Ruben’s Rib Shack is the kind of restaurant I like, a small hole-in-the-wall kind of restaurant with people who are seasoned regulars. Old men sitting around talking and everyday people who are going to take your order, people who look like they are trying to make an honest living and make their restaurant continue to succeed. “The shack”, located on Clinton and Fresno St. had a sign posted on the door that said “Better than Famous Dave’s” and people’s signatures which I assume were the signatures of people who believed the statement to be true—I was automatically intrigued. Ruben’s had their menu written on a large chalk board and the daily sides and soda flavors were written on a white board. The entire restaurant seats about 12 people.

I love BBQ pork and BBQ chicken so my first assignment was figuring out what I was going to eat because they had both offered in sandwich form or as a meal. I chose to get the pulled pork sandwich which was $6.99 by itself and then I made it a combo with one side and a drink for $1.50 more. I was able to choose my one side as chili beans and a Coca-Cola for my drink. I took my order to-go because I was by myself and felt a little uncomfortable taking up a table that could seat four people for just me.  My total came out to $9.25 which is a little pricy for me since I am always on a budget, but I was willing to give it a chance.

I waited four minutes for my meal to be ready to go. The lady brought my food out bagged up for me and told me where the plastic silverware and napkins were that I could take. I grabbed a couple napkins and a straw and headed out. The first thing I noticed was that the drink was about 12oz, an extremely tiny drink in my mind. I was still hopeful, however, convincing myself that I didn’t need a huge soda anyways. I opened up my sandwich and it was surprisingly large. It was about 8inches long and had a perfect amount of pulled pork on it. Not too much, not too little. My first bite was amazing, but after I worked my way through the sandwich a little more I started to realize that the meat was a little dry, probably over cooked. I ended up not finishing the sandwich and moved on to my chili beans.

Holy chili beans. They were the perfect amount of spice, not too hot, but enough to make your nose start running. I was so impressed that I wished I would have ordered an entire bowl of chili. I didn’t, however, see any cornbread on the menu which I think would have complimented the chili perfectly.

Overall, I would not recommend ordering the pulled pork sandwich because I have definitely had better sandwiches at other places—like Famous Daves for instance. I probably won’t return to Ruben’s Rib Shack unless I am craving chili because it was too expensive for my budget and I cannot afford to spend another $9 and not thoroughly enjoy my food.