This Award Winning Chain Restaurant Has Some Of The Best Ribs You Can Buy, According To Reviews

In a world full of both high-end and more humble restaurants offering ribs, it can be difficult to discern exactly where you should spend your money. We've figured out that steakhouse ribs tend to be more tender than homemade ones, but there's nothing like fall-off-the-bone pork ribs from a barbecue joint. Famous Dave's might not initially register as a hotspot for ribs, being a chain, but this restaurant, with locations in 30 U.S. states plus Canada and other international locations, is a worthy contender. To read reviews from a wide variety of sources, Famous Dave's ribs might not just be good — they may be great.

One Yelp user was effusive: "[E]very time I come here I feel like eating ribs and they don't disappoint. The ribs that play competition ribs I mean, they couldn't be more perfect." DreamTeamBrudah of YouTube questioned whether the ribs might be the best ever, noting, "Yes, Lord [...] it ain't tough, perfect texture. Mmm!" 

Meanwhile, a visitor to an Eau Claire, Wisconsin location raved on Facebook: "I went Georgia Mustard for the St. Louis Spareribs and Sweet & Sassy for the Memphis Baby Backs. Both slabs were between falling off the bone but still having the snap." Meanwhile, a TikTok user enjoying a sampler platter of Famous Dave's BBQ offerings had a clear favorite: "It was all about these award-winning ribs. I sucked the bone dry." Sure, you could attempt to make the best ribs of your life with a maple syrup marinade, but why not follow the reviews to enjoy Famous Dave's ribs instead and save hours of prep?

Lest you think that Famous Dave's is just another BBQ shack (albeit a widespread one), think again. "Famous" Dave Anderson was already an award-winning pitmaster when he opened his first eponymous restaurant in 1994, in Hayward, Wisconsin. Anderson had spent a quarter century touring the United States and sampling BBQ to get a sense for quality and variety — this is definitely someone who knows the difference between Carolina and Texas-style ribs! — and concluded that the Deep South had the most memorable 'que. Back then, the proteins were smothered in his renowned sauce and smoked low and slow over hickory wood, the same way it is today.

In 2011, the People's Choice Awards dubbed Famous Dave's to have the "Best Ribs in America." Famous Dave's famous sauce was also lauded as the best in the country at the prestigious Best In The West Nugget Rib Cook-Off. The chain has amassed tons of awards, both local and nationwide, since its inception and continues to be called out for excellence by reviewers.

Not content to rest on its laurels, Famous Dave's still makes ribs the old-fashioned way. Pitmasters show up at restaurants in the wee hours to fire up the smoker; that way, the BBQ has time to reach full smoky, delicious perfection. Does Famous Dave's actually have the best ribs in the country? That's a bold claim, and heaven knows there are plenty who would challenge it. Consider stopping by your local outlet and ordering the ribs to judge for yourself.