(TAG Magazine is proud to bring Bob from Bob’s Whine and Dine to the TAGSGF.com team. He comes with great regard and a tremendous online following. I’ll let him explain his position: “I will not tell you whether you should or should not go to any particular restaurant – I’m only going to share my personal experience. I am not a professional writer and I’m not a food expert. I’m just a regular forty-something year old guy who wants to do a little whining.” We’re so geeked about having him on board that you’re going to get a review every day this week. Look for Bob’s Whine and dine every Wednesday.)

Crosstown Barbecue

Bob’s Whine and Dine

I visited Crosstown BBQ last week for lunch with my nephew. 416RM on the forums has been talking up the place so it was time to give it a try. I’ve actually been to Crosstown once before – many years ago – and at that time I remember being disappointed by the ribs and therefore never ventured back.

We arrived after 1pm for lunch and there were still quite a few folks in the dining room. We settled in and were quickly greeted by our server, given menus and had our drink orders taken. The menu is fairly standard for a BBQ place – beef, ribs, pork, hot-links, chicken and the standard set of sides.

My nephew chose the Bluto sandwich ($7.35) which had sliced brisket and a hot-link. I wanted to get a sampling of meats, so I ordered the lunch plate ($7.75) combo with beef and pork instead of the standard ham. I then added on a rib for an extra $2. I chose beans and slaw for sides and then added a full order of “Crosstown Fries” ($4) to share. Sauce is not on the table, so your server will ask you what kind you want – regular or spicy. I asked for both.

First thing to taste was the sauce that comes in little plastic cups. The sauce at Crosstown is different than other places. I found it to be a bit sweet and tangy – the hot version having the same basic flavor as the regular but with just the right amount of heat added to make it my favorite. I liked the sauce here and my nephew has a theory about what makes the sauce different so I’ll let him opine on that.

My sliced brisket was fattier than I’ve had at other places – not fat on the edges, but sort of rippled all the way through each slice. It was tender and had good smoked flavor – but I would rather the fat been rendered out more than it had. The pork was sliced, not pulled. It had a nice smoked flavor – which is something I’ve not had at the last 3 BBQ places I’ve visited – so I enjoyed that a lot.

The rib was St. Louis style. The bone pulled very easily out of the meat and the rib had quite a bit of meat on it. This rib reminded me of the ribs we used to get at Grandaddy’s before it closed. I could see myself eating a ½ rack – no problem.

The slaw was pretty good and the beans were ok. The “Crosstown Fries” are fresh-cut style with the skin still on. They tasted good, but like most fresh-cut types – weren’t all that crispy.

Service today was good – our server was very helpful in explaining the menu and getting our special requests taken care of. For the most part, my diet coke was kept full and I even got a cup to-go at the end.

Décor is simple here at Crosstown – but décor is not what you would come here for. I can also see where parking would be a bit tight as the lot is on the small side – you need to enter the lot from Rogers street as it is only a one way flow around the building.

Overall, I liked my lunch at Crosstown – my bias from the long-ago previous visit has been erased and I would have no problem going back.

1331 E Division St – (417) 862-4646

Crosstown website

Link to Health Inspections