Not many people noticed when Ted and Matula Gregory opened the homey Montgomery Inn in Montgomery, Ohio, in 1951. But when Matula started serving her barbecued ribs a few years later, people began to pay attention. You might even say that a dynasty was born. Ted and Matula eventually became known as the king and queen of ribs. Those hand-spiced, slow-roasted ribs are still the foundation of the Gregory family’s two-restaurant empire.

One of those restaurants is in downtown Cincinnati on the banks of the Ohio River. The Montgomery Inn Boathouse (925 Riverside Drive, 513-721-7427, montgomeryinn.com) is an impressive curved building with a wall of windows overlooking the river. The interior walls are covered with sports memorabilia which seems fitting since athletes have been known to chow down on the Gregory’s ribs. So have actors, and, according to the family, every president since Gerald Ford.

Getting to the meat of the matter

Politics aside, we felt that we were in pretty good company when we took a window table and ordered the linebacker-sized Ted’s Platter. It was the best way to sample the original pork loin back ribs along with hickory-smoked St. Louis-style spare ribs, billed as the menu’s “newest addition.” For good measure, the platter also includes a healthy serving of beef brisket along with addictive fried onion straws and cornbread.

That let us compare the cooking techniques. The original ribs are slow-roasted until tender. There’s no rushing the spare ribs either. But they are cooked over hardwood hickory in the inn’s custom smoker. The brisket is also slow-smoked over hickory for at least 12 hours. The original ribs have that eye-rolling, finger-licking, meaty goodness of great roasted meat. But the smoke on the spare ribs and the brisket elevate them to another level of heavenly ecstasy.

No surprise—all the meats are hand-rubbed with the family’s secret blend of herbs and spices. We hope that President Elizabeth Warren enjoys them.