The great Hamilton BBQ search

I wouldn’t say we’re Southern BBQ connoisseurs. Well, let me rephrase that – I’M not a Southern BBQ connoisseur, but my hubby is. He grew up in the Southern United States, where biscuits, pulled pork and all that good stuff are staples - standard dinner fare.

When living in Toronto, we stumbled upon a southern BBQ place that would fast become our favourite restaurant/general hang out place – we took all our friends there, out-of-towners, family, you name it. Highway 61 on Bayview Ave. became our favourite go-to spot (especially on Monday nights) for its cheap beer, live blues and excellent BBQ.

I’ll admit, of all the things I knew I'd miss about Toronto, not being able to go to Highway 61 regularly was definitely one of them. (Call me sad!)

Needless to say, finding an equivalent (or even somewhere half as good) as 61 became a priority for us early on in our Hamilton experience.

Last week, driving up Locke Street, we stumbled upon Rolly Rockets. Not much to look at from the outside, but it had parking and a neat slogan (“We Put The South In Your Mouth”), so we decided to give it a try.

Rolly Rockets doesn’t have the “take a seat and a server will be right with you” feel of Highway 61. Instead, you order at the bar, and make yourself comfortable at one of the picnic tables while you wait.

Hubby assures me that this is what a “real” southern BBQ place should look like.

We ordered our ribs (which, incidentally came with fries, coleslaw and beans! One bonus point for Rolly Rockets.) and sat down.

The food arrived, and it was….Delicious! In actual fact, these were some of the best ribs we’ve had in awhile. (Two bonus points for Rolly Rockets).

After we had finished, the owner (or it may have been the manager...)came over and asked us how our meal was. He explained that the restaurant has been open for about a year, and told us about all of the different events held there (Karaoke Fridays for example!) and generally made us feel very at home and welcome. (Three bonus points for Rolly Rockets, and we’re sold.)

As my hubby said, I think we may have found our new 61 - but that said, we're definitely still on the lookout for more BBQ gems in the Hamilton area.