Ranch House BBQ and Grill

“Never eat more than you can lift.”

---Miss Piggy

 

RANCH HOUSE BBQ AND GRILL

6157 Van Nuys Blvd

Van Nuys, CA  91401

818-287-0966

11:00 AM to 8:45 PM          Monday through Saturday

11:00 AM to 7:45 PM          Sunday

http://ranchhousevannuys.com/

 

You could consider the Ranch House to be in our local neighborhood, but to be honest, we had no idea that it was here.  It came to our attention as the result of a random Google search.  They don’t have a web site, per se, but are listed on several on-line ordering and review sites.  The reviews were both good and bad, the negative mostly being about on-line ordering.  We place little stock in other’s reviews, preferring to taste for ourselves, so we decided to try it anyway.

It’s in the Van Nuys civic center area across the street from the State office building.  The majority of their business is probably lunch trade from the government workers and police, and firemen.  Considering the neighborhood, it’s not surprising that they don’t stay open late.  Sharon remembers when this location was a Mexican restaurant, and they still serve Mexican food, along with salads, burgers, pasta, pizza, and yes, barbeque.  All this menu diversity did not bode well for the que, but we decided to give it a try anyway even though, when we showed up, on a ninety degree day, the air conditioning was out. 

We arrived at 6:00 PM on a Saturday night and were the only people in the place.  This is one of those places where you normally order at the counter and they deliver it to the table.  Since the server was looking for something to do he took our order at the table. While we waited for our order, a friend we had called to share the experience showed up and placed her order.  Looking around we found that this is one of those places that makes no pretense at décor, it just is.  It’s clean enough to have an “A” rating from the Health Department, but aside from having booths with tables I wouldn’t call it restaurant designer anything. 

Sharon ordered at Brisket and Chicken Breast combo with Mac and Cheese side and I ordered a Tri-tip and Baby Back Rib combo with Peanut Coleslaw as a side.  I also ordered a couple of a la carte Beef Ribs and a Hot Link to get a good sampling.  Our friend ordered a Tri-tip dinner with Mac and Cheese and a Salad as sides.  The que is not at all expensive, but the sides are all a la carte.  We shared an order of Garlic Butter Rolls.  After the meat we ordered Chocolate Cake and Cheese Cake for dessert.  Since there were no other patrons at the time it’s not surprising that the food arrived promptly.

Garlic Butter Rolls

This is simply a good commercial roll slathered with melted butter and sprinkled with herbs.  We’ve seen them elsewhere and here it’s done well.  If you have any left over they are worth taking home and warming up the next day.

Mac and Cheese

The pasta was al dente but the cheese sauce was just a little this side of Kraft macaroni and cheese.  That’s not all that bad, and it’s better than just OK, but not a fabulous mac and cheese.  When you order a small side order it is so I did not get to try it as a leftover.

Salad

For a plain dinner salad this was more than OK.  Everything was very crisp and fresh.  The dressing was tasty.  On the whole it was more satisfying than the usual dinner salad.

Peanut Coleslaw

The dressing on this was oiler than I like and also a bit on the timid side with the spices but I have had much worse recently.  It was described as a small side order and they weren’t kidding.  After sampling it there was not enough left to take home for a test pulled pork sandwich.  .

Tri-tip

Thank goodness, they did not slice it too thin.  It was served in nice thick chunks that you slice yourself.  The mesquite smoke flavor is a bit subtle if you are used to tri-tip done over California red oak, and there was no visible smoke ring, but the flavor was really there.  This is a good piece of meat done properly.  Not the best tri-tip I have ever had, but much better than you get at more expensive barbecue places…very tasty.

Brisket

You expect brisket to be sliced, but this they did slice too thin.  It looked as though they ran it through a deli slicer to make roast beef sandwiches.  Other than that, there was not much to find wrong with it.  It had a good smoky flavor and was quite tender.  This is a brisket worth ordering even if you would like a little more to chew on.

Baby Back Ribs

You’ve seen me write that baby back ribs should not disappoint and these do not.  They are tender, have a good smoky flavor and are relatively meaty. 

Chicken Breast

Someone pounded this almost to scaloppini before it was put on the grill.  It has the mesquite smoke flavor and was done through, juicy and tender.  A slightly different presentation of chicken breast but very good.

Beef Ribs

Big, meaty, and with that flavor that shouts “Beef!” when you bite into them these are excellent beef ribs.  One of them was shared between the three of us and the other came home as a leftover.

Hot Link

A hot link it ain’t.  It’s a sausage, just a bit more spicy than the average hot dog, but with an oddly cinnamon flavor to it.  It’s served with a small serving of old fashioned French’s yellow mustard.  I don’t think that it’s worth it as a hot link, but it is mild enough that Sharon could eat it.

Pulled Pork

Very simply, this is about as good as pulled pork gets.  They don’t have a pulled pork plate on the menu, only a sandwich and take home by the pound.  With a proper slaw the pulled pork makes a great sandwich. The leftovers will make at least four pulled pork sandwiches this week.  Bet they sell a lot of sandwiches.

Chocolate Cake

This is a more or less standard commercial bakery ‘Death by Chocolate’ cake.  It has four layers of chocolate cake separated by chocolate icing with shaved chocolate on the outside.  It’s not bad, but they keep it in the cooler and it would be tastier if it were lightly nuked and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Cheese Cake

The lightness of the cheesecake was a quite pleasant surprise.  It is a simple, creamy cheesecake but quite tasty.

One of the reviews referred to the Ranch House BBQ and Grill as a hole.  Well it appears to be a hole, but a clean one.  What they didn’t find fault with was the food and we couldn’t either.  We didn’t try anything from the extensive menu except the que, so I can’t comment on the other selections; however the que is quite good. I wouldn’t call it destination barbecue unless you live in the Valley, but it’s good enough to warrant repeat visits if you do.  I hate to quote from movies, but “I’ll be back!”  We give it an eight.

Rosie's BBQ and Grillery

THIS PLACE HAS BEEN RELOCATED!  SEE OUR JULY 2019 POST

"Eating is always a decision, nobody forces your hand to pick up food and put it into your mouth."

---Albert Ellis, Michael Abrams, Lidia Dengelegi

ROSIE’S BBQ AND GRILLERY

9012 Tampa Avenue

Northridge, CA 91324

(818) 349-3055

11:00 AM to 9:30 PM          Sunday through Thursday

11:00 AM to 10:30 PM        Friday and Saturday

http://www.rosiesbbq.com

Rosie’s is another of those places that seems to have been a fixture in the Valley forever.  It is located in a glorified strip mall in Northridge that is large enough to have some groups of stores and restaurants standing in the middle of the parking lot as well in a row behind it.  Rosie’s is in one of the standalone buildings.  The outside hasn’t changed much.  The inside seems to have had two makeovers since we started going there and the last one, done in an ersatz cowboy theme, seems to be worn to the point of needing another. 

We came in a bit after six on a Saturday night.  It was busy, but not overly crowded, and we were seated immediately.  Our server was bright, brisk, efficient, and cheerful even though she seemed to be covering more stations than she should.  We took a few minutes to examine the menu and then placed our order.

Although the name of the place begins with BBQ the barbecue is actually a small section of the menu.  There are appetizers, salads, sandwiches and sea foods as well as barbecue.  They had combinations on the menu so Sharon ordered a two meat combo of Baby Back Ribs and Tri-tip with Mac and Cheese for a side.  I ordered a three meat combo of Beef Ribs, Shredded Pork and a Half Chicken with Peanut Coleslaw as the side.  The combos only come with one side, but you can add a salad, trip to the salad bar, a cup of soup or a bowl of Tri-Tip chili.  The Tri-tip Chili sounded intriguing so I ordered that.  They don’t have anything like bread to keep you occupied while you wait for your order, at least we weren’t offered anything, but the food arrived quickly.

Tri-Tip Chili

The chili came as a generous appetizer serving with side servings of sour cream, chopped onions, shredded cheddar cheese, and an undistinguished but acceptable commercial corn muffin.  If you are expecting a lift your head off, spicy Southwestern chili, this isn’t it, but if you want a rich, flavorful chili, with nice chunks of tri-tip in it, you have come to the right place.  It was not loaded with green pepper and onions so even Sharon could enjoy it.  The chili was probably the best thing we had that night and this, alone, is worth coming here to have.  I would have been quite happy to make a meal of the chili.

Macaroni and Cheese

Most places that have an upcharge for a side order give a generous portion in return.  It was in a small ceramic cup with some cheddar cheese melted over the top.  The pasta was al dente, but the cheese sauce was so bland that it was barely cheese sauce.  It’s definitely not worth ordering.

 Peanut Coleslaw

When you look at it you expect great things.  There is a good mix of cabbages, celery, red bell pepper and onions, even if the peanuts are a little scarce.  It comes with what appears to be a good vinegar type dressing; this is until you taste it.  The dressing is way too timid and way, way too oily.  The oil was so annoying that I did not take the leftover portion home to test it on a pulled pork sandwich.

Tri-Tip

Of the things that came on the combo plates the tri-tip was far and away the best.  This was not because of the preparation, but because they started with a damn good piece of tri-tip.  Supposedly, they use mesquite wood to smoke their meats.  Mesquite can be a subtle flavor, compared to other woods used in barbecue, but here it is so subtle it is almost absent.  There is no visible smoke ring in the meat, and it tastes not like barbecue but a well roasted tri-tip.  Although Sharon ordered it medium, it came quite rare and tepid.  It was served with a small container of a very salty au jus. 

Baby Back Ribs

These ribs are tender, meaty and bland.  We ordered it unsauced, but whatever the dry rub is it has little spice and is definitely forgettable.  It is one of those things that are better as a leftover since flavor seems to develop a bit in the fridge overnight.  They also were tepid and definitely not right out of the oven or where ever they were kept, it was not up to health department standards with regards to temperature.

Beef Ribs

Beef ribs that we were served were generously sized, meaty, tender, a bit fatty, and just as bland as the baby back ribs.  They weren’t totally flavorless, since you could tell, simply by taste that you were eating beef, but these ribs did not say “BEEF!” to your tongue.

Shredded Pork

No matter what you choose to call it, it’s pulled pork.  It’s in a rather oily barbecue sauce (Someone in this kitchen likes oil.) That masks the flavor so much that at first bite it’s hard to tell if you are eating pork or chicken.  At this writing I can’t confirm it improves after a couple of days in the fridge since I haven’t made that pulled pork sandwich.

Chicken

The chicken seems to have some sort of smoked rub on it, but it really does not taste smoked.  The white meat was tender and done through, but the dark meat was barely done, something you have to be careful about with chicken.  It was edible, made a decent chicken sandwich the next day, and even passed the kitty test, but it does not qualify as great, or even good, barbecue chicken.

 We remember Rosie’s being a sort of date night place.  Now the clientele seems to be mostly older people (Yes, I know how old I am, don’t remind me.) and families with children.  I don’t know about the remainder of the menu, we just tried the barbecue, but there seems to be no attempt to establish a distinctive barbecue style here.  Instead, it comes off as just above coffee shop barbecue, a sort of lowest common denominator of taste for the masses not true barbeque aficionados.  It’s been here for quite a while, but like some other barbecue places with a long history it does not seem to have improved with age.  We give it a five.

Cookn With Lenny's Smokehouse

"Eating is really one of your indoor sports.  You play three times a day, and it's well worth while to make the game as pleasant as possible."

---Dorothy Draper

COOKIN WITH LENNY’S SMOKEHOUSE

23360 Lake Manor Drive

Chatsworth, CA  91311

818-348-8100

11:00 AM to 10:00 PM        Tuesday through Sunday

http://www.cookinwithlenny.net/

Finding Lenny’s, a couple of minutes west of Topanga Canyon Boulevard, you feel that you have driven to the end of the world looking for barbeque.  It’s in the area above the old Chatsworth Reservoir, now empty, in what is, by LA standards, a sparsely populated area that still retains a rural feeling.  You’re not much more than a mile away from some of the highest rent neighborhoods in the West Valley.   It’s a small, unassuming, place so don’t go more than 30 miles per hour on the two lane road or you’ll miss it.  (And, you may just get a ticket.)  On the other hand, you can’t miss it if you leave your window open…the smoker is right out in front.

The physical impression of the place is, well, cowboy.  It’s all knotty pine, tongue and groove, paneling and wainscoting with stucco above and open beamed wooden ceilings.  The art on the walls is cowboy movie posters, cowboy memorabilia, and cow horns with a few license plates thrown in.  The stated capacity of the room is 45 and there are exactly 45 chairs in the room.  For nice weather, which we have more often than not, there is also a covered patio out back.  There is also a setup for live music which is provided by the staff.  We were told that they have to audition to work there.

We arrived at just the right time, about 6:00 PM on a Wednesday.  They were just getting setup for the dinner hour and there were no other customers in the place.  Lenny’s Smokehouse menu has appetizers, salads, seafood, and sandwiches as well as the que.  In fact, the selection of que is fairly limited.  The only combos on the menu were Family Feasts, feeding 4 to 6 people, which is a bit much for Sharon and I to get our usual sample of the que.  Fortunately, Lenny serves a Duet of Ribs appetizer, a pair of whiskey glazed ribs with roast garlic and pineapple, and a pair of raspberry-chipotle baby back ribs, which allowed us to sample the ribs while ordering other single entrée dishes.  Sharon ordered a Smoked Maple Chicken with Macaroni and Cheese for a side, and I ordered Carved Smoked Tri-tip with Slow Cooked, seasoned Red Beans as my side dish.  During our brief wait for our order other people began to arrive for dinner.  Even though our food arrived promptly, the place began to fill up.  We have been told by other people who have been there that when Lenny’s is full, on a weekend night, the service is not so prompt.

Raspberry-Chipotle Baby Back Ribs

Very meaty for baby back ribs, these have a good, but somewhat different smoky flavor.  There is the sharpness of California red oak smoke but the mellowness of hickory smoke.  I get the impression that both woods are used in the smoking.  The glaze is a bit peppery as is most of the food here.  It seems that Lenny, an actual TV star chef, has a Cajun background.

Whisky Glazed Ribs with Garlic and Pineapple

This is another way to make very meaty ribs with a smoky, peppery, but very savory flavor.  Eating Lenny’s ribs is worth coming out here.

Smoked Maple Chicken

This is a generous half chicken that has a good smoky flavor.  The maple glaze manages to have a slight bite to it.  Our only slight fault to the chicken was that it seemed to be a bit dry,  The leftovers passed the kitty test.

Carved Smoked Tri-tip

This is a strange way to serve tri-tip.  It seems to be marinated, in a rather peppery rub, before being smoked.  Then, it is served with sautéed peppers and onions.  This is something way out of Sharon’s range of taste, but it certainly was tender and flavorful and I rather liked it.

Macaroni and cheese

For a side it was a generous serving of a nice, al dente, penne pasta mixed into a cheese sauce that seems to have more than one cheese.  This is the one thing we tried that didn’t have a Cajun pepperiness to it.  Sharon is partial to macaroni and cheese presentations with the pasta simply mixed into a cheese sauce and rather liked it.  I prefer a baked macaroni and cheese, but this was not bad…not the best I’ve had, but not bad.  It was even good nuked as a leftover.

Slow Cooked, seasoned Red Beans

Another generous serving for a side, this is a simple preparation of red beans in a, guess what, peppery sauce.  Don’t get me wrong, this is not a bad serving of beans, they are not overcooked, overwhelmed by green peppers, or cloyingly sweet, our most frequent complaints about beans.  They are simply a good complement to the meat.

Lenny’s is not one of those places that people who don’t like the Cajun overtones to the seasoning will like.  Sharon, allergic to peppers, has to work at it a bit, but can still find things to eat here and she likes it.  I think that I will probably make the trip out to the west end of the Valley myself.  Be aware that it small and can be crowded on weekends.  Most people will find it an experience and a little gem.  We rate it an eight.