When we heard that RUB was commissioning Orange County Chopper, of American Chopper fame, to make a mobile barbecue pit, we thought it was a pretty cool idea. We expected it to be a novelty, like a two-headed kitten or the world’s largest ball of string. Nothing prepared us for the mind-numbing coolness of the actual RUB Chopper: The restaurant’s owner, Andrew Fischel, correctly characterizes as “the sickest, baddest thing in the world.”

The (strictly professional) love affair between Paul Teutul Sr. of TV’s American Chopper and ectomorphic RUB owner Andrew Fischel began with a hour-long special about the creation of a chopper with a meat-smoking sidecar and soon led to RUB cooking for Teutul’s wedding. Now the unlikely pairing has led to a major joint venture.