I am all for sprucing up the neglected end of Federal Hill, especially when it comes in the form of a BBQ place. However, RUB fails to deliver on several accounts. For the sake of keeping this establishment in business, I'll begin with the positives. The place is well decorated and shows really well, the interior is lively, with the perfect amount of Texas kitsch. The drink menu is substantial and certainly earned the approval of my girlfriend with spiked lemonades and things of that nature. There was a guy playing guitar at the bar, regardless of his mediocre playing abilities; this was by all accounts a good sign.
Now on to the negatives. Service was marginal at best. I understand that I am at a BBQ joint, and I personally dislike "over-attentive" servers, but this was bordering on ridiculous. I think we may have woken the hostess from a nap; she was groggy and overall very irritated. The server was ok, although we felt rushed out of our table on a night when the place was half empty. The food was uninspired and overall quite unimpressive. From a menu that reads with so much potential the plate fell way short of expectations. If there are ribs left on my plate, this is a VERY bad sign. Overall, I would say find out for yourself if RUB is your type of place, if all else fails, at least they give away cool matches.
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