Featuring their grain fed, slow smoked short ribs, this is a feast for the serious carnivores out there.
We are back at Famous Dave’s at Abu Dhabi Mall, the very first of their outlets in the UAE and the very place they got us addicted to their style of low and slow smoked meats which we have been enjoying ever since across their wide network of branches across the UAE.
This visit too is a special occasion, and it’s to sample their very special, limited edition, RIB Volution Menu, that seems to have become the talk of the town, and, oh boy, they blew us away, again.
The Venue
It’s a weekday evening, but the place is quite busy, we are warmly greeted by Mike the manager and Annie who is our hostess for the evening, who shows us to a comfortable table in a quiet corner.
Soon she is back with the menus. Along with the main menu is a slim two-page special, RIB Volution menu, that is entirely dedicated to their insane, grain fed, slow smoked ribs.
The Food
There are three starters and three mains and then there is their showstopper, the humungous Big Daddy Platter featuring the biggest grain fed slow smoked rack of dinosaur ribs we have ever seen, it is definitely a sight to behold, absolutely amazing.
We are three very hungry carnivores, and it was hard to decide what to order, so we just decided to eat the menu, which was a first for us ever, imagine going to a restaurant and ordering the entire menu!
Soon Annie has us sorted with our drinks and the starters arrive, which was a pleasant surprise as they hardly took any time. Here’s what we ordered
The Starters
Quesabirria Tacos – Neatly plated on a neat round black slate platter come these soft tacos bursting with pulled, grain fed, slow smoked short rib topped with cheese, cilantro and pickled onions with their Tex Mex meat sauce, the meat is even softer than the corn tortilla and packed with flavour.
Trimmed Crusts Ribs Pate – an elegant, visually attractive plating of the short rib, this time it’s mashed with mayo, sour cream and herbs on sesame toast, amazing flavour, very light and a treat to the eyes.
Smoked Pulled Rib Corn Tacos – This is another superb dish, superbly presented featuring the rib meat in corn tacos topped with cheese, jalapeño mayo and salsa with some perfectly cooked fries on the side, this is one of the highlights of the meal, loved it.
We are enjoying the meal; the ambiance is soothing with tables placed far apart, so each has their own bit of space to enjoy the meal and the company Annie offers us drink refills and soon the mains are served.
The Mains
Louisiana Aromatic Rice and Rib – A perfect pairing of the slow smoked short rib and aromatic rice with their Tex Mex Sauce served with their house salad, a great meal we could eat daily.
The Belly Grinder – This has the short rib with their rich and sassy sauce served on a sesame baguette topped with cheese, a super delicious and surprisingly light sandwich.
The Highwayman -The slow smoked short ribs paired with their jalapeño mayo, the rich and sassy sauce topped with cheese on a multigrain bun with a short rib taco and fries on the side, perfect combination and ideal for those who are a little hungry
The Big Daddy Platter – This is the star of the show and an absolute mush have, a huge rectangular slab of black slate heaving under the weight of this gigantic, dinosaur rack of grain fed, slow smoked, bone in ribs that is a magnificent sight to see, we have never seen anything quite like this.
The ribs are surrounded with buttered broccoli, corn on the cob and mashed potatoes along with a nice peppercorn sauce, we just nudge the meat, and it falls off the bone, it’s soft, juicy and an absolute delight to eat, be warned this is for serious carnivores only.
The Verdict
So, we are completely stuffed, and it’s almost closing time, so we reluctantly take our leave, Famous Dave’s has done it again, a superb menu, expertly executed, bursting with flavours.
The ambiance is just right, the service is excellent and all this at s very reasonable price point has made Famous Dave’s a very popular place for a huge number of people, great work guys, see you soon.
The Contacts
With a good spread of locations across the UAE, Famous Dave’s is always just around the corner from where you live and for more information please call +971 2 615 6000 or +971 2 658 7863 for the Abu Dhabi Mall location.
