Todd's Cookhouse Bar-B-Que

THIS PLACE IS GONE!

“The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of the human race than the discovery of a star.”
---Jean Anthelme Buillat-Savarin

TODD’S COOKHOUSE BAR-B-QUE

40713 Highway 41

Oakhurst, CA 93644

(559) 642-4900

11:00 AM t0 9:00 PM                         Daily

No Web site yet

I suppose that you have been wondering what we have been up to.  Well, even if you haven’t, I’m going to tell you anyway.  We’ve been revisiting some of the places that we have posted about.  Most of them are satisfyingly consistent. One declined. One improved.  We also tried another location of a chain restaurant we reviewed and had an experience so bad that I couldn’t even bring myself to write about it.  However, this last weekend, we took a trip to Yosemite with a couple of friends and on the way had some interesting barbeque experiences.  This one is a diamond in the rough and seemingly ignored by the local population.  Shame on them!  They don’t know what they are missing.  But then again, it just means us tourists get the pleasure of enjoying the food here.

The only major town immediately south of Yosemite on highway 41 is Oakhurst. (Fish Camp is a wide spot in the road and Coarsegold seems to have had an extra decimal place added to its population count.)  Driving through Oakhurst, we spotted Todd’s Cookhouse Barbeque.  The building it’s in is a bit off the road and slightly down a slope, so it’s fortunate they have some good signage. Walking in, your first impression is that this is going to be fast-food barbeque.  You are facing an ordering counter with a couple of small dining areas to either side at the ends of the building.  The menu is hand scrawled on a piece of cardboard behind the counter and on a chalkboard to the left by the self-serve drink dispenser.  The interior is wooden plank with a few country memorabilia nailed up.  No restaurant designer was used in the construction of this place and you feel you are in a real hole in the wall barbeque place.

The girls behind the counter are friendly and take your orders on paper, no computers here. They do have a 2-meat combo plate listed but we were having dinner at the Ahwahnee that night so we ordered different sandwiches to get a sampling.  Sharon ordered a Tri-tip sandwich with a side of Chili Beans.  I had a Pulled Pork sandwich with Cole Slaw.  Our friends ordered Chopped Brisket sandwiches with Hush Puppies.  We found a table and after a very short wait, our orders arrived.  The generous quantity of the meat in the sandwiches almost spoiled our dinners.

Pulled Pork

I’ve had pulled pork in Memphis and the Carolinas.  The first bite here took me right back there.  This is moist and flavorful pulled pork, as good as it gets.  They use mostly California red oak here, but I think they threw a little apple wood in when they did this one.  My only complaint, and this is nitpicking, was that the slaw was not on the sandwich.  Some people prefer fried onions on a pulled pork sandwich, I like slaw on one.  I would also have liked a mustard based sauce for it, but this is just a personal preference.  This pulled pork can stand on its own.  Great!

Tri-tip

Someone in this kitchen knows how to do tri-tip.  It was moist and tender, not sliced too thin, and had a proper smoke ring with a subtle taste of California red oak. You will be hard pressed to find any better tri-tip anywhere.  You could cut it with the plastic knife that serves as cutlery here.  The buttered bun it came on was very fresh and fluffy with a smear of barbeque sauce that did not overwhelm the tri-tip.  The barbeque sauce was tangy and definitely has some pepper in it as it made Sharon’s mouth burn.

Chopped Brisket

I’ll bet that when they took this brisket out of the smoker and threw it on the cutting board it quivered.  It was probably fall apart tender before it was chopped because it certainly was on the sandwich.  Brisket should have a flavor that says “Beef!” over and above the smoke and any rub and this does.   Again, you will be hard pressed to find a better brisket anywhere.  This also came on the same fresh bun.

Hush Puppies

OK, they’re hush puppies.  They don’t have jalapenos in them, which allowed Sharon to sample them.  While tasty, they were just a little over done, and could have used some honey butter. I prefer a lighter hush puppy just golden and done but still soft on the inside.  These came with a tangy dipping sauce that helped to make them more than ordinary. 

Chili Beans

This is not a side dish bowl of beans.  What you have here is a fabulous; make a meal of it, bean dish with both pork and beef in it.  It is more than amply meaty and the sauce, while sweet, is just right.  This is one of the best bean dishes you will find anywhere.  I would have no problem ordering just a bowl of chili beans with a side of bread for a meal here.

Cole Slaw

While it is not fantastic coleslaw it is definitely better than a simply competent one.  The surprise is a little cilantro in it.  It has a creamy style sauce that is a bit on the sweet side.  I did object to there being a bit too much sauce on my serving.  If you have been following this you know that I have a thing about overly wet coleslaw.  Besides that, it is a very good side dish slaw.

Sharon and I, along with our friends, were absolutely delighted with Todd’s Cookhouse BBQ.  We always have fun on a road trip (Well, there was the time we got to our destination and found the next morning we were surrounded by a wild fire, but that was an adventure.) and it’s even more fun when you can find a little gem like Todd’s.  While we were there we spoke to a gentleman waiting for a go order who said that he had recently moved to Oakhurst and was delighted to have found this place.  He told us that he was surprised to find that many of the locals did not know about it.  They’re missing something.  For the meat, we rate Todd’s a 9.6.  As a total experience we rate it an 8.5.  It’s a bit out of the way unless you are going to Yosemite, but it is definitely destination barbeque.

The Egg Revisited

 “I know my husband really loves me because he takes me to have ribs.  He says I’m the only girl he ever took out who actually ate anything on her plate, as opposed to pushing it around.”

---Julia Barr

Now you would think that during National Barbeque Month we would make an effort to review at least one barbeque place a week.  That was the intention but life happens.  However, since Memorial Day is the unofficial start of the summer barbeque season I had to at least try to barbeque something. 

Smart and Final cooperated by holding a Memorial Day weekend sale on pork ribs for $1.99 a pound, tri-tip for $3.99 a pound , and rib eye, for $4.99 a pound.  As with all such special sales there is a catch.  You have to buy a whole piece of any of these items…a whole side of ribs, a whole tri-tip, or a whole rib eye.  I found a nice looking, meaty side of ribs that was only $24.00.  I did better with the tri-tip finding very good one that was only $10.00.  All the rib eye looked great, and I would have loved to slice one up into steaks, however the smallest one was $103.00, not really a problem, but we had just stocked up on our usual food items and adding the ribs and tri-tip we didn’t have enough freezer space for all those steaks.

Since Thanksgiving I have become much more proficient with, and appreciative of the Big Green Egg.  With some research, and a bit of practice, I am now able to easily get it to hold the low temperatures required for slow smoking.  The temperature control is much easier than the Weber Kettle and requires much, much less fire tending.  It now takes me about seven minutes to fire it up it to the 230 degrees for smoking ribs.  As for the fire tending, I just put the Egg where I can see the thermometer from my den window, set the timer on my iPhone for 15 minutes so I can check the temperature (After turning the alarm sound way down.  The timer alarm on my iPhone sounds as though it was warning of a nuclear attack.), then sit down to watch tapes or DVDs.   (On Memorial Day we almost caught up with season three of Game of Thrones.)  During the six hours that the ribs were in the Egg I only had to make minor adjustments to the vents twice.

I had cut the side of ribs into four small racks, since there is usually just the two of us for dinner, and froze three of them.  I put a dry rub on the fourth on and put it in the refrigerator.  Now, I don’t claim to be anything but an amateur grill master, but I do lay claim to a signature rub.  My rub is truffle salt (Yes, it comes from Italy and really does have bits of truffle.), smoked Hungarian paprika, and black pepper.  I also use truffle salt and pepper on steaks when I grill.  The truffles impart a flavor to the meat that really has to be experienced.   The rub went on four hours before I fired up the Egg.

I use the 3-2-1 method to do the ribs.

 http://www.smoking-meat.com/july-12-2012-221-baby-back-ribs-on-big-green-egg-ceramic-cooker

Yes, I know the web page is entitled 2-2-1 Ribs.  That’s for baby back ribs…read the web page.  It explains how the process of setting up the Egg and preparing the ribs for smoking in detail much better than I could in this short post.  His rub is quite good, I just like mine better. The last hour, with the ribs on the grill, is sometimes shorter than an hour since I check my meat with an instant read thermometer as it gets close to being done.  You want it done, but not dry.

The meal was completed simply with corn on the cob and some dinner rolls.  The ribs were so meaty that we had a couple of leftovers.  I rib for lunch each of the next two days and they were still great as leftovers.

If you select good ribs and use this method you will get ribs as good as any you can find at a barbeque restaurant.  The difference is that you have to put the time and effort into making them, which, when you want to really do something special for yourself and others, is very satisfying.

It’s summer, Happy Barbequing!                           

 

The Pit BBQ

THIS PLACE IS GONE!

“I love food and feel that it is something that should be enjoyed.  I eat whatever I want.  I just don’t over eat.”

--- Tyra Banks

THE PIT BBQ

207 E. Alameda Avenue

Burbank, CA  91502-1595

(818) 751-5808

Closed                                   Monday

11:30 AM to 3:00 PM          Tuesday to Sunday

5:00 PM to 8:00 PM            Tuesday to Sunday or until the meat runs out.

http://www.thepitbrothers.com/

Sharon gets lots of internet coupons.  The other day she got one from Amazon for The Pit BBQ in Burbank.  We were a bit puzzled since we didn’t know of any barbeque place in that part of Burbank.  As it turns out, it was because they have only been there for two months and neither of us had driven on that section of Alameda during that time.  We couldn’t resist trying it and the fact that we had a coupon worth $30 didn’t hurt either.

We decided to go to The Pit BBQ for lunch last Saturday.  We ran our usual Saturday errands, and just like in the movies, found a parking spot right in front of the place at 11:00 AM.  The web site says they open at 11:00 AM but the sign on the door said 11:30 so we walked up San Fernando Road for a bit to get some exercise and work up our appetite.  When we got back they were open.

We walked into a small dining area with and order and pickup counter at one end and a self-service drink dispenser at the other.  Near the drink dispenser is a shelf with a selection of plastic dinnerware and on the wall above a paper towel dispenser labeled “napkins”.   The seating is provided by seven picnic tables, four two seat and three four seat.  The walls are painted white and have a sort of wainscot of redwood planks.  We walked up to counter and presented our coupon.  The two young women behind the counter looked at each other and said, “It’s working!”

The menu is simple.  The meats are Baby Back Ribs, Pulled Pork, Brisket and Chicken Wings.  There is another interesting offering, Empanadas with either beef or pork filling.  The meats are available a la carte, and the brisket and pulled pork can be had in sandwiches.  The combos are sandwich, soda and a side or empanada soda and a side.  The side dishes are Baked Beans, Cole Slaw, Macaroni and Cheese, Potato Salad, Corn on the Cob, and Chimi Mashed Potatoes (chimichuri).  They also have green salads, (not on the menu).  Dessert offerings are Cheese Cake and Apple Pie.

To get a good sample of the meat we ordered a half rack of baby back ribs, a half- pound of brisket, and a half-pound of pulled pork.  To sample the sides we ordered Cole slaw, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, and potato salad.  They do have a liquor license and a nice, if slightly quirky selection of beers, but since the sun was not over the yard arm in Burbank we stuck to soft drinks.  The food arrived hot and promptly with the meat served in paper lined plastic baskets and the sides in Styrofoam cups.

Beef Brisket

This is a great place to start since this is great brisket.  The meat is tender and served in thick slices.  Cherry wood is used for smoke here and the brisket has a good cherry smoked flavor. 

Pulled Pork

The pulled pork is a bit of a puzzle.  It looks gorgeous with a proper smoke ring and good color.  The pork is as tender as you could want it, but oddly enough is a bit bland.  Cherry wood smoking is more subtle than most wood, but here it does not come through.  I tried it with the piquant and somewhat vinegary barbeque sauce that is served here and the sauce was somewhat overwhelming.  However, this is not quite the negative it sounds.  The next day I warmed up the leftover pulled pork and made a sandwich using it and the leftover Cole slaw.  I whisked some mustard into the sauce, creating a reasonable facsimile of a Carolina style barbeque sauce, (Well, I found it reasonable anyway.) and it made a very good sandwich.

Baby Back Ribs

The ribs were meaty had a proper smoke ring, and were fall-off-the-bone tender.  They were more flavorful than the pulled pork, but not as flavorful as the best baby back ribs we’ve had.  They are good, worth ordering, but fall short of great.                                                                                         

Baked Beans

The Pit serves some of the best side order baked beans we have had.  The sauce is a bit on the piquant side, almost too hot for Sharon, but very well spiced.  This recipe has more than one kind of bean showing more than average effort in the kitchen.  It’s not a baked bean you would want to make a meal out of but is one of the more exceptional side order baked bean servings we have found.

Macaroni and Cheese

The only thing that keeps us from rating this mac and cheese as top notch is a slightly mealy texture.  The pasta is al dente and the sauce had a nice, sharp cheese flavor.  It makes a good complement to the meats and the somewhat spicy baked beans.

Cole Slaw

This is what I would call a competent, finely shredded, two cabbage and carrot Cole slaw with a creamy dressing.  It does need a bit of salt and pepper to bring out its flavor.    Delightfully, it is not served too wet. I don’t know if they put the slaw on their pulled pork sandwiches, (OK, I didn’t think to ask.) but when I made mine with the leftovers the next day, it worked wonderfully.

Potato Salad

For me, this was a definite disappointment.  I like a potato salad with distinct chunks of potatoes.  This was so over mixed and mushy that it almost seemed done in a blender.  It was also quite bland.  I asked one of the servers about the potato salad and one of them said that she like it that way as did several customers.  Individual differences I guess.

Overall, The Pit BBQ is a quite pleasant barbeque experience.  Obviously, with the differences between the web site, menu, and what is actually happening with the hours and menu, they are still on the up side of their learning curve.  It should be interesting to see how they develop.  As it stands now, we give The Pit BBQ seven and a half.

Zeke's Smokehouse

“Not eating meat is a decision, eating meat is an instinct.”

---Denis Leary

ZEKE’S SMOKEHOUSE

2209 Honolulu Avenue

La Crescenta/Montrose, CA 91020

(818) 957-7045

11:00 AM to 9:00 PM                    Monday through Thursday

11:00 AM to 10:00 PM                  Friday

11:30 AM to 10:00 PM                  Saturday

11:30 AM to 9:00 PM           Sunday

8:00 AM to 11:30 AM           Breakfast Saturday and Sunday

http://www.zekessmokehouse.com/ordereze/1000/Page.aspx

We had some personal business in Glendale that involved our friends from Pasadena and they agreed that it would be a good idea to have a barbeque lunch afterward.  Montrose is adjacent to Glendale and we decided to go to Zeke’s Smokehouse.  We had been there some time before we started blogging and it was a good chance for a review.

Zeke’s restaurant is appears to be a typical small storefront barbeque place seating about 40 customers.   It has an open kitchen with a small dining counter in front.  There are three booths, the rest of the seating being tables and there are some tables out on the sidewalk in front.  The décor is small coffee shop with barbeque memorabilia on the walls.  One of the most interesting things photo on the wall in the front unisex restroom (There is another one at the back of the hall from the rear entrance.) of a chamber of commerce barbeque in Austin circa 1930.  That long hall from the entrance gives you a clue to the real depth of the building.  They have enough space to have a small meat packing plant in the back. By the way, there is a parking lot in the back.  If it’s not full you can use the ample public parking lot to the left down the alley.

The service here is very attentive.  We arrived with seven people and they put three   tables together for us.  On the table were three, apparently house-made sauces. Spicy, Mild and a Carolina Style (Mustard based) for pulled pork.  The menu has appetizers, salads, and sandwiches, some Southern style entrees including fish, burgers, and the main draw, barbeque.  The rib selection is Baby Backs, Spare Ribs and Beef Ribs.  The other meats are Pork Loin, Beef Brisket, Pulled Pork, Pulled Chicken, Smokehouse Chicken, Pork Rib Tips, and Hot Creole Links.  As usual Sharon and I ordered two combos to get our usual sampling of meat.  Hers was the Mixed Rib Plate consisting of three Memphis Baby Back Ribs, two Kansas City Spare Ribs and one Beef Rib.  Her choice of two sides was Mac & Cheese and Smokehouse Baked Beans.  My selection was a Zeke’s Combo which is a Smokehouse Chicken Leg and Thigh, Two Kansas City Spare Ribs, Beef Brisket, and a Hot Creole Link.  I went for the two dollar upcharge for white meat and got a chicken breast and wing instead of the leg and thigh.  My sides were Collard Greens and Creamy Cole Slaw.  The food arrived in a reasonable time and each plate had a slice of garlic cheese toast as well as what we ordered.  The quantities of the meats were more than adequate (Keeping in mind that I am not a kid in his 20’s.) and we took leftovers home.  Sharon and one of our friends shared some Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce (Jim Beam).  Two of our other friends tried the fried chicken dinner, another tried the rib tips with fried green tomatoes and hush puppies.  Everyone enjoyed what they ordered and took leftovers home.

Memphis Baby Back Ribs

The baby backs looked good, with a nice smoke ring visible on the cut sides, and were quite meaty.  They were not fall-off-the-bone tender but were by no means tough.  What disappointed was that they were bland.  They use apple wood here.  Apple wood works well for bacon but I find it a bit too subtle for other meats. The strange thing is that these ribs look perfect but have almost no taste.

Kansas City Spare Ribs

The very same thing that I said about the baby back ribs can be said of the spare ribs.  They look perfect, but have very little flavor.

Beef Rib

This certainly does not disappoint.  It was very meaty, tender, and had a good beefy flavor.  It had sauce on it which was a bit peppery for Sharon but she enjoyed it anyway. Very good beef rib.

Beef Brisket

Brisket should have some fat in it.  When you take a brisket out of the smoker and throw it on the cutting board it should quiver.  This brisket looked just right on the plate and was cut-with-a-fork tender, but it was a bit too fatty and while you could taste the subtle apple wood smoke, but not a real taste of beef.

Smokehouse Chicken

The chicken was done through and the apple wood smoke works well with the chicken.  It was just a little on the dry side but perfectly acceptable barbeque chicken.

Hot Creole Link

One look and you know this is an in-house made link.  It has a natural casing and a course, not mealy, texture.  The spice mixture is not really hot.  In fact it is somewhat disappointingly mild to my taste.  Sharon said it had a slight mouth burn in the after bite but you would have to be as sensitive to hot things as she is to notice it.  They do need to be a bit more careful in the preparation since I found two bone chips in the link.

Smokehouse Baked Beans

At first sight these beans appear to be a bit mushy.  They are but the first taste is a surprise.  They are very savory, almost chili like (Not a real surprise since they have chili on the menu.) with meat and green peppers in the mix. You won’t want to make a meal of the beans, but as a side order they are excellent.

Mac & Cheese

As Sharon likes it, this was a sauce mixed mac and cheese, not baked.  The macaroni was al dente and the cheese sauce was very cheddery tasting and had a very good mouth feel.  (You’d think we were at a wine tasting from that description.)  This is an excellent side order mac and cheese.

Collard Greens

The greens were prepared conventionally and were neither mushy nor tough.  My only complaint might be that they were a little too vinegary.  Not the best, but not bad.

Creamy Cole Slaw

If you have followed my blog you know that I do not like my cole slaw too wet.  This was actually a bit on the dry side.  It is a conventional cabbage and carrot slaw with what appears to be a bit of cilantro In it.  The dressing is just a little sweet.  This is what I term a competent cole slaw.

Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

The bread pudding had apples, raisins and cinnamon in it and the Jim Beam bourbon sauce was buttery and may have some cream in it.  I didn’t have any, but Sharon and one of our friends devoured all of it.  They pronounced it quite tasty. 

It’s a bit hard to give a rating to Zeke’s Smokehouse.  The setting is bright and doesn’t try to look like anything but what it is.  Service is attentive and quick and the plates of food are ample and look great.  Beef ribs, some of the sides, and certainly the bread pudding are as good as you can get anywhere.  The problem is that you go to a barbeque place for the meat and most of the meat disappoints.  Considering how nice the staff was we are really sorry, but we have to rate our visit to Zeke’s six and a half.

Bonnie B's Smokin Barbeque Heaven

“Good food is very often, even most often, simple food.”
― Anthony Bourdain

BONNIE B’S SMOKIN BARBEQUE HEAVEN

1280 N. Lake Avenue

Pasadena, CA 91104

(626) 794-0132

Closed                                               Monday and Tuesday

11:30 AM to 8:00 PM                      Wednesday and Thursday

11:30 AM to 9:00 PM                      Friday and Saturday

11:30 AM to 5:00 PM                      Sunday

http://www.bonniebssmokin.com

We were driving our friends home from our visit to Big Mamma’s when I noticed a sign on the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street.  It was shaped like an arrow and pointed to a storefront.  The message on the sign was Barbeque Heaven.  I asked our friends if they had tried this place, but they said that they didn’t know it was there until I saw the sign.  A Google search revealed that it was Bonnie B’s Smokin Barbeque Heaven.  We decided to try it the next weekend.

We made a date for the following Sunday with our friends to try the place out.  Since the Google search told us that they closed at 5:00 PM on Sundays, we decided to make it a late lunch/early dinner and arrived at 3:00 PM.  It’s easy to understand why we had not noticed it before.  Bonnie B’s is in a very small, narrow storefront and you would not see it unless you were looking straight at it.  (There is parking behind the building.)  Typically, for small barbeque places, it seats about 40 customers.  There is an order counter at the back where you order from the menu.   The food is delivered to your table.  It has what I call “Local Barbeque Joint” style, with barbeque contest, restaurant review, and civic awards posted on the walls along with photos of notable patrons.  One wall has a mural depicting the owners.  The placemats on the tables are also reproductions of awards and reviews.  If it is your first visit you may well wonder if all this self-promotion is well deserved. Without getting ahead of myself I can say it is.

There are the usually expected meats on the menu: Pork Ribs, Pulled Pork, Beef Brisket, Rib Tips and Ends, and BBQ Chicken, along with a couple of surprises, Smoked BBQ Bologna and Smoked Atlantic Salmon.  These are available a la carte, in sandwiches, and in Barbeque Dinners and Combination Dinners.  Nine different sides are available and three desserts, Glaze-It-To-Me cake, Strawberry/Banana cake, and Cookies.  The barbeque dinners are available in two sizes Value and Big.  The Value size is a lunch portion.  The Combination Dinners are available in 2-meat and 3-meat.  To get our usual sampling of the meat we each ordered a 3-meat combination dinner.  Sharon had Pork Ribs, Rib Tips, and Chicken with Slim’s Mac and Cheese, and Candied Yams for sides.  My order was Pulled Pork, Hot Link, and I had intended to order the BBQ Bologna but the word “Ribs” came out of my mouth, so I had the Pork Ribs along with Baked Beans and Collard Greens as sides.  The plates arrived promptly. Except for the pulled pork and the rib tips, the meat was served dry with your choice of the three house made barbeque sauces on the side.

Pork Ribs

This is Oklahoma style barbeque which seems to be a bit more subtle on the smoky taste than some of the Western and Deep South styles.  The ribs were very meaty and fall-off-the-bone tender, but just a bit on the dry side.  You will probably need just a little sauce to enjoy these ribs.

Pulled Pork

While not the best pulled pork we’ve had it is certainly above average and definitely worth ordering.  Will probably be back, next time I’m in the neighborhood to try a sandwich.

Beef Brisket

This is definitely not your mother’s beef brisket unless your mother had a real wood smoker in the back yard.  It was quite tender, well smoked and had a properly “beef” flavor.  You may have noted that neither Sharon nor I ordered the brisket.  Fortunately, one of our friends ordered a Brisket Meal and generously offered me some.  She still had leftovers to take home.

BBQ Chicken

The piece of chicken was a thigh and Sharon does not care for dark meat so I ended up with the chicken.   This is one of those places that does barbeque chicken right.   It was done through, and had a good smoky flavor.  I had a good taste while I was there and the leftover was good the next day.  It passed the kitty test too.

Rib Tips

Well, you know that they get really good ribs to serve here because the rib tips are very meaty and tender.  They are served with a sauce that is on the sweet side but you can still taste the great meat.  This is one of those places where it is worth ordering the rib tips.

Hot Link

This is billed on the menu as a Louisiana style hot link.  Well, hot it ain’t, but is quite tasty.  It has a good texture, and is not hot, but a subtle spice with a slight suggestion of heat in an after bite.  Even Sharon could handle this hot link without a mouth burn or rush to the emergency room.

Slim’s Mac and Cheese

Sharon prefers a sauce mixed in type mac and cheese with the macaroni al dente, and this is a baked style, but she liked this one.  As she said, and I agree, it was cheesy and had just the right texture.  The macaroni was still firm and not mushy as many baked mac and cheese dishes can turn out.  This is one of those times when “cheesy” is a good thing.

Candied Yams

Here was something we found disappointing.  Don’t get me wrong, these yams tasted OK, but they are done in a pureed, almost creamed, style that somehow lacked body.  We didn’t find up to the standard of the other food here.

Baked Beans

Conventional side order baked bean in a sweet sauce, they are not too sweet and have a subtle hint of other ingredients besides brown sugar and butter.  For just plain baked beans they are as good as they get.

Collard Greens

These are probably the best conventionally prepared green I have ever had, and are probably greens that you might serve to someone that does not like greens to convert them.

Strawberry/Banana Cake

If you enjoy those very moist, old-fashioned cakes that you don’t find in many restaurants or bakeries these days this is your cake.  If I didn’t know that this is a dry establishment (no alcohol here) I would suspect that it had some banana liquor in it.  You can order a whole cake with 24 hours advance notice.

Now you know that I will have to go back to Bonnie B’s just to try that Smoked BBQ Bologna and a piece of the Glaze-It-To-Me cake.  The salmon sounds interesting also, so let’s see, along with the pulled pork sandwich that’s at least three trips back.  You can tell from that we found it a very pleasant barbeque experience.  Fortunately, with friends in the neighborhood we will have a good excuse.  We give them and eight and a half.

Big Mamma's Rib Shack and Southern Cooking - Pasadena

“I like a cook who smiles out loud when he tastes his own work.
Let God worry about your modesty; I want to see your enthusiasm.”
― Robert Farrar Capon

 

BIG MAMMA’S RIB SHACK AND SOUTHERN COOKING

1453 North Lake Avenue

Pasadena, CA 91104

626-797-1792

 

Monday                     Closed

Tuesday thru Thursday               11:30 AM to 9:00 PM

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

Sunday                                             12:00 PM to 8:00 PM

 

http://www.bigmamaspasadena.com/

 

Two friends of ours moved close to Big Mamma’s and alerted us to the fact that it was in the neighborhood.  As it turned out, Big Mamma’s had been there since 2002 and is the latest opening for a family that has owned restaurants for seventy-five years.  We decided to go there with our friends, but the first night we tried; Big Mamma’s was having a special music event and we decided to return on a less hectic evening.  We could have saved ourselves the trouble if we had checked the web site first and noted the special event.    We tried another place that we have visited and reviewed in the past, but they were having a bad night, as any restaurant can occasionally, so the whole evening was a bit disappointing.  We resolved to try to get into Big Mamma’s in a couple of weeks.

We made time to return to Big Mamma’s with our friends the following weekend and arrived before the dinner hours to find it not crowded.  It’s a pleasant space, a bit larger than it appears when you first enter, with both booths and tables.  There is a small bar and an equally small performance area for musicians.  We were seated at one of the tables that are between the performance area and the front window.   It felt a bit as if we were a window display.  The server (a grandson of Big Mamma’s) joked that it would make them look busy.  We retorted that it might scare customers away. 

Big Mamma’s menu is extensive.  They are properly named Rib Shack and Southern Cooking.  The selections give you choices of Southern style, Creole and Cajun dishes.  We’ll leave it to you to examine the menu on the web site.  As much as I enjoy all of the cooking styles at Big Mamma’s we came here for to sample the que, so we looked at their combos.  They come in two sizes, regular and mini.  We ordered mini combos thinking that we wouldn’t have too many leftovers.  The Mini BBQ Combo includes a pork spare rib, a chicken leg, a half hot link, and a slice of beef or pork.  You can get white meat chicken for an upcharge, but other than that there are no substitutions.  The combos also come with a choice of two sides.  Sharon chose macaroni and cheese and yams for her sides.  I selected greens and coleslaw.  One of our friends ordered a plate of ribs with macaroni and cheese and hush puppies while the other ordered a plate of sliced brisket with macaroni and cheese and yams as the sides.  While we waited for our orders our server brought a bowl of corn muffins with honey and some butter.  The orders arrived promptly, but we forgot to order our meat dry, with sauce on the side so it arrived with sauce on all the meat.

Corn Muffins

The bowl of small corn muffins was a real delight.  They did not seem to be made with the usual commercial corn muffin mix that makes most of the corn bread we have encountered but were firm enough to stand up to butter without crumbling away.  The butter provided was, delightfully, not rock hard and melted right into the muffins.  Eaten with the butter and the honey, a bottle of which was thoughtfully provided, they were quite enjoyable.  These muffins are just basic cornbread done right. 

Collard Greens

The greens are done with a totally conventional preparation.  There was no attempt to reach any new culinary heights here.  This is not what I would give to someone who doesn’t like greens to try to change their minds, but if you like greens you will like these.

Cole Slaw

I’m usually not a fan of finely chopped cabbage slaws.  I did like this one; however, since it as good a chopped cabbage and carrot slaw as you will find anywhere.  Again, it’s very basic just, done well, if somewhat on the wet side.

Yams

When they are put on the table you see a rather ordinary bowl of cubed yams in brown sugar sauce.  We all agreed that when you put some in your mouth, Wow!  You don’t find yams this good very often.  The added spices were a puzzle, a hint of vanilla, possibly some ginger and a couple of other things, but whatever they put in them they come out outstanding.

Macaroni and Cheese

The macaroni and cheese is a baked version with a bit of interest in the taste.  Something about this makes it one of the better side dish mac and cheese we’ve tasted.  The macaroni was not too mushy, as with many baked macaroni dishes, made with a cheddar cheese sauce that had a bit too much flour in the sauce to suit Sharon.  She remarked that the mac and cheese seemed a bit bland but a nice counterpoint to the very peppery barbeque sauce on the meat. 

Hush Puppies

The hush puppies had jalapenos in them.  Sharon did not even bother to try them.  However, they do not have too many peppers in them.  Put a little honey on them and enjoy.  They are definitely done in the tradition al manner – fried balls of dough designed to keep the dogs or the diners quiet and content.

Pork Spare Ribs

These are ribs that do not disappoint.   They are tender and meaty with a subtle but noticeable smoke flavor.  They aren’t the greatest ribs I’ve ever had, but they are done well and I would certainly go back to have them again.

Sliced Beef

Both brisket and tri-tip are on the menu.  I suspect that if you don’t specify which cut you want on a combo you get whatever they have the most of in the kitchen.  The taste and texture of this beef told us it was tri-tip.  It was sliced a bit thinner than I would like for tri-tip, but was not tough, not over cooked and quite tasty.  I did have to wipe the sauce off to get a good taste of the smoky flavor but it was very good.  Again, not the best I’ve had, but definitely worth ordering.

Chicken

This was chicken barbecued right.  Make no mistake, it is barbecued.  The smoky flavor gives the clue.  It was tender, juicy and done through.  I had a thigh.  Sharon went the upcharge for white meat and got a breast.  The breast made it home as a leftover and made a good chicken sandwich for her lunch, some chicken chopped for homemade rice and vegetable bowl, and enough for a kitty test which it passed.  You can’t want better chicken.

Hot Links

The hot link was tasty, but more like a mildly spicy hot dog.  The flavor was pleasant with subtle spices and a suggestion of an after bite.  It was too much for Sharon only because it had the sauce on it.  I thought that the sauce was hotter than the link.  This is the only thing here that I thought was just average.

We’re certainly glad that our friends told us about Big Mama’s.  We will probably make it a regular stop when we are in Pasadena, at least until I’ve had the chance to try everything on the menu.  If the rest is as good as the barbeque we will have an enjoyable time.  The barbeque here is Louisiana style, a bit milder, and more subtle than most other regional styles.  The thing about Big Mamma’s is that while they don’t seem to be extending the genre, everything we sampled (Well, maybe not the hot links.) was done traditionally, but done right.  It’s not cutting edge barbeque, but so well done that unless you have to have one of the spicier regional types you will enjoy it.  We give Big Mamma’s an eight and a half.