THIS PLACE IS GONE!
“Your
body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”
--- Anthony
Bourdon
THE
BARBECUE COMPANY
3807
Santa Claus Lane
Carpentaria,
CA 93013
805-684-2209
12:00
PM to 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM Wednesday and Thursday
12:00
PM to Close Friday, Saturday, Sunday
We drove up to the Santa Cruz area with our daughter and
a friend for a family Thanksgiving celebration.
That went well and we planned to stop at the Barbecue Company for our
evening meal on the drive back. Driving
through Castroville we noticed the Central Texan Barbecue and were very tempted
to stop for lunch, but decided to put that on the list for a future stop. We did make a few stops along the way, a
vegetable stand for artichokes in Castroville (the artichoke capitol of the
world according to the sign), a pottery shop named The Pot Stop that Sharon was
fascinated with in Moss Landing when she spotted a large ceramic dinosaur and
two of our favorite wineries in Paso Robles.
This put us in Carpentaria at 7:00 PM.
Now this was somewhat hazardous since The Barbecue
Company closes, on weekends, when they run out of que or customers, whichever
comes first. When you get off the South
bound 101 at the Santa Claus Lane off ramp after dark you would think that you
had exited the off ramp in the middle of nowhere. (You can check out this link if you don’t
know where the name comes from Santa Claus Lane History ) Just
jog to the right as you cross the street (From the North bound off ramp you
have to go left under the freeway and make another left.) and continue down the
unlighted beach road until you come to the shops on the beach. In the middle of this small group of shops
you will find the Barbecue Company with a sign in the middle of the roof that
modestly proclaims that it is the world’s best barbecue.
Inside is exposed brick and warm wood with artwork and
neon that gives you the impression that you have entered a blues club. They did have live bands there but it became
a bit too rowdy so now they have DVD’s of blues and classic rock playing on
their big screen TVs. This is a pleasant
change from the sports channels you see at most places. Our server was very busy, (It was the
Saturday after Thanksgiving and everyone else had “called in”, so he had been
working since 11:00 AM.) but quite quick and efficient and after seating us, he
took our drink order. To get a good
sampling of the que we ordered two Combination Platter No. 2s with three meat
selections. Sharon had one with Tri-Tip,
Baby Back Ribs and Barbecued Beef Ribs, and I had one with Pulled Pork, Chicken
and Sausage. Sharon’s sides were
Macaroni and Cheese and Baked Beans with Burnt Ends. Mine were Famous Coleslaw and Rustic Creamy
Corn and Cheddar. Our traveling
companion ordered a Brisket platter with Macaroni and Cheese with Famous
Coleslaw as sides. Since we have been
here before and knew how generous their portions were our daughter shared off
our combination platters. We also
ordered a basket of Hushpuppies as an appetizer and a Banana Bread Pudding with
cinnamon ice cream for dessert. Our
server brought the sauce rack with mustard, catsup and the four sauces served
here. One sauce is a conventional, St
Louis style sauce, another is a spicy sauce which one might call Texas with a
touch of Mexican, also a Kentucky style sauce and a South Carolina style
mustard based sauce. The meats are done
with a dry rub and served dry. You sauce
to your taste.
Hushpuppies
My daughter and I enjoyed them. Sharon and our traveling companion did not
because, like most hushpuppies you are served in California, they had peppers
in them. They were a bit dense compared
to hushpuppies I have had in the South, but have a good corn flavor. They are served with a ranch style dressing
for dipping rather than the traditional honey.
Brisket
The brisket slices were the length of the platter, which
caused our traveling companion to remark on the supposed size of the cow. The slices glistened with moisture and showed
a perfect smoke ring, indicating proper smoking. Taste does not disappoint with the subtle
hickory flavor of the smoke complementing the flavor of a great piece of
meat. (Yes, that sounded a little
pretentious, but the brisket deserved it.)
Sausage
I ordered a hot link.
It was. I was a bit dubious about
the presentation since it was sliced up and deposited on the platter between
the pulled pork and the chicken, but it was surprisingly good. Not what Sharon would call a tonsil scorcher,
but it has a heat that builds after the bite but does not have an overlong
after bite. I didn’t ask if this was an
in-house or commercial sausage, but either way it is a good one if you like hot
links.
Tri-Tip
It was smoked but finished on the grill. I was a bit disappointed with this since I
had ordered it here before and I remember it being near perfect. While it had a good flavor seemed a little
dry and was a bit chewy. I suspect it
would have been better earlier in the day.
Still, the leftovers sliced, warmed and served in a burrito were very
satisfying.
Barbecued Beef Ribs
A platter of these ribs would have been sufficient for a
trip up here from North Hollywood. They
are meaty, perfectly smoked, quite tender, and not the least bit stringy. They are also great a couple of days later as
a leftover. In short, these are killer
ribs. A ten!
Baby Back Ribs
You’ve seen me write that Baby Back Ribs should not
disappoint. These don’t. While not quite the direct hit that the beef
ribs were, they were still tender, meaty and flavorful. The hickory flavor and the rub do not overwhelm
the pork itself. The word is
succulent. I have had better, but not by
much.
Pulled Pork
I’ve had pulled pork in the South and this is about as
good as any you would get there. It was
moist, and complimented by the hickory smoke.
The South Carolina style barbecue sauce goes perfectly with it. If I happen to be in the area at lunch time I
will definitely try to get here for a Pulled Pork Sandwich. I didn’t get a chance to make a sandwich with
the leftovers since I ate it all.
Chicken
OK, it’s chicken done right. It’s not dry, and has a great smoked
flavor. The serving is a quarter
chicken and they ask if you prefer white or dark meat. I had a breast and a wing. Since it is served dry I could try the kitty
test with the leftovers. It passed.
Macaroni and Cheese
There are two schools of thought on macaroni and cheese,
the baked style and the pasta in sauce style.
Normally, I would prefer the baked style with barbecue. This is the pasta in sauce style, but what a
sauce! You are served al dente macaroni
in the most amazingly smooth blended cheese sauce. You have to try this to believe it.
Baked Beans with Burnt Ends
Someone has found a really great way to serve burnt
ends. You have not overly burnt ends
with firm beans in a very tasty sauce.
Not one of those baked bean preparations that you could make a meal of,
but a really great accompaniment to a platter of ribs or brisket.
Rustic Cream Corn and Cheddar
A surprising combination of creamed corn and cheddar
cheese, this is another side that makes a perfect accompaniment to barbecued
meat. It’s probably incredibly
fattening, but you’re eating barbecue…who cares?!!
Famous Coleslaw
If you like a creamy, mayonnaise dressing coleslaw you
will probably think that it should be famous.
It’s sweet, but not overly sweet, and a little wet to my taste. Although I prefer the vinaigrette dressing
coleslaw if drained a little this will probably go well with the pulled pork in
a sandwich.
Banana Bread Pudding
Desserts here are much more than you would expect at the
typical barbecue place. This one is
bread pudding made with banana bread, a remarkable thing by itself, but it is
served with a scoop of cinnamon flavored ice cream and drizzled with caramel
sauce. It’s big, and the four of us
shared it. There wasn’t anything left.
Is this the world’s best barbecue? Well, no, but it is a contender, and not at
all what you would expect to find in what is essentially a beachside strip
mall. It stands with much more expensive
and much more famous barbecue restaurants and definitely comes under the
heading of a destination barbecue restaurant.
We give it between an eight and a half and a nine.
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