Today was a BBQ day. A perfect BBQ day. Friday afternoon was calling for a slightly prolonged lunch. 79 degrees. Fall is coming quickly and the last days to eat outside are upon us. All of this summed to outdoor dining and BBQ. We were on the hunt for the best BBQ in DC and our research unearthed several worthy options. Each of these will be added to my list.
Our first/original destination was Mr. P’s Ribs and Fish. But upon arriving at the converted school bus in NE, we found Mr. P’s closed for the day. A quick call to his “office” (which I’m pretty sure is his home number) confirmed that M.r. P’s was closed for the day. That write-up will have to wait for another day. We left the parking lot that has been the home of Mr. P’s for several years and headed for King Ribs at the 7th Street Landing at The Wharf.
Everett Ford “Bufus” Buchanan founded King Ribs. You can see a video interview with Bufus here. His nephew Ron was working the grill today. I’m not sure I have all of the history of King Ribs accurate – which happily mandating a return trip so I can ensure I have the story correct. Ron told me they’ve been in their current location for about 4 and half years and prior to that they were at the church across the street (presumably in the parking lot). A limited amount of information on the web suggests Bufus has been BBQ’ing Ribs in SW for 40+ years. It certainly had the appropriate institutional feel of an establishment with deep DC roots.
You order from a small shack and while you are given a handwritten “receipt” – which appears to be written on the back of a piece of paper cut from a cigarette cartoon – your order is yelled out the window to Ron at the grill so the receipt isn’t really used. You get most of the sides from the shack but the ribs and other meats together with the potatoes come straight off the grill. King Ribs sells chicken, steaks, turkey thigh, and kielbasa – but the real reason, dare I say the only reason, to go to Kings is for the Ribs.
The cole slaw is good – not homemade great – but good. The sweet potato was wonderfully cooked and HUGE. Covered in butter and you naturally can’t go wrong. The ribs were cooked to perfection. Tender, fall-off-the-bone perfection. And the sauce does make the ribs so don’t consider skipping the sauce. It is a sweet sauce with discernible pieces of fresh onions and peppers and “other secret ingredients” according to Ron. We had bees attracted to our ribs throughout our meal. While I’m accustomed to flies when eating BBQ outside, I don’t recall a time when bees were so attracted to the meat. The meal is extremely reasonably priced. $11 for a half rack of thick and meaty ribs.
King Ribs did not disappoint.
