Ribbee's.

Ribbee's

Ribbee's serves only ribs, and they all come in the same $20 meal box with fries, slaw and a roll, which is what Jonny White meant when he said he wanted a cheaper way into Goldee's cooking.1

Why go

Jonny White co-owns Goldee's and this one is his. He told Texas Monthly why he built it: I really wanted to do a cheaper option for people to get barbecue.1 He found a lease closer to downtown Fort Worth in an old Sonic drive-in that a previous barbecue tenant had already fitted with a dining room and a working kitchen, then narrowed the menu to one thing. A massive M&M rotisserie in the back smokes dozens of racks at a time, about ninety a day, which is why Texas Monthly found the full menu still available late into the evening.1 The rolls come out of the same white-bread dough they use at Goldee's, brushed with honey butter.1

Order this / avoid

• Order: the beef back ribs. Daniel Vaughn: It's hard to find back ribs, which are cut from the ribeye, with a good amount of meat left on the bone. It also takes a good long while in the smoker to get them tender, but Ribbee's does them well.1
• Order: the pork ribs dusted with the Goldee's seasoned salt. White told Vaughn he prefers the deep red color it gives them, and said that would be the seasoning going forward.1
• Order: the hot honey sauce, which adds chili powder, paprika, cayenne, red pepper flakes and more honey to the original Goldee's ketchup-mustard-and-honey base.1
• Order: the root beer over vanilla soft serve. That is the whole dessert menu.1
• Avoid: treating it as a drive-in. It looks like one and you still have to get out of the car.1

What locals & experts say

• Texas Monthly, Daniel Vaughn: Those beef back ribs were something special. It's hard to find back ribs, which are cut from the ribeye, with a good amount of meat left on the bone.1
• Jonny White, co-owner, on the point of the place: I really wanted to do a cheaper option for people to get barbecue.1

Good to know

• It exists so you do not have to queue at Goldee's. Kevin Gray's own routing: If you don't have a half-day to spare, Goldee's has a more laid-back offshoot called Ribbee's that focuses on—you guessed it—ribs.4
• Jonny White's own model for the format was like a Wingstop and a [Raising] Cane's, combined, but for ribs.5
• The site was a Bonefire Grill and, before that, a Sonic Drive-In, on East Seminary just east of 35W, picked to sit closer to I-20 and 35W than Goldee's does.5
• The trading week has moved since it opened. The house now trades Wednesday to Sunday and shuts in the early evening; Texas Monthly's opening-year piece printed a Thursday start and a night service.21
• What $20 buys: a canned drink and a full meal, either four or five baby backs depending on size or two beef back ribs from HeartBrand. A $10 kid's meal gets two pork ribs, fries and a roll.1
• The line moves. Vaughn counted ten people ahead of him before opening on a Saturday, which is a different proposition from Goldee's.1

Verdict

should-visit — Texas Monthly's barbecue editor ate here and printed a real judgment about the beef back ribs and the meat left on the bone, which is a harder thing to get right than the pork. The room holds no award of its own. What makes it worth the drive is the argument behind it: White built a $20 fixed box because good barbecue had stopped being affordable, and the box is the same crew's cooking.