CLEVELAND -- A sign splashing a glow of red declares "Eat More Meat" once you set foot inside.
Iconic chef Michael Symon is giving Cleveland another place to sink their teeth into his famous food.
Welcome to Mabel’s BBQ. It's the latest to set up shop on E. 4th Street in downtown, nestled next door to Symon's well-known Lola restaurant.
Mabel's BBQ, which opens April 11, is named after a bullmastiff Symon once had.
“She was literally the slowest-moving dog to ever caress earth,” he said. “You could time her with a calendar. If she started at the front door and you were giving her ribs in the back, it would take her eight minutes to get there. It’s the perfect name for the restaurant. She was one of the more special dogs I ever had. Barbecue is slow. The brisket takes 18 hours, almost as long it would take Mabel to get to the back of the restaurant.”
Those comments came during our in-depth interview with Symon, who sampled some of Mabel’s BBQ ribs with WKYC’s Hollie Giangreco during a special sneak peek inside.
PHOTOS | Inside Michael Symon's new Cleveland restaurant: Mabel's BBQ
App users can see a photo gallery of Mabel's BBQ HERE.
“My belief on barbecue is if it’s great, it doesn’t need sauce,” Symon said. “All of our meat will come to the table without sauce.”
But a mustard-based sauce, which Symon explains as “Cleveland-y” will be available.
“They make Heinz ketchup in Pittsburgh, so there is no red barbecue sauce at our restaurant ‘cause that’s not what we do. … We smoke all of meats over apple and cherry woods. The ribs take about three hours, brisket takes 18 hours, beef ribs take 15 hours. But when you get here the food will be on your table in about eight minutes.”
Also on the menu is Symon’s answer to Cleveland’s famed Polish Boy.
“There’s the less known about Polish Girl. This is a spicy, smoked cheese kielbasa. It’s topped with chopped pork belly and coleslaw.”
Symon said he has been talking about opening his own barbecue joint in Cleveland for 10 years, and has been working on it for two.
What else is on the menu? Symon posted a picture of what you can expect from Mabel’s BBQ on his personal Facebook page. Feast your eyes on it below (app users can see it HERE).
April 11th here we come!! Mabel's BBQ
Posted by Michael D. Symon on Wednesday, April 6, 2016