Regular readers of my blogs know that I am a rib-a-holic. I would travel to the ends of the earth for a tender rack of baby back ribs. Which is why when I was writing a previous blog about singer Justin Timberlake opening a new eatery in Manhattan that featured “finger-licking” ribs, my mouth started to water and I wondered how fast I could get a flight to the Big Apple.
Then it hit me… would an uptown celebrity-run restaurant really be the ideal place to get some meaty, fall-off-the-bone-tender ribs? I suppose… it’s not like Britney’s ex is the one manning the eatery’s grills. I figured I would make a note of the restaurant’s name—-Southern Hospitality–and check it out the next time I was in the city.
That was a few weeks ago. Now, I’m really anxious to visit Timberlake’s new place. Just a couple of days The New York Times published a review of Southern Hospitality and surprise, surprise the food critic raved about Justin’s ribs.
“They are juicy but not fatty,” The Times reviewer wrote of the $22.95 (for a full slab) baby backs. The newspaper foodie also complimented the ribs’ “crisp exterior.”
But, the news wasn’t all good. The newspaper’s food critic wasn’t exactly as generous with his review on the pork, which he called “cottony and dry, so far gone … that the meat repelled the sauce.” The reviewer suggested potential diners stick with the “mouthwatering” fried chicken, which he suggested would make a “good morning-after leftover if you can resist eating it all in one sitting.”
Southern Hospitality opened in July and has already attracted a bevy of celebrity customers, including Jay-Z, Lance Bass, Seth Green, Jamie-Lynn Sigler and the Rev. Al Sharpton. But, if you visit, don’t expect to see the 26-year-old owner “SexyBack” singer sitting in the booth next to yours. Timberlake told reporters he doesn’t get to the restaurant nearly as often as he would like.