If you lament the lack of barbeque--not to mention, good barbeque--in the Pittsburgh area, you'll be extremely happy that this place exists.
I first heard of Two Brothers by doing a Google search for the best ribs in Pittsburgh. A WPXI/Channel 11 survey came up, and Two Brothers had been voted as the most recent winner of their Pittsburgh's Best Ribs contest. But then I thought to myself, where the heck is Presto? I looked it up on Google Maps, and...hallelujah! Just a short drive from my workplace!
My coworker and I decided to try it out the next day, arriving at around 11:30. I ordered a half-rack-and-half-chicken dinner (with sides of cornbread and potato salad), and he ordered a full-rack dinner (with sides of macaroni and cheese and cole slaw). I guess we went at a good time, because there were only six outdoor picnic tables for seating, and we claimed one of them before the rest were taken. Tables are covered with shade umbrellas, and there are rolls of paper towels in the middle of each table (like at other authentic barbeque places), as well as toothpicks and moist towelettes.
The ribs, I must say, were amazing. I've probably had ribs from over 10 different places across the Pittsburgh metro area, and these were the only ones I would consider excellent. There are outstanding--I would say, possibly even better--ribs to be found across the border at Barry Dyngles Pub in Boardman, Ohio--and I did eat those in Pennsylvania at a catered event--but it would be kind of a stretch to call Boardman or Youngstown part of the Pittsburgh metro area.
Anyhow, Two Brothers' ribs: They're firm but tender, deeply smoked, "buttery" in taste, and come off the bone fully but neatly. They're served Texas-style--drizzled with just enough sauce. As a Texan myself, I like my ribs coated with only a dry rub and minimal sauce, so these hit the spot. Having that smoke flavor is also extremely important to me when it comes to barbeque, and these ribs didn't disappoint. My coworker loved his ribs just as much, saying they were the best he'd ever had other than his dad's. (He didn't finish the second half of his full rack, but he said the next day that they were just as good after reheating them in the oven.)
My chicken was okay but not impressive. The skin was smoky and crisp, but the meat itself didn't really have any flavor. Barry Dyngles' chicken definitely takes the trophy here.
As for the sides, the potato salad was pretty standard, but the cornbread was good. Not out-of-this-world good, but decent. (I didn't ask my coworker how his sides were.) Also, they'll ask if you want hot or mild barbeque sauce on the side, and we both got the hot sauce. It was good but not necessary for the ribs.
The second time we visited, we both each ordered a half-rack and a bowl of gumbo. I found the ribs to be almost as good as they were the first time, maybe just a tad drier. My coworker said his were just as good as they were previously. The gumbo was okay, but I don't know if I would order it again. It was topped with plenty of big pieces of Andouille sausage and chicken, but it tasted weirdly sweet and had only a few specks of vegetables and no visible okra. It also seemed to be missing something seasoning-wise.
I'm eager to try the pulled pork, beef brisket, and baked beans next time.
Service is alright. Pretty business-like--not bad but not especially friendly, either. One neat thing about Two Brothers, though, is that they use an iPad for credit card transactions. I've only seen this done at a few hipstery coffee shops, so it's a pretty unexpected touch (no pun intended) at a little shack of a barbeque joint. It's a huge step, I would say, from what I'm reading in reviews from two years ago, when it seemed like Two Brothers didn't even accept cards.
Customer traffic is steady, and I assume that Two Brothers does pretty good business. There's a wide variety of customers, ranging from business people to construction workers. If one can get a table, I think it would be a neat place to hang out for lunch on weekends, with the convenience of a drive-thru beer distributor sharing the same parking lot.
Whether you have the opportunity to eat your food on-site in its Styrofoam clamshell box or have to take it with you someplace else, the barbeque is worth going out of your way for, and the inconvenience of not having much seating--much less seating that's indoor or climate-controlled--should not deter anyone from giving Two Brothers a try. With so little competition around--both good and bad--it doesn't seem like it does. read more