Good Eatin' in Spite of Right Wing Condiments

Right wing hot sauce may be the only thing at Ro Ro's to leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Ro Ro's BBQ inhabits a small shack that used to house the Stoneway Cafe in Wallingford for years. Generally replacing a neighborhood mainstay isn't easy shoe-filling but Ro Ro's has taken to the new location--3620 Stone Way N, between 36th and 38th--with authority.

The location features a nice walk-up window, some uninspired graffiti (welcome to Seattle) on the picnic tables out front and seating for maybe twenty inside the cozy confines. A flat screen TV inside was playing old-time cartoons where violent images were the primary source of polluting the child’s mind long before video games became increasingly sleazy and sociopathic. We watched a nearby toddler with fascination as she tried to digest the 1940’s cartoons that featured big birds eating smaller birds while rockabilly blared overhead, wondering if she was exposed to dog-eat-dog violence like this on the Disney channel.

Upon seating we were given a thorough rundown on the assortment of condiments, BBQ sauce options, and whatnot. Generally BBQ in Seattle is like pizza in Canada, not the best, so we were more than skeptical when the hostess began talking about her sauces like they were more than the average vinegar and twang fare. Our cynicism was misguided, as the homemade sauces held their own.

As our friend said, "Usually you can be over a sandwich halfway into it, but with this guy, the sauces kept me interested, kept me going. I’d tell people about this place."

Pricing is standard ($9 for a pork sandwich, $11 for ribs) but everything comes with two sides and the sides aren’t stale potato chips (We’re looking at you Jones BBQ!). In our three visits we’ve been satisfied, charmed and hooked up with free corn bread twice. The atmosphere is food-channel charming, the staff attentive and legitimately excited about the food as a whole, giving good reason to visit Stoneway for something other than fishing, roofing, or lighting supplies.