The best barbecue in Bay Ridge WAS at Aloha Grinds

Aloha Grinds is was an interesting place. They're Hawaiian, they serve(d) very good coffee both by the serving and by the bag, they make a ridiculously good breakfast sandwich, they have had Spam and they know knew how to use it, they have had very irregular hours and they'll admit as much on their Website, but oh man, they serve(d) barbecue that's different and increddddible. All of it is was good. I mean, the ribs are were really a standout, but even if it's like that one time we went and they didn't have enough to serve them in anything but the mixed plate, nothing is was disappointing. It matters a bit, but the chicken, pork chops, boneless ribs - everything they serve(d) here - is great. I'm not saying you shouldn't come here for breakfast and coffee and Connect Four - that's right, they have board games here - but the barbecue is what makes a kitchy coffee shop an actual destination.

UPDATE - SADLY, ALOHA GRINDS HAS CLOSED AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FIND A NEW BEST BARBECUE PLACE IN BAY RIDGE.

Best Barbecue In Bay Ridge

Aloha Grinds (CLOSED)
7604 3rd Ave (near 76th Street)
Brooklyn, NY  11209
(718) 238-0456

The Best Chinese Spare Ribs In Midtown Are at Joe's Shanghai

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I like to make fun of myself because I really really am in this lifelong hunt for the best "Chinese" bbq spare ribs, but the other day I had what are apparently actually authentic Shanghai ribs, and I'm making fun of myself even more. These were really spectacular. They had some kind of smokey kind of thing going on, and while I've heard conflicting reports over whether "falling off the bone" is really something I should care about, the meat was falling off the bone and I really didn't care either way. The black sauce isn't always my favorite, but in this case it was. I even scandalously allowed some of the sauce to droop into my vegetable fried rice, and it wasn't my worst idea of the day. The issue for me is that you can only get them as a lunch special, for $9.35 with some veggie fried rice and an egg roll and a soup. And I don't think they're even available at the Joe's Shanghai downtown or it's next-door, less-crowded sister Joe's Ginger you know, the one with the amazing soup dumplings. But whatevs. Get the lunch special.

Best Chinese Spare Ribs in Midtown


Joe's Shanghai
24 West 56th Street (b/w 5th and 6th Aves)
New York, NY  10019
(212) 333-3868