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| - Michael Symon can do no wrong in my eyes, so I was super excited to check out his newest creation. Let me tell you: Mabel's Barbecue is the bomb!
You're going to have to wait quite a bit of time to get a table here, so it's best to just know that going into it. My first attempt at Mabel's a few months back was thwarted when my party of four was told we would have a two and a half hour wait for our table (what?!). This time we wizened up and came at an off time - around 4:45 PM on a Friday evening. Our wait was only around 15 minutes. The space is very nicely decorated, with a plethora of both communal tables and smaller tables. We were seated at the end of a communal table, and our waiter greeted us promptly!
We ordered a round of drinks to start. I had the peach daiquiri, and it was delicious! A perfect balance of rum with a hint of sweetness. I would highly recommend it as a refreshing companion to your barbecue. For our meal, we ordered three a la carte meats: the ribs, pork belly, and brisket, along with numerous side dishes. The general consensus was that the meats were phenomenal, but the sides were a little less impressive. We all agreed that the ribs were our favorite. The dry rub was out of this world, and the housemade barbecue sauce (with Cleveland stadium mustard, of course) blew us away. The brisket was also notable (ask for the lean cut)! The sides were still delicious, but not up to par with the barbecue, in my opinion. The potatoes were my favorite side we tried, while the greens, beets, and baked beans were less impressive. They definitely focus on the barbecue here rather than the sides, but that's okay when the barbecue is as good as it is! Make absolutely sure you try the pickles that come with each meal - they were some of the best pickles I've ever had!
All in all, Cleveland is still a little lacking on the barbecue scene...so Mabel's is a very welcome addition to the city, and definitely a must-try!
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