“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
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.
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