Went today for lunch with a friend. We shared the shrimp and grits and the cheese puffs for appetizer, she had the short ribs chimichurri and I had the Memphis ribs. We also shared a taster of each of their beers.
The shrimp and grits were outstanding - tasty, and the grits had a nice rustic texture. You get a large mound of grits with 4 large shrimp, and it could easily be a light meal.
The cheese puffs were my favorite - I want Carlos to give me the recipe for them because they were fabulous!! It's like a little bun with creamy cheese filling - Gruyere? Not sure, but the bartender told us that it's not really a filling; they make the little dough balls and it bakes into a filled bun. Uh, yum! You get three of them, and you'll wish you had more.
The short ribs were wonderfully tender, so finally somebody knows how to cook them properly. The chimichurri is more of a marinade than a sauce - tart, garlicky, aromatic. It came with some pretty good mashed potatoes and seasoned sauteed veggies.
The Memphis ribs were very good as well. They're dry (as Memphis ribs should be) so don't be looking for BBQ sauce. And frankly, the meat doesn't need it. It's always a good sign when a chef will send his ribs out naked and they can stand on their own without sauce. Very tender and just a hint of smoke - not overpowering. I got them with french fries and a surprisingly good cole slaw. I wasn't sure what a "pineapple" slaw would be like, but it was quite tasty: tart but not mayonnaise-y, with a pinch of sweet fruity flavor, and good crisp veggies.
The portions aren't huge, for which I am grateful because I wanted to try a lot of different stuff and wasn't looking forward to some gargantuan entree. I blew off most of my fries because although they were good, I didn't want to waste tummy room on them.
The beers:
The IPA and pale ale were a little hoppy for my taste, but that's to be expected because they're a hoppy beer anyway. The golden ale was delicious, as was the dobble. I'm not a huge porter fan but the bartender insisted we try it - it wasn't heavy at all and had a nice robust flavor, much better than most porters I've tried.
It wasn't crowded but there were quite a few tables, and I didn't think the noise level was bad at all. Carlos says he's having baffles installed to absorb some of the sound - he saw on here that some of you were complaining about it. And Jay, our bartender/waiter, was awesome with a terrific personality!
So I'd definitely put Ruddy Duck in my restaurant rotation. There's a bunch of stuff I want to try, but it's going to be hard to get me off those cheese puffs.
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