Rubbin Butts BBQ

Not real bbq. Never see a smoker running at this place. Disappointing when places say bbq when what they mean is roasted or crock potted meat slathered in sauce. Wish Schoharie County had more than 5 decent places. Just go to Arby’s– it’s cheaper imposter ‘que.

I travel all over the country and have had barbecue in the best places in TN, Carolina, and Texas. The 4 stars is for their barbecue sauce!!!

Mediocre for BBQ in the area. The service tends to take forever even fr take out. There are other places in the area I would recommend over this for BBQ in the area. It is good in a pinch though.

Went here two years ago with two friends. It was horrible. Pork sandwich looked old and so did the ribs. The beans were horrible too. Not sure if this was the left over food from the night before. We got there right when it opened.

Fantastic bbq! The food is always great it’s messy and sticky the way bbq should be. My family loved this place the staff is always courteous we will gladly be going back in the bear future!

Came here last month on my first visit to the area. My taste buds were singing when I bit into the brisket and pulled pork. This place can turn a vegan into a believer again!!! Rubbin Butts BBQ, I will see you again soon. Only next time… I will eat more!

Highly recommend the cole slaw. The pulled pork with Carolina bbq sauce was good and had a nice bite. Portions are fairly generous. My dining companion had the bbq chicken plate and the side of sweet potatoes — enjoyed both. The man who waited on us was very nice. I would go again.

I was anticipating this visit quite a lot, as the Pig Out BBQ in Schenectady on Upper Union was the former second location of Rubbin Butts before the current owners bought it out and changed the name.
The «original» Rubbin Butts thus got a «it’s not as good as Rubbin Butts» talk when I brought it up with locals who’ve been here longer.
So the first thing is: the menus are virtually identical (still). I mean, right down to the font on the menu and the pricing. (Exception: Rubbin Butts has turkey legs). So it’s not surprising that I had a great deal of difficulty telling the two places apart: both have Carolina, Texas, and Memphis –style barbecue sauces. The sides seem identically-​prepared, although the greens here left a little something to be desired. So the question is: is Rubbin Butts staying more true to the «real» BBQ flavor and smoking and so forth?
Not as far as I can tell. It was pretty much the same, except the inside here is much more elemental and a bit crowded, but it has a restroom, which Pig Out does not. There is also an outside order window and picnic tables, which is a plus, and they serve ice cream, although it’s standard ice cream truck commercial-​processed ‘novelty’ products out of the freezer, so nothing special.
So, bottom line: it’s perfectly adequate BBQ, they have nice sides and I like the choice of sauces, the quality of the meats is nothing special, and the ambiance is very basic — which means go if you’re in the area and have a jones for faux BBQ, but it’s not really worth a special trip.

We eat A LOT of BBQ and this was, hands down, the WORST BBQ EVER!!!
The meat was DRY, NOT FRESH and FREEZER BURNED! We got the rib and carolina pork combo. The ribs were dry and old and the vinegar sauce was overwhelming-​probably to hide the freezer burned taste. All the sides were canned and the corn muffin was probably from Costco. I can excuse bad sides but nobody should be served nasty, old meat. Absolutely disgusting! I hope they close down so no more unsuspecting BBQ lovers make the mistake of visiting!

The name Rubbin’ Butts invokes thoughts of Beavis and Butt-​Head laughing uncontrollably, and indeed, when I think of the name, I too laugh like the teenage boy I once was. There used to be a Rubbin’ Butts location back in Schenectady, which later was renamed a less amusing name of Pig Out BBQ. While I was out around Cobleskill maintaining the property my family has in the area, I wanted to pick up dinner and the Rubbin’ Butts name stuck out to me. But make no joke, Rubbin’ Butts serves good, tasty BBQ for both immature and mature minded individuals.
The restaurant is conveniently located on the main street in Cobleskill, but it is tucked away right near the railroad crossing across the street from the Price Chopper supermarket, so it may be easy enough to miss. I arrived close enough to closing time for the night, so the staff was ready to close the dining room (but I could eat outside if I wanted) and was at the point where they were not making new food, only serving what was still available.
While the menu itself offers beef and pork styles of BBQ, I decided to order a pulled pork BBQ sandwich, which they still had available, along with a side of coleslaw. It was indeed as tasty as I had imagined it to be. I’ll be back, hopefully when they have more menu options to select from.

Good — very good — Carolina-​style pork, done the right way. Who cares about atmosphere?
Glad to stop in here and chat with the owner on a very snowy morning after Christmas. Will look forward to making my way back to try the brisket.

Oh well. If you’re in Cobleskill, NY perhaps it might be better to go to the supermarket across the road and buy some fixins to make a sandwich. While pleasant enough staff, the food’s not great and neither is the seating area inside. AND they don’t have beer! Ribs without beer?
Oh well.

By all means, this is no four seasons with their 1980’s table settings and their cafeteria atmosphere, but the food is good. The pulled pork was Austin’s favorite but the brisket was a little fatty. The extra sauce on the table was clutch, but i cant find myself giving this restaurant more than three stars; who presents their food on paper plates and trays

Went back in recently.
Food– 3 Stars
Got a pulled pork plate. Still good but no smoke flavor. It appeared to be actually smoked (there was bark in it), but I couldn’t taste any smoke at all. Coleslaw was fine, Corn muffin was overly sweet maybe store bought.
Service– 4 Stars
Super nice lady.

I’m a sucker for BBQ, so I quickly turned into the lot when I saw this as an alternative to the usual chain lunch options that surround it in this little upstate NY town. I’m glad I did — the Carolina Style Pulled Pork (vinegar sauce) did not disappoint. It was extremely flavorful and was fantastic on it’s own even before I dipped some bites in the hot sauce at the table. The hot sauce on it’s own was also amazing and made on site.
The only detractions, if any really, would be the cornbread muffin that was more of a cake-​y sweet cupcake. I tend to prefer the a drier less sweet cornbread. Also, the menu-​proclaimed «world’s best Cole slaw» didn’t blow me away, perhaps a victim of over-​selling. It was a bit thicker with a heavier mayo-​based sauce than I prefer.
Please note, these distractions are very minor and in no way detract from the pork — which is the absolute star of the show (as it should be). I’d go back for sure, and I recommend it to anybody like me who finds themselves passing through with a grumbling stomach.

What can I say? I guess I can start with what was good. The pulled pork was really OK, the coleslaw was also OK… But I am afriad that’s where it all ends. Since I am long past puberty, the «babe» behind the counter is meaningless to me, especially after I purchased 3 sodas I asked for a small glass of water to take some medication, and was told, «we have no water.» Duh!
Now to the ribs. Don’t walk from this place, RUN! as fast as you can, they were the most tastless, dry, disgusting excuse for ribs I have EVER eaten. They were terrible! I was barely able to eat one before I pushed the plate away in disgust. If this is suppose to be a place that «specializes» in «barbeque» then you think that the «barbeque» ribs would be edible.

this is probably my favorite place to eat in all of upstate new york. the blonde woman who takes orders is a total babe and she gave me a snapple for free once when my evil parents refused to buy it for me. that pretty much cemented rubbin butts as my favorite cobleskill establishment. the brisket is my favorite of the meats, and all the sides are great, but the macaroni and cheese, baked beans, and cole slaw would be my top three choices. you really can’t go wrong here with whatever you order, although i do recommend taking your food to go cause the dining area inside is a bit depressing and the outside sitting area can get buggy
i do wish they would start stocking more «rubbin butts» t-​shirts, because i want one and they’re always sold out. come on rubbin butts! i want to rep you all around the world, help me help you
…‘. UPDATE — i finally got shirt and it’s great. i only wish the next generation of shirts were more along the lines of «i got my butt rubbed» and then had a pig smoking a cigar or smoking and the back could say cobleskill is 4 lovers but that’s just a suggestion. also i’m pretty into the pulled pork these days. it’s equally delicious as the brisket!

My boyfriend and I traveled through Cobleskill while we were staying upstate and wow I’m glad we checked this place out!
It was the only place we could find with a kitchen that stayed open late so we got takeout. I got the Texas pulled pork and my bf got the brisket. The meat was so flavorful and tender. And they give you TONS of it.
The sides we had weren’t as good as the meat but they did the job. We got corn muffins and sweet potatoes and potato salad.
I’m pretty picky about BBQ and this place was awesome!

Excellent:
–The brisket, oh my God the brisket. It is heavenly. On my third or fourth trip here the owner asked why I never got the brisket, and I told him I didn’t like BBQ brisket, it is always too dry. Well I walked out with a free brisket platter and I have never ordered anything else from him since! It was juicy and tender and amazing!
–The pulled pork, whether the Carolina or the Texas, is great. HUGE portion on the sandwich, you can’t possibly eat it all.
–The corn muffins! I don’t like cornbread but these muffins are moist and slightly dense which is great for me!
Good
–The coleslaw is cut a little big for me, so its very crunchy which just isn’t my thing, but the flaw was good.
–The pies and cobblers are great, I have had them all because when they first opened, hubby and I went there very frequently and the owner always gave us free desserts.
–The potato salad, hubby liked it I was ok with it.
The So-​So to the not so great.
–Ribs and chicken are dry. If you want great chicken, travel another 45 minutes down route 7 to Brook’s in Oneonta.
–The sweet potatoes are canned.
The service is always excellent, the dining room is small and cramped, and poorly decorated, but the patio outside is excellent. I usually just get take out anyway though. this is definitely the best BBQ is Cobleskill.
*They are closed on Mondays! This is because they opened a new restaurant on Union street in Albany/​Schenectady.

Open Daily 11 am to 10 pm offering pulled pork and beef Texas and Carolina BBQ foods, country style combo plates, ssides, desserts, and beverages. Also catering services.
So happy we stumbled on this place! The owner was a really nice guy, offered suggestions on what to try, and gave us an extra side of Salt Potatos. They were great. We had the ½ bbq chicken, pulled pork, with coleslaw sandwich, mac and cheese, corn bread, sweet potatos and bread pudding!
Stuffed afterwards, but so worth it. I’d come here every week if I lived in the area.