It is now possible to do a ribs crawl in Hyde Park

Now that I'm working at home, I've been eating more at Valois, which does a good job on food that's designed to sit in a warm place for a long time. They have an excellent short ribs, with a pungent tomato sauce that is a good foil for the gooey rubs. Other excellent long-braised/steamed meats -- they have a "beef stew" that is much more like a Hungarian porkolt (though it would definitely be a very American version of that), and a "lamb shank with spaghetti" that I think is sort of a back-door attempt to be Greek and serve lamb with a tomato sauce.

But back to the subject line:
we also have Ribs-n-Bibs, a Chicago classic, albeit with mixed reviews here:
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=53288#p53288
and

Cedars (of Lebanon), a middle eastern themed restaurant with a real chef (not just a glorified felafel joint) has pomegranite-glazed short ribs that were actually a bit too gooey -- when I had them, the meat really was falling apart, almost like pulled pork, and the "glaze" was a liquid in a side dish as a dipping sauce -- but they tasted really wonderful.

All on 53rd St, about four blocks from beginning to end.

This sounds like a prime entry for the Events board to me.

I haven't been there yet, but if you continue going east and south two blocks, there's also Hyde Park BBQ & Bakery at 1660 E. 55th.

There was also Hyde Park Barbeque and Bakery (55th and Hyde Park Blvd, open occasionally), which has just recently morphed into The Big Easy, with Cajun-Creole items added to the menu. I understand it's the same pit crew, which turned out decent hickory-smoked ribs for a few months, so I'll check out what's happening there now this week.

edit: was typing while Binko posted. As above, Hyde Park Barbque and Bakery has been replaced by The Big Easy.

But if you're coming down this far for a ribs crawl, you really might as well do Uncle John's, Lem's, and Barbara Ann's.

I will check out The Big Easy this weekend. Four places for a rib crawl is enough for me!

Matt, are the other places you mentioned BBQ places, or do they have ribs "on their own" also? I ask because I tend to be allergic to something in BBQ sauces. Cajun too, sadly. I suspect the Big Easy will be a one-timer for me, even if I really like it.

The allergy is nothing serious, but after one try at Ribs 'n' Bibs, I've only gone to Cedars (pomegranite ribs) and Valois ("regular" tomato sauce). So I enjoy having these two kinds of ribs that I can really enjoy close to my home, but it's much less exciting for me to do a *BBQ* rib crawl.