Blue Ribbon BBQ (Arlington, MA)

Growing up, my parents made a huge point of always eating our dinners together during the week.  It didn't matter if my dad was coming home late or if my sister or I had after-school activities.  No matter what, we waited until we were all home and ate dinner together.  At the time, this rule seemed a little annoying, especially as I entered my teenage years.  But now, I really appreciate the sentiment and even try to establish a similar rule in our household.  Sure, it is a small household with just the two of us, but no matter what, Bret and I always make plans for the two of us on Friday evenings.  It is a time for us to unwind and reconnect after a usually long workweek.

This past Friday night was no different.  We actually decided to go out for dinner and decided to head to Blue Ribbon BBQ.  Bret adores a good barbecue, and he is a big fan of Blue Ribbon.  I like eating barbecued foods but I definitely don't love it as much as he does.  As a result, I've never been to Blue Ribbon before and I was ready for my inaugural visit.

Despite the pouring rain, there was a line out the door at Blue Ribbon.  Bret got there early enough to snag a seat and I saved the table while he waited in line to order.  While we were waiting for our food to come up, we grabbed a myriad of sauces, which included sweet barbecue, gold barbecue, chipotle and hot barbecue.  Of course, we also grabbed some pickles too.

I ordered a platter meal, which included your choice of meat, two sides and a slice of cornbread.  I opted for burnt ends as my meat.  I've never tried it before.  Bret said that my burnt ends didn't have as many burnt ends as usual but it was still pretty delicious.

For my sides, I ordered the collard greens and the mashed potatoes.  It was all so delicious but I barely made dents in either of my side dishes.

The cornbread was good but a little dry.  Still, it provided relief when I used a little too much of the hot barbecue sauce.

My first trip to Blue Ribbon was definitely a filling one but a fun Friday date night.

Blue Ribbon BBQ has two locations.  We dined at 908 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington, MA.