Ray Lewis' Full Moon Bar-B-Que

Every year, my closest buddies and I like to celebrate our near-holidays birthdays together. This year we chose to do so on November 30th. That was a Sunday, and no Sunday is complete without a Ravens game, so we headed to Ray Lewis' tax shelter restaurant in Canton for some ribs and Joe Flacco on the tube. Let me just say that Ray's isn't a place to go to for food.

We knew we were going to be there most of the afternoon, so we paced ourselves. Our waitress was fine with that because 1) we were pretty much the only customers for a while; 2) we promised her a big tip. First we started off with the BBQ nachos, a messy pile of commercial chips oozing that nasty day-glo orange plastic stuff that passes for nacho "cheese" at ballparks but shouldn't be allowed in an actual restaurant, plus chunks of chicken, not-so-finely-shredded lettuce, bbq sauce, plus a tiny bit of salsa and sour cream on top. The chicken was nicely tender, but the rest of the mess was disappointing, and the chips got soggy in seconds. Next we tried the riblets, which were tender, but they had that "cooked three days ago and reheated" flavor, and the sauce lacked character other than sweetness. Finally, one friend and I shared a burger, which was passable but greasy, and I'm not sure it was formed in-house. The other two ladies in our group had salads and seemed to enjoy them.

By halftime, groups of well-dressed people showed up to have their post-church Sunday dinner. A couple platters of fried catfish with sides of mac and cheese and greens went by, looking almost tasty. And one certainly could not fault the generosity of the portions. But alas, we went for more snacky-type foods and perhaps that was our downfall. Maybe next time. Not that there will be a next time. :)

The best thing about the place is that every booth not near the bar has its own small flat-screen tv, which allows for plenty of close-up gawking at handsome football players. Those near the bar had to watch the game on giant screens that had a terrible yellow tint, making them seem perhaps a little too close to the bathrooms....

Our waitress ended her shift in the game's final moments, so we made sure to take care of our tab with her. She informed the person that was taking over her section we would be staying a while and perhaps ordering more drinks or dessert. Alas, we were left for dead. Even after collaring the replacement server and telling her we did expect service, she waited at least 15 minutes before coming to us, at which point we were in our coats and at the door.

Yeah, probably won't be a "next time."

Go Ravens!