Red Dog Saloon - Hoxton Square, N1

There isn't that much actually wrong with the food at the Red Dog Saloon; sadly at times there wasn't that much right either.  Things started well with some solid if slightly dry buffalo wings and decent blue cheese dressing.

Mild in comparison with the wings at Wishbone and with none of the crunch and mess as well.  The steamed shrimp were a bit mediocre but pretty inoffensive and small enough to crunch down on with the shells as well.

Our main event was the carnivore platter for two; pork ribs, beef short rib, smoked sausage, pulled pork, and half a chicken.  You get two sides per person so we had the collard greens, coleslaw, fries, and a cup of chilli.

I think I shot myself in the foot here as I'd read this from the Critical Couple.  There was talk of the best barbecue they'd had in the UK and it got me a little excited...

The ribs were impressive; juicy and deeply smoky and still with plenty of meaty texture.  The smoked sausage was great and would have been wolfed down in a soft white roll if I'd had one.

The chicken wasn't bad at all either, still fairly moist, and had some good spice on the outside.  Sadly and strangely though the short rib was dry and the pulled pork was pretty weak without the help of some of the Kansas or Carolina sauces on the table.

The cup of chilli turned out to be a chipped bowl of some insipid meaty soup with a handful of grated cheese on top.  Everything else was fairly average...

I think if I'd gone without expectations I might have enjoyed this more.  That said it is actually pretty authentic inside (it reminded me of a Longhorn Steakhouse) and if I'd just been drinking beers and eating wings (cheap) I'd have probably been a happy man.

As it stands at sixty seven pounds for two without alcoholic drinks it needs some work.