Fried Oysters (served with chipotle mayo) $6.99
Redbones has been serving up excellent Southern barbecue in Davis Square since 1987. "Pitmasters" prepare the meat at Redbones using the authentic Southern method of smoking it over an open pitfire. The restaurant has won countless awards, most notably Best of Boston, Barbecue in 2000, 2002, and 2003. I know, it begs the question, who won all the subsequent years?
The reigning champ (up until 2009) for best barbeque was Blue Ribbon Barbecue in Arlington. But the two places really are quite different beasts and serve different purposes. Blue Ribbon is mainly a take-out place with hardly any seating. Redbones, on the other hand, has two floors of seating, 28 beers on tap, a festive ambiance, plus much more non-BBQ Southern dishes.
We decided to check out Redbones the other day to see if it was really worth the hype. Keep in mind this place often has lines out the door on weekends. Fortunately, we were able to land a table on a Saturday afternoon without any problems. Here's a peek at some of the food we enjoyed.
Sweet Tea in big jars! For some reason, I always feel that a place is much more Southern if it serves its drinks in these huge jars. Other places locally that do that include Hungry Mother and Tupelo.
Top Left: Cornbread Top Right: Fried Okra $3.99 Bottom Left: Succotash (Lima beans, corn, peppers & onions) $3.99 Bottom right: Hushpuppies (fried cornbread, flavored w/ scallions and garlic, served with vinegar sauce) $2.99
All of these were excellent! I especially enjoyed the deep fried okra and my succotash, but honestly, everything here is good!
Pulled Pork Sandwich (Solo $6.49 / Plate $8.99)
Slowly smoked pork, "pulled" & served with cole slaw, onions, pickles & sauce on a toasted roll, by itself, or with beans & potato salad
Fried Catfish Sandwich (Solo $6.49 / Plate $8.99)
Spicy fried catfish on a bun with lettuce, tomato & tartar sauce, comes by itself or with potato salad & cole slaw.
Catfish Combo $16.99 - $18.99
Catfish & Pulled Pork (or your choice of any other BBQ) served with Potato Salad & Cole Slaw
Final Thoughts
You can't go wrong coming here for a fun and delicious Southern meal. The BBQ is excellent, and I would highly recommend trying a pulled pork sandwich or anything with fried catfish. The fried appetizers, like the hush puppies, okra, and clams, are also fantastic. Excellent food, low prices, festive atmosphere, 28 draft beers - what's not to like?
I guess everyone has already figured that out, which would explain the endless long lines.
Redbones
Davis Square
55 Chester St
Somerville, MA 02144
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