1381 Boylston Street, Boston, MA, 02215. Phone: 617.266.1300

Worth visiting in a 3 mile radius.

Sweet Cheeks Q is located near Fenway Park in Boston, so close that I’ve spotted a Red Sox player there! It’s in a large space that still feels cozy because of the wooden interior and the classic rock playing from the speakers above. It serves heavenly biscuits and heaping portions of barbecue.

The menu at Sweet Cheeks is simple. There are several different kinds of barbecue. On the side are biscuits and various side dishes called “scoops,” such as greens, coleslaw, various kinds of salad, and baked beans. There are also a few dessert items: strawberry rhubarb crisp, giant nutter butter, and butterscotch pudding.

The pork ribs are so tender that they fall off the bone when you try to pick them up, but they put a little too much salt on the ribs, so you can’t eat very many before they overwhelms your mouth. These ribs are livened up by Sweet Cheeks’ own delicious barbecue sauce, which is spicier and less sweet than conventional supermarket fare. The brisket is very flavorful and salted in moderation. The fried chicken is breaded with just the right amount of batter, and the chicken itself is full and flavorful.

The biscuits are my favorite item. The outside is flaky and the inside is buttery and hot. If that’s not enough butter for you, Sweet Cheeks serves the biscuits with its own honey butter. These biscuits are a great sugary and fatty treat. The baked beans are unconventional, like the barbecue sauce, in that they are spicy and not very sweet. I like sweet baked beans better. Maybe it’s because I’m used to eating sweet baked beans, but when I eat Sweet Cheeks’ baked beans the sweetness is missing from my mouth.

For dessert, we tried strawberry rhubarb crisp a la mode. The ice cream is excellent and the strawberries were fresh. The dish would have been better if rhubarb was used more. The tartness of rhubarb complements the sweetness of the strawberries and the crisp we got wasn’t tart enough.

The prices at Sweet Cheeks are reasonably high: a single meat tray costs $20-$30. Sweet Cheeks’ barbecue is well prepared and tasty, the biscuits are top grade, but not every dish is perfect.