Uncle Pete's: The Best Barbecue in... Boston

Which I know sounds like the fastest animal in the sloth pen, but still, they produce pork ribs as good as, say, Fat Willy's (B+), and beef ribs better than I've had anywhere. Which is not all that many places, admittedly, but still, they're good enough to move me to post this, so.

There is nothing authentic about the place; it's run by a local Bostonian (Pete), and his wife, who is Thai. Everyone working there has a wicked accent, either Boston or Thai. Pete & wife learned barbecue by traveling the South on fact-finding missions, like barbecue anthropologists. They are happy-- eager-- to talk about their methods; they both make the rounds a few times a night. Last year, they moved their restaurant from East Boston to Revere; the old place was in an old Dairy Queen, which I would have liked to have seen. The new place has naugahyde booths and forgettably kitschy western paraphernalia; but you don't come for the atmosphere.



So. The meat is wood-smoked, either hickory & oak or apple, depending on the meat. The beef ribs-- the beef ribs!-- are "Texas Style," which means nothing to me, but which I would gather has something to do with a spice rub, a lot of smoking, and late-stage bath in a slightly sweet sauce. The sauce isn't too sweet; it's works with the rub & smoke to give it a flavor that's striking, but not distractingly complex-- it's only complex if you're concentrating on it. I would guess there are some nontraditional elements in the rub (cumin?), but it isn't off-puttingly weird. Like: whatever funny business may be going on, it's three layers deep, and the immediacy of its deliciousness overwhelms your urge to analyze (at least for the first few bites).

What I'd say is: they're not trying to call attention to their barbecue genius, they're just trying to make really good barbecue. Which they do.

The beef ribs are enormous. You can't really tell in these pictures, because there's nothing to give it a sense of scale, except maybe the row of pork spare ribs in the second picture. Four of us ordered a rack and a half of the beef ribs (18), and a half-rack of the spare ribs (6), and only through sheer force of will were we able to finish 2/3 of them.





The sides are above par, especially fries and the baked beans and the Asian slaw (the menu has a number of Thai touches). But do not get distracted: come for ribs. I am told the brisket is good, too; next time I'm in Boston, I'll tell you. Or: anyone?

This place is 6 minutes from Logan airport (take Rt 1-A north out of the airport, then take a left on Rt 60; it's on your left, half a mile).** Should you have reason to visit Boston, and also like barbecue, you will be doing yourself a favor by coming here.


Uncle Pete's Hickory Ribs
72 Squire Rd (Rt 60)
Revere, MA 02151
(781) 289-7427
http://www.unclepetes.com
cash only


** I think.

Nice pics. Unkie Petes is def'y my favourite spot in Boston for 'cue, and probably the only place in town that does well with beef bbq. Their brisket was smokey as hell last time I tried it, yet not overly so and not dried out boring. I've always been curious about the beef ribs.

Others may claim Blue Ribbon to be better, but not IMO.

daveco_hen wrote:The beef ribs-- the beef ribs!--

Daveco,

Beef ribs look good, nice smoke ring.

daveco_hen wrote:I would guess there are some nontraditional elements in the rub (cumin?), but it isn't off-puttingly weird.

Cumin added to rub for beef is not unusual in the least. Matter of fact chili powder, which contains cumin, is the basis for many a Texas style rub.

Thanks for the BBQ gastroporn pictures.

Enjoy,
Gary

After 2 years living in Boston, I actually ran Pete's #2 to Blue Ribbon. Pete's does have good ribs but Blue ribbon does everything ellse better. They don't heavily pre-sauce theri meat and their sides are very good. Moreover they know what a biscut is rather than those sawdust things that NO ONE LIKES lol. The "biscuts" at Pete's have been the laughing stock of the Beantown Chowhounds for as long as I can remember.

http://www.blueribbonbbq.com/
^^
locations here... the one in West Newton is the better of the 2 but both are good.

Do they still have Blue Ribbon at the Whole Foods/Bread & Circus (have they dropped that name yet?) on River St. in Cambridge?