Randy's Ribs and Barbeque, Southern Maryland Ribs and Barbecue in Hughesville

[cjreid]

While searching the internet for a barbeque spot in southern Maryland, I happened across Randy's Ribs and Barbeque in Hughesville ... never heard of the place and I don't know southern MD. Placed an order for brisket and coleslaw for 35 adults ... it was terrific. The slaw had just the right amount of sweetness ... the brisket was thinly sliced and came with two great sauces ... hot and mild. Randy recognized me as a first time customer and through in a pan of pulled pork and a pan of ribs at no charge ... he wanted us to have a taste of everything. The food was the hit of the party. I sure wish Hughesville were closer to Alexandria ... Id be a repeat customer.

[Joe H]

This place is legandary dating back to at least the '80's. Charles county bbq used to receive a great deal of publicity in the Post and Washingtonian. As the Post used to write about the many open pits at length they should deputize a writer to explore them today.

[nelumbo]

Driving along Rt 5 between Waldorf and Charlotte Hall, you will come across a BBQ shack pumping out a plume of smoke along the northbound side of the road. Randy's Ribs and BBQ shares a parking lot with a hunting supply store, directly across Rt 5 from the newish solar farm.  There are a few picnic tables alongside the shack, but most people seem to either eat in their cars or get carry-out.

The menu includes ribs, sandwiches, beef, chicken, and a variety of sides such as chili, fries, collards, mac n cheese, and onion rings. Randy's also does catering.

I drive frequently along Rt 5 between DC and Leonardtown, and was hoping to find a nice little bbq shack to stop at for dinner sometimes on the way home. The kind of place with succulent, mouth watering bbq that makes the long drive to southern Maryland worth it. Unfortunately, Randy's is not this place.

I've ordered the pulled pork and pulled chicken a number of times - the meat is swimming in a cloyingly sweet sauce, and is reminiscent of the kind of sandwich you might get from a nondescript food truck at a street festival or county fair. I can't tell at all from the flavor how the meat was cooked.  There are some bottles of sauce on the counter that include a Carolina sauce that is less cloying than the regular sauce, so maybe this can be substituted on the sandwiches instead?  More recently, I've been ordering the half smoke, which is decent, but then I don't have much half smoke experience to compare it with. On the plus side, the fries are usually piping hot from the fry vat.

I should note that I have not tried the ribs - if the pulled pork had been really good, I might have been willing to deal with the mess factor of eating ribs in the car, but no such luck.

[DonRocks]

Driving along Rt 5 between Waldorf and Charlotte Hall, you will come across a BBQ shack pumping out a plume of smoke along the northbound side of the road. Randy's Ribs and BBQ shares a parking lot with a hunting supply store, directly across Rt 5 from the newish solar farm.  There are a few picnic tables alongside the shack, but most people seem to either eat in their cars or get carry-out.

The menu includes ribs, sandwiches, beef, chicken, and a variety of sides such as chili, fries, collards, mac n cheese, and onion rings. Randy's also does catering.

I drive frequently along Rt 5 between DC and Leonardtown, and was hoping to find a nice little bbq shack to stop at for dinner sometimes on the way home. The kind of place with succulent, mouth watering bbq that makes the long drive to southern Maryland worth it. Unfortunately, Randy's is not this place.

I've ordered the pulled pork and pulled chicken a number of times - the meat is swimming in a cloyingly sweet sauce, and is reminiscent of the kind of sandwich you might get from a nondescript food truck at a street festival or county fair. I can't tell at all from the flavor how the meat was cooked.  There are some bottles of sauce on the counter that include a Carolina sauce that is less cloying than the regular sauce, so maybe this can be substituted on the sandwiches instead?  More recently, I've been ordering the half smoke, which is decent, but then I don't have much half smoke experience to compare it with. On the plus side, the fries are usually piping hot from the fry vat.

I should note that I have not tried the ribs - if the pulled pork had been really good, I might have been willing to deal with the mess factor of eating ribs in the car, but no such luck.

Thanks for this information - I've still never been to Randy's Ribs, but I see it's only 12 miles across Route 488 from Johnny Boy's Ribs (which was not very good the last time I tried it several years ago, but I'm hoping that was a one-off). Have you been to both?

[nelumbo]

Ooops, I did a search and didn't find this thread already started - I probably searched on the Baltimore board though (forgot this one isn't in St. Mary's).  I haven't been to Johnny Boy's. There are a few trucks/smokers set up in parking lots along Rt 5, but I usually see then driving southbound in the morning and sadly can't find them again driving northbound in the evening.

I've seen a lot of really positive review for Randy's, but I have been there at least half a dozen times and was never impressed. Maybe late-ish on weekend evenings is not the best time to eat there?

[Simul Parikh]

Interesting, never knew people would come down to Randy's or Southern Maryland, for that matter. This is the biggest food desert I've ever experienced, and when I work in St. Mary's county, I hardly ever eat, that's how I keep this girlish figure. I work at Waldorf and Charlotte Hall, so I pass by Randy's pretty much every day. It's not that great, chopped pork is okay, ribs are okay, sauces are middling. There is one over the bridge/Rt 231 in Calvert that isn't bad, can't come up with the name, we used to go there once in a while. There was another one in Charlotte Hall, Griffin's, it was so-so and closed down. Lefty's in Charles County is pretty good. Only thing around here that's good are the crab shacks (Captain Billy's, etc.), Stoney's, a French place in Leonardtown, and the deli at Nick's in Waldorf and Prince Frederick. It's always hell trying to pick a place for the clinic Christmas party, if we do Prime Street Grill again I'm going to shoot someone. Going to suffer with some terrible Chinese-American at Old Beijing today. Sigh... Glad I like taking care of the good people of the tri-county, b/c food is a fiasco here. 

[ohstate]

I have a place in southern Calvert - we generally don't stray from Solomon's Island for dinners (crossing the bridge to St. Mary's county is rarely worthwhile), although we'll boat to lunch to a few places along the Pax river.  SInce we dine out so much during the week in Alexandria/DC, we mostly cook at home on the weekends down there.  Our go to place is the CD Cafe in Solomons (have spotted a DC chef dining there).  We have a friend who swears by the Belle Maison on the island. We went once, but found it a tad stuffy for island living. I've only been to the french place in Leonardtown once, and would not go back. The food seemed as if they opened a frozen box and heated it up. If you like Stoney's, you might want to try one of the two versions on the Island for your Christmas party - both have party rooms and the same basic menu. We've done retirement/going away parties at Stoney's Solomon's Pier in their upstairs room with fair success. The other is Stoney's Kingfisher, where we once held our office holiday party.  As for ribs, my husband makes the best in his Big Steel Keg smoker. We stop at Nick's of Calvert on our way south to pick up weekend ingredients. Best butcher in Calvert county. We pick up seasonal produce at Chesapeake's Bounty.

I had a post in an old southern Maryland thread a few years back. There are more options on the island these days, so perhaps I should update it.  Tiki Bar opening is only a few weeks away. Not that you would want to combine that with trying to eat out on the island...

Also, Stoney's is taking over the old Clark's Landing space. I don't think they've opened yet, but they had a nice party room as Clark's.

[nelumbo]

 Going to suffer with some terrible Chinese-American at Old Beijing today.

It is better than New China or Hot Pot....yes, I have eaten at the sticky table in New China. On Saturday, I had to detour through Waldorf on my way home  (usually take Mattawoman/Beantown and skip most of the main drag) and noted that there is a Peruvian chicken place where 5 breaks off from 301. I am hoping it will at least be no worse than the sad peruvian chicken joint near my house (Pollo Cabana).

[Simul Parikh]

New China and Hot Pot are absolute disasters. Hot Pot doesn't even have hot pot. There is a pollo place right by Pembrooke in the plaza with the BAM! and Bed Bath and Beyond and Chipotle. It's good, 1/4 chicken dark and 2 sides is under $7. I haven't tried the one where 5/301 splits. There is a passable Korean place in Waldorf. There isn't one Indian place in Charles or Calvert, but there is one in St. M's that not bad, Bollywood Masala. Even if you ask, they are very hesitant to make the food spicy, which is kind of annoying.

With all the money in the tri-county, you figure the people would be clamoring for better food options, but they get more excited about BW3 or Margaritaville opening up. Hopefully, it will get better in the next few years.

[nelumbo]

With all the money in the tri-county, you figure the people would be clamoring for better food options, but they get more excited about BW3 or Margaritaville opening up. Hopefully, it will get better in the next few years.

Every time we drive past Cheddar's in Waldorf in the evening, the parking lot is packed to the gills.

I drive between upper PG and Avenue (St Clement's Bay) several times a month. Any food brought in the morning will be left in a hot car all day, so that limits options. By the time we are driving back, we are exhausted and starving, and with a long drive and somewhat late hour, we usually don't want to detour much at all from the usual route. Thus, we have ended up at almost every single establishment on Rt 5 between Waldorf and Avenue. North of Waldorf, 301 is just a wasteland. With all the new housing construction, I am hoping that the new mall on 301 in Upper Marlboro that currently has a Petco, Safeway, and Bojangles will also open something with real food. Or even just a Panera.

[ohstate]

There was a place in La Plata that used to get good reviews, but I haven't heard anything recent.  Was it Casey Jones? 

[DonRocks]

There was a place in La Plata that used to get good reviews, but I haven't heard anything recent.  Was it Casey Jones? 

You might be conflating Johnny Boy's (ribs in La Plata) with Crossing at Casey Jones (also in La Plata, but a sit-down restaurant that had a good, inexpensive wine program, and pretty far away from Johnny Boy's).

Dining in La Plata, which means "The Plate" in Gorgonzolan.

[nelumbo]

There is a pollo place right by Pembrooke in the plaza with the BAM! and Bed Bath and Beyond and Chipotle. It's good, 1/4 chicken dark and 2 sides is under $7. I haven't tried the one where 5/301 splits.

Waku Chicken ( where 5/301 split in Waldorf) has a menu that is somewhat oddly half peruvian chicken, and half Greek (gyros, souvlaki, etc). Extremely generous portions of sides with smallish chickens. Some of the sides  looked terrible - like the mixed vegetables that were clearly from a frozen veggie mix a la elementary school cafeteria, but the green beans weren't half bad and the plantains were nicely caramelized. Chicken moist but could use more flavor.  1/4 dark plus two sides (sides were probably a pound of green beans and at least three entire plantains), $7.  Can sneak into the parking lot from northbound Mattawoman-Beantown by turning left just before the railroad tracks and cutting through a gas station.

[nelumbo]

Second hand info: Lefty's Barbecue in Waldorf had a "grand opening" this weekend. It had closed a while back (two years ago?) due to a fire. Their website also indicates that they are open again: http://leftysbarbecue.com/ordereze/splash.aspx

eta: A Steak in the Sack (seems to be a localish greasy spoon chain also in Temple Heights and Fort Washington) may be opening in the empty Griffin BBQ spot in Charlotte Hall.