Art's Ribs

Ahh, I fondly remember the days of having Artz Rib House on South Lamar, less than two miles from my house. Sadly that location closed about two years ago leaving a huge void in my baby back rib consumption (here's one of my early blog posts on Artz). Not to mention they were a bit of a South Austin institution, with live music, much of it bluegrass, several nights out of the week. Owner Art Blondin has bounced around since the closing of his namesake, but it appears he's landed upright and is in business again. Head about an hour north my friends, to Florence, TX.

Art found this building for rent on Craigslist; it was a former barbeque spot, and I am guessing it had all the right infrastructure to make it worthwhile. (Ignore the "Flaming Grill" part; you can sort of see his Art's Ribs sign in the window, and since I took this photo, he's gotten the hanging sign on the left replaced.) I visited the new Art's (slight name change from the one on South Lamar) last month, and got to see the pitmaster himself, whom I have been acquaintances with for a number of years. I wasted no time in getting my beloved baby backs, and they were just as good as I remember them -- tender, meaty, and just darn good. Art even commented on how the batch of baby backs we were eating were exceptionally large. And look at that smoke ring on the brisket and the ribs! The potato salad and cole slaw are solid too; both had good taste and consistency.

Art was wonderful to bring us a pork loin chop that was fresh off the grill. Here you can see the before and after shots! It was pure smoky meat, thick and juicy. It doesn't get a whole lot better!

Here's a shot of the menu board. Prices are on par with other BBQ spots.

And here's a great shot of Art with his smoker; this was taken by my friend Phillip Patterson, who has taken a number of pictures of Art and his new place, some of which are on the Facebook page.

Photo by Phillip Patterson, used with permission.

So PLEASE, do yourselves a favor and take a little drive north to Florence (Hwy. 183 to RR 138); they're located on Main Street (it's only about two blocks long) and you can't miss it. If you're a pork rib lover, this is absolutely the place to be!
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Added Sept. 1, 2014: It is with great sadness that I share Art's unexpected passing this past weekend. I have no idea what will happen to the restaurant in Florence, but with no Art.....Hope he's enjoying some baby backs wherever he is. 

Jax Neighborhood Cafe (aka Artz Ribhouse North)

You heard me lament my sorrows over the recent passing of Artz Ribhouse on South Lamar. For years, it has been my go-to BBQ joint, a) because the baby back ribs were killer, and b) it was 5 minutes from my house. I have taken many an out-of-towner there for BBQ and bluegrass music, and they too were charmed by its South Austin ways.

But Art Blondin has risen up through the ashes of his BBQ smoker, and flown north of the river, landing at Jax Neighborhood Cafe at 29th and Rio Grande, just off Guadalupe, north of the UT campus. It's a spot that has housed a number of restaurants over the years, and I must admit I knew nothing of Jax's before I heard the news that Artz was born again. I have been itching to go, but wanted to give it a little time for the pitmaster to settle in. A trip for an early dinner this week has confirmed it for me -- Art(z) is back.

Jax opens at 5 pm, and that's when I arrived, ready for a happy hour beer. Their amusing chalk board has beers categorized from cheapies to expensive, and several in between. I think everything is on tap (no bottles), and wine is available as well. I saw Art as I was waiting for my friend to arrive. He said the transition to Jax was going well, and he felt good about it. They're working on more menu items as well as some actual menus.....as you can see, the current menus are nothing fancy, but they do work! Art also assured me that he did have baby backs available.

The current menu at Jax looks VERY similar to that at Artz. No complaints from me, because I knew I was getting the half rack of baby back ribs, and it still comes with beans, slaw, and potato salad. Looks like old times! Funny, this one didn't come with sandwich bread, which was fine by me, because I never ate it anyways! The ribs were pretty much just how I remembered them, great flavor, sauce with a little bit of kick. The meat wasn't as tender, fall-off-the bone as they could be, but given that they were meaty and not too fatty, I am okay with that. Happiness is a nice piece of pork.

Fortunately, a lot of the regular musicians who played at Artz are now migrating to Jax. They've got a nice stage area, and the first band was getting set up for their 6:30 pm jig. See their website for a listing of music; neither the website link here, or the Facebook one above has their menu currently listed. And if you're going on a music night, you may want to get there on the early side to ensure a seat, though ample picnic tables are on the patio.

I should have taken a picture of the large banner on the east side of the building where the patio is that announced the Jax/Artz union. They've also got a couple of food trailers in their parking lot, including Curly's Perfect Pig, a Carolina-style pulled pork BBQ one. Art said they were trying to make it a community there, welcoming all. Art and Jax seem to have a good thing going, a welcome sight and happy belly by me! Artz Ribhouse is back!

Artz Rib House

Mmmm. Pig run! To the best baby back ribs in Austin, in my humble opinion! Artz Rib House has been a fixture on South Lamar for years. They recently put up a snazzy new sign by the street with flames, and are also known for their support of local Austin musicians, with live music practically every night. The tables are covered in red & white checkered table cloths, and empty bottles of hot sauce now double as toothpick dispensers. It's a comfortable, fun, non-pretentious place. Service pretty much is always friendly, and the food comes fast. I am slightly embarrassed that it's taken me 6 months to write about the place, because it truly is one of my favorite places in town. I spent my birthday dinner there last night with a group of good friends.

I am sorry I didn't catch the name of our waitress, but she was really great, especially dealing with a group of like 15 people, half of whom substituted the "normal" sides for something else. She seemed always present, but not hovering, and was happy to split checks up at the end of the meal, something they say they don't normally do. I am completely biased towards their mesquite wood smoked baby back ribs, and I really truly think they are some of the very best in Austin. They are meaty, tender, flavorful, have a nice smoke ring, and all around, just can't be beat. The BBQ sauce is served on the side, and the standard sides for the meat plates are pinto beans, a creamy potato salad, and a non-creamy cole slaw, and a piece of bread. Last night, I thought the cole slaw was drier than normal; I think it's usually got a bit of a vinaigrette dressing on it. I do love the potato salad though! The potatoes have been mashed a bit, and they're not drowning in dressing. I should have taken a picture of my plate at the end of the meal, because I pretty much licked all those ribs clean! Pity the fool who won't use their hands to eat! I can polish off that half rack of ribs pretty darn well.

At my end of the table, there were no complaints about any of the meats, and immediately around me were the pork chops, smoked turkey, and sausage. The veggie kabob can be substituted for the sides, and it got high remarks too. One friend who is pregnant got a cup of the smoked chicken noodle soup that was on special, and thought it was too salty. Her husband tried it, and said it was a bit salty, and while I didn't try it, we did mention the possibility that it also could be because her hormones are wacky right now... I think she did eat the whole cup though!

Bottom line, go get you some ribs!