Al And Irene's Bar-B-Q House- Cedar Rapids, IA

No, Cedar Rapids is not considered a hot bed of BBQ. But I would say it is the cereal/oatmeal capital of the world. Quaker Oats operates the largest cereal mill in the world here in Cedar Rapids. So Al and Irene have a tough task filling the air with yummy smoke aroma over the dominating odor of maple/cinnamon oatmeal wafting over from the mill.

The first impression of the joint was the kick-ass El Camino in the parking lot. They should buy that off the customer and just park it permanently outside the door. Without question, it would be the dominating decoration. There wasn't much atmosphere inside. The only thing on the pale cream walls were menus. But who cares, I'm not there for the art decor.

I think our Midwest couple take their cues from the Missouri neighbors to the south. The ribs were fall off the bone tender covered in a very sweet and light sauce. In fact, it was closer to sweet 'n sour sauce than a thick, hardy BBQ sauce. I ordered the Pork Back ribs with a side of potato salad and sweet tea. I don't put a lot of stock in sides, but the sweet tea was good. And the most curious piece on the plate was two slices of white bread stuck together by butter. I guess you'd call it a butter sandwich. I called it the perfect mop to soak up the pond of BBQ sauce left on my plate.

There was nothing spectacular about the ribs. The meat did come off the bone extremely easy. In fact, most the meat was off the rib before it came to the table. The meat had a nice taste but I would have like to try it without the sauce. For $6.30, it was a good portion of ribs.

All in all, Al and Irene are doing okay in CR. I'm not saying after your visit to the Field of Dreams you should make a special detour here. But it was nice to visit another BBQ joint and see a pretty cool ride in the parking lot.