So a straight man, a gay man, a straight woman and a lesbian walk into a rib place. One of them is Munch. And Munch is not saying who.

But Munch will say the name of the rib joint -- Wilson's BBQ on the North Side.

Wilson's is an institution. It is so well-known in the neighborhood that Munch had forgotten whether Munch has ever written about it.

Wilson's BBQ, 700 N. Taylor St., at the corner of Buena Vista on the North Side, 412-322-7427. If you call and they answer, they are open.

Munch has reviewed establishments around there, but not Wilson's, which claims to be internationally famous.

What should be internationally famous are the prices at Wilson's. This party of four went to lunch with the hope of spending about $40 and came away with $3 in change. The orders were: three small plates of ribs, which were each four good-sized ribs and Italian bread, three sodas because the straight chick wanted to have water, one side order of cole slaw, because the ribs weren't enough for the lesbian, and a half a chicken with bread.

But Munch is way ahead of Munch's self.

Munch was in a more-the-merrier kind of mood when lunch came around this week. And in such a mood, three may be a crowd, but four is a party, and so party of Munch drove to the North Side. (Really, we could have walked, but the weather was miserable, and it would have used all of our lunch hour just getting there and back.)

Wilson's is great in the summer when there are tables and chairs outside. The place is really more of a take-out joint.

A lack of ambience marks the setup, where Channel 11 news was blaring during the lunch rush that was the four of us. But ambiance schmambiance when it comes to the salient point of this review: that chicken plate cost $4.60. Talk about your value meal. It was half a chicken in this marvelous hot sauce that oddly was hotter on the bread than it was on the chicken. That alone was a source of much conversation over lunch.

The chicken was nice and tender, although the breast was a bit drier.

The ribs also were good. The barbecue sauce, the hot and the mild, was nice and flavorful, though the mild was even more mild than one might expect. A small plate of ribs, which was perfect for lunch, was just $7.49 (an odd amount) with the side of cole slaw being $1.01.

Charging $1.01 for something reminds Munch of Rolf Larsen, the former state Supreme Court judge who was convicted in 1993 of having medicine for himself prescribed in other people's names. During the investigation there was a moment in front of the grand jury when the prosecutor asked Larsen about his exercise habits. Larsen said he did 222 sit-ups every day. The prosecutor asked why it was 222, to which Larsen replied, "Can you think of a better number?"

Then there was the pondering over the Italian bread. Why is it, party of Munch wondered, that Italian bread tends to be served with ribs and chicken? Munch's best guess is that Italian bread is probably the best for sopping up sauce, next to maybe Wonder Bread, which is, in essence, an edible sponge but less tasty than its Italian cousin.

The other notable feature at Wilson's, other than the huge wood barbecue pit, which opens to the exposed kitchen behind the counter, is the lineup of soda pop. Munch had a Fanta Orange, while a friend had the Cherikee Red cherry soda. Where else can you find those?

So, while it was a good meal all around, there really was no good punch line to go with the setup of the crowd who walked into the rib joint.