Bone Appetit

While looking for dining bargains on Restaurant.com, I ran across a $25 gift certificate for $2 for Bad to the Bone, a new BBQ restaurant in the Promenade shopping center on the corner of Frank Lloyd Wright and Scottsdale Rd. Boy was I excited- I love BBQ!!!! We bought the coupon and made a dash for the car.

I don’t remember which restaurant Bad to the Bone replaced, but it was a large one. It’s now attractively decorated, cowboy-style, with bricks, brands, gas lamps and lariats. The menu sticks pretty rigorously to smoked treats, with a cursory nod to fish (catfish, salmon or halibut - $14.95 to $18.95), and even that can be had mesquite grilled. There are entree salads topped with meat, chicken or fish. Two of the more interesting sounding appetizers are pulled pork nachos ($8.95) and BBQ chicken pizza (also $8.95)

We went right for the meat, no fooling around here. We ordered combo plates, since we feel it’s our duty to get a good feel for what’s being served. Mine was a rib combo, with beef ribs and baby backs ($22.95) and Ken got two meats, tri-tip and brisket ($16.95). Each of these came with two sides. The usual suspects are available - beans, coleslaw, regular fries or sweet potato, corn, steamed veggies, etc. There are so-called “premium” sides for $2 more per side. These included baked potato, mac and cheese and sauteed veggies. I thought it was pretty chintzy charging extra for throwing the vegetables into a pan or a potato into the oven.

While we waited, our cheerful server brought us two corn muffins with some honey butter. Mild jalapenos had been added to the batter. The muffins were quite good. Too bad we were not asked if we wanted more. Our platters arrived, and they were huge. The sides were served on separate plates, and these were also large. Both types of ribs were outstanding, but the beef ribs were stellar. It may seem stupid, but I had never made the connection between beef ribs and roast beef, probably because usually there is so little meat left on the ribs it’s hard to tell what animal it came from. These had lots of meat and very little fat. It actually tasted like roast beef!!! What a concept. The BBQ sauce was served on the side, which was a good thing since the rub on the ribs was delicious and sauce would have been superfluous (besides, it wasn’t all that good). The rub is for sale. The pork ribs were also nice and meaty and moist. Worthy of the word YUMMY. Unfortunately the same could not be said of either the sliced meats or the sides. The corn was pretty good, but coleslaw, onion rings and sweet potato fries were just adequate (although they were served with a nice mustard sauce). The brisket and tri-tip were tough and too smokey-tasting. We ended up taking those home along with a beef rib and three baby backs. The interesting thing is that eaten cold, in a sandwich, the sliced meats were delicious. The ribs tasted as good when reheated as they did at the restaurant, pretty unusual for BBQ.

We were totally stuffed, but there was pecan pie for dessert and I had been craving a piece (what else is new?), so I got it to go. Unfortunately it was pretty bad. But with ribs this good, who needs dessert.

Bad to the Bone is not a cheap lunch (or dinner) unless you go to Restaurant.com and buy a gift certificate. But to be honest, I’d go back for the ribs even if I had to pay full price.

Bad To The Bone

7401 E. Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd. Scottsdale

480-607-2227

badtothebone-bbq.com/2009/scottsdale_restaurant

Summer hours: Sunday - Thursday 11- 10, Friday and Saturday 11 AM -

midnight