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Baby Back Shak

1800 S. Akard St.
Dallas, TX 75215-1901
Oak Cliff/South Dallas
214-428-7427
Critics' Pick
Best Of
Baby Back Shak +

Observer file photo

  • Baby Back Shak

Details

  • 11 a.m.-5:45 p.m. Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-6:45 p.m. Friday-Saturday
  • $$
  • Wheelchair accessible, Kid Friendly, Takeout
  • Lunch, Dinner
  • No Alcohol
  • Free Parking, Parking Lot Available
  • Reservations Not Accepted
Barbecue
Directions
A half slab at this 23-year-old Cedars barbecue joint means seven baby back ribs kissed with smoke, spiced with pepper and just-right tender: The meat doesn’t fall off the bone, but pulls off with the gentlest of tugs. It just narrowly beats out the boudin plate as our favorite order, but the boudin (here spelled boudain) is top-notch, too, especially dunked in a cup of sauce. Since the coronavirus crisis began, Baby Back Shak has been takeout only, with no seating available in the small dining room that pays loving tribute to great blues musicians and displays two decades’ worth of media praise.

Top pick: We love two meaty sides: excellent, peppery, lick-the-takeout-container baked beans and the boudin links. (Yes, boudin can be ordered as a side dish with a rack of ribs to make the ultimate meat plate.)

Related Stories (2)

  • Battle of the Pork Ribs: Lockhart Smokehouse Versus Baby Back Shak
    Tuesday, November 12, 2013 at 11:30 a.m. by Scott Reitz

    In honor of Sunday's sold-out Meat Fight, we're celebrating smoked animal flesh all week long in our inaugural Meat Week, in which we celebrate the procuring, cooking and face-stuffing of dead-animal flesh. Trying to compare two bar...

  • An Englismn Goes Dwntwn fr Baby Back Shak
    Tuesday, March 5, 2013 at 8:58 a.m. by Gavin Cleaver

    I have tried to get to Baby Back Shak so many times. It keeps eccentric hours for someone who lives far away, and I've just never managed to sort it out. The other day though, I found myself in southern Dallas with an hour to kill, ...

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