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.