Reds Barbecue

I'm a southern girl and I believe anything past Birmingham is the North. So you can imagine my surprise when my mother informed me that she was moving to Leeds. Would it not be closer for them to travel to France? My mother has lived on the south coast for nearly all of her life, so this was to be a big change and a chance to experience a whole new area with new culture and new traditions... and pie barms. 

This was 18 months ago, so as you can imagine, I have visit Leeds now a couple of times and the city itself is a very vibrant and exciting place, with one of the best shopping areas I have ever come across. There are also plenty of culinary treats to try (Shears Yard and Friends of Ham are highlights), so on this particular visit, Rob and I tried out Red's Barbecue. 

As London barbecue fangirls, we were reticent about the North's take on our favourite food. But Red's didn't disappoint. The whole style behind Red's as a concept is very exciting - using barbecue as a 'religious' experience and quoting from 'The Good Book' was something I've never seen before and gave it a different edge.

I started with the Bourbon Cask Smoked Manhattan made with Wild Turkey Rye (recommended for bourbon lovers!) and chilli chocolate bitters smoked in bourbon soaked oak. This was a fantastic start to our meal. My cocktail was brought in a decanter, filled with smoke and poured out in front of me. I wasn't expecting this level of theatre from a casual barbecue restaurant, so the pleasant surprise put me in a fantastic mood. The drink itself was delicious, sweet and smoky.

To eat, I went for the Jacob's Ladder Beef Rib - my personal favourite, accompanied by Sweet Potato fries. The beef is smothered in their Unholy Barbecue Sauce, which was 'divine'. The meat fell off the bone and had an incredible depth of flavour. The fries were crispy, sweet and salty and were the perfect tools to try out the varied range of sauces on offer!

Unfortunately we were too full for dessert, but I will definitely be returning to Red's on my next trip to the city centre. A must try!