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Occasionally i have the yearning for BBQ Ribs. I think it's like a way to relive (or revive) my decadent days in the Navy when BBQ'ng Spare Ribs were as frequent as the weekends come. We never actually quite got the ribs right, they were always either overcooked or undercooked, though it seemed not to matter to my roommates & friends too much-- too focused on getting shit-faced. And these were before the days of Match-Light too so you can imagine the fun we had haha. And when we ran out of lighter fluid we'd just burn old t-shirts over the charcoal (Warning: black smoke worries the neighbors). Paper were scarce you see because no one reads the paper at age 19, toilet paper was too valuable and burning Playboy was considered a Sin...

Not since those olden days and until recently, had i really had a great experience with Ribs. Tony Roma's (courtesy of a good friend) had basically been my only Rib indulgence (Galbi, otherwise known as Korean BBQ or short ribs, forget about it.Too good!). But I don't ordinarily crave Ribs when dining out to begin with too sticky... In my opinion, Tony Roma's isn't really all that great anyway. I think WoodRanch or even the quaint and family owned Ribs USA in Burbank is quite better. And although Dave's famous BBQ lacks in variety (Tony Roma's has something like six different flavors), i think, in comparison, their Ribs is a landslide in sheer flavor and size. Perhaps my biggest problem with the popular chain Tony Roma's is, as good as people think their Ribs are, everything else i have tried there is mediocre (and my friend will attest to this). A good rule of thumb, i suppose, is not to order like Hamburger at a Ribs joint etc... Wasn't me. They tend to be imperfect (try the Hamburger there and see for yourself).

-- Let me expound on that a little. Against my wishes a few nights ago, myself and a couple of good friends dined-in at Tony Roma's in Sherman Oaks. Basically, i vowed never to go back to Tony Roma's after the unveiling of the Famous Dave's several months ago in Simi Valley (ya they're that good). At least not if it were up to me. That particular night was not my turn to pick the venue obviously. But, we good people always make the best out of bad situations, don't we? For some odd reason however, i had decided to deviate from what i would normally get from the menu, which, by the way, completely goes against my restaurant "rule of thumb". I couldn't quite convince myself to order my regular (Babyback ribs.. St. Louis style i guess...) because all i could think of was the Dave's Famous Ribs recent unveiling (and the fact that Tony Roma's really sucks in comparison) and the revelation that most that specialized in Rib's (especially family owned Restaurants) are better tasting. Perhaps becoming a chain somehow dilutes the flavor, or maybe it's more of a psychological matter-- meaning homemade is better than mass production so to speak. So against my rule, i went with the Half Chicken BBQ, which, turned out to be okay except i found myself wishing i hadn't done it. Good thing i'm a lot smarter than my 'rule of thumb'. I had asked my friend, who usually orders a half slab to get a full slab instead for the exact reason just stated above. Insurance, in other words...

Apparently my other friend does not subscribe to my rule because she had decided to try their Hamburger. Hamburger at Tony Roma's?!?! That was a bit odd i thought. In fact, even the waiter thought so because he had to check the menu to make sure. I was real curious how it would turn up though, so i didn't say anything. In terms of an appetizer, we went with the only item worth grabbing from the small menu- buffalo wings...

The Hamburger, to their credit, was luscious in presentation. And it was Huge! Unfortunately it stops there. That burger had major issues... The first problem was they neglected to slice it in half, which made it somewhat cumbersome. I guess its not common practice there to do so or they just simply forgot because customers infrequently order it. A giant sandwich like that should be sliced in half and poked with those extra long toothpick things on each side to keep em' together, shouldn't it? Anyway, upon slicing it, the burger sort of collapsed like a pile of bricks. She then tried to put it back together but ended up consuming it piece by piece with a fork because it just wouldn't stay intact lol. It was kind of an ordeal for her but highly amusing to us (lol). Poor girl... The Babyback Ribs, interestingly enough, were overcooked to a point where it was difficult to chew. Even my friend who's completely head-over-heels over Tony Roma's Ribs said so, though she didn't quite put it that way. Apparently her love for the restaurant supersedes its culinary imperfections, "They're not quite perfect this time", she said, almost somewhat deploringly. I was in disbelief... Additionally, the string beans were soggy. They're String Beans man! How does a restaurant get string beans wrong?

Well, alright, enough about the bad things. Obviously they've been at it for a very long time and they are really good at what they do (Just ask them old folks that keep coming back). The occasional mess-up i'm sure is forgivable. You can't say anything bad about the service there -- it's great-- and it seems their servers are hand picked coz they're all so cute (the girls only...). Maybe i just don't like the ubiquity of restaurant chains anymore. They're just so, uhmm, common? Yea, common that's what they are. I prefer the old and charming diners. The obscure Thai restaurants and authentic Mexican Restaurants in and around Los Angeles. And if Spare Ribs we must, i would prefer something other than Tony Roma's, cute waitresses notwithstanding...