NFT: Something terrific you've eaten recently? 10/3 Edition

Yesterday was my big ribs experiment. To preface, years ago in UT, I cooked a rack of ribs (cut in thirds) at 3 different times and temps in the oven and all came out surprisingly good. Yesterday, I cut a rack in half. I did Scott's Spicy Hunan ribs with 1/2. Actually, after sous viding for 6 hours at 165, I then cut that section into 2 halves. Some of it I cut into individual ribs, dredged in cornstarch at deep fried for about 3 minutes at 350, similar to what Scott did. The other section fromthe SV I glazed with the Hunan rib sauce and finished on the grill. I had all of these with the Hunan sauce on the side. The other half of my rack, I used a recipe from Milk Street for Italian ribs, rubbed with rosemary/fennel, and roasted in the oven at 325 for 2 hours.
The results (Mrs. in UT and I were in agreement)- Doing the ribs SV/grill was my least favorite. They were too chewy and had the least flavor, even though they felt fork tender coming out of the SV. Part of it may be on me for possibly not giving enough time on the grill. Scott's recipe for SV followed by frying with cornstarch had a great crunchy texture and the sauce was terrific. The oven roasted ribs may have been my favorite, though. Crunchy on the outside, nice on the inside and the rub coating was great. Plus, the benefit of taking 4-5 hours less time. I think they compared to anything I've done low and slow in the smoker. I'll probably try some different rubs in the future, also. Caveat- I have to be done with spareribs or St. Louis ribs, baby backs will be too dry. For the SV, I'mnot sure if you can use BBs or not, but I almost never use them anyway. Scott posted his Hunan recipe last week. Here's the Italian roasted recipe:

ROSEMARY AND FENNEL PORK RIBS (ROSTICCIANA)

Ingredients
KOSHER SALT AND GROUND BLACK PEPPER
2 TABLESPOONS PACKED LIGHT BROWN SUGAR
1 TABLESPOON FENNEL SEEDS, GROUND
1 TEASPOON RED PEPPER FLAKES
1 TEASPOON GRANULATED GARLIC
4 TEASPOONS MINCED FRESH ROSEMARY
2 2 1/2- TO 3-POUND RACKS ST. LOUIS–STYLE PORK SPARERIBS
LEMON JUICE/EVOO MIXED AS DIP/SAUCE. KEPT IT TANGY

Directions
Heat the oven to 325°F with a rack in the middle position. Set a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon black pepper, the sugar, ground fennel, pepper flakes, garlic and 4 teaspoons of rosemary. Rub the mixture between your fingertips until well combined and the rosemary is fragrant. Sprinkle evenly over both sides of the racks of ribs, then thoroughly rub it in.
Place the ribs meaty side up on the prepared baking sheet. Transfer to the oven, then pour 3 cups water into the baking sheet. Bake until well browned and a skewer inserted between the bones meets no resistance, 2 to 2½ hours. Transfer the rib racks to a cutting board and let rest for 20 minutes. Cut the ribs between the bones and transfer to a platter.
Tip: Don't substitute baby back ribs for the St. Louis spareribs. Baby backs are smaller and leaner and will end up overdone. St. Louis–style ribs are spareribs that are trimmed of excess meat and cartilage, so the racks have a neat rectangular shape. And don't be tempted to open the oven during the cooking time; leaving the oven closed traps steam, keeping the ribs moist and tender.

What about you? Had anything terrific recently that you made, ordered in, had at a restaurant or a friend's house?