Jay T.
Yelp
So I haven't been to the original in a while, I live east now so I frequent the east side location. But today I was on central so I went to the west side so I stopped in about 2:30pm on a not so hot Saturday afternoon. The sweet tea was on point and perfect. I also ordered a combo fried basket of Onion Rings, Okra, Mushrooms and zucchini with Ranch. It came out surprisingly fast and was super hot and all items were fresh and delicious. Bomb onion rings! I ordered the small combo with spare ribs and 1/4 chicken white meat. With Coleslaw and Mac and cheese. The Mac many would probably say was just pedestrian, curly tube noodles and creamy cheese. BUT I LOVE IT LIKE THAT. I'm not a fan of baked Mac. It's so dry and in appealing, this I savored each creamy forkful. It cost an extra .99 cents but with it because I can't eat another potato ANYTHING, I swear... why can places get better sides than potatoes of some sort??? But then, I digress. This was amazing Mac. I also liked the Coleslaw. There's is chopped, not shredded. And just a few flecks of carrot or red can ice throughout. And about every 4-5th forkful, a piece of pineapple chunk. This wasn't sweet, kinda savory with a hint of sweetness. Not tangy either. But coarse ground black pepper, which I also do when I make slaw. And very moist. Not Dry. Still has a puddle in the bottom of my bowl when finished. I like my slaw like that. The meat this trip however, fell a little short. My chicken was very dry. And lost if the skin had no browning or seasoning on it SSI if having been smoked. Maybe another chicken was lying on my chickens it didn't get exposed to the smoke or something ? But it had no smoke flavor, flabby skin. And was very dry. I was dipping every bite into the bbq sauce. When I've had the chicken in the past, it's always been a nice Smokey flavor and a nice brown skin from the smoker. So something went amiss on this batch. Also my ribs. The tips were burnt. Like black. And the meat tough there. Near the bone it was still tender, and it was mostly tender but the top layer was just like it had been put on a flat top and left for a bit and got over heated? And seemed to be missing the honey glaze. My plates normally got a little puddle from the ribs dripping, these were dry. I still highly recommend Rib Hut. Anyone can have a bad day. And the Sides and appetizer were all perfect and wait staff was super attentive. It's still the same 'ol' Place with the hot pants Curtains on the windows. Full of UTEP nostalgia. and beside and get the sweet tea!