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Our dining party requested two orders of mac and cheese, two orders of collard greens, one order of deep-fried deviled eggs, one order of Slap Yer Mamma Fatty prime brisket, one order of Duroc pulled pork and one full rack of Duroc pork ribs. Also, one pulled pork sandwich, an order of beef fat potatoes and some jalapeno cornbread. Not that we needed all that for our meal, but once you’ve tasted how good the food is at Riverside BBQ Company, you want to sample as much of the menu as you can.
Hunter S. Thompson homage aside, Riverside BBQ Company, located in the newly revitalized locale dubbed Ostrich Towne, just off Summit St near Cherry St, is one of Toledo’s newest culinary stars. Housed in a former warehouse that’s been remade into a restaurant and performance space, Riverside BBQ Company smacks you from the moment you walk in.
Music+BBQ=a winning combo
Music+BBQ=a winning comboOn the night our party visited, members of the local band Chloe and the Steel Strings were in the house, hanging up flyers for their album release party taking place the following week at this new music venue/eatery. Music runs deep at Riverside BBQ Company as owner and barbecue master Paul Matthews also plays synth and lead vocals for local psychedelic band Robot Mama. The restaurant has been open since late summer and they have been known to run out of menu items; owner Matthews takes that as a compliment.”I don’t care if we only have seven things available as long as those seven things are perfect,” said Matthews.
This all-or-nothing culinary approach becomes apparent from the first bite of food. The brisket, which is smoked for 14 hours before serving, is some of the best you can get in Toledo. Absolutely everything we ordered was top notch. Take the deep-fried deviled eggs, first cousin to the British favorite, the Scotch egg. Slightly sweet with a satisfying crunchy shell, it was difficult to share them with the rest of the table. Or the beef fat potatoes, which are infused with a rich smokiness that puts them in a class all of their own. The pork ribs are smoked, then slathered with a sweet and tangy sauce that makes you want to lick your fingers afterwards—table manners, be damned.
An affinity for Summit St.
A native of La Salle, Mich., Matthews is a restaurant and barbecue veteran, previously employed by Biaggi’s, where he helped open restaurants all over the country. He also worked at now-defunct beef eatery The Que in Port Clinton.
Riverside BBQ Company is housed in the former Metropolitan Distributing warehouse. Matthews chose this spot to open his business because he spent much of his youth cruising Summit Street, hitting up Theo’s and Murphy’s Place, then bouncing across the river to Frankie’s to catch a show.
“We’d come through here and see The Griswolds and Johnny Reed and the Houserockers. I love this street. So when this was available, I looked at it for two years and I said ‘You know what? I like this,” explains Matthews. Now part of the revitalized Ostrich Towne, and across the alley from Molly’s Irish Pub (a great place to get a pre-dinner pint of Guinness), Riverside BBQ Company delivers the goods.
Overall, the cooks at Riverside BBQ Company know their way around a grill, serving up some impressive meat dishes. Great food, great venue, great atmosphere. Riverside is the perfect culinary anchor for the fresh new take on downtown life that is going on in Ostrich Towne.
Riverside BBQ Company, 915 N. Summit St.
4pm–9pm Tuesday –Thursday, 4pm–10pm Friday and Saturday
419-913-9450.
riversidebbq.company
