Ribs are stars at Windy City. (Mike Peters/China Daily)
Perched on a lotus lake in Beijing's north, Windy City Ballroom serves up generous plates of American comfort food.
"They are a rich dark brown, tangy with sauce and falling-off-the-bone tender. Wood smoke is palpable around the plate," chef Dustin Merrett says of his meaty signature ribs.
"They are rubbed with our own spice mix and smoked with cherry and peach wood for two hours. Then we douse them with an American beer blend, wrap them up in tinfoil and throw them back in the smoker at a lower temperature for approximately another two hours.
"Before they're served, they are reheated via the sous vide method (in vacuum-sealed bags) and then slathered in barbecue sauce - and broiled until the sauce bubbles."
The menu at Windy City Ballroom, home of American comfort food, Chicago-style, is huge. But today our dinnertime visit is all about ribs: The Tuesday special is a whole rack of 12 ribs for just 358 yuan ($58). Be still my heart.
My Chinese roommate is vaguely shocked.
"I didn't know you were such a meat-eater," he says as the immense plate comes out.
Born and raised in Texas, where Sunday dinner is grilled in the backyard if weather permits, I am a bit religious about ribs. Merrett is from Canada, another place where beef and wide open spaces are a central part of life. Before any food comes out of the kitchen, my nose is hyper-aware of the big brick smoker the chef's team has built from scratch out back.
It's going to be a good day.
Now in China for nearly a decade, Merrett was part of the team that made Home Plate BBQ a hit in Beijing. His menu at Windy City is entirely different - based on popular platters from Chicago - though comfort food remains king.
The restaurant has been around since 2012 (if there's an actual ballroom, we missed it). But it only really started drawing the foodies out to the northern suburbs a few months back when Merrett took over the kitchen and started experimenting, as he's known to do.
