a sweet cheeks birthday!

last night we celebrated jackie's birthday at sweet cheeks. even though it was a five month late celebration, we made up for it by each eating five months worth of barbecue. less than 24 hours later, i find myself craving sweet cheeks again!

how cute is this setup: three different bbq sauces + utensils + our drinking mason jars. (because everything tastes better in a jar.)

i spy one of my favorite flags: T-E-X-A-S. it's like they knew i was homesick!

our meal started with two bucket-fulls of their famous biscuits. they are HUGE (like, size-of-my-hand huge), with a nice buttery crunch on the outside, and to-the-max pillowy fluff on the inside. everything about this biscuit is perfect.

i MUST mention the honey butter that comes with, because that's 50% of what makes this biscuit perfect. the whipped butter is so heavenly soft, and the honey sweetness is just so darn pleasant. i die.

then came our trays of meat and side scoops. i find that most meals served in trays are winners. here's my rib tray:

my two sides were mac 'n cheese and potato salad. the mac was legit, and the potato salad was in general pretty tasty. my only issue was that the potato was quite firm, while i prefer the potato in potato salad to be softer. as for the ribs, the naked meat is cooked well texture-wise, with good tenderness... but flavor-wise, without any bbq sauce, the flavor is pretty lacking. of course i solved that problem by dousing the ribs with bbq sauce. the sweet cheeks sauce is okay, but i prefer my sauce darker, heavier, and smokier. in the end, the ribs can't compete with anything you'll find in my home state... but as i am thousands of miles away from home, they'll do!

jesse ordered the short rib, and it was EPIC.

when it came out, we all stared at how huge it was. i had a bite, and this thing was awesome. good char, good fat, melt-in-your mouth delicious.

jackie's tray: pulled pork

i love that pile of meat! she was one of two smart people who ordered the broccoli cheese casserole as a side. it was cheesy and eggy (if a little salty), and i would definitely order that as a side next time.

we also shared fried okra.

we loved that it came like this, instead of chopped up pieces. the breading was tasty and uber crispy, and the okra itself was quite fresh.

then it was time for dessert: strawberry shortcake and butterscotch pudding.

how cute is jackie? we loved these both. the strawberry shortcake was made from yet another biscuit (win!), filled with whipped cream, a layer of lemon curd, and of course strawberries. the butterscotch pudding was equally if not more delightful - butterscotch flavored pudding with a layer of caramel topped with salt. yup, i was in happyland.

oh, and i think i found my favorite name for a beer.

sigh, sweet cheeks, i love you...

sweet cheeks

1381 boylston st

boston, ma 02215

617.266.1300