There’s only one way to a man’s heart, and that is through his stomach.
There is no greater wisdom to keep your man happy than this one simple truthful insight, as I’ve found out in the 6 or so years that Mr J and I have been together. No matter how bad his day might have been – at the end of the day, all his worries go away as soon as he tucks in to some plate of something edible. It warms my heart to see him eat the dishes I cook for him with much gusto… this is, after all, the best compliment a chef can have.
But what’s more interesting is how a man delightfully finishes a whole slab of steak or rack of ribs after a long day at work. It’s mind boggling to think that men do have cravings too, and that it drives them (or should I say, “him”, as I’m not quite sure if I should collectively generalise the male populace based on my experiences with Mr J) crazy until they have satisfied their cravings.
One cold and raining Friday evening, Mr J and I decided to venture out instead of staying indoors like what normal people would’ve done when there’s a winter storm outside. He had cravings, and like a caveman hunter to his meat, Mr J had to have his ribs. Whether I liked it or not. Lucky for him, his girlfriend is his food partner as well – wherever there’s food, I’m sure to follow.
Especially if he’s buying.
So off we went to this place that everyone has talked about; to this place with the odd yet catchy name; to this place that is Ribs and Rumps.
What awaited inside those warm, wooden doors were beyond me – this steak and ribs joint was the 5 star of steakhouses. The Outback, Hog’s Breath or Lonestar had nothing on Ribs and Rumps: service, food and attitude. In short, this place totally rocked my socks off my wet and soggy boots!
First comes the wait and some margaritas
You look around and you see…
... some interesting ceiling lamp
Quirky salt and pepper shakers
And your chest bib for those messy sauces
The chest bib came in a big wooden bowl complete with towelettes, cutlery and a choice of tomato sauce and HP sauce. We should’ve known better: these were the useful instruments that we will be needing and using as a prelude to what would’ve been a fantastic show of food theatrics!
And before you know it, the food starts arriving!
Buffalo Wings
These buffalo wings were a delight – if you think some take away fried chicken wings are finger lickin’ good, you ain’t licked your fingers the right way yet. Although messy to eat, these babies were intensely flavoured with R&R’s own bbq sauce that you’ll forget your name, date of birth and who the current prime minister is… even for a few seconds.
Garlic bread
And then comes the ribs.
Mr J and I ordered a 1 kg ribs plate with chips and salad and decided to share it between us. And I’m glad we did – this whole rack of ribs were just enough to fill our bellies with it’s smokiness permeating through the bones and the meat literally falling off the bone. We would’ve licked the plate clean had social decency not stopped us. But alas, we had our reputations to protect and we would still like to show our faces again so we decided to hold our tongues from any planned embarrassing licking (of the plate, that is!).
Mango mousse with berries and vanilla ice cream
Now, if you have room for more, then I suggest you get some desserts. Somehow, a tray of dessert samples magically appeared infront of us as the delightful wait staff went through each of the desserts – chocolate mousse, sticky date pudding, cheesecake and plenty others. We opted for the mango mousse as it seemed nice and we weren’t wrong… it was just the perfect ending to a marvelous evening.
I should give special commendation to the fantastic staff on that night – everyone, from the bar staff, the Maitre d’, to the wait staff – were approachable, fantastic and just utterly friendly! The evening was well capped off with some friendly banter between Mr J’s Blues to the cashier person’s Maroons State of Origin teams. Moreover, the tip adjoining our payment was well deserved: this was excellent service from start to finish. Ribs and Rumps was definitely a fabulous surprise with it’s great food and fun & fabulous customer service!
…
Ribs and Rumps North Ryde
11 Talavera Rd, North Ryde
Ph 9805 1199
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11 Comments
I haven’t tried this one at North Ryde yet, but I used to visit the (no longer existent) one at Gordon regularly. Loved how things would be served on thick chopping boards with massive steak knives! The garlic mushrooms are good too.
i love the ryde ribs and rumps! super friendly and oh gawd the ribs are massive!
My list of “go for ribs” is filling up quickly!
The dessert looks yummy too.
OOh, I’ve never been to Ribs & Rumps! But it sounds like you had a great meal, and I know a certain someone who would love to go!
Ahhhh good old RnR!! You have to go the Mixed platter next time! A bit of everything good and their lamb ribs are the best!
Enough talk – I’m there! You had me with the photo of those glistening buffalo wings!
I love Ribs and Rumps! I normally go to the Manly branch – so far away but so worth the travel…
That dessert looks really, really good.
We used to live in Manly where they had a Ribs and Tubs and I always wondered what the food was like. We had vegetarian in laws and they didn’t really want to go there (hehe I wonder why?)
Those buffalo wings have my name written all over it! I eaten those since I left New York. I’ll be visiting RnR soon, me thinks
I visited RnR in mid September, the waitress’ service was excellent and the cheapest burger on the menu was very good, however the overall prices are too expensive and the Sunday surcharge of $5 pp was offensive as I didn’t recall reading this on your website. Considering a lot of business would be on a Sunday, it is ridiculous this fee is charged. The acoustics of the restaurant are terrible, it was almost full of people and you can hardly hear the people speaking at your own table because it is so noisy. I won’t be going there again or recommending it.