Post by Okwes on Jan 31, 2006 10:46:58 GMT -5
Famous Dave's Tickles the Ribs
Monday, January 30, 2006
www.gilroydispatch.com/news/contentview.asp?c=178058
Cameron Curry spreads barbecue sauce over ribs as Jose Gorgua flips
over a rack during a free rib day in front of Famous Dave's in the
Gilroy Crossing shopping center.
Photo by: Chris Riley/Staff Photographer
Nellie Ortega, right, from Gilroy, and Virginia Ramos, from San Juan
Bautista, try a free sample of Famous Dave's Ribs.
Photo by: Chris Riley/Staff Photographer
By Rachelle Gines, Special to the Dispatch
Gilroy - Plain old English just doesn't seem to do the ribs justice
at Famous Dave's restaurant.
"The ribs are slab-ulous. In fact, they're snoutstanding," John
Costello said over the sizzle off sauce-slathered meat on the grill
at the restaurant's recent rib tasting.
Costello, director of operations for the local franchise, made sure
everyone who stopped by sampled enough ribs to bring them back for
the opening Monday of the first Famous Dave's restaurant in
California.
The Famous Dave's movement began in Hayward, Wisc. in 1994, and has
now made its way to the Gilroy Crossing shopping center off Highway
152. Clouds and rain couldn't keep curious shoppers from the free rib
tasting Jan. 14, as the wind whipped sounds of blues music through
small clusters of people who gnawed on ribs while smoke from the
grill swirled around them.
Under Founder Dave Anderson, who is Native American and a member of
both the Choctaw and Chippewa tribes, Famous Dave's has won more than
150 regional and nationwide awards. Mark Cohen, General Manager of
the Gilroy location was quick to point out what separated Famous
Dave's award winning ribs from other ribs.
First, Cohen emphasized that St. Louis Style ribs are used instead of
baby back ribs, meaning a larger rib and more meat. Secondly, he said
the ribs are not boiled because boiling removes the natural flavor of
the meat.
"These are the bestest ribs in the world. They're spork-tacular,"
Cohen said in the swine-speak popular with employees.
Cohen went on to explain the difference of the ribs at Famous Dave's
is also due in large part to a three step process. It begins with a
special dry rub followed by smoking the meat for several hours. The
last step involves grilling the ribs over hickory wood from Texas so
the sauce becomes caramelized and the ribs are marked by the grill.
The process seemed to work for Juan Carlos Saldana, 11. The Solorsano
Middle School student huddled under a blue tarp with his family away
from the rain and wind, while licking barbecue sauce off his fingers
from his second helping of ribs.
"Heck yeah I would tell my friends to come here," Saldana said. "They
have way more meat than other places."
A small, flying bronze pig crowned with a halo is stationed above the
front door of the restaurant, poised to greet customers. The
restaurant opens into an inviting space with light wood-colored
paneled walls leading customers into two dining rooms and a bar with
five televisions and eight beers on tap.
Cohen said the comfortable feel of the restaurant combined with the
friendly staff at Famous Dave's go a long way to ensuring people feel
welcome. In order to make sure people feel especially welcome, Cohen
said servers give first time customers a "sauce tasting."
Much like wine tasting, a server conducts a sauce tasting with Famous
Dave's five different types of sauces. The server explains to the
patron each of the sauces have different blends of spices, different
bases like vinegar or tomato, or go better with different kinds of
meats.
Although Famous Dave's signature food is ribs, the menu offers a host
of other items that include country-roasted chicken, Georgia chopped
pork or Texas beef brisket. For others, there is sweet and sassy
grilled salmon or streethingyer catfish. Children can enjoy smaller
portions form the lil' Wilbur menu. And for a place that serves up
lot of meat, Cohen says that hot fudge kahlua brownie for dessert
can't be beat.
Costello says for a true Famous Dave's experience, the All-American
BBQ feast lets people sample everything the restaurant is about. Good
for four or five people and served on an the upside down top of a
clean metal garbage can lid, the feast features a full slab of ribs,
one whole chicken, a half-pound of brisket or chopped pork and five
side dishes.
Famous Dave's joins a growing number of new restaurants that have
come to the Gilroy Crossing Shopping Center. Larry J. Mickartz of
InfoPower Communications said restaurant franchises came to Gilroy
after noticing the large amount of revenue Applebee's brought in.
"For awhile there, Applebee's was one of the only restaurants and it
was always busy. Always. You go for lunch. There's a line. You go for
dinner. There's a line," Mickartz said.
The boom of new housing is another reason restaurants have come here,
Larry F. Cope, Gilroy Economic Development Director said.
"The housing growth and the level of income it brought with it make
it attractive for new business to set up here," Cope said.
There will be a "rib" cutting at 11am Monday in front of Famous
Dave's, 6925 Camino Arroyo.
For more information call 842-1400 or visit www.famousdaves.com.
Monday, January 30, 2006
www.gilroydispatch.com/news/contentview.asp?c=178058
Cameron Curry spreads barbecue sauce over ribs as Jose Gorgua flips
over a rack during a free rib day in front of Famous Dave's in the
Gilroy Crossing shopping center.
Photo by: Chris Riley/Staff Photographer
Nellie Ortega, right, from Gilroy, and Virginia Ramos, from San Juan
Bautista, try a free sample of Famous Dave's Ribs.
Photo by: Chris Riley/Staff Photographer
By Rachelle Gines, Special to the Dispatch
Gilroy - Plain old English just doesn't seem to do the ribs justice
at Famous Dave's restaurant.
"The ribs are slab-ulous. In fact, they're snoutstanding," John
Costello said over the sizzle off sauce-slathered meat on the grill
at the restaurant's recent rib tasting.
Costello, director of operations for the local franchise, made sure
everyone who stopped by sampled enough ribs to bring them back for
the opening Monday of the first Famous Dave's restaurant in
California.
The Famous Dave's movement began in Hayward, Wisc. in 1994, and has
now made its way to the Gilroy Crossing shopping center off Highway
152. Clouds and rain couldn't keep curious shoppers from the free rib
tasting Jan. 14, as the wind whipped sounds of blues music through
small clusters of people who gnawed on ribs while smoke from the
grill swirled around them.
Under Founder Dave Anderson, who is Native American and a member of
both the Choctaw and Chippewa tribes, Famous Dave's has won more than
150 regional and nationwide awards. Mark Cohen, General Manager of
the Gilroy location was quick to point out what separated Famous
Dave's award winning ribs from other ribs.
First, Cohen emphasized that St. Louis Style ribs are used instead of
baby back ribs, meaning a larger rib and more meat. Secondly, he said
the ribs are not boiled because boiling removes the natural flavor of
the meat.
"These are the bestest ribs in the world. They're spork-tacular,"
Cohen said in the swine-speak popular with employees.
Cohen went on to explain the difference of the ribs at Famous Dave's
is also due in large part to a three step process. It begins with a
special dry rub followed by smoking the meat for several hours. The
last step involves grilling the ribs over hickory wood from Texas so
the sauce becomes caramelized and the ribs are marked by the grill.
The process seemed to work for Juan Carlos Saldana, 11. The Solorsano
Middle School student huddled under a blue tarp with his family away
from the rain and wind, while licking barbecue sauce off his fingers
from his second helping of ribs.
"Heck yeah I would tell my friends to come here," Saldana said. "They
have way more meat than other places."
A small, flying bronze pig crowned with a halo is stationed above the
front door of the restaurant, poised to greet customers. The
restaurant opens into an inviting space with light wood-colored
paneled walls leading customers into two dining rooms and a bar with
five televisions and eight beers on tap.
Cohen said the comfortable feel of the restaurant combined with the
friendly staff at Famous Dave's go a long way to ensuring people feel
welcome. In order to make sure people feel especially welcome, Cohen
said servers give first time customers a "sauce tasting."
Much like wine tasting, a server conducts a sauce tasting with Famous
Dave's five different types of sauces. The server explains to the
patron each of the sauces have different blends of spices, different
bases like vinegar or tomato, or go better with different kinds of
meats.
Although Famous Dave's signature food is ribs, the menu offers a host
of other items that include country-roasted chicken, Georgia chopped
pork or Texas beef brisket. For others, there is sweet and sassy
grilled salmon or streethingyer catfish. Children can enjoy smaller
portions form the lil' Wilbur menu. And for a place that serves up
lot of meat, Cohen says that hot fudge kahlua brownie for dessert
can't be beat.
Costello says for a true Famous Dave's experience, the All-American
BBQ feast lets people sample everything the restaurant is about. Good
for four or five people and served on an the upside down top of a
clean metal garbage can lid, the feast features a full slab of ribs,
one whole chicken, a half-pound of brisket or chopped pork and five
side dishes.
Famous Dave's joins a growing number of new restaurants that have
come to the Gilroy Crossing Shopping Center. Larry J. Mickartz of
InfoPower Communications said restaurant franchises came to Gilroy
after noticing the large amount of revenue Applebee's brought in.
"For awhile there, Applebee's was one of the only restaurants and it
was always busy. Always. You go for lunch. There's a line. You go for
dinner. There's a line," Mickartz said.
The boom of new housing is another reason restaurants have come here,
Larry F. Cope, Gilroy Economic Development Director said.
"The housing growth and the level of income it brought with it make
it attractive for new business to set up here," Cope said.
There will be a "rib" cutting at 11am Monday in front of Famous
Dave's, 6925 Camino Arroyo.
For more information call 842-1400 or visit www.famousdaves.com.