How to Move Beyond a Not-So Great Restaurant Experience

First, let there be smoke.



Then, spend the next 6 hours patiently tending the coals, and sopping this fat, juicy batch of ribs. Careful, pardner: don’t let that tantalizing scent tempt you into opening the lid once too often.


Finally, after all those patient hours, and a brief period of resting, the ribs were rarin’ and ready to go. DucCat decided to do something a little different, utilizing a newly discovered Asian glaze from Costco, along with judicious amounts of garlic-chili paste. The ribs were sticky and delightfully juicy. Every time he makes a new batch, I tell him they’re the best yet. These truly were.

The coleslaw was the perfect accompaniment, cooling down each spicy mouthfull. I used a variant of MizzNezz’s Harvey House Coleslaw, which is similar to what my mother-in-law makes.


Mmmm, look at that tasty smoke ring. Why don’t you make some coleslaw, and join me?

A Variant of Harvey House Coleslaw

You should really do your best to make this the day before, but if you run out of time, it’s still great made just several hours ahead of time.

1 large head of cabbage
1 large onions
1 sweet pepper
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup vegetable oil

Shred first three ingredients in order listed; do not stir.
Dump into large serving bowl. Combine remainder of ingredients and bring to boil.
Pour over cabbage while still hot. Do not stir- refrigerate overnight.
Toss before serving.