Despite hearing over and over that
Parker's Rib Ranch "is just like Dave's" -- and I like Famous Dave's -- I had failed to give it a try. Until last night that is. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. Then the tornado sirens went off, which made the experience a bit jumbled. Still, I collected a few thoughts.
First up, Rib Ranch is
a lot like Famous Dave's. The french fries, for example, must have come directly out of Dave's fryer. If you like Famous Dave's, you'll probably like Rib Ranch. And since Rib Ranch is locally-owned ... well, that's a point in their favor in my book. If you don't like Famous Dave's, whether or not you'll like Rib Ranch depends on what it is about Dave's that you don't like. Give Rib Ranch a try and judge it on its own merits.
The menu at Rib Ranch has plenty of options. There are the usual ribs, pork, brisket, and chicken options that you would expect to find at a barbecue joint. In addition, there are several sandwiches, some salads, and even a veggie burger. Sides include the usuals of beans, potatoes (fries, baked, mashed, romano), and a couple other items I don't remember. (Like I said, the storm jumbled the whole experience.)
The Missus went with a chicken sandwich and the romano spuds. She enjoyed both, though despite saying "no bacon" twice, her sandwich arrived with bacon on it. That's a definite no-no, but I quickly snatched the bacon from her plate and gave it a new home. It was delicious.
I opted for the special, a quarter roast chicken and 3 ribs for $10.99. The chicken was very moist and tasty. The seasoning on the chicken was just a touch salty for my tastes, but not unpleasantly so. The ribs were a little disappointing. The meat that was there was plenty tender, but there wasn't much meat on the bones.
Service was both great and terrible. Our waiter greeted us enthusiastically, made recommendations when asked, and interacted nicely with Robbie. That lasted through the first half of our visit. Then, suddenly, he all but disappeared. Drinks went un-filled, the check took forever to arrive, and he was generally much less attentive than he should have been. I'm willing to keep an open mind and say that perhaps he is terrified of storms and he was curled up in the fetal position in the cooler. Whatever the cause, it was a real Jekyll and Hyde experience for us.
We do plan to go back, preferably on a less chaotic day. Hopefully then I'll be able to do a more formal review. Have you been to Rib Ranch? How do you like it? What should I order next time?
Parker's Rib Ranch is located at 6440 O Street. Call 402-467-5110 for takeout or catering.
The lake is as full as I've seen it in a while. Who here remembers when it flooded the softball fields approximately 15 years ago?
Not only were there dozens of people walking around the lake, there were also several sailboats in the water.
Portions of the crushed limestone trail had been washed out ...
... and other parts were completely submerged.
A couple dozen people were scattered around the lake taking advantage of the fishing opportunities.
All in all, it was a great night to be out at the lake with the family.
Things were actually fairly quiet here at 625 Elm Street. The ol' rain gauge clocked in at around 2". Normally that would be quite a bit, but compared to what many folks received, we may have been on the low end. The strangest thing about the evening for me was the lack of wind. I don't know what things were like around town, but at our house I'm not sure if the winds ever gusted more than 30 miles per hour. In fact, the wind was calm or nearly calm throughout much of the evening. That made the skies all that much eerier.
What did y'all think about the extensive use of the sirens last night? Personally, I think it was the right move. There were enough ominous factors at play to justify keeping the sirens running. Sometimes I think that emergency management services cry wolf too soon and too frequently. (Or too late. During a storm earlier this season emergency management broke into the television broadcast to issue a severe thunderstorm warning for a storm that was already well on its way exiting the county.) But I support last night's decision 100%.
By the way, if any of you have photos from last night or today, be sure to share them. You can either post them somewhere and give us a link, or e-mail them to me at mrwilson at lincolnite dot com.
Note that their address is 3200 Sumner, but if you try to get there via Sumner you'll never find it. You have to come off South Street via Memorial Drive, just west of 33rd Street.
A gentleman serenaded park visitors with a little horn music throughout the evening. It must be weird standing on stage "performing" scales, exercises, and bits of music for people who point and mutter to each other, "What's that guy doing up there?"
Robbie found plenty of kids to play with, as he always does. Last night he spent a lot of time enjoying the sand.
As we left, we walked through the Veterans Memorial. Raise your hand if you know what this spot is used for.
I ran across this relic last night at Antelope Park. It sits next to the Auld Recreation Center. How many more phone booths are there in Lincoln? I can only think of one: Downtown at 14th and N.
We made the pilgrimage to Cristina’s Family Restaurant in Crete the other day.