Ribs & Fried Chicken @ The Stockyards

I've been dying to try the Stockyards' famous fried chicken and ribs for a long long time! I had a fabulous brunch experience and couldn't wait to come back for dinner! This time, I managed to drag my mom along on my little food adventure.

The restaurant itself has very limited seating, so if you live nearby, take-out is highly recommended.

Naturally, the waiting area was packed with people waiting for their takeouts.

At first, we weren't really feeling for ribs, especially because my mom wasn't a big fan of ribs in the first place. But we had to endure a 45-min wait, all the while staring at some very enticing racks of ribs in the display case. In addition to that, we were informed that the ribs were selling out, so under all that pressure, we succumbed and reserved half a rack.

The veggies of the day also looked pretty good, but we decided against ordering it after seeing the gigantic portions.

And finally we were seated, and right in front of the deep fryer too! I was super excited to see all the action in the open kitchen.

My mom and I totally underestimated how substantial a half rack of ribs ($13) was. It was definitely a sizable portion, and I couldn't imagine trying to demolish a full rack. I had previously read many reviews that described these ribs as extremely tender. To my surprise, they were not fall-off-the-bone tender and had a good bite. My mom actually preferred it this way because it maintained the integrity of the meat (she's not a big fan of mushy meat). But above all, the ribs had an incredible smokiness that was simply scrumptious! The flavours were amazing and minimal sauce was needed. I especially loved the charred ends and the fatty bits.

And of course we had to order their other specialty- Stockyards fried chicken dinner ($14)- four pieces of buttermilk-marinated chicken served with fries, coleslaw, and hot sauce. I'm not overly picky about fried chicken, so I thought these were delicious, but they weren't mind-blowing. In fact, I preferred the fried chicken in the brunch version that I had last time.

As expected, the portion was massive, especially that pile of thin cut fries. My mom and I both enjoyed the fries a lot, as they were fabulously crispy. But even after devouring one too many, there was still a mountain of fries left in the basket. In the end, the only item that we managed to finish was the coleslaw.

My mom happily consumed our leftovers over the course of the next two days

Before the meal, I had my mind set on ordering their pulled pork sandwich. But no regrets that we opted for ribs instead. I think it speaks a lot that my mom, who never showed much interest in barbeque ribs, actually liked these ones. I will definitely be back to try out their sandwiches and burgers!