Rosie's BBQ & Grillery9012 Tampa Ave
Northridge
818-349-3055
Anytime I see BBQ and Grillery, I know that the ribs are not going to be smoked. A real pitmaster would never have a grill. But I decided to try Rosie's anyways, mostly because of a Yelper, Rachel B. spoke so highly of it, though she is weird and doesn't eat any meat with bones attached.
Wednesday night they have an endless slab of baby back ribs, $18.99 with one side, mashed potatoes. I knew right away the ribs were cooked in an oven and finish on a grill because the ribs were too hot to pickup with my hands. The slab pictured had a lot of tender meat but as I worked towards the ends there were tons of fat and grizzle. This happens because the ribs are cooked at an high temps thus the fat isn't allowed to burn off.
Service was bad. As I was being seated I passed by the server station and three servers were standing and talking, even though there were plenty of people at the tables. About five to seven minutes later the server arrives and ask if I'm ready to order. Not even taking drink orders. This is not acceptable. The server should have come by earlier and should have taken a drink order. I knew what I wanted to eat but servers should take drink orders first. I asked for gravy on the mashed potatoes but as you can see I got dry mashed potatoes. I didn't eat much of it because the ribs were so filling. After I was finished with the first slab I had to wait at least another five minutes before the server came around. I got a batch of six ribs, still with a lot of fat, but while I was eating them the two guys next to me were moved to a booth because the area I was sitting in was reserved in thirty minutes. How did I know? Because the host told a bus boy and another server. Now I didn't feel rushed and I would have taken my sweet old time but restaurant staff shouldn't talk shop around other customers. I ask for my check and I am waiting at least another five minutes before he comes and takes the money. Now the place was getting busy but not too busy, so there is no reason for the long wait. Just terrible service. The server was nice enough but just too damn slow.
What is the difference between Rosie's and Wood Ranch? For ribs they are about the same, though Wood Ranch ribs don't have that much fat. Service wise, Wood Ranch is much better.
I would not go back to Rosie's, at least for the ribs. The ribs are just OK and have too much fat on them. Of course service is bad.
