Best Bargain Restaurants: Rocklands and Rocklands At Car Pool

For starters, it would be that Rocklands serves a national-class chopped-pork sandwich, its moist, smoky, white meat textured with crunchy nuggets of the pork shoulder's pit-burnished crust.

Next, one can admire proprietor John Snedden's diplomatic avoidance of the sauce controversy attendant to any good-natured argument about what makes for great barbecue; if you don't like his mild, sweet-and-vinegary house condiment, you can experiment with the bottles that line the shelves of Rockland's veritable library of international hot sauces.

After years of serving firm-textured Texas-style ribs, which had the appealing flavor of old-fashioned smoked ham, Snedden has added baby back ribs that stay longer in the pit to achieve an almost slip-off-the-bone tenderness. Long-time fans of Rocklands may prefer the original, firm-style ribs. But then, isn't the fact that it's worth arguing about a sure sign that this is good barbecue?

Go to the new Rocklands at Car Pool in Clarendon, which shares quarters with an upscale pool hall, on a weeknight; on weekends there's a line to get in.

Rocklands , 2418 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington; 202/333-2558. Open Monday through Friday 11:30 am to 10 pm, Saturday 11 am to 10 pm, Sunday 11 am to 9 pm. AE.   MapIt!

Rocklands At Car Pool , 4000 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington; 703/528-9663. Open Monday 11:30 am to 10 pm, Tuesday through Thursday 11:30 am to 11 pm, Friday and Saturday 11:30 am to midnight, Sunday 11 am to 10 pm. AE.   MapIt!

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