Juicy Ribs on Grill

I had the joy of some pretty sumptuous ribs over the weekend while out for dinner with friends. During these pandemic times, eating out is a real treat; what with limits on group numbers, the necessity of making reservations and each restaurant's own self-imposed health safety protocols, it's become something of an inconvenience nowadays to go out. 

So yes, being out is a luxury which we keep for special occasions. Which, in this case, was a combined belated birthday dinner for the hubs and daughter. We were limited to a max of ten persons, so we picked Altstadtkneipe Noah as our restaurant of choice. In case you're wondering why that sounds familiar, that's because I actually mentioned it at the end of my earlier blog Thuringian ways of Rostbrätel. But while we're back here, I decided I would try something different other than their signature Rostbrätel (but really, if you haven't tried anything on their menu yet, go for their Rostbrätel first). 

Ribs it was for me. I have always been a fan of pork ribs, especially if they're grilled. Oven or over an open fire, both have their own charms. And are equally delectable. Provided they're not dried out. 

That is an important feature when doing ribs. Ribs or meat that has been cooked till all the juices are dried out are just, well, dried-out meat. And if I wanted that, I would just go for jerky. After all, that's what jerky is for, to enjoy that crusty, dried, hard, chewy texture, when you're in the mood for crusty, dried, hard, chewy food. 

I prayed against hope that my ribs won't be jerky in disguise. 

My prayers were answered. 

I have to put it out there, or right here: I love how full my plate is. 

After the first many seconds of admiring my plate, I dug in. 

My first surprise is that my ribs were cut into four convenient pieces. Usually, ribs are served in one long row, and left to the diner to slice. Here, the long ribs were cut into four chunks, presumably to make it easier to eat and share, if necessary. P/S I have learnt that sharing food is an apparently alien concept here in Germany. So yes, I raise eyebrows all around the table whenever I go out because I would ask for a forkful of something on my hub's or daughter's plates, just for taste. Must be an Asian thing. Or maybe it's just my contribution to exercising eyebrow muscles. 

I digress. 

Back to my ribs. They were served with a side of vegetables, comprising diced and boiled red cabbage, sweet corn and boiled radish, and potatoes lightly pan-fried with a smattering of sliced spring onions. They looked, for want of a better adjective, tempting. I had to sit and admire them for a full minute before I destroyed this beautiful creation of mixed flavours. And now, I dig in. 

To say them ribs were tender would be an understatement. They were so tender I hardly needed to put any real effort in my knife to slice them into bite-size pieces. Putting my knife to the bone, the meats readily parted to allow my fork and knife right through so I could easily separate one rib from another. They were juicy to the core, too. To. The. Core. Through and through. These are possibly the easiest ribs I have ever had the joy of eating. 

Taste-wise, really good. I love how the meat was not overshadowed by its spices. There was a lovely balance of natural meat taste and whatever seasoning was used. Plus, my pet peeve as always, they weren't too salty. By the time the ribs were done, the meat was so tender, the bones were totally cleaned of their meat, it was almost as if they were never there. That was how tender they were. 

The potatoes were equally heavenly. As a non-big-fan of potatoes, satisfying me can be a difficult task. But I love theirs. Fried but not oily, and yet, not overly dry. I would guess that they were fried without too much oil, then drained long enough to get just the excess oil out and leave the right amount still within. The juices from the ribs helped too, I suspect. The end result: potatoes that glistened every bit as enticingly as the ribs. 

The small salad offering on the sides were a nice, bland buffer. They were fresh and the corn was nice and crunchy. Mixed together with their counterparts on the plate, they made a nice template for the stronger flavours. 

A less-appetizing surprise for me (and only me, I think) is that the corn was cold, as in fridge-cold. So I had piping hot ribs and potatoes, and a cold dollop of vegetables. While this is a norm, this is something I need to get used to, because I come from a culture where everything on the plate is warm. And the cold stuff would be our dessert. So cold vegetables for me in a hot meal, is something I really need to learn to appreciate. 

Altstadtkneipe Noah prides itself on serving food fresh from the grill or kitchen, so everything is done from scratch. No ready-cooked meats waiting to be warmed up and served, no potatoes all cooked and waiting to be dished out. 

Nope, there's actually a sign on all tables that says food is cooked fresh, so be ready to wait. Ours took about 45 minutes to come out to be served. 

So if you're coming over, come earlier, order quickly and let the appetite develop. By the time the food comes, you will be ready to devour everything. 

And I mean, everything. 

[Note: presumably as a Covid-19 health protocol, the restaurant uses a self-service system for food and drink orders. This means, all patrons need to order their drinks and food at the bar, and pay for them immediately. The servers are mainly to bring food (only) to the tables once they're ready, and to clear tables when diners are done.

I found this system quite inconvenient. For those sitting closer to the bar, where people place orders and pay, this is very intrusive as the queue can get pretty long, so people end up literally standing next to another table while the diners are eating. Happily digging into your food and finding a stranger standing in queue at your elbow is very off-putting. I personally cannot wait for them to return to their original system of servers taking orders from patrons at the table.]