We have a Ribfest going on this coming weekend. I've never been but have heard people come from all over North American to showcase their ribs (sounds yummy)! Hubby and I should go and see what it's like, he's a Southerner so he should know if they are good ribs or not. Myself? Any rib with sauce on it sounds good to me.

'fests are all fine and good but what if it is a Tuesday in February?

Bar-B-Barn on Guy at St Catherines...downtown Montreal. There is another Bar-B-Barn somewhere on the island of Montreal, but I don't know where. (College trip many years ago, and having been under the influence has dulled my memory.

Mmmmm...that is even within range. Montreal is the home of the big eating establishment. I recall a merry night at the Old Munich, a long gone two level German beer hall with a rotating stage in the middle with non-stop oom-pah. Ben's deli is also great, seating a few hundred at a time.

Dunn's was my favourite, but alas, it has closed. Been to Old Munich, myself.

Bar B Barn is it. Also it is a time machine, it has not changed in the 34 years that I have been going there. On the other hand Presidents Choice have an excellent frozen ribs product. Not the fake pressed riblets but the real thing. After thawing really quite good ribs in 15 minutes.

Here is a short review and the co-ordinates for the Bar B Barn in Montreal.

I heard this on NPR's <i>Splendid Table</i> last night and now all I want is Cornell Chicken. Is it wrong to drive for three hours into another country, dragging the kids to sit in some guy's backyard to eat chicken and listen to country and western music?

And here is a description of a Binghampton New York BBQed fast food called a <i>spiedie</i>:<blockquote class="smalltext">I will concur with the recommendation of Lupo's and Sharkey's for spiedies, and if I were visiting my relatives in Endicott, NY, we would head to Sharkey's. There had also been a place in Endicott called Geno's, which was as good as any spiedies done in my family, but I have NO idea where in Endicott it is. Do NOT fall into the trap of trying chicken spiedies; the original spiedies were LAMB, then pork, then beef, and sadly, eventually chicken, which does not help the spiedie cause, much, much too dry a cut of meat for spiedies. If you want to be an absolute Endicott traditionalist, you will first secure a large, round, sliced loaf of bread from Battaglini's Bakery in Endicott, and you will place your spiedies in a folded slice of that amazingly flavorful, sturdy bread, and you will know true spiedie bliss.
Buy some of that bread and take it home, it is remarkable bread, and worth the effort to find the small bakery.

And then you will do spiedies at home, and amaze your friends. You'll get your butcher to cube the meat from a Spring leg of lamb; it will net variable poundage, but make sure the cubes are trimmed of all fat and gristle. Then make an oil and white wine vinegar marinade, adding generous amounts of salt, pepper, oregano and marjoram, finishing with a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of chopped fresh mint. Marinate the meat for at least a day.

Prepare a CHARCOAL grill, and after bunching the meat tightly on the longest metal skewers you can find, light the coals until they are white with ash. Reserve the marinade for basting. Place the skewers on the grill, allowing for a little space between each skewer, and turn frequently, basting frequently as well. Make sure meat is well browned which should actually take about 20 min per batch of skewers.

Assemble bread slices, and (you know whats coming next) as spiedies are done, remove from grill, grab meat with bread slice and pull off. Die and go to heaven. </blockquote>Sounds kind of like a souvlaki on white bread. Apparently available at the New York State Fair - gotta go this year - and Lupo's in Binghampton.

I agree with Bar-B Barn on Guy in Montreal. The other one is/was in Point Claire.
Here is a link to a "clone" of the Bar-B-Barn ribs recipe. I make this frequently in the summer (prepare/parboil in advance, refrigerate, and grill on the BBQ), and highly recommend it. Hint: triple or quadruple the sauce quantity.
<a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/getrecipe.zsp?id=38048>Link to Bar-B-Barn ribs recipe.</a>

Just back from the states and bought a copy of the Dinosaur BBQ recipe book. Baby back ribs soon. Apparently they run a booth at the NY state fair around labor day. Me plannin'.

Kottke notes some BBQ truths amongst a mini-<i>Last Night</i>-esque evening out.

Yep, the best place, and only true place for speidies is the Binghamton/Endicott area of NY. Speidies is truly a food of the Gods. It must be tried once before you die. End of story!

Having grown up in Endicott, NY (southern tier of state near PA border), I have to concur with Frank that life is not worth living unless you have savored a spiedi. I have the original recipe for Lupo's secret marinade and make spiedis often here in Texas. The only problem is finding a good Italian bread. Battaglini's won't ship it to me, and the stuff that passes for Italian bread around here is more the "artisan" quality -- much too heavy and thick crusted for spiedis. French bread is actually pretty close except the slices are too small. When we go home to Endicott for a visit, the first stop we always make is to Lupo's. The clothes can stay wrinkled in the suitcase a while longer!!

I have to agree that spiedis are probably the thing I miss most about the triple cities. We used to have several speidi recipes, but unfortunately have lost them over the years. Habe have resorted to the commercially available marinates and have them shipped periodically to us. Would you possibly be inclined to share your Lupos recipe???

We also always make the prilgimage to Lupos and / or Sharkeys when we visit Binghamton. Since we lived in the first ward, Sharkeys was our usual meeting place while I was growing up ( as well as few of the other local establishments.

I have also heard that for some reason the Italian bread in the triple cities can not be duplicated in the south. I heard of some folks going to extraordinary lengths to try duplicate the bread recipes, but never had good luck in duplicating the texture of the bread.

Thanks,

Hey Joe,

I have only had one spiedie in my life looking down at them from here in Canada three hours or so north of Binghamton. Recipies are most welcome.

Tinklepaugh
Send me some of thoses spedies, the brothers are anxiously awaiting them Spedies we are hungry!

I just revisited this and realized someone asked for the Lupo's Spiedie marinade recipe. Better late than never, here it is. Enjoy!!!

LUPO’S SPIEDIE MARINADE

2/3 cup wine or cider vinegar
juice of 2 lemons (approximately 2/3 cup)
1 cup oil (vegetable or olive)
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
2 Tbsp. dried basil
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic salt or powder
1 tsp. pepper
pinch dried oregano

Combine all ingredients well. This makes enough to marinate up to 6 pounds of well-trimmed, cubed (about 1” cubes) chicken, lamb, beef, or pork. Marinate two or three days for maximum flavor.

Put five or six cubes of meat on each metal skewer. Grill meat until edges are browned but meat is still juicy, preferably over charcoal, basting occasionally with remaining marinade. While meat is still hot, wrap a slice of good quality Italian bread (the kind that’s crusty on the outside but soft and light on the inside) around the meat and slide off the skewer. Nothing else is needed. Welcome to spiedie heaven!