25 Best Restaurants: Mabel's BBQ

Michael Symon has always found ways to translate who we are as a city into food.

Whether it’s his signature beef cheek pierogi at Lola or his salt and vinegar pork cracklin’ with Lawson’s Chip Dip ($7) at Mabel’s BBQ, Symon reaches deep into our ethnic roots and shared memories in ways that are both familiar and unexpected.

So two years ago when Mabel’s opened on East Fourth Street next door to Lola, it wasn’t just any rib shack. After 20 years of learning from the best pit masters in Texas, Kansas City, the Carolinas and anywhere smoked meat is served, Symon set out to establish Cleveland-style barbecue.

“Barbecue needs to have an identity,” he says. “It should be purposeful.”

He drew inspiration from the West Side Market, where Cleveland’s kielbasa, pork loin and other smoked meats originated from the smoke houses in Poland, Germany and Eastern Europe. So Mabel’s kielbasa ($10) is handcrafted by 64-year-old J&J Czuchraj Meats in two styles: hot with cheese or classic.

The pork spare ribs ($17) get a brush with a pickling glaze as they come out of one of three custom smokers fueled by apple and cherry wood. His sides — whether it’s a picnic-worthy cucumber salad ($6) with sour cream, red onion and dill or pillowy spaetzle ($6) with spicy cabbage — get the same attention as the brisket ($15).

“The food that I personally have always loved to cook is food that brings me back to a place of my childhood,” he says.

Insider Tip
In March, Mabel’s launched a happy hour Sunday through Thursday featuring $3 tacos with smoked brisket or smoked pork shoulder that will also be a part of the menu at the new Mabel’s BBQ in the renovated Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. 2050 E. Fourth St., Cleveland, 216-417-8823, mabelsbbq.com