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Rib report

Checking in on Jake's Boss BBQ and M&M Ribs

Jake's Boss BBQ
3492 Washington Street, Jamaica Plain; 983-3701
Open Sun - Wed, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Thurs-Sat, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
No credit cards
No liquor
Sidewalk-level access

M & M Ribs at Station 11
195 Adams Street, Dorchester; 825-9667
Open Thurs - Sat, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sun, 1 to 8 p.m.
MC, Visa
No liquor
Ramped access to location below street level

by Robert Nadeau

With the recent diffusion of barbecue out into the suburbs, it is interesting to note a modest revival of sit-down barbecue in inner-city Boston. It's not quite a trend, but here are two African-American-owned businesses doing well by doing ribs in mixed neighborhoods. Both pitmasters have local reputations, and they have completely different styles on nearly identical menus.

Kenton Jacobs, the "Jake" of Jake's, made his mark with Texas smoked barbecue at a portable stand, and for a glorious epoch at Jake's Q-for-U on Blue Hill Avenue. He then roamed as far as Lynn, and did an interesting stint among the fine barbecue revivalists at Jake & Earl's (he was not, however, the original Jake there). When Jake & Earl's closed to make way for the expansion of the East Coast Grill, the owners and other eminent chefs backed the development of his new place.

Across the street from Jamaica Plain's celebrated Irish-American bar, Doyle's, the new restaurant has a lot of standing room and some tables; there are some framed photos that used to be at Jake & Earl's, and a giant stuffed longhorn steer bursting out of a wall. My guess is that more tables will grow as the place is discovered, because some of Jake's barbecue is too good to wait until you get home.

The top items, based on my samplings, are the beef brisket (sandwich, $5; dinner $8.50; $12.95 per pound in bulk), and the "chopped BBQ" ($4.50, $9.95 per pound). The latter is stringy and crispy in the manner of the Carolina pulled pork at the East Coast Grill and the old Jake & Earl's, but loaded with smoke à la Texas. The former is what it always was -- tender and savory and a great vehicle for smoke.

Working through a "boss's plate" combo ($14.95), I also enjoyed the sausage, described as "andouille" but much milder than the spicy New Orleans original. Pork ribs were very good, and seemed less heavily smoked than the pulled pork. Smoked chicken seemed less smoky also, although the tenderness of the meat is hard to get without a low-temperature smoker. The beef ribs I had were mostly bone, and rather stringy. If you're a fan of Texas smoked beef, you might discuss this with the counter people, as a meatier beef rib, like short ribs, is one of the best vehicles for smoke cooking around.

Kenton Jacobs has always had some good ways of using smoke in his side dishes, and the way he makes his collard greens ($1.75 small, $3.50 pint, $6 quart), with some smoked pork trimmings, is very special. Likewise, the "cowboy beans" ($1.75, $3.50, $6) include some brisket morsels and strong dose of cumin for a chili-like effect. The cornbread has been criticized, but I think it works well either sopping up sauce or soothing the mouth after an overly spicy bite.

This kind of barbecue is sauced only after cooking; sauces are applied at the counter, and can be added by customers as well. The best of Jake's sauces is a sweet mustard sauce that doesn't mask the meat or smoke flavors. The mild smoky sauce my day had a flavor of uncooked beer; the hotter version was a typical hot barbecue sauce. Given the ties with East Coast Grill, I'd like to see a few bottles of Inner Beauty out there, or at least one of the simple hot-pepper sauces for adding fire without complications.

Desserts are limited to a very good sweet-potato pie ($2.29) and a yummy-gummy peach cobbler ($2.29). Chocolate bread pudding was -- of course -- already gone at my 6 p.m. visit.


MAURICE and Marion Hill are M&M, with some help from Maurice "Otis" Hill Jr. They've had a weekend stand on an empty lot at the corner of Columbia Road and Quincy Street every summer for 14 years. Maurice is from North Carolina, and his style of barbecue is slow-grilled over an open fire: a somewhat modernized version of the traditional Carolina "pig-pickin'." This gives M&M's meat a drier flavor with a hint of char, and much less smoke. Interestingly enough, I thought the best dishes were the same two I liked most with maximum smoke at Jake's: beef and chopped pork.

M&M's pork ($4 sandwich, $6.50 dinner) is chopped, rather than "pulled" like Jake's, so it has the texture of dry stew or coarse hash. The flavor is fresh pork, plus that hint of grill char, plus a Carolina tang of vinegar and a little red pepper. The beef ribs ($8.50 dinner) are meaty pieces, basically short ribs, again with some char on the outside, and a supreme juicy flavor. One sauce fits all, but it's a good one, with a balance of sweet and hot.

Again, the pork ribs ($7.88) are very good, helped along by their grill flavor, but I'm reserving judgment on the claim of "Best ribs in town." Probably true for Dorchester; might hit some resistance over at the Pit Stop in Mattapan.

Side dishes may show the influence of Marion Hill's Alabama background, especially the candy-spiced mashed sweet potatoes ($1.50). Collard greens ($1.50) are done salty and funky; kidney beans and rice ($1.50) are quite good. There's sweet fresh coleslaw ($1), crusty baked macaroni and cheese ($1.50), and a classic potato salad ($1) with a lot of celery. Soft rolls and good cornbread are the sops of choice. The only dessert on a Sunday was apple cobbler ($1.50), with nice chunky apple slices.

Sunday is a great day to go, as the background music shifts to well-selected gospel tapes, and the restaurant offers a buffet ($9.95 for adults, 50 cents per year old for kids) that features the usual menu, plus an occasional surprise like the hearty pork-foot stew on my visit.

M&M's new, permanent, indoor home is the basement of the police's old Station 11. There have been a couple of previous restaurants here, using as dining areas the interesting nooks and crannies of what used to be holding cells. Some of the bars remain, but mostly we have a neat, bare-brick restaurant with the smells of soul food and the reassurance of gospel music -- the homiest jail in the world.

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