Gus's Barbecue

“One of the very best things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.”

--- Lucian of Samosata (125 A.D. to 180 A.D.)

GUS’S BARBECUE

808 Fair Oaks Avenue

South Pasadena, CA 91030

626-799-7251

11:00 AM to 10:00 PM    Monday – Thursday

11:00 AM to 11:00 PM    Friday

8:30 AM to 11:00 PM      Saturday

8:30 AM to 10:00 PM      Sunday

Welcome to Gus's BBQ - Est. 1946

Gus’s Barbecue is a storefront location in South Pasadena.  When you enter it looks to be a high end coffee shop with a lunch counter facing the open kitchen on the right and a line of booths for two on the opposite wall.  It’s a rather long, narrow building and in the back there is a wider room that allows larger booths and space for a decent sized bar along the left hand wall.  There are South Pasadena historical pictures on the walls and there were pleasant seasonal decorations arranged around the rooms.  There has been no attempt to create some kind of down home somewhere else feeling or to be trendy.  The feeling is genuinely down home if down home happens to be South Pasadena.  It is a place where the surroundings are simple and pleasant and the food speaks for itself.

It’s a good idea to call ahead for reservations since Gus’s is very popular.  We came in without reservations and were quoted a forty-five minute wait for a table for two.  We accepted that and went across the street to the Fair Oaks Pharmacy to do a little novelty shopping.  We returned twenty-five minutes later and were seated immediately.  The hostesses and waite staff were all enthusiastic, accommodating and fast.  Sharon and I have both been in food service so we appreciate just what it takes to keep that up in a busy restaurant.  Justin, our server, arrived promptly to take our order and was attentive and helpful to us throughout the meal.

To get our usual sampling of meat and sides we ordered two combo platters.  I ordered the Ribs and Two Meats Combo with St. Louis Spare Ribs, Carolina Style Pulled Pork, and Smoked Sausage with Braised Southern Greens and Cole Slaw as sides.  Sharon had the Chicken and Two Meats Combo with Beer Braised Texas Brisket, and Smoked Sausage with BBQ Baked Beans and Mac ‘N Cheese for sides.  We also ordered and appetizer serving of Cast Iron Cornbread.  Even with the place being packed the food arrived without an undue wait.

Cast Iron Cornbread

This was an appetizer so we’ll start here.  This is definitely a distinctive corn bread.  It is baked in a six inch cast iron skillet and that is how it arrives on the table along with a small serving cup of butter and a similar cup of jalapeno jelly.  Since the skillet handle was hot our server sliced the cornbread for us.  The skillet baking gives it a crunchy crust.  It is firm and stands up to both the butter and the jelly with no crumbling.  There are some corn kernels distributed through it and it is not too sweet.  If there is anything to complain about it would be that it seems a bit oily, but we did not find that a negative.   I wouldn’t say it is the best cornbread we have ever tried, but it is certainly among the best.

Smoked Sausage

Just what the menu says, this is a smoked sausage, not a hot link.  Obviously grilled, delightfully spiced, with a proper pop when cut, and thoroughly smoked, this is one of the best smoked sausage links we ever tasted.  Some smoked sausages sneak up on you afterward with a hot aftertaste, not the case here.  Sharon appreciated that it was not a tonsil scorcher.  I was glad that we got two of them.  The better part of one came home as a leftover and was every bit as good as a lunchtime snack the next day.  If you like smoked sausage this is the one to try.

BBQ Brick Chicken

From the way this chicken breast was flattened I think it really was grilled under a brick.  The result is amazing.  I appreciate barbecued chicken done well, however this is one of the best I have found.  It is completely done though, juicy and tender enough to cut with a fork.  They use pecan wood in their smoker and subtle flavor of the smoke went completely through the meat.  For those of you who find the flavor of the red oak usually used in the more trendy California barbecues too intense the flavor of the pecan wood used here is just perfect.

Beer Braised Texas Brisket

When they threw this brisket down on the cutting board for slicing it quivered.  Fork tender, flavorful, smoked through and through, with the right amount of fat to be fully flavored, this is brisket that tastes like it was done by someone who has been to Texas.  

Carolina Style Pulled Pork

Again, this is something that tastes like it was done by someone who has been there.  The pile I had showed a perfect smoke ring at the edge.  All the meats here have their own distinct flavor and the pulled pork is no exception.  The flavor stands by itself, but there was a squeeze bottle of hot pepper and mustard sauce on the table that went perfectly with this.  If I’m ever in South Pasadena at lunch time I will certainly come here for a pulled pork sandwich.

St Louis Style Ribs

These are not the meatiest spare ribs I have experienced nor are they falling off the bone tender.  However, the flavor is exceptional, again from the pecan wood smoking; they are acceptably meaty, and tender to the tooth.  Not absolutely the best ribs I have ever eaten, but definitely up there with the best.  These are ribs worth eating.

Mac ‘N Cheese

You get a decent size serving of a simple macaroni style mac and cheese.  The pasta is al dente, the sauce cheesy though not too creamy, and the taste is mild though not bland.  No one is reaching for any new heights with this one, but its mildness is a nice counterpoint to the smoky flavor of the meats.

Braised Southern Greens

This is a fairly conventional preparation of greens, very good, and with its own distinct flavor.  Like everything else here it speaks for itself.  I don’t think it will make converts of anyone who doesn’t like greens, but if you like greens already it’s worth ordering.

BBQ Baked Beans

Far above average baked beans.  This is a three bean (kidney, black and navy) version with large chunks of pork in it.  The sauce is stronger than usual, but not too sweet or spicy.  I’ve had other barbecue baked beans that reached farther for culinary heights, but these find a very enjoyable level.  Damn good beans.

Cole Slaw

You’ve seen me write about liking vinaigrette style coleslaw.  That’s exactly what this is and it hits most of the good points.  It is two kinds of cabbage, carrots and what appears to be celery seed.  While it is not too wet the dressing is where it misses the mark.  It is almost too dry and the dressing could have a bit more tang.  As a side to a meal it falls short, but I tried some on the pulled pork as it would be in a sandwich and the combination was just about perfect.

S’Mores

When Justin recited the dessert choices, and he came to the S’Mores, we couldn’t resist it.  We had an unusual presentation of S’Mores at the Spring Street Smokehouse and it invited comparison.  We’re glad we did, because this is a delightful treat.  The previous version we tried was a wonderfully sweet mess invented by a chef having fun.  This version was a sophisticated creation that seemed as though done by a girl scout with a cordon blue.  It’s deceptively simple.  A plate is decorated with chocolate sauce; a crushed graham cracker disk with a slab of not-overly-sweet chocolate mousse is placed on the plate and decorated with marshmallow chunks that appear to be bruleed with a torch.  It is a surprising finish to a meal of damn good barbecue.

As I said at the beginning this is a place where the food speaks for itself, and it speaks volumes. Nothing we tried here was bad or even average.  Since we have been here before it speaks to the consistency of their quality.  Their portions are not large, but are a genteel sufficiency and well worth the money, which incidentally, is less than we have paid for far inferior barbecue at other places.  This is one of the best ones and we always leave Gus’s smiling.  We give it a nine and a half.

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We were wondering why no one commented on anything we wrote in this blog.  I checked the settings and discovered that no one could post a comment.  OOPS!  The settings have been changed to allow comments.

Sorry about that!

Howard and Sharon

Spring Street Smokehouse

“My doctor told me I had to stop throwing intimate dinners for four unless there are three other people.”

--- Orson Wells

 

SPRING STREET SMOKEHOUSE

 

640 N. Spring Street

Los Angeles, CA 90012

213-636-0535

http://sssmokehouse.com/

 

Following Orson Well’s doctor’s advice we invited three more people to go to the Spring Street Smokehouse with us last Saturday night.  We were attending an event at the Museum of Natural History.  We took our 4 year old grandson to the Spider Pavilion member’s preview night.  Yes, you’re in the cage with the spiders.  Sharon insists some are large enough to carry off a mouse.  After our bout with arachnophobia, I called the restaurant to see if we needed reservations.  I told them that we were about a half hour away and that there would be one child and four adults that act like children.  When Amber stopped laughing she said that it was not too crazy in there that night and that she would save a table for us.  She did not even ask my name.  When we arrived, a half hour later (thanks to downtown LA Saturday night freeway traffic) there was a table waiting for us.  It points out that this is a restaurant where the staff is exceptionally accommodating.

You get the feeling that the Spring Street Smokehouse is a fun local place for the denizens of downtown.  It is in a storefront just up a quiet side street (Spring Street North of Cesar Chavez is a quiet side street, not a major downtown street.) right on the border between the Olvera Street historic district and China Town.  Parking in this older part of town is a bit of a problem, but there are a couple of pay lots, with a $5.00 flat rate for the evening, that are within very short walking distance. 

The interior is a sort of restaurant designer roadhouse with a twist.  The walls are covered with corrugated steel instead of barn siding.  A nod to the trendy is a large mirror on the back wall that allows those facing the rear to see who else is in the room.  There is a bar on one side of the dining room and about a dozen tables distributed around.  They are not hesitant to pull tables together to accommodate a larger party.  The tables are covered with white paper and crayons are available for the children, and adults who act like children to exercise their artistic skills while waiting for their food.  Utensils and a bottle of ketchup are in a metal basket at the side of the table along with roll of paper towel to be used as napkins.  In an exceptional nod to traditional barbecue service a whole white bread, in its wrapper, was on the table along with a set of tongs.  Amber brought us menus and took our drink order.  By the way, they have an exceptionally good cream soda available.  I lived back East until I was eight and cream soda brings back memories.

We ordered a three meat combo platter with pulled pork, tri-tip, and chicken.  They have individual and share sizes on the platters so we ordered a share size.  We also ordered  a 4 X 4 rib platter, four spare ribs and four baby back ribs and a couple of a la carte beef hot links to get a good sampling of the que.  The sides were baked beans, coleslaw, collard greens, fries, corn bread and mac and cheese.  We also had s’mores and bourbon bread pudding for dessert.

We’ll do the sides first.

Corn Bread

I don’t like to start with a negative, but points off for this.  The serving was two small corn muffins.  They looked good, but Sharon spotted the peppers in them immediately.  Taste did not follow the looks since they were rather dry.  Although dry they were, somehow, able to stand up to butter, but even with the peppers, all you could taste was the butter.  For want of a better description they were disappointing.

Collard Greens

The greens were exactly the opposite of the corn bread.  Traditionally prepared greens don’t get any better than this.  One of our party was trying greens for the first time and became hooked.  Great greens!

Fries

One of Sharon’s great dislikes is underdone fires.  She loved these.  They were hot, crisp and tasty.  This is an example of why French fries are the most popular food in the country if not the world. 

Baked Beans

The beans were not bad for commercial baked beans with bacon and brown sugar right out of the can.  Well, not quite right out of the cans since each serving had a chunk of pork floating in the middle of it.  Enough said.

Coleslaw

I never thought that I would find a vinaigrette dressing coleslaw that I didn’t like, but here was another incompetent slaw.  Maybe a coarse shred slaw makes a statement, but there are limit to the coarseness.  Some of the shreds of cabbage were almost a foot long making it which is fine if you want to braid them first, but to say the least, a bit difficult to eat.  It was comprised only of different kinds of cabbage.  That’s all, just cabbage.  It could have used some interesting additions like cilantro or other vegetables.  While you have previously read my complaints about slaw that was drowning in dressing this one was actually too dry.  Here, you could barely taste the dressing.  All the parts were here to make a really exceptional slaw, but the execution missed.

Mac and Cheese

Actually, this was very good.  It was elbow macaroni al dente with a nice, creamy cheddar sauce.  The four year old said that he didn’t want any mac and cheese when we ordered it.  After he tasted it he scarfed it down.  His mother said that she had never seen him put away food like that before.  He also put away a substantial quantity of the beans which made us thankful that we didn’t have to go home with him.

Hot Links

Everyone agreed that they get an A+ for this.  Well, maybe not everyone since Sharon and the grandson did not try them.   Juicy links with a good spurt when cut, a nice texture, and just the right amount of spice without masochistic heat are a joy on the tongue.  I could have made a meal of the links.

Chicken

We have another place where someone knows how to barbecue a chicken.  You could tell it was barbecued since it was moist, smoky and most importantly, thoroughly done.  Again, I could have just ordered the chicken.

Tri-Tip

Maybe I should have just ordered the chicken.  Tri-tip should not be sliced this thin or cooked this long.  It’s not corned beef.  It arrived sauced, and although I wiped off the sauce to taste it, it was just too thin to get a good taste.  It needs to be thick enough to get a good taste of the juices, spice rub and smoke when you bit into it.  This is beef but was certainly overcooked and so tasteless that is was completely overwhelmed by the sauce.

Pulled Pork

This was not pulled, but chunky as though someone in the kitchen was more used to doing carnitas.  The problem was that it was too dry for carnitas despite the generous amount of sauce ladled over it.  It did have a better barbecue flavor than the beef, but was still less impressive than the chicken.  I haven’t tried the leftovers as a sandwich yet, but I don’t think it will be exceptional.

Pork Spare Ribs

The first thing you noticed was that they were small, but plump although a bit fatty.  When this happens, the fat usually at least intensifies the flavor.  In this case it didn’t.  The flavor was only slightly smoky and not intense enough to stand up to the sauce.  Again, the chicken was more impressive.  They were even bland as a leftover.

Baby Back Ribs

These were definitely overcooked.  While meaty, they were a bit tough and dry.  Even the generous amount of barbeque sauce slathered on couldn’t save them.  Somehow, even with the overcooking, the flavor was not intensely smoky.  I really have to wonder just how they are doing the barbecuing.   Of all the things you can order at a barbecue place the baby back ribs are the one thing you don’t want to disappoint.  These do.

S’mores

I’ve never seen s’mores done like this.  It is served in a cup with the graham crackers at the bottom and filled with melted marshmallows and chocolate.  You eat it with a spoon.  It isn’t the most sophisticated dessert in the world, but we all, adults and child, thought it was fun.

Bourbon Bread Pudding

I had to ask Amber if it was from the Johnny Walker school of bread pudding or the Jack Daniels school of bread pudding.  She said that she thought it was Jim Beam.  Except for the fact that it was covered with whipped cream, and not a cooked bourbon sauce, this was bread pudding the way it should be done.  It is firm but not so much that you cannot eat it with a spoon and has just the right sweetness.  This is one of Sharon’s favorites. 

If I seem to be severe about the que here it’s because the place has so much potential.  The staff is friendly.  Service is good. The bar is excellent with an extensive menu of beers, wines listed on chalk boards around the room, and a couple of signature soft drinks.  And, above all, the atmosphere is fun.  The problem is that the food seems to be about half hits and half misses.  The hits show that someone in the kitchen really knows what they are doing, but you come to a barbecue place for the que and not all the que is good.   Every type of meat had the same barbeque sauce ladled over it instead of tailoring each sauce for each type of meat.  And the barbeque sauce used was not that great to begin with and I suspect came directly out of an industrial sized can.  With someone in the kitchen who knows what they are doing there is no reason that it can’t all be good.  Spring Street Smokehouse is not a destination restaurant for the que, but I would not hesitate to go back there if I were downtown at lunch or dinner time.  (Assuming they would let me back in the door after reading this.)  We give it a seven.

The Q Spot BBQ Truck

“Food is an important part of a balanced diet.”
― Fran Lebowitz

 

 

Q SPOT BBQ TRUCK

Los Angeles Area, various locations around town.

818-855-9950

http://theqspotbbq.com       (Note: This link seems to be dead.)

https://twitter.com/theqspotbbq      (The Twitter page works.)

 

Sharon, the more daring part of the duo, suddenly announced “Let’s do barbeque food trucks!”  So, off we went.  Wednesday and Friday nights in Granada Hills finds a congregation of food trucks on two blocks of Chatsworth Boulevard between White Oak and Zelza.  In a carnival atmosphere you can find almost any food you desire from a seeming endless array of gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches (Yes, that’s all one truck sells is grilled cheese and drinks!)  to Mexiterranean  (Mexican/Mediterranean fusion) for the adventurous.  Many of the trucks are Southern style or have soul food and have one or two barbecue items per truck, but there are a few that specialize in barbecue. 

First, we stopped at Smokin’ Willie’s BBQ Truck.  The menu here is barbecued meatballs, pulled pork and pulled chicken.  This is all served as sandwiches, sliders, or tacos.  Not exactly traditional barbecue, but we tried samples of the pulled pork and pulled chicken.  They were a bit over sauced…to the point where you could not tell the difference between the chicken and the pork.  To be fair, the sauce was great but you can have too much of a great thing so we moved on.

The only truck that had traditional barbecue last Friday was The Q Spot BBQ Truck.  They claim to have Texas style barbecue, and I won’t dispute that.   The truck was parked in front of a store that had a ledge across the façade that provided convenient seating and we decided to order and eat there.  They were giving out samples of rib tips so we had a couple of those and made our order.  We ordered pulled pork, brisket, a hot link, pork ribs, baked beans, and potato salad.  That and a couple of drinks came to a little more than one combo plate at a moderately priced barbecue restaurant.   Eating off a truck means portable food.  You expect sandwiches.

Pulled Pork

This was served as a sandwich on a fresh hamburger bun.  It was tender, not too fatty, and full of the flavor of the cherry wood smoke, which I find more subtle than oak…a pulled pork that should be the minimum standard for any barbecue establishment.  Unfortunately, there are too many places that do not do it this well.  Q Spot had one interesting little trick.  They put some French’s mustard (for all you traditionalists out there, like Sharon) and some barbeque sauce (light, not heavy on the sauce) on the bun and some sweet pickle relish on top of the sauce.  The combination of the mustard, barbeque sauce and pickle relish gave your taste buds the illusion of a Carolina style barbecue sauce.

Brisket

Again, this is served as a sandwich on a hamburger bun, but what a sandwich!   This is brisket done by someone that understands brisket.  It is moist and fall apart tender with its beefy flavor enhanced by the cherry wood smoke.  It was not over sauced so the flavor of the beef came through.  This is brisket that also stands up to the kitty test and burrito from leftovers test.

Pork Ribs

These are sold by the rib.  Bring money!  They were meaty, fall-off-the-bone tender, and just smoky enough.  They could possibly be a little moister, but that is a minor point that most would ignore.  If all pork ribs were this good as these, pigs would be an endangered species.  They come with the traditional slice of white bread, which came in handy later. 

Hot Link

The line on the menu says (Spicy).  It’s not kidding.  I warned Sharon about this one but she had to try a bite.  It turned out to be a tonsil scorcher for her.  (She still has hers.)  The link was served on a fresh hot dog bun, and if you are not used to a real hot link you will be glad for the bread.  It’s a nice fat link with good texture, flavor, and heat.  I’m not saying that it’s too hot; just know that the description is milder than the link.

Beans

These are killer beans!    They’re just beans in a sauce, but what a sauce.  There seems to be brown sugar, molasses, cayenne pepper, and a few other things that combine to make them the most wonderful, sweet and spicy beans.  Duke, from the Bush’s Beans commercials, will probably be lurking around to steal the recipe.  That slice of white bread came in handy here.  Both to help cool down the spicy part of the sauce and to mop up the sauce when the beans were gone.

Potato Salad

You know they made this one and are thankful for it.  It is potato salad the way I like it, not too creamy with distinct chunks of potatoes, combined with bell peppers, and bits of other vegetables and a touch of cayenne and herbs.  This is another side well worth trying.

Rib Tips

The rib tips were not exceptionally meaty, but tender and not over cooked.  This was where they blew it, in my opinion.  It’s traditional to sauce rib tips but they drowned these.  Enough sauce for a double dipped glaze would have been sufficient.

  OK, so it’s not a restaurant, and you may have to chase it down at lunch time, but it  has what would be damn good Que from a restaurant and not at all what you expect from a food truck.  The carnival atmosphere at food truck nights in Granada Hills was fun and with food this good we have to give them an eight.

Smoke City Market

THIS PLACE IS GONE!

“Only Jews and Texans understand brisket.”

--- Anthony Bourdain

“Not all of them.”

--- Howard

SMOKE CITY MARKET

5242 Van Nuys Boulevard

Sherman Oaks, CA 91401

818-855-1280

11:00 AM to 10:00 PM or until they run out of meat

http://www.smokecitymarket.com/

Some of the best barbecue in Texas is served up at some of the quirkiest places.  You find a small stand with a big smoker behind it.  They fire up the smoker with oak at 3:00 AM and slowly smoke meat that is prepared with nothing more than a salt and pepper rub.  They open the stand at noon, sell the meat by the pound and close when they run out of meat.  The service is strictly at the cutting board and they wrap your meat in butcher paper and you walk off with it.  You may be able to get some pit beans as a side and you can pull a bottle of soda from an old Coke cooler.  There will probably be some picnic tables for seating, outside, paper towels for napkins, and if you must, a bottle or two of barbecue sauce.  The meat at these places is so tender and flavorful (It’s usually grass fed, beef, not feed lot beef.) that people line up at 8:00 AM waiting for the place to open so they don’t miss out.  Smoke City Market is an attempt to bring this “meat market” style of Texas barbecue to Los Angeles.

It’s in a store front on Van Nuys Boulevard.   There are some small, two person, picnic tables in front and larger picnic tables inside.  Enough Texas memorabilia is nailed to the walls to establish their Texas cred, but I wouldn’t call this interior restaurant designer anything by any stretch of the term.  There is the old Coke cooler alongside where people line up to order.  You walk up to the order counter to place your order and pick up your order on the other side of the register at the other end of the counter.  The prep table/cutting boards are behind the order counter.  Meat is sold by the half-pound with market prices posted on a large board behind the prep counters.  Your order comes on a tray, or as many trays as necessary, and they tear off a couple of feet of butcher paper, from a roll behind the counter, for each person in your party.  You put the butcher paper down in front of you on the picnic table, put your meat on it and go to town.  Napkins are sheets pulled from a paper towel dispenser on a post in the middle of the room, and there is a bucket on each table with plastic utensils and a couple of squeeze bottles of barbecue sauce.  When we were there a sound track was playing that indicated that someone really likes their classic rock and roll.

The sauces are what you might expect at a real Texas meat market style establishment.  One is a standard sort of sweet barbecue sauce and the other is a vinegar and mustard hot sauce.  In Texas you will find that the meat at these places is so flavorful that the sauce is redundant.  I wish I could say that here.

Beef Brisket

They serve it lean or moist.  In Texas this does not mean sauced or dry, but do you want it cut from the lean end or the fat end.  We chose it lean.  I will tell you that it looked just right, juicy, just cooked through, and cut with the touch of a fork (even a plastic fork).  What we could not understand is how they could manage to rub a brisket with salt and pepper, smoke it over oak for somewhere between 12 and 18 hours, have it look so good, and be so tasteless.  There were some “Best Meat” awards on the wall, but whoever awarded them did not taste this brisket this evening.  Just to give you an idea of how bland this brisket is, I had no hesitation in sharing some of the leftovers with my cats.  It wasn’t spicy enough to make them spit it back at us or rich enough to make them throw it back up.

St Louis Spare Ribs

These ribs were reasonably meaty and did have a slight oak smoke flavor.  They were tender and not stringy (not something you would expect from pork anyway) but seemed to be a bit dry.  Our impression was passable, but not great ribs even as a leftover the next day.

Texas Beef Rib

Typical looking Texas beef rib, large, and one bone has about a half pound of meat on it.  Because of the beef fat you knew it was beef, but somehow it didn’t have any more flavor than the pork ribs.  Usually, Texas beef ribs shout “BEEF!” to the taste buds.  This one was tender and not stringy, but as Texas beef it was rather shy and retiring.  Again, something you can share with the cats.

Jalapeno Cheddar Link

I had intended to order a normal beef link, but they were out of them at 7:00 in the evening.  From what I have been told by others who have been there this is a good thing, due to the quality of the links, not a lapse of inventory management on the part of the cooks.  While I’m not a fan of novelty links, with things like cheese in them, this was actually quite good.  It was too hot for Sharon, but to my taste had just a hint of jalapeno and no lingering after taste hotness.  I would guess that most people will probably find it hot enough to be glad that they give you a couple of slices of white bread for each person in your party.

Pulled Pork

This is probably the best thing here, or at least the best thing we tried.  It was smoky, tender, and manages to be relatively lean without being dry.  A small amount of the vinegar and mustard based sauce complements it well.  I’ve had better, but this is more than acceptable.  Just based on the pork, I would have no problems ordering a pulled pork sandwich here…if it were just pork.

Cabbage and Apple Slaw

I think someone forgot to order the apples.  There wasn’t a piece of apple in sight, but it did have some carrot slivers.  It was way too wet with a thin dressing and seemingly just dead cabbage.   For once I have found an incompetent slaw.  It would have been better to have come from a tub from Smart and Final.

Longhorn Mac and Cheese

This is rotini pasta with the most outrageously bland cheese sauce we have experienced.  Kraft mac and cheese would have been better.

Pit Beans

Not bad, actually, not great, but more than acceptable.  Some barbecue places have taken their beans to new heights.  This one does not reach for any culinary heights, but is a more than competent side dish for barbecue.

Banana Pudding

This is a barbecue dessert staple, done disappointingly.  It seemed a dispirited commercial pudding mix poured into a plastic go box with a couple of banana slices and vanilla wafers.  Try Baby Blues or Famous Dave’s to see how this should be done.

I suppose the problems we had with the Smoke City Market were that we had expectations.  With great reviews, recommendations from acquaintances, and experience with Texas barbecue, we were probably set up for a fall.  Regardless of our expectations, we would have been disappointed anyway.  We would really have to find a good reason to give it another try.  This one gets a five.

Baby Blues BBQ

THIS PLACE IS GONE!  

We will review the other location that still exists.

 "When engaged in eating, the brain should be the servant of the stomach.”
--- Agatha Christie

BABY BLUES BBQ – WEST HOLLYWOOD

7953 Santa Monica Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90046

323-656-1277

http://www.babyblueswh.com

We were taking our 4 year old grandson to the Page Museum ( Paleolithic megafauna, NOT dinosaurs.) at the La Brea tar pits last Saturday at his request.  Since this is over the hill from us we decided to have an early dinner at Baby Blues in West Hollywood.  (For those of you not familiar with Los Angles geography, the Hollywood Hills are a range of mountains that separates Downtown, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and the West Side from The Valley.  Being Valleyites anything in Hollywood is “over the hill” for us. )  We arrived a little after 4:00 PM, a conveniently slow time, after lunch and before dinner gets started, and had no trouble getting seated immediately.

Located in a store front, with adjacent parking, Baby Blues is decorated in restaurant designer Southern roadhouse/dive/backwoods style and reminded Sharon of the décor at Stevie’s in Encino.  Somehow, it comes off as more comfortably authentic than most places decorated like this.  And it is definitely kid friendly.  When you enter the bar is at the left and the dining area to the right.  Seating is a mix of tables and chairs and booths.  The tables have a paper towel holder in the center, a great accessory for eating barbecue, and bottles with an assortment of four sauces.  The sauces were regular, sweet, hot and XXX which is a good Georgia style mustard and vinegar based sauce.  You know someone here has a sense of humor when you notice the formal portrait photo of “The Most Interesting Man in the World” (actor Jonathan Goldsmith, if you didn’t know.) behind the bar.

I don’t know if it was just that it was the slack time between lunch and dinner or that it is their normal mood but the servers and bar tender seemed to be especially cheerful.  It’s probably their normal mood because they were still cheerful after a shift change.  Even though the server that took our order left at the shift change Julie Ann took over with no interruption or mistakes in our order.  Sharon and I each ordered a three meat combo with two sides and our grandson’s mother ordered some shrimp (large, juicy, not over cooked) as an appetizer and several sides that would satisfy the appetites of a four year old and both of them shared what we ordered as well.  The food arrived promptly, even for the slack time of the day, and was satisfyingly hot.

You can’t pin a regional style on the preparation here.  Some items are definitely St Louis style, or Memphis, or Georgia, or Texas and one uniquely California.  Let’s start with the meat this time.

Tri-Tip

This is the item that is uniquely California.  The smoky flavor is as good as any I’ve had on the Central Coast.  It is not sliced too thin so you get a good squirt of the tasty juices when you bite into it.  It also passes the leftover test hot or cold.  Simply put, tri-tip does not get any better than this.

Pulled Pork

This needs to be enjoyed as the only meat on the plate.  In flavor and texture it seems more Georgia style than Memphis style with a less intense flavor.  If you have it on a combo platter with some stronger beef flavors, say pulled brisket and tri-tip, it seems to take a back seat.  However, in a sandwich, on a lightly toasted bun, with the coleslaw served here and a dab of the XXX sauce it is outstanding.  This is another item that stands up to the leftover test.  If you have any extra, take it home.

 Hot Link

It was not so much of a hot link as a mild link with an after bite.  The seasoning is good, but not too intense, and the link is juicy and it has a good pop when you slice it.  This is not the best link I have had, but worth ordering.

Chicken

Succulent, tender breast, fully cooked and not the least bit dry, this chicken has a good smoky flavor and is barbecued chicken done right.

St Louis Style Ribs

These were not the most meaty pork ribs we have had, and much to our surprise came already sauced with the regular sauce.  They were not falling off the bone tender, but were tender to the tooth, not the least bit stringy, and had a good, smoky flavor…very good but not great ribs.  They did make decent leftovers.

Beer Braised Brisket

When this comes on the plate it is a surprise.  You’ll be tempted to ask, “Where’s the beef?”  If you were expecting sliced brisket, don’t.  It is served as a pulled beef.  The next surprise is how good it tastes.  It may have been double dipped since it seems to have a slight glaze.  The flavor is not too intense, but can overpower chicken or the pulled pork.  This is something else that should be enjoyed as the only meat on the plate, but for the opposite reason as the pulled pork.  It passes the leftover test very well and made an especially savory burrito the next day.

Texas Beef Rib

If I were still in my twenties I would have thought it a small serving, but it tasted like beef with a capital “B”.  OK, this isn’t the largest Texas rib I have ever had, but it was definitely a good serving.  It was juicy, tender, flavorful and not stringy at all.  As good a Texas rib as you will find outside of Texas.

And, now, let’s look at the sides.

Pork and Beans

Unlike canned products of the same name, this is exactly what the name says.  The dish had chunks of pork and three different kinds of beans, pinto, black and kidney, in a rich sauce. It tastes so good that you could make a meal out of a bowl of it.

Collard Greens

There are greens traditionalists, for whom the greens at Mom’s are the only way greens should be done.  While the greens at Mom’s are the standard for traditional greens, I like kitchens that reach for new heights with simple things like greens.  Baby Blues reaches new heights with greens.  They are cooked in what appears to be a tomato based soup stock and have an intense flavor.  If you have never liked greens before try these.

Mac and Cheese

A baked mac and cheese made with real cheese, and seems to have been baked with a topping of panko breading with just a touch of cayenne pepper. The pasta, apparently a ribbed sedani rigati type, is not overcooked…one of the better mac and cheese versions available. 

Yams

These were creamy and sweet, but had some chewy bits in it that might not be yam…possibly apple.  It was mildly seasoned without any one spice standing out.  They are competent but not outstanding.  Once again, Mom’s is the standard of excellence for yams.

Corn Bread

This is a sheet pan cornbread that is moist, actually dense, and can stand up to butter with no problem.  It has roasted corn kernels, a hint of cayenne, and a sweetness, possibly from a little molasses, that almost makes you want to make a dessert of it.  It is different but one of the great corn breads.

There are real desserts, however.

Key Lime Pie

It’s not a large serving, but our grandson’s mother, who is from the Caribbean, tasted it and said, “That’s Key Lime pie!”

Banana Pudding

If this was a commercial mix and not “made in the kitchen” they have found an exceptional one.  It was creamy with a good banana flavor, contained the required banana slices and vanilla cookies.  Our grandson delightedly used the cookies to make banana pudding sandwiches.

Baby Blues is a small chain.  They have another location in Santa Monica.  It will be interesting to see if the owners can keep up the exceptional quality of food and atmosphere if the expand it further.  Make no mistake, it is exceptional.  They seem to take pride in using what they feel is the best method of preparation for each style of meat regardless of the barbecue style.  You can’t pigeonhole it.  This is a barbecue destination.  Taking it all in, I gave it a nine, Sharon a nine point five.

Mom's Bar-B-Q House

“Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French. Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese; garlic makes it good.”

 
--- Alice May Brock

 

MOM’S Bar-B-Q HOUSE

 

14062 Vanowen Street

Van Nuys, CA 91405

818-786-1373

818-786-1389 FAX

 

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

11:00 AM to 10:00 PM Friday

Noon to 9:00 PM Saturday

 

http://momsbarbq.com

 

Mom’s Bar-B-Q House is one of the standards by which to judge barbecue.  You might not guess this the first time you come to Mom’s because it is probably the most humble barbecue establishment you have ever seen.  It is a tiny storefront location in the corner of a minor strip mall.  Inside there is seating for maybe twelve people.  Three quarters of the place is kitchen.  Obviously, most of their business is take out.   The first thing you notice is the good smell of the food.  As you look around the room you see the menu writ large on the wall.   Then, you begin to notice the photos, mostly and head shots, of the famous and near famous that frequent Mom’s.  Finally, you notice the awards that indicate that what is served here is no ordinary barbecue.

What is served here is Louisiana, Creole, style barbecue and soul food.  So, vampires, beware!  Mom does not fear garlic.  The barbecue menu is a bit limited, but they concentrate on the basics.  They also have fried chicken and fried fish on the menu, what you would expect from a Louisiana Creole kitchen.  Unfortunately, they don’t do shrimp. 

We had a couple of friends over who wanted a Mom’s fix so we had the opportunity to order more than our usual combo plates to get a good sampling.  The combos are two of any meat so we ordered our first one of pork ribs and chicken with rice and greens, the second was beef ribs and links with cole slaw and baked beans and we also ordered a separate rib tips dinner with potato salad and macaroni salad.  The yams and mac and cheese are special order items, not regular sides.  There’s a reason as you will see.  We always order at least a half pint of each.  Of course, we could not resist getting an order of corn bread.

Corn Bread

Actually, it was not up to par this time.  It is a sheet pan corn bread, and came out a bit dry.  It was tasty, but crumbled at the sight of a butter patty.

Yams

These are wonderful!  They are sweet, well spiced, and a real treat.  At the first taste you will find out why they are a special order item.  Don’t wait to the end of the dinner hour to make your order because they will run out of yams.

Greens

More people would like greens if they had these.  This is how greens are supposed to taste.  They are not over cooked and not too vinegary.  Sets the standard.

Cole Slaw

Not bad, but not exceptional.  This is a competent shredded slaw with carrots.

Macaroni Salad

Not your grandmother’s macaroni salad, unless Mom is your grandmother.  The pasta is al dente; it has chunks of fresh tomato, green pepper and scallions and is subtly dressed.   It will make you rethink what a macaroni salad should be.

Potato Salad

This is too smoothly mixed for my taste.  I like to be able to feel the individual chunks of potato as I eat it.  It is tasty and the taste is home made.  I don’t think this one came out of a bulk carton from Smart and Final.

Baked Beans

The beans fall down a bit.  They are oddly flat. Not bad, but not that great.

Mac and Cheese

Another item that sets the standard and don’t wait too late to place your order if you want this either.  They regularly run out.  If you are used to mac and cheese mixes from a box you need to try this baked mac and cheese.  It is mac and cheese done right, with macaroni that is not mushy and real cheese.

Pork Ribs

Mom’s serves their meat wet.  This is not a problem here.  The sauce hides nothing, but be aware that the preparation is not stingy on the garlic.  These ribs are meaty, fall off the bone tender and have amazing flavor.  Whatever style you prefer in pork ribs these are about as good as they get.

Links

We ordered mild links and were a bit disappointed.  I’ve had them here before and something was a bit off this night.  The spices are unique but good; however the texture was a bit mealy as though it had some kind of filler.  Although they were mild to first taste they had a hot aftertaste that was a bit too much for Sharon.  Both she and Leslie reported that the aftertaste burned their mouth and throat.

Beef Ribs

What can you say?  They are relatively meaty, not fall off the bone tender but tender when chewed, and not in the least bit stringy.  (I hate stringy beef ribs.)  The have a slight glaze to them which makes me think that they are double dipped.  Be aware, that if you have leftovers you need to repackage them in tightly sealed plastic containers so that the garlic smell will not knock you over when you open the refrigerator door the next morning. 

Chicken

The barbecued chicken is done but not overcooked and has a flavor that stands up to the sauce.  This may seem like faint praise, but it’s not easy to get barbecued chicken right, and many places can’t get it as consistently right as Mom’s.  Try their fried chicken too.

Rib Tips

Rib tips are another of those things that it is not easy to do right.  These are done right, tender and not cooked to dryness.  If you’ve ever done rib tips yourself you know that it’s a bit of a crapshoot as to whether or not they are meaty enough to be worth it.  It speaks well of the care they use to select their meat at Mom’s that these are mostly meaty for rib tips.

Everyone has an off day and Mom’s is no exception.  The food on the night we did this post would give them a rating of eight and a half.  Most times we have ordered here they would get a nine.  You might think that this isn’t so great but you must understand that Mom’s is the standard that we use to compare other barbecue.  Either they are better than Mom’s, which doesn’t happen that often or not as good as Mom’s, which happens a lot. Even when they have an off day they are exceptional.  If you are in the area you have to order from Mom’s.  But, remember, Mom doesn’t cook on Sundays.