The Chain Restaurant With The Hands-Down Best Ribs

Unless you have a smoker and plenty of time on your hands, ribs are a barbecue classic that you probably want to leave to the professionals. Luckily, there are plenty of chain restaurants offering rib platters to fulfill your barbecue cravings, no matter where you find yourself in our great nation. We tried ribs from different chain restaurants, ranking them on merits of the barbecue sauce's flavor and the meat's taste and texture. While we would eat most of the ribs we sampled again, there was a clear winner that you should be racing out to try. Landing in the top place were the pork ribs from Texas Roadhouse. 

While Texas is a barbecue region often associated with brisket, Texas Roadhouse's ribs prove that Texas-style barbecue does ribs right, too. The racks came smothered in a rich and complex barbecue sauce that could make even the most measly and tough bits of meat taste fantastic. It was thick and plentiful, with the perfect trifecta of savory, sweet, and smoky notes. We could really taste how well the ribs were basted as they grilled due to that smoky depth. 

The ribs themselves offered an abundance of tender, juicy meat, with a robust and porky savoriness. Furthermore, the meat literally fell off the bone, leaving the rib completely clean and our mouths covered in barbecue sauce. A good measure of quality when it comes to ribs is just how easy it is to get the meat off the bone, and these ribs passed the test with flying colors.

Texas Roadhouse's ribs also received glowing reviews from customers on Reddit. One reviewer described the ribs as having a "beautiful, delicious crust" and being "fall-off-the-bone, melt-in-your-mouth tender!" Another customer chimed in, "As far as chains go ... they make the most solid rib." This says a lot considering that chain restaurants aren't usually held to high standards, especially with local and artisanal barbecue joints as competition. 

Many other customers also prefaced good reviews with how pleasantly surprised they were. But, as one Redditor put it, "People [dump] on chain restaurants, but anytime I've gone to Texas Roadhouse, it's [really] consistent, delicious, and always feels like a good value." Plus, we'll give Texas Roadhouse brownie points for originality as it adds personal touches to each location with different murals, as well as butcher shops that offer recipes and cooking tips for customers.

Of course, Texas Roadhouse is also known for its many different steaks, which we tasted and ranked. Just as the chain has mastered Texas barbecue sauce, its steak sauce is also delicious thanks to raisins, a secret ingredient that you can use to upgrade your own homemade recipe. Still, the ribs are one of the best things to order at Texas Roadhouse that aren't steak. You can pair your rib plate with other popular menu items like a side of steak fries or a loaded sweet potato with caramel and marshmallows, a side dish that could easily double as a dessert.