Cozy Basement Bar with Great Taps, Redbone’s, Boston

Redbone's

The Barbecue Truck

I was trying to decide where to meet my old friend Dr. Randall for food and drinks in Boston. A few folks had suggested Bukowski’s, which did seem like an interesting spot, but a friend at work threw out some more suggestions which included Redbone’s. While investigating the possibilities, I saw that Redbone’s was tapping a special Ommegang beer, their new Adoration. That sealed the deal and Dr. R and I made our plans.

When I arrived, I found the main bar to be packed with folks and a wait for dining. Dr. Randall showed up and we realized there was a basement bar. This was a really great spot, a cozy, dimly lit space with a wooden bar and many taps. We ended up liking it so much we didn’t want to go back upstairs for dinner and just ate at the bar.

Adoration

Ommegang’s Adoration was a properly spiced Belgian style ale, a little in the Christmas beer direction with coriander, cardamom, grains of paradise, cumin, and mace to balance the maltiness. I think this may have been the first time I’d had a Belgian style ale from an American brewery that wasn’t afraid to spice it up. While not the best I’ve had (I tend to favor Dutch breweries on the basis of the spices or Belgian Christmas beers), this was impressive and I would get again. In fact, I did get another that night. I would not hesitate to recommend this beer.

I was quite impressed by Redbone’s other taps, there were 20+ taps with selections ranging from locals to regionals to American craft brewers. In fact, Jessica and I later went back with some friends to find that they were having a cask conditioned series from Green Flash along with several of their beers on regular tap.

Corn Fritters

Buying a goblet of Adoration earned me a half-price appetizer. Not wanting to pass up a good deal, we decided to get a plate of corn fritters. These were made in house and served lightly coated with maple syrup and enough extra to act as a dipping sauce. A little sweet, but crispy, just the way I like them.

Barbecue Sampler

El Cid ruined me forever with epic Texas barbecue on a few recent visits, including this year’s barbecue tour. I will always have my doubts about barbecue in the North. But I was game and, as is often the trend, way over-ordered by getting the Barbecue Belt platter. This was a sampler of  brisket with Memphis, Texas, and Arkansas ribs which arrived in a somewhat unappetizing, awkward meat pile on a plate. As you can see from the dimly lit photo, the beef brisket really wasn’t that moist and really pretty disappointing. I was quite impressed with the Texas style beef ribs. They were smoky and quite tender, really the prize of the plate. The Memphis pork spareribs and Arkansas country style pork ribs were lesser than the beef ribs, but easily better than the shameful brisket.

Pulled Pork

Dr. Randall ordered the pulled pork and seemed to be quite impressed. I was told that the barbecue sauces were good at Redbone’s and Dr. R got one of each on the side to try out. There was a lot of pulled pork on the plate and was fairly tender, but a little dry. I’m generally anti-sauce for this very reason. If you’ve done the barbecue right, you don’t need sauce and this pulled pork needed it. But, it wasn’t terrible by any stretch, more in the adequate realm.

In spite of my anti-Northern barbecue sentiments, I was impressed with Redbone’s beef ribs and would be fine getting those again. That said, the rest of the barbecue menu seems a little hit or miss. In the end, Redbone’s basement bar is a great, cozy spot with great beers on tap, really one of my favorite spots of the trip.

The Fourth Dimension

Verdict: Redbone’s is taking it to the Fourth Dimension.

Tags: barbecue, beer, belgian beer, boston