JOHNNY REBS' TRUE SOUTH - LONG BEACH

“We all eat, and it would be a sad waste of opportunity to eat badly.”

 -Anna Thomas

JOHNNY REBS’ TRUE SOUTH  -  LONG BEACH

4663 Long Beach Blvd

Long Beach, CA 90805

(562) 423-7327

https://johnnyrebs.com/

Sunday – Thursday  7:00 AM to 9:00 PM

Friday – Saturday     7:00 AM to 10:00 PM

We really weren’t going there today.  A friend was celebrating her birthday at a belly dance showcase held in a coffee house in Long Beach.  Well, we weren’t (I wasn’t) going to miss that so we planned to go to Long Beach along with another friend.  I looked up the barbeque joints in Long Beach that we had not reviewed (actually, most of them) and I made a list of four that would be on our way to the coffee house

.

The closest one was Robert Earl’s BBQ, which is a an apparently extremely popular hole in the wall, abysmally short of parking, on the northern edge of Long Beach.  I managed to shoe horn my Subaru into a space on a side street that was about a foot longer than it was and we went inside.  Before we could order we found that, at 5:30 on a Saturday night they were already out of mac and cheese, coleslaw, greens, and yams so we decided to go to the next place on the list.  Some of the people waiting for their orders were vocally surprised that we left just because the place was out of some sides, but since we write this blog (something we didn’t tell them) we decided to come back another time when we can get the full experience.

The next place was Johnny Rebs’ True South.  Physically, this place looks the part.  They have done their best to reproduce a southern roadhouse.  The parking lot is dirt and along with the cars you typically find in Southern California there was an assortment of old pickup trucks and motorcycles all of which actually belonged to customers.  The interior is all knotty pine, tongue and groove planking with old license plates and period advertising on the walls along with what appear to be photos of their more notable customers.  Most of the seating is wooden booths with a few tables in the back where the space widens out behind the kitchen. There are buckets of peanuts on the tables and you throw the shells on the floor.  This is definitely a casual place.

At a few minutes before 6:00 there were only three booths and a table open and a few minutes after we were seated in one of the booths the place was packed solid. The hostess and servers were cheerful, prompt and attentive which seemed to bode well.  Although the menu serves for all of their locations (There are two others.) this location only has a beer and wine license which Sharon found disappointing since she really wanted a margarita.  She and the friend with us ordered wine.  They are the designated drinkers so I ordered iced tea and in true Southern fashion the server asked, “Sweetened or unsweetened”. The drinks came promptly and the iced tea was served in a Mason jar.

This is not strictly a barbeque place with some of the menu selections what you could call Southern comfort food.  Besides the ‘que’ they have the appetizers, salads, sandwiches, and dinner selections you would expect to find in the south with a few concessions to California like flat bread pizzas (although with some truly Southern toppings).  They also serve breakfast which is why they open at 7:00 AM.

We have a ‘thing’ for fried dill pickles so we got a half order for an appetizer.  Our friend ordered a Brisket Sandwich with Mac and Cheese as a side.  Sharon ordered a Baby Back Rib Dinner with Mac and Cheese and Baked Beans for sides.  I ordered a Carolina Combo with Sliced Brisket and Pulled Pork with Greens and Fried Okra sides.  The food arrived without an excessive wait so between the three of us we hardly made a dent in the bucket of peanuts.   To finish our dinner we split an order of Bread Pudding between the three of us.

Fried Pickles

The Pickles arrived hot from the fryer with a side of ranch dressing for dipping.  Believe it or not, this is something that can be done badly.  Here, they are done right!  The breading was crisp, not too heavy, and the pickles were not overly salty.  This is one of those great Southern appetizers, and one of Sharon’s and my favorites.   Fried Green Tomatoes are also on the menu, another one of my favorites, Sharon not so much.

Brisket

Well, it looked good on the plate.  What appeared to be a smoke ring was a bit anemic but it was moist and not too fatty.  That is about all you can say for it.  Oh it was cooked and certainly safe to eat but not very pleasurable.  Brisket should have a definite flavor that says SMOKED BEEF.  This was tasteless.  It could have used a couple of more hours in the smoker to develop a flavor.  In fact, its blandness even called into question if they had a smoker.  I’ve had coffee shop barbeque, slow roasted in an Alto Shaam® oven with smoke flavor added and slathered with barbeque sauce that tasted better.  (Please note:  As I have said before this is not meant as a disparagement of Alto Shaam®  products.  They make excellent kitchen equipment and they do make commercial indoor smokers.  It just didn’t seem as if this place bothered to use any kind of smoker.)  Our friend, who ordered a Brisket Sandwich, which was served open faced, noted that the tastiest thing on the plate was the bun.  She did say it was a fabulous bun.

Pulled Pork

If the Brisket did not say BEEF, the Pulled Pork absolutely did not say PORK.  After a taste I thought it fortunate that the portion on my plate was a bit small.  The taste reminded me of a conversation I had with the Middle Eastern proprietor of a barbeque restaurant who said, “You don’t need a smoker.  Slow roast the meat with smoke flavor and put barbeque sauce on it and no one can tell the difference.”  Yes, you can!

Baby Back Ribs

At least the Baby Back Ribs had some flavor…not a lot but some.  They were certainly falling off the bone tender.  In fact, a piece of meat fell off of one onto Sharon’s lap.  It’s hard to eat barbeque without taking some piece of clothing to the cleaner.  She ate about half of the half rack and I took the rest home for leftovers.  I had it for lunch a couple of days later and it still disappointed.

Mac and Cheese

This is peculiarly interesting Mac and Cheese.  When it arrived on Sharon’s plate it was cold.  A taste made it seem that the cheese sauce had too much flour in it for thickening.  The portion on our friend’s plate was cold also.  We pointed this out to our server who promptly returned with hot Mac and Cheese side orders.  Hot, it was a different story.  There was a flavorful combination of cheeses and it came off as one of the better Mac and Cheese sides we have tried.  However, I took one portion home as a leftover, and noticed that cold, it again tasted too floury.  Microwaved, it again tasted very good…puzzling.

Greens

This is a very conventional preparation of greens, but it had way too much vinegar.  This would not change the mind of anyone who does not like greens.  Best conventional greens are still found at Mom’s (See previous post on Mom's.) 

Beans

This is a simple bean in sauce preparation.  The sauce has a little bite to it, not something that I would say is hot, but on the edge for Sharon.  It is an adequate side dish but could use some meat in it for more richness. 

Fried Okra

It’s good!  The okra was pleasantly dry and had crisp, thin breading.  It was served with a side of ranch dressing for dipping.  I have one small complaint, it was sliced too short.  Most fried okra is cut short but here I felt like I was eating okra pellets.

Bread Pudding

We all enjoyed the bread pudding.  It was creamy, not dry, and very flavorful.  I suppose it could have used a more traditional bourbon sauce, but in this case, that’s nitpicking.

It is rather hard to write this review because the place is cute and the people are so darn nice.  And, to be perfectly fair, we did not try the entire experience, the other items on the menu and breakfast.  But, what we review is the “que” and that fell far short of average.  I’m afraid we have to give Johnny Rebs’ a four.

MAX CITY BBQ

Great food is like great sex. The more you have the more you want.

--- Gael Greene

MAX CITY BBQ

4729 Eagle Rock Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA  90041     

323-254-4227

http://www.maxcitybbq.com/

So we were driving down Eagle Rock Blvd, to Auntie Em’s Kitchen to get some dessert after eating at the Oinkster when we noticed the Max City BBQ.  The simultaneous double takes as we passed almost gave us whiplash.  On the way back, with our baked goodies, we stopped and noted the address.  We were quite busy for the following month, but when we had an opportunity to have an early dinner with a friend who lives nearby we suggested that we try Max City.

I checked on the Internet and found that they get crowded at 6 PM on Saturdays so we got there about 5:30. There was only one space left in the parking lot which they share with a liquor store.  Walking in, we noticed the simple, but clever, planter wall that they built out back to conceal the smoker.  The place is a small, corner storefront with a patio to one side at the back.  The patio is about half their seating capacity.  The interior is sort of upmarket, Western woodsy with a few tables on one wall and a counter.  The menu is on the wall and on take out menu sheets.  The tables have metal containers with real metal flatware and napkins.  Barbecue sauce in two varieties, Spicy and Not Spicy, is on the table in squeeze bottles.  

You place your order at the counter where they have a state-of-the-art computerized order system.  They sell meats by the pound, sandwiches, salads, with chicken or tri-tip, some selection plates, desserts and drinks.  They also have a lunch plate selection (Monday thru Friday 11:30 to 3:30), big party assortments and a Sunday Brunch menu,

Our order was taken by one of the young, cheerful, and efficient servers.  They gave us a number to put on the table (actually a playing card in the number holder) so the server could bring the order to us.  I ordered a Spence’s Platter of Pork which is ¼ pound of Pulled Pork, ¼ rack of Baby Back Ribs and ¼ rack of St Louis Ribs with two sides, in my case, Collard Greens and Coleslaw and Cornbread.  Sharon ordered Uncle Kenny’s Smoked Platter which is ¼ rack of St Louis Ribs and ¼ Chicken (breast and wing) with Baked Beans and Mac & Cheese and Cornbread.  Our friend ordered a Tri-Tip Sandwich and Baked Beans for her side.  I had the Watermelon Lemonade and Sharon had the regular Lemonade. Our friend had a bottled root beer.  The food arrived quickly and was hot.  The food was served on ¼ baking sheets and the soft drinks in Ball jars.

Tri-Tip

Someone knows what they are doing here.  The meat had a good smoke ring, a nice bark, was tender, flavorful, and juicy and not sliced too thin.  It was served on a Homeboy baked roll and had a side of coleslaw that you could put on the sandwich if you wished. Our friend, who usually does not finish a meal, ate the whole thing.

Chicken

This chicken was definitely smoked, but was tender and not dry.  You know that the person handling the smoker was good.  The breast was ample and Sharon will be getting couple of chicken sandwiches from the leftovers.

St Louis Ribs

Like the tri-tip, the ribs had a good smoke ring and were visually appealing.  They were just short of falling-off-the-bone tender and very flavorful.  Sharon, however, found them a bit too spicy for her.  They were done with a glaze and I don’t know whether it was the glaze or the rub that had the spices.  I thought they were great, but Sharon said that they left her mouth burning.  I nuked one as a leftover and still thought it was great,

Baby Back Ribs

Again, visually perfect and the flavor was just about perfect too.  These were falling-off-the-bone-tender, and as good baby back ribs as you can find anywhere.  

Pulled Pork

What can I say?  It looked like pulled pork should look and tasted like pulled pork should taste.  I tried it dry, and with both sauces.  Their spicy sauce (It isn’t really that spicy by my standards.) did not overwhelm the flavor of the pork. The coleslaw made the perfect complement to it which I confirmed by making a pulled pork sandwich with the leftovers.

Collard Greens

I have to say that these are exceptionally good greens, if not the best conventional greens that I have ever had.  They are a bit spicy, red pepper flakes are visible, and not at all vinegary. There is a surprising amount of meat in them which is probably why they are so rich.  I don’t know if they would make converts of people who don’t like greens, but if you like greens, definitely order them.

Baked Beans

Not the kind of beans that you would make a meal of, but these make a better than average serving of side order baked beans.  They are a tad spicy and rich because of the generous amount of meat in them.  I suspect that these get more flavorful as the servings get closer to the bottom of the pot.  Our friend’s serving was cooked to perfection and the sweet/spicy sauce had a lovely, thick, dark, bottom of the pan, color to the beans and still had lots of pork in the serving.  Sharon’s seemed to be from a new batch and the beans were somewhat undercooked, more al dente than long simmered, a thinner, lighter colored sauce but still the same sweet/spicy seasoning and lots of pork chunks in the sauce.

Mac & Cheese

The only thing that was a bit disappointing here was the mac & cheese.  The serving we had seemed to have the right ingredients, al dente pasta and a white cheese base, but it was a bit dry and had a slightly mealy texture.  Have to take some points off for this. 

Coleslaw

This is competent, two cabbage and carrot coleslaw with a creamy dressing.  It was not too wet.  While I may personally prefer a vinegar and oil dressing I found it to be very complementary to the pulled pork in a sandwich.

Lemonade

The lemonade that Sharon had was very good and definitely came from fresh lemons.   The watermelon lemonade is something that many people would call light and refreshing.  I found that the lemon just overpowered the watermelon and made the flavor a bit wishy washy.  Next time I will order the regular.

Cornbread

The cornbread muffins are rich, slightly sweet, with kernels of corn in them.  They are very tasty and dense enough to stand up to butter.

Dessert

The restaurant has a nice selection of homemade desserts to choose from, from pies to key lime bars to chocolate chip cookies.  If the desserts aren’t homemade, at least they are not the commercially made, barely edible selections that most restaurants serve.  We splurged on the blackberry buttermilk pie.  The generous slice came with a side of real whipped cream.  The crust was nice and flaky; the filling was delicious with real blackberries.  All in all, a satisfying conclusion to a tasty and satisfying meal.   

You know that their portions are generous and the patrons like the food because there are two stations with take home boxes, side order containers and bags conveniently located for the customers.  When we left there were many people walking to Max City from different directions.  I don’t know if they were locals or just couldn’t find a parking space close by.  (The parking is very limited and shared with a busy liquor store.  The restaurant does have a liquor license and has a nice selection of beers to choose from.)  We also observed that they seemed to be doing a good takeout business.  All this is with good reason…the que here is great.  We give Max City BBQ a nine plus!

ROUTE 1 CALIFORNIA GRILL

“Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon.”

 -Doug Larson

ROUTE 1 CALIFORNIA GRILL

841 Main Street

Cambria, CA 93428

(805) 927-2970

(No Website at the moment.)

Cambria is a place where Sharon and I like to go on our rare vacations.  It’s a bit of a tourist trap, but a very nice quiet place if you’re not there on a weekend.  We hadn’t been there in several years but not too much has changed.  We were slowly cruising up Main Street when we smelled, and then saw, a serious smoker behind a restaurant.  It was the Route 1 California Grill.  The decision to have lunch there was immediate.

The first thing that confronted us when we ascended the curved stairs from the sidewalk to the front door was the sign on the door announcing that they take cash and checks only, no ATM or credit cards and that their restrooms were for customers only.  But then, we had seen the “restrooms for customers only” on many of the stores and eateries.  This was not a problem since we had sufficient cash, but I wondered if this was costing them some business.  While we were there a family with six children came up the stairs.  The father read the sign and promptly turned them all around.  This really was not necessary since just inside the door is an ATM.  I have a bit of sympathy for the owners of this establishment since I have an internet business and credit card processing through a bank clearing house has been the bane of my existence, and I am going to cancel the contract and process all payments through PayPal.  Still, you have to wonder if not accepting credit/debit cards is a good idea in a restaurant.

The interior is pseudo wild west with a combination of knotty wood, and corrugated metal with wooden booths that have backs made from finished slabs of wood.  It was quiet on the Monday afternoon that we were there, but I would imagine that if the place was full it would be rather noisy will all those hard surfaces.  None of the tables had set ups on them and for a brief moment, we wondered if we would have to eat with our hands or if there was an up charge for napkins and silverware.

The menu is a little strange.  At most barbeque places we order some kind of a sampler plate to get a good tasting of the Q.  The only thing on the menu listed as a “sampler” was the Family Style Sampler Plate for $165 and was apparently meant for a small banquet.  The only Q on the menu was a Full or Half Rack of Baby Back Ribs, a Whole or Half Barbequed Chicken and a Full or Half order of BBQ Tri-tip.  Now this is strange because you can get a Cowboy Sandwich with Pulled Pork or Brisket as well as Tri-tip.  There are many other items on the menu, burgers, sandwiches and sides, but all we were interested in was the Q so I ordered a Cowboy Sandwich with Pulled Pork, and French Fries.  Sharon ordered a Half Rack of Ribs with Coleslaw, Chili Beans, grilled corn, garlic bread and a Swiss Sausage.  The food arrived hot and without delay.

Pork Ribs

The portion was generous.  Sharon knew that she would not be able to finish it and remarked that if this was a half rack a full rack would have been more than enough for both of us.  There was a light, sweet glaze on the ribs and they had a good smoke ring.  The flavor was very good however, they were dry, mainly because they were pre-cut before cooking…points off for over cooking. The serving included a small container of a very sweet barbeque sauce to make the ribs less dry.

Cowboy Sandwich

The portion looked small.  Once I started eating, I realized that it wasn’t.   The sandwich was served on about a six inch section of a freshly baked roll and was cut in half.  There was really an ample portion of pork on the sandwich.  The pork itself was moist, tender and about as flavorful as I have had anywhere.  I’m not quite sure what the sauce that came on the side was, but fortunately, the pork did not need it.  There was nothing on the sandwich but the pork, but more fortunately Sharon is not a coleslaw fan, so her coleslaw ended up on my sandwich.  The server told us that customers frequently ordered a side of coleslaw to put on the pulled pork sandwich.  Maybe they should take a hint in the kitchen.

Coleslaw

As long as I mentioned it I should remark that their coleslaw is a simple, competent slaw, not too wet, the way I like it.  It does need a little salt and pepper, but goes very well on the pulled pork.

Swiss Sausage

Ok, why this comes with the ribs is a question, but it is very interesting.  Most sausage that you get with barbeque is very flavorful and quite spicy.  This is a very mild, but delightfully seasoned European style sausage.  You might expect to find it served with sauerkraut, baked pork, boiled potatoes and a glass of full bodied red wine, but certainly not with barbeque.  It’s very good, different and somewhat surprising.

Chili Beans

No complaints here.  They are a bit mushy, but have a very good flavor with a slight bite.  There is a definitely one spice that is noticeable above the others in the mix, not sure what it is (maybe some Tabasco® in there) however the overall taste is great.

French Fries

The serving was more than I should eat, but made in house from real potatoes, properly done, and not greasy.

Our feelings are somewhat mixed on this one.  If you are staying in the Cambria area for a couple of days it is well worth going to the Route 1 California Grill, but I would not call this destination barbeque.  The way it is now we can only give it a seven.

THE OINKSTER

If we’re not willing to settle for junk living, we certainly shouldn’t settle for junk food. 

-Sally Edwards

THE OINKSTER

2005 Colorado Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90041

(323) 255-6465

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

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

Other location:

776 Vine Street

Los Angeles, CA 90038

(323) 536-9248

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

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

The Oinklster

I was in the waiting room in  a doctor’s office looking through an issue of Los Angeles magazine that had a cover story about the Top 301 restaurants that are not on the West Side (Yes, the Top 301 restaurants!!!) and picking out barbeque places that we had not yet tried.  With a name like The Oinkster you would think that it would have something to do with barbeque so Sharon and I decided to try it for lunch.  It’s in a part of town called Eagle Rock between Gendale and Pasadena.  If you are not familiar with Los Angeles there is a rock on the hill above, on the other side of the 210 Freeway, and it does look like an eagle. 

The building is a midcentury A-frame that used to be a Jim’s Burgers, although I was told, originally was a Tasty Freeze.  There is a parking lot on both sides, and under the name, The Oinkster, the sign proclaims “Slow Fast Food”.  OK, strictly speaking this is not a barbeque place, it’s a high class burger joint , but there is a real smoker out back, and when you look at their menu the top two items are Smoked Pastrami and Pulled Pork.   There is a waiting line to order.  You make your order when called to the counter, by very personable staff, and they give you a numbered standard to put on the table so that one of the staff can bring you your order.

The menu has sandwiches, three pastrami, one pulled pork, the rest burgers and chicken, along with salads, rotisserie chicken, sides and drinks.  The pastrami and the pulled pork are also available by the pound.  Advance notice must be given for orders greater than five pounds.  The sandwiches are served with a pickle spear, but you can make a combo out of them by adding Fries (Belgian style, twice fried.) and a drink for four dollars more.  They make almost everything on the menu in house although the rolls the sandwiches are served on come from the San Francisco Baking Company.  (We saw the delivery.)  Another thing to note, as an indication of the quality here, is the cheese.  Anything that has cheese on it here has real cheese not “plastic cheese” (American cheese).

Since we were there for the barbeque Sharon ordered a Pastrami Sandwich (Just a basic one, you can also get one with Red Cabbage Coleslaw, Carmalized Onions, and Gruyre Cheese on it.) as a combo and I ordered the Pulled Pork as a combo.  Combos include a fountain drink.  They also have malts, shakes, some unusual, and a varied selection of craft beers.  (Check the chalk board above the counter for the current selection.)  Even though it was the middle of the lunch hour the food arrived promptly and hot.  (It was a Monday, which according to the Google listing, is usually quiet.

Pastrami

The pastrami is cured and smoked here.  They have their own spice rub blend and smoke with apple wood.  Their portions are definitely not stingy.  The sandwich is well stuffed with meat.  Sharon took half of it home.  It’s very tasty but could stand to be a bit leaner.

Pulled Pork

This is a Carolina style pulled pork.  The serve it dry but include a somewhat vinegary sauce on the side.   By itself, the pork is above average.  Personally, I think the sauce could use a bit of mustard, but that’s just a preference.   The flavor of the pork is enhanced by the sauce, not overwhelmed by it.  The sandwich includes Red Cabbage Coleslaw and caramelized onions.  I ended up taking half of it home and having it later for a snack.  It was still good.  I would definitely stop in for another one if I’m in the neighborhood and hungry.

Fries

The fries are done Belgian style, twice fried.  Just plain good fries.

This is not one of our usual reviews.  It’s not strictly a barbeque place, but the barbeque they do is very good.  It would be interesting to see how they would fair with more barbeque selections on the menu, however, they are a long time fixture in the Eagle Rock area with the menu they have and you don’t mess with success.  This place has seriously good food at reasonable prices.   We haven’t tried the whole menu but the two smoked items are 8.5 to 9, a little different but worth trying.

BURNT TO A CRISP SMOKEHOUSE

“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relations.”

--- Oscar Wilde

 

BURNT TO A CRISP TEXAS SMOKEHOUSE

(Food truck, no fixed location.)

(713) 562-1058

http://www.burnttoacrisptxsmokehouse.com/

Twitter:          @burnttoacrisptx

Instagram:    @burnttoacrisp     

Facebook:    Burnt To A Crisp

 

We noticed the Burnt To A Crisp truck in front of the supermarket in Burbank doing our weekly grocery shopping.  Unfortunately, we had already eaten dinner.  That led to several months of attempts to coordinate our movements with the locations of the food truck.  Somehow our schedule never quite matched theirs.  This afternoon, we were going to fuel up my car and go to lunch when I noticed the Burnt To A Crisp truck and the Fried Ice Cream truck in front of the supermarket.  We decided to come back and get lunch there after filling the tank.

Since we weren’t in a dessert mood the Fried Ice Cream truck got only a passing glance, but Burnt To A Crisp got a thorough examination.  The menu is in several places, a blackboard, a paper card, and somewhat amusingly, some Chinese restaurant menu style photos posted under the ordering and delivering windows.  This is actually useful since some of the items on the menu require some explanation or visual aids if you are not from Texas. 

The basic barbeque offered here is brisket, pulled pork and sausages.  There are no ribs on the menu.  They have Sliced Brisket, Chopped Brisket, Pulled Pork and Sausage sandwiches, Sausage Wraps, with a choice of sausages, done in a tortilla (The way I like to do hot dogs, but that’s for a different blog,), Texas Style Frito Pie, Texas Tornado Burritos, Brisket Quesadillas,  bowls of Burnie’s Chili, and Texas Size Chili Fries.  The available sides are Texas Style Baked Beans, Texas Tater Salad, French Fries, Burnie’s Chile, and chips.

There were two young ladies running the truck and they cheerfully took our orders.  There are two all meat combos, the Texas Two Step, two meats plus sides, and the Texas Trio, three meats plus sides.  We were told that a Texas Trio would be more than enough for both of us so we ordered one with Sliced Brisket, Pulled Pork and a Cheddar Sausage, rather than a Hot Link since Sharon doesn’t do well with hot links.  Our sides were Texas Style Baked Beans and Texas Tater Salad.  Sharon decided to sample the Burnie’s Chile so we ordered it as an extra side.  Since all orders are served Texas style, with pickles, chopped jalapenos and onions, we requested no jalapenos or onions, another thing that Sharon does not do well with.  The order came in a few minutes with all the meat in a Styrofoam container and the sides in individual, lidded cups along with plastic utensils and napkins in a paper bag.  Everything smelled good and we took it home to eat.

We put some real plates and serious flatware on the dining room table and unpacked our lunch.  That’s when things started to go a bit off.  First we noticed that the Texas Tater Salad was missing.  I think that the young lady who filled the order though that we were changing our side order not realizing that we paid for an extra side.  Also, the meat container contained a toasted Honey Butter Bun, instead of the Southern tradition of white bread.  That’s not a problem except that the bun was a bit over toasted and Sharon has a thing about burnt bread.  The other thing off was that the pickles came with raw onions after we asked for no onions.

Sliced Brisket

We had a generous portion of really good looking sliced brisket, in fact, a little too good.  The smoke ring was the widest that I have ever seen.  It was tender and tasted like brisket should, but had a somewhat peculiar after taste.  It took a while to identify, but we finally realized the taste was the smoke.  I have complained, in the past, that some barbeque places seem to have chased their meat through the smoker, but here is a brisket that seems to be a bit over smoked!  (That is something that I never thought I would write.)  Their barbeque sauce smooths it over but the brisket still come out good but not great.

Pulled Pork

I like my pulled pork to be a bit more moist than this, but it is tender and flavorful.  The pork was not overwhelmed by the sauce. (All the meat is served dry with sauce on the side, as I prefer.)  I haven’t made a sandwich with it yet, but it should turn out well.  Their sandwiches are done with pickles and raw onions, not coleslaw or fried onions so be warned.

Cheddar Sausage

We choose to try the cheddar sausage over the other two sausage choices as we thought it would be the milder choice.  The sausage was sliced in half, lengthwise, and had a garnish of grilled bell peppers and onions.  It was good sized, well seasoned, and had a nice amount of cheddar in it. To my taste it was mild, but to Sharon it had too much of a peppery after bite.  This is definitely a better than average sausage and given the opportunity I would try the others.

Burnie’s Chili

These people could teach a lot of others how to make chili.  I’ve had authentic Texas jailhouse chili (Don’t ask!) and this compares with the best.  It’s a chicken chili done with spices and a touch of onion.  The side order had no beans in it.  There are dedicated chili houses that don’t do this well.

Texas Style Baked Beans

We found these to be slightly sweet and slightly spicy, apparently vegetarian beans.  They are done without the more traditional tomato base. There is nothing wrong with them but they are just an OK side order of beans.

We do admit that we were a bit disappointed with Burnt To A Crisp, but a lot of that feeling was because they didn’t get our order right.  This also brings up the point that you have to be very careful to check your order before you leave a food truck or takeout location.  We admit that we didn’t check it as we do when we go through a typical drive through.  That being said, their food is good but for the most part, not great.  We give it a 7.5.  And they neglected to give us a receipt for our order.

Rodney's Ribs

“There is no sincerer love than the love of food”

--- George Bernard Shaw

RODNEY’S RIBS

(No fixed address, this is a trailer, it moves.)

626.818.RIBS   (626.818.7427)

(Website domain name expired and waiting renewal)

rodneysribs.com

@RODNEYSRIBS     (Twitter account works)

Sharon and I had a good laugh the first time we saw the Rodney’s Ribs trailer.  It was parked on Lake Street in Pasadena...In front of a weight loss clinic!  We though it hilariously funny, cruel, but funny.

The Los Angeles area is the home of the taco trailer and the barbeque food truck.  Rodney’s bucks the trend being a barbeque trailer.  The trailers tend to be at a certain location on given days while the trucks go all over, to the extent that you have to follow them on Twitter to find out where they are on any given day.  The trucks are usually at one location for lunch and another for dinner.  Rodney’s moves around too, and has a Twitter account, but they seem to stay longer at a location than the trucks.  We have consistently found Rodney’s Ribs on weekends at the northwest corner of Lake and Mountain, just to the west on Mountain, in front of the O’Reilly Auto Parts store.  Since Rodney’s is strictly take-out, the O’Reilly store has been cooperative about Rodney’s Ribs customers parking in their lot.

We always say that you should get barbeque from someone that specializes in barbeque.  Rodney’s Ribs is about as specialized as they can get.  The only meats they do are Pork Spare Ribs, Rib Tips and Beef Brisket.  There are five meals on the post card sized menu, Rodney’s Dinner, 4 to 5 ribs (depending on cut), two sides and bread, Rodney’s Special, 2 to 3 ribs, one side and bread, Bobby’s Brisket, a brisket sandwich, Bobby’s Brisket Plate, about a pound of brisket, one side and bread, and Tuttie’s Tips, about a pound of rib tips, one side and bread.  You can also order a full rack of ribs to go.  Pricing seems to be about the going rate for decent barbeque at most places.

There are only three side dishes, Baked Beans, Green Beans, and Potato Salad.  The sides can also be ordered separately.  The choice of beverages is six soft drinks and water.  At Rodney’s they certainly know how to keep it simple.

Sharon and I didn’t have to work too hard to get a good sampling of the que.  We ordered a Rodney’s Special and a Bobby’s Brisket Plate.  The sides were Baked Beans and Potato Salad. Our orders were ready in what seemed to be no time at all.  The food was in typical fast food foam, compartmented containers (only black, not white) and came with a packet of plastic utensils, and napkins.  We found that the servings were traditional Southern style with a big slice of white bread.

Beef Brisket

I’ll bet that when they took this brisket out of the smoker and put it on the cutting board it quivered.  The meat was fork tender, had a good smoky flavor and was about as good a brisket gets.  This serving had just a bit more fat than I would have considered perfect but that didn’t hurt.  My only complaint was that it came with the sauce on it already.  To be fair, I didn’t ask for sauce on the side, and this sauce is also about as good as barbeque sauce gets, not too sweet, and not too hot.  You might say it’s the Goldilocks of barbeque sauces.

Pork Spare Ribs

Since the ribs are their namesake they better be good.  They do not disappoint, they are great!  The ribs are meaty and pork flavor comes through the smoke and stands up to the sauce.  Prepared by Rodney they are fall-off-the-bone tender (Seriously, I was able to shake the meat off one bone!) They may have had a slight bit more fat than I would have liked, but again, this didn’t hurt at all.  They have the right to use these ribs as their namesake.

Baked Beans

They are what I would call main dish baked beans but they are a good sided dish, not too sweet and with a barely detectable bite to the sauce.  There are noticeable slices of green onion in the beans, which was a problem for Sharon since she is allergic to onions.

Potato Salad

While it was overly creamy, to my taste, this potato salad has potential.  It has all the right things, potatoes, pickles, celery, peppers, onions, and apparently, hint of mustard in the mayo, however, it comes out tasting bland.  Although I found it bland and not chunky enough, a couple of shakes of Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning and it was more than acceptable.  In my humble opinion, if it were drier and had a bit more ‘pop’ it would be very good.

OK, so it’s a food trailer.  You have to walk up to the window to order and take your food somewhere else to eat it, so it does not get high marks for ambiance.  We would say the que is a nine plus.  The sides are average and since it is not a restaurant destination, we would give it an overall rating of eight plus.  To review them we made a round trip drive of 34 miles to get the food and take it home.  It was worth it.