Putting the BB in BBQ - continued
Smackin' Lips At Robb's Ribbs
by Larry Greenly, Photos by Sergio Salvador

Robb has discovered some sauces don't work well with certain woods.  For example, he says his sauces and mesquite are not compatible, but hickory works well.  His sauces, Robb's World Famous Original and Habanero, have captured the Best BBQ Sauce Award at the National Fiery Foods Show not once, but twice.

Before lengthy smoking, meat is rubbed with Robb's Rub and is considered finished while there is still a little "chew" left.  "At some places," he says disparagingly, "you shake the bone, the meat falls off."  He doesn't consider that good barbecue.

Robb admits his beer selection is a reflection of what he liked back in his beer drinking days.  Besides a nice assortment of bottled beers, there's always two tap beers - currently, Pilsner Urquell and Samuel Adams.

But wine is what really separates Robb's from the humdrum.  Robb is a professed wine lover, owning a collection of about 700 bottles at home.  At his restaurant, he stocks an impressive selection ranging from Zinfandels to pricey Cabernets.  He also sells the locally made Gruet Pinot Noir and sparkling wine.  Unlike some restaurants, he tries to keep wine affordable by being conservative in his price markups.

Robb likes to cook more than just barbecue.  In fact, he'll cook just about anything from corn dogs to hoity-toity cuisine.  His renowned wine dinners - five course meals with wine - are special treats for people in the know.  Past wine dinners have included cold-smoked Kobe rib-eye steaks with red chile sauce, wild boar chops with currant sauce and polenta, beef Wellington, and even his unique, seared pate de foie gras, deglazed with port wine and balsamico.  The wine dinners run about $75 per person.  If you register with his database, he'll notify you of upcoming dinners.

Wine tastings are also held on an occasional basis, but groups can always schedule them and sample up to five wines - from modest to great - for about $8 per person.

Robb's signature dish is his famous ribs, but his best-selling is probably the beef brisket.  A typical combo plate comes loaded with smoky ribs, brisket, coleslaw, beans, crusty Le Paris bread and his green chile cheese corn pudding which resembles cornbread.  You won't leave hungry.

The gospel of Robb is now online.  Mail orders of his barbecued meat and ancillary products are shipped directly from an Iowa facility, which he keeps stocked with his rub, sauce, wood mixture and know-how.

In his "spare" time, the amazing Robb also caters for up to 3,000 people using a fully-equipped truck that can travel anywhere.  But with 12-plus hours every day at his restaurant, Robb has to pry time off for other interest.  Fortunately, his right-had partner Janice Gillen seamlessly fills in during any absences.

One passion he always makes time for is hunting; once an avid bird hunter, he now just hunts fish.  He's gotten so good at fly-fishing that he gives lessons in the spring and fall, teaching groups the basics of knot tying, flies and fly-casting.  Upon graduation, he and his students all go on a field trip.  He says, chuckling, "Basically, they pay for my fishing trip."

Chef Sam Etheridge of Sandia Casino's Bien Shur knows and loves Robb's cooking and counts himself lucky to have experienced a Kobe beef wine dinner.  Chef Sam also sells Robb's Ribbs at Bien Shur and uses (what else?) Robb's own barbecue sauce and wood. He says, "Although Robb runs a casual rib place with great food, he also knows fine dining and does that at his restaurant - it's not the normal rib place."