

Both places have brisket, as does Famous Dave's. But let's not go there. Literally.

[ambrose]

I will mention this place but I cannot recommend it for the simple reason that I've never been there. Nor do I know anyone who has been. Perhaps others can comment.

On Route 31 in Pennington, which is not far from Princeton, there is a restaurant called H. I. Rib and Company. It's on the north bound side of the highway.

[dichroqueen]

H.I. Rib has great pulled pork sandwiches and also great ribs. Try it. They also have coupons out in the mailer things. The pulled pork is really exceptional!

[JessKidden]

I've only been to HI RIbs once, and don't remember much about it (tho' if it was out of the ordinarily good, I'd think I would). I recall it as just another casual restaurant-type ""rib joint" serving baked and/or grilled meat. The OP was clearly looking for "good old fashioned pit barbecue" (slow cooked with smoke, over offset wood/charcoal heat) rather than using the term "barbecue" to mean simply grilled, or food covered in barbecue sauce.

Seems to me any true barbecue restaurant (especially in NJ, where it's rare) would openly state and boast about their cooking methods, complete with pictures, on their website and would smell of smoke from a chimney (not burning tomato-based sauce out the exhaust) before you even walk in the door...

[njeggy1]

I don't know of any GREAT bbq in the p/t town area, but there is Big Ed's BBQ on Rt. 130 in Dayton. All ribs though, no brisket.

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Big Ed's BBQ Ribs
Rte-130, Swedesboro, NJ 08085

[crazykidkate]

Thanks, I am a big brisket fan, maybe I should open a restaurant here. Can't live on pasta and pizza alone!

[JessKidden]

Big Ed's recently closed a number of their restaurants, IIRC, didn't they?

While Big Ed's is often mentioned positively on the various NJ food groups, from what I've read, observed and tasted, their ribs are not truly "barbequed" (slow smoked) but rather typical chain restaurant "baked in sauce-thrown on the grill for char-marks" ribs.

Notice that their websites (I only can find websites for the Old Bridge and Burlington currently on the 'net- and while the Old Bridge site has a "Locations" - note the 's'- page, it only lists the Old Bridge facility), while full of cartoon pigs, make no mention of a pit, of smoke, of wood/charcoal, etc. Check out the "photos" section of their website- what true 'cue restaurant wouldn't have a picture or two of their pit? (Some folks mention the aroma in the parking lot, which is not of smoke but the smell of burning tomato based sauce on the grill from the exhaust fans on the roof).

And while some might say "it's good for what it is" (altho' I've always thought a lot of the popularity is due to their "All you can eat" offers which strike me as "anti-Chowhound"-quantity over quality) the last few times I tried their food (once at that Dayton location) the sides were all but inedible and the ribs sure tasted like they were serving me Sunday's left-overs for lunch on Monday.

For "30 minutes or *more*" from Princeton, I'd jump on the NJ Tpk and try Elizabeth's Front Street Smokehouse http://www.frontstreetsmokehouse.com/ or check out some recs in the Philly area. And, there's always the hit-or-miss, yeah-it's-a-chain-but "Famous Dave's" (altho, do they even do brisket?)..