Robin's Wood Fire BBQ

 “I hate people who are not serious about meals.  It is so shallow of them.”

---Oscar Wilde

 

ROBIN’S WOOD FIRE BBQ

395 North Rosemead Blvd.

Pasadena, CA 91107

626-616-0585

626-351-8885

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

http://www.robinsbbq.com/index.html

 

When you walk up to Robin’s it looks like the place is a recycled Mexican restaurant.  Inside, the paint on the walls may be garish, but one whiff tells you that this place is the real deal.  They smoke meat here.  We have been here before with a couple of friends and we came here about 7:00 PM on a Sunday evening with the same friends.  Lucky for us most the people waiting at the time were all there for takeout and there was a table available.  We were seated at a table in sight of the kitchen.  The table was painted with a red checkerboard pattern.  There was a roll of paper towel on it along with the salt and pepper shakers and a Mason jar that had the flatware in it.  Looking around from the table we saw the walls covered with vintage advertising signs from all over the country.  No restaurant designer reproductions here.   They are all real.

Our server arrived immediately with our menu and took our drink orders.  Sharon decided on a Garbage Can Combo which has BBQ Chicken, Baby Back Ribs, Spare Ribs, a Beef Rib, Tri-tip and a Hot Link.  This is probably enough for four people.  The only thing I wanted to try that was not on the combo was Pulled Pork so I ordered a Carolina Pulled Pork Plate.  All the plates come with Coleslaw, which Sharon doesn’t like so she ordered the Mac and Cheese as a substitute for the slaw which meant a slight upcharge.  Her other side was Baked Beans.  I ordered the Coleslaw and garlic mashed potatoes as my sides.  One of our friends ordered a Spare Rib plate and the other a Cheeseburger in Paradise.

Real Serious BBQ  Chicken

They named this one right!  This is chicken smoked with authority.  It was tender, had a good smoky flavor and was done through without being dry.  The menu and web site say they use oak and apple wood to smoke, but I suspect they also use hickory.   Many places have roasted or grilled chicken with some liquid smoke and barbecue sauce…either that or they chased the chicken through the smoker.  Not here.  This is the real deal.

Bodacious Baby Back Ribs

Again, this is the real deal.  These are baby backs that make you glad you are a carnivore.  Perfectly smoked, great pork flavor, not quite fall off the bone tender, they are just what you want in Baby Back Ribs.  By no means do these disappoint.

Most Excellent Spare Ribs

The name sounds like something from the Wayne’s World bit on SNL, but they really are excellent.  The flavor is definitely pork, strong enough to stand up to the other flavors on a combo plate, but not over smoked.   These ribs are great in the combo plate or as a plate by themselves.   The leftovers were great nuked a couple of days later.

Apple Wood Smoked Tri-tip

As a Californian (Well, transplanted, but I’ve lived here for 60 years.) my reaction to many barbecue restaurants is, “If you don’t know how to do Tri-tip, don’t.”  Robin’s knows how to do Tri-tip.  It is tender, juicy, has a proper smoke ring and has flavor that would tell any non-Californian just what Tri-tip is all about.  My only objection is that they slice it thinner than I would like.  I can live with this.

Wood Fired Beef Ribs

While the Beef Ribs here are not large enough that you think they came from frighteningly large steers they are certainly more than enough for a serving.  Barbecued beef ribs may be larger at other places, but they don’t come any better than this.  The first bite screams BEEF!

Louisiana Hot Link

At first bite your reaction is that it is not that hot.  Then the heat builds, but before it goes over the top with heat the heat stops and the spices burst into your mouth.  If you think that I am trying to describe the perfect Hot Link you are not far off the mark.  If your macho demands tonsil scorching hot links these aren’t it, but if you crave the perfect balance of heat and spice in a link, this comes closer than most.  The serving was two.  I took one home and it was just as good nuked for lunch the next day.

Carolina Pulled Pork

It tasted more Memphis style, but it was so good that I can’t complain.   This pulled pork is flavorful enough to stand up to everything else on the combo plate including the hot link.  I had the full plate, which is a more than generous portion, so I was able to enjoy the leftovers for a couple of days.  It even passed the kitty test, without causing the kitty any digestive upset, which tells you just how good smoked pork it is. 

Cheeseburger in Paradise

OK, it’s just a perfect conventional cheeseburger with a thick, juicy patty, cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato.  That’s the point…it’s done perfectly…not barbecue but a damn good burger that’s worth $10.95.

Coleslaw

I never before experienced a slaw that was shredded too coarsely, but here it was.   Coleslaw is made from cabbage but this one was like biting into a cabbage.  At least it was not too wet.  I was not that impressed with it on the pulled pork sandwich I made with the leftovers the next day either.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

The mashed potatoes looked like they were made with red skin potatoes with some of the skin left in.  This can be a tasty way to do it but in this case they somehow lack body, if mashed potatoes can be thought of as having body. 

Mac and Cheese

The mac and cheese is a baked version.   This is not Sharon’s favorite since she feels most baked preparations leave the macaroni a bit mushy.  It is certainly cheesy with definite cheddar and what seems to be a white cheese or sour cream in the mix.  It has some little green flecks in it that could be onions or parsley.  We should have asked since they don’t seem to add any flavor.  It looks good on the plate, but the experience is disappointing.

Cornbread

All the meals come with a large blueberry corn muffin, well, actually a cross between a muffin and an individual loaf along with some blueberry butter.  It’s a variation on cornbread that is not unpleasant but not great.  It’s sweet and not quite strong enough to stand up to cold butter but makes a decent pull-apart appetizer while waiting for your order.  We all had the opinion that it probably would not be bad with coffee at a breakfast meeting.

Baked Beans

When the Baked Bean arrived Sharon knew she was in trouble.  The chunks of bell pepper and onion were so large that they stuck out of the bowl.  She passed them to me.  I don’t have any trouble with bell peppers and onions.  I do have trouble with undercooked beans, and these were definitely undercooked.  The sauce was not too sweet, in fact, it wasn’t much of anything.  These beans need to be rethought.

The whole point of barbecue is the meat.  If you judge it strictly by the que, Robin’s gets a 10.  The sides may knock the total barbecue experience down by a point, (or two if you are persnickety), but the meat is so great that our opinion is that you should just go there and enjoy being a carnivore.

Willy's BBQ & Grill Smokehouse

THIS PLACE IS UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT AND HAS BEEN RENAIMED!  We will re-review.

 “Meat isn’t murder, it’s delicious.”

--- John Lydon

WILLY’S BBQ & GRILL SMOKEHOUSE

(Soon to change its name to TAVERN 101 BAR AND GRILL)

24834 Roadside Drive

Agoura Hills, CA 91301

818-991-7227

11:30 AM to 10 PM              Monday through Sunday

http://willysbbqandgrill.com/index.html

We were actually intending to try to find que in the other direction.  The place we wanted to try was in East Pasadena but they are closed on Mondays.  A chance Google turned us on the Willy’s.  The afternoon was free so why not?  When you’ve driven to Palmdale just to sample some que driving to Agoura is no big deal.

Willy’s is easy to drive by if you are not paying attention.  It is a small place on the frontage road at the south side of the 101 freeway in Agoura.  There are many other businesses that are more noticeable.  Willy’s hides behind a tall, blank wooden fence that makes the patio, in front of the building, habitable for dining in nice weather despite its proximity to the freeway.  There is a small parking lot behind it, accessible down a narrow driveway, on the west side of the building.  The lot is shared with some office space behind it.  It’s OK to park on the street.  There is a sign, barely visible over the top of the fence, but we found it because the smoker was going leaving a telltale plume of hickory scented smoke from the back of the building.  We parked in back where the large trailer smoker was intruding a bit into the handicapped access space. 

We entered from the rear where the signage says “Tavern 101”.  I really can’t say that the interior is restaurant designer roadhouse.  This place IS a roadhouse.  It seems to be a somewhat upmarket (7 flat screen TVs) country bar with a kitchen attached.  The woodwork is oak and some reproduction, humorous, bar signs (along with a couple of real pipeline warning signs) are scattered around the room.  The seating is all at tables with the ones around the edge of the dining area and in the bar proper being at pub height.

Since it was at the beginning of the lunch hour on a Monday morning we were the only customers in the place.  We were greeted by a bright, pretty, and very helpful server named Paige who was wearing a T-shirt that had the “Tavern 101” logo.  When asked about the name she said that they were changing it to differentiate them from the barbecue place down the street.  She gave us our menus and took our drink orders.  The setups on the table were real metal flatware wrapped in real cloth napkins.  There were four squeeze bottles of barbecue sauce on the table, Sweet, Mild, Spicy, and Turbo.  Paige also informed us that if the Turbo sauce was not hot enough they also have a Nytro sauce by request.

The Lunch menu says nothing about combo plates, but two meat combos are available by request.  Sharon ordered a Beef Brisket and Baby Back Ribs combo with Baked Beans and Macaroni & Cheese for sides.  I had a Pulled Pork and Tri-tip combo with Sweet Potato Fries and Coleslaw.  We were given a basket of Corn Bread while we waited for our orders.  The food arrived quickly, but Sharon’s meat was not dry, as ordered.  The kitchen made up a new plate immediately.  By this time there were other customers there and they were working on other orders so the response was impressive.

Corn Bread

The basket had four squares of a sheet pan cornbread that was moist but crumbly.  It was not too sweet and had kernels of corn in it.  It was a good appetizer, but is not firm enough to stand up to un-melted butter.

Macaroni & Cheese

The macaroni was a penne regatta and was cooked al dente and mixed with a creamy cheddar cheese sauce.  It was very tasty and good as a side dish but not a main dish mac and cheese.

Baked Beans

This was a conventional side dish serving of beans in a pleasantly not too sweet sauce.  With a little searching I found some small pieces of pork in it.  Again, strictly a side dish and not beans you would be tempted to make a meal out of.

Coleslaw

What I would refer to as a competent coleslaw, multiple cabbages with carrots, it had a cream style sauce that was a bit too creamy and wet to my taste.  However, it did not taste bad and went very well on a pulled pork sandwich made with the leftover pulled pork.

Sweet Potato Fries

We tend to avoid sweet potato fries most places since they are usually underdone and nasty. These were properly done and very tasty.  Not only were these crisp and hot as served, but they were even good the next day as nuked leftovers.

Tri-Tip

It was pleasing to find a nice, juicy chunk of tri-tip on my plate.  If it was sliced too thin I would have no one but myself to blame.  A proper smoke ring was visible when I cut a slice off the end.  The taste lived up to the visual clues…just how tri-tip is supposed to taste.  Tri-tip is usually done with oak and the hickory is a more subtle, but still excellent.

Baby Back Ribs

The Baby Back Ribs were, in a word, great.  They were just short of fall off the bone tender and were just smoky enough so they tasted properly barbecued without overwhelming the flavor of the pork.  These definitely do not disappoint.

Brisket

This is the one place they fell down.  Don’t get me wrong, it was better than many I have had, but this tasted like brisket my mother could have made if she was having an exceptionally good day.  It was a bit dry, too well done and didn’t have the full flavor of the smoke.  A bit of the mild sauce improved it.  The leftovers did, however, pass the kitty test.

Pulled Pork

Proper Southern style pulled pork, this has flavor that was not overwhelmed by anything else on the plate.  Of course, I had to make a pulled pork sandwich with the leftovers, the leftover coleslaw and a bit of the sweet sauce (It has a mustard base.) the next day for lunch.  It was great!  I did not give the leftovers the kitty test.  When it is this good the cats can get their own.

Paige said that they were changing the name to Tavern 101 in order to differentiate themselves from the barbecue place down the street.  Well it isn’t hard.  The place down the street is the original Wood Ranch Barbecue and while it ranks well enough it is not destination barbecue.  Willy’s is destination barbecue.  They smoke with hickory and while hickory smoke is a bit subtle for some tastes it is done right here.  Whatever they want to call the place this is great barbecue.  We give them eight and a half.  If the brisket was up to the standards of the other que it would have been a nine.

Ratttler's BAR B QUE

“The preparation of good food is merely another expression of art, one of the joys of civilized living…”
― Dione Lucas

 

RATTLER’S BAR B QUE

26495 GOLDEN VALLEY ROAD

SANTA CLARITA, CA 91351

661-251-4195

11:00 AM to 9:30 PM          Sunday through Thursday

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

Happy Hour 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM            Monday through Friday

http://www.rattlersbbq.com/

We started out a bit later than usual for the drive to Santa Clarita, but that worked out since the traffic was lighter.  That side of Santa Clarita is still “out in the country” and the drive from the freeway to the shopping area of town seems to be in the middle of nowhere at night.  The location is in a relatively new shopping mall just past a Sam’s Club.  There are a couple of rather noticeable gas heaters in the outside waiting area that show a spectacular flame but don’t seem to put out much heat. The interior is done in a Southwestern contemporary design with a repetitive theme of old cowboy boots decorated with paint and “jewels” that are spread around the room.  The designer must have gotten a good buy on those boots.  An amply stocked bar is in front of the line with the semi-open kitchen behind.  The only discordant note is a somewhat Damoclean assemblage that hangs over the interior of the entry.  It is a three tier assembly loaded with colored glass containers.  It seems sturdy enough for building and safety but didn’t make any sense to us.

The host seated us at a booth with a very practical and contemporary table top of wood bordered stainless steel.  The setups are real flatware wrapped in black real cloth napkins.  The only other table furnishings were salt and pepper shakers and a coffee shop style syrup dispenser filled with and overly sweet barbecue sauce.  (In the interest of full disclosure I did not ask if they had other sauces.)  Our server arrived promptly and took our drink order.  Sharon ordered water and I ordered ice tea.  Both arrived in quart sized Mason jars. 

The menu provides a good selection of appetizers, salads, burgers and sandwiches but seems somewhat limited in the barbecue selection.  The only meats on the barbecue plates are Baby Back Ribs, Prime Beef Ribs, Tri-tip, BBQ Chicken, BBQ Chicken Breast, and oddly enough, Salmon.  Combination plates are two or three meat and do not include the Salmon.  This made it easy to decide quickly on our orders.  Faced with a choice of only five meats (four since two of the selections are chicken) Sharon ordered a two meat combo with Baby Back Ribs, and Tri-tip and I ordered a two meat combo with Prime Beef Ribs and BBQ Chicken Breast.  The sides are also somewhat limited so I ordered Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes along with Nutty Coleslaw and Sharon ordered Baked Beans along with Macaroni and Cheese.  The Macaroni and Cheese is a “Specialty Side” and there is an “up charge” when you order it along with a meal.  While we waited for our order our server brought a basket of garlic rolls.  The food arrived before we finished the rolls.  After we sampled the que we ordered a small portion of Triple Chocolate Blackout Cake for dessert.

Garlic Rolls

The garlic rolls should have been quite delightful.  They are baked in-house from commercially supplied dough.  Then they are dipped in garlic butter, dusted with parmesan cheese and finely chopped parsley.  The parsley is a bit disconcerting since it is so bright green that it looks like colored sugar for cookies.  Unfortunately, while they were acceptable, they did not quite have the flavor you expect from freshly baked rolls.

Nutty Coleslaw

This is an “A-“ coleslaw.  It is multiple cabbages with green onion in a spicy vinaigrette dressing.   It was not overly wet and my only complaint was that the dressing could have had a little more spice.  I found it just a bit timid.  In spite of that, there are many other places, barbecue and otherwise, that could learn to make coleslaw from this one.

Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes with barbecue?  Yes, if they are these mashed potatoes.  These are so good that I am going to try this method at home.

Macaroni & Cheese

As a specialty side this comes in a generous serving.  The pasta is cooked al dente, and mixed with a creamy white cheddar sauce that seems to have a slight hint of garlic and onion powder.  This is similar, though not as rich, to the mac and cheese served at some other barbecue restaurants in the area.  It’s a good, competent mac and cheese but falls just short of great.

Baked Beans

This is a conventional side of baked beans in a somewhat too sweet sauce.  It is nothing to write home about.

Baby Back Ribs

The ribs had a puzzling skin on the back as though the chef had not pulled the silver skin off before putting it in the smoker or on the grill.  This made them very hard to separate even with a sharp knife.  The meat was fall off the bone tender which made this even more difficult since when you try to put a knife between them the meat falls off the bones into the plate.  Now I know that mesquite smoke is more subtle than most of the woods used in barbecue smoking but despite the tenderness of the ribs they didn’t taste as though they had been anywhere near a smoker.  Baby Back Ribs should not disappoint, but these did.

Prime Beef Ribs

Another disappointment, these ribs were tough, a bit dry, and surprisingly for an upscale barbecue place, actually stringy.  Tough beef ribs don’t allow the flavor to come through.  You would expect a big beef flavor, but it wasn’t there.  They just weren’t what I would call prime.

Tri-tip

Now this looked promising.  It wasn’t sliced too thin, in fact it wasn’t sliced but was a nice chunk of tri-tip.  The fact that it was a bit hard to cut with a steak knife was puzzling since it certainly was not tough to chew.  While it was tender to the tooth it did not have a visible smoke ring and the flavor showed it.  We were beginning to wonder if our taste buds had taken a vacation.

BBQ Chicken Breast

It tasted like a good grilled chicken breast.  It was tender and done though, but had only the slightest hint of smoke.  It was more flavorful than the baby backs, but not by much.  A better than average grilled chicken breast but not great as barbecue chicken.

Triple Chocolate Blackout Cake

This is a tall but average commercial “Death by Chocolate” cake.  It is kept refrigerated and served cold.  The small portion was more than enough for two so we took it home.  The next day, after a few seconds in the microwave to bring it to just above room temperature it tasted better. 

When you walk into Rattler’s you are favorably impressed.  The surroundings are clean and contemporary, the staff is young, bright and helpful, and you are set up for a good experience.  Unfortunately, the que doesn’t live up to the expectation.  While mesquite smoking can be subtle, compared to woods used by other pit masters, in this case it is just plain bland.  We came out feeling that we had been to a Stonefire Grill with proper table service.  It didn’t seem to be barbecue.  Not only that, but we experienced a bit of indigestion later in the evening.  Now indigestion is not necessarily the result of what you just ate.  It can be caused by food you had eaten as much as seventy-two hours earlier.  Unfortunately, when I tried the leftovers the next day I experienced the indigestion again.  It still could have been me and not the food, but even giving them the benefit of the doubt on that we still can’t rate them over a five for the que that night.  While they have been in Santa Clarita for over twenty years they are really have to improve the que now that there is a Lucille’s close by.

The Kansas City BBQ Company

THIS PLACE IS UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT AND HAS BEEN RENAIMED!  We have re-reviewed

See post on Muddle & Twist July 2019 

“Food, like a loving touch or a glimpse of divine power,
has that ability to comfort.”

--- Norman Kolpas

THE KANSAS CITY BBQ COMPANY   -   NORTH HOLLYWOOD

10863 Magnolia Blvd

North Hollywood, CA 91601

818-754-0030

11:00 AM to 10:30 PM   All Days

http://thekansascitybbqcompany.net/

I’ll have to admit that Sharon and I approached dinner here with a bit of apprehension.  We had been here before, with friends, a couple of years ago.  It was one of the worst barbecue experiences we have ever had.  I won’t go into detail, but if we had been writing a blog then the rating would have been abysmal.  We drove by the place the other day and noticed that the strip mall it was in had been remodeled, they were still there, and they seemed to have customers.  We decided to give them another chance.

This version of the Kansas City BBQ is in a strip mall on Magnolia Blvd. near the edge of the part of North Hollywood that has become the NoHo Arts District.  The old downtown area of North Hollywood is undergoing a gentrification process and the strip mall where the barbecue is located is no exception.  The whole façade of the roughly “L” shaped floor plan building has been redone with pale green and white tile and black art deco lettering.  The foot of the “L” is a sports bar with the barbecue dining room and kitchen being the first storefront in the stem of the “L” with a connecting doorway to the bar.  There is also a small patio outside for al fresco dining which was not being used this cold, rainy and blustery night.  The restaurant portion is rather small and we suspect that the majority of their business is takeout.  The interior has not changed with the front.  You know they are using California oak for smoking since the rick of wood is along the wall just inside the door.  The order counter is a faux roadside stand flanked by a soft drink dispenser on one side and the dining room on the other.  The small dining room has wall paper intended to look like the inside of a log cabin.  There are large screen TVs mounted at the ceiling in three corners of the dining room of course, tuned to sports channels.  This night, since there is no football left except the Super Bowl next weekend, they were tuned to some sort of “ultimate fight” contest.  So not appetizing.  Tables are covered with red and white checked oilcloth table cloths and have salt and pepper shakers and napkin dispensers on them. 

The chalkboard menu is somewhat limited but long on barbecue and short on sides.  We ordered combo plates with a choice of three meats and two sides.  Sharon ordered Baby Back Ribs, Chopped Chicken and Brisket with French Fries and Baked Beans for sides.  I ordered Pulled Pork, Beef Ribs, and Hot Links with Coleslaw and Potato Salad as sides.  We also ordered a Banana Pudding for dessert.  The food arrived promptly in paper lined plastic baskets, accompanied by slices of white bread with the sides, except the fries, were in single serving go cups.  Since we ordered our choices “dry”, the server also brought a plastic bottle of their regular barbeque sauce and one of their spicy barbeque sauce.

French Fries

These were nice, thick, steak fries.  They came out hot and crisp, not at all underdone…steak fries done right.

Baked Beans

Here we have baked beans that someone put some thought into.  The sauce is a bit thin, but very meaty.  The result is almost more a sweet chili than baked beans.  This is not something that you would like to make a meal of a bowl of, but it is definitely a superior side dish for a meal of barbecue.

Coleslaw

More than simply competent coleslaw this is definitive coleslaw.  It is a simple two cabbage plus carrots shredded slaw with a creamy dressing, totally conventional, but the cabbage was fresh, crisp and flavorful, the dressing was sweet and there was just the right amount, not too wet.  If your preference is a creamy style dressing coleslaw this is the one.

Potato Salad

Their potato salad is another simple, competent preparation of an old standard.  The potatoes are in firm cubes, not mushy.  There is what looks and tastes like pieces of green bell pepper but just a hint, not enough to overwhelm the total flavor, and the mayonnaise seems to have just a hint of mustard.  This is either like your mother’s potato salad or the potato salad you wish your mother made.

Baby Back Ribs

Baby back ribs should not disappoint and these certainly do not.  They are meaty, tender to the tooth and have a good smoky flavor.  The only thing that keeps these from being absolutely top notch ribs is that they were just a bit dry.  A little dab of sauce corrects this nicely. 

Chopped Chicken

This is a presentation of barbecued chicken that we have not encountered before.  It is cubed, well smoked chicken breast in a light, sweet sauce that complements it well, served on a slice of white bread.  It’s great tasting barbecued chicken, but the puzzling thing is why they cubed it up as though they were going to put it in a salad.

Brisket

Tender and well smoked this is a very properly flavorful brisket.  It is served in very thin slices and once on the table tends to get cold quickly.  I suspect it is sliced so thinly because they also put it in sandwiches.  It was as bit too well cooked for our taste.

Beef Ribs

Like the pork ribs these are well smoked and tender to the tooth with proper beef rib flavor.  Also, like the pork ribs, they were kept from being absolutely top notch by being just a bit dry.  Still, they are very worthwhile ribs and adding the regular barbeque sauce was beneficial.

Pulled Pork

My first bite had me puzzled.  This was so mild, actually bland, that I had to look twice to make sure it was not chicken.  In fact the flavor of the chicken was stronger.  With no discernible flavor, pork or smoke, this flavorless pulled pork is a miss.

Hot Links

Links here are served sliced on a slice of white bread.  In appearance they looked like an ordinary bratwurst and the texture looks to be a bit mealy.  On first bite it seems no hotter than a hot dog, but after a couple of seconds you realize that this is a proper hot link.  It was way too hot for Sharon and if you are not used to hot links you will be glad for the white bread.  This one will surprise you.  It doesn’t have the texture you would expect from a great hot link, but it does have the flavor.

Banana Pudding

If you are a real fan of banana pudding, skip this one.  They make it ahead of time and put it in a plastic container with the vanilla wafers.  It comes off as vending machine pudding, the vanilla wafers are soggy.  It’s edible, but that’s about all you can say for it.  They really need to rethink this one.  They also had a basket of tiny sweet potato pies that appeared commercially made at the cash register but we lacked the courage to try one.

We were very glad that we decided to give The Kansas City BBQ Company another try.  If we gave awards for most improved barbeque they would get it.  Apparently, the dramatic change in the quality of their food is a result of a change in kitchen staff.  While their meat is just off the top grade, it is vastly improved over what it was a couple of years ago and certainly worth eating, pulled pork notwithstanding.  They can show a least one of the major chains in the area how basic side dishes should be made.  We had a very pleasant barbecue experience.  We now rate The Kansas City BBQ Company an eight.

Big Pops BBQ and Grill

“Thanks cows. I appreciate your tastiness.”
---Craig Ferguson

BIG POPS BBQ & GRILL

10755 Glenoaks Blvd.

Pacoima, CA 91331

818-896-5599

11:00 AM to 8:00 PM   Monday through Saturday

11:00 AM to 4:00 PM   Sunday

No Web Site at the Moment - Try Facebook

A friend of mine told me that I just had to try Big Pops.  Sharon and I tried to make it late one Sunday afternoon but we hadn’t done our research properly and did not realize that they close at 4:00 PM on Sunday.  We got there just as they closed.  Now this wasn’t exactly a bad thing since now we knew exactly where Big Pops was and our alternative was a revisit of the Swinging Door which was very worthwhile (and a subject for another post.)  This time we made it.

Big Pops is in a strip mall on the corner of Glenoaks and Osborne which is a somewhat off camber, oddly angled, signalized intersection that clings to a hillside.  The strip mall is uphill from the intersection itself which can make entering the parking lot an exercise in situational awareness.  Be cautious if you drive there.

This is a storefront in a strip mall and is mostly kitchen.  While there is a shelf against one wall with four bar stools where you could sit to eat, if you had to, consider it strictly takeout.  The wall behind the shelf is covered with framed shoulder patches from every fire and police agency in the area, many of them from aviation related units, (There is an airport on the other side of the hill with police and fire stations close by.) so you know where a lot of their business comes from.  Big Pop was out of town with the family so “Big Uncle” was running the show with a girl taking orders and a couple of cooks.  There is a glass wall right next to the grill so you can watch them work.  For those who have never worked at a full sized restaurant grill it’s an education.

The menu includes sandwiches, fried fish and shrimp, burgers, wings, and salads as well as barbecue.   The barbecue is served as single item plates with Seasoned French Fries, Cornbread, and a side.  The only thing that could be called a combo on the menu costs $54.99 and feeds six to eight people. To get a sample of the que we ordered three of the single item plates, a Jr’s Quarter Slab of St. Louis Pork Spareribs, Pulled Pork, and Jr’s quarter slab of Beef Ribs.  All this was ordered dry with the sauce on the side.  The sides were Coleslaw, Collard Greens, and Mac & Cheese.   Of course we couldn’t resist ordering a side of Fried Pickles when we saw it on the menu.  Our plates came as generous portions in large foam takeout boxes accompanied with a sufficient amount of napkins and plastic wrapped setups including plastic knife, fork and spoon along with some wet wipe packets.   Thus armed we took our food home to feast before it got cold which was made easier by the position of the freeways.  Our trip was about five minutes, each way, in Sunday traffic.

Cornbread

This is a very moist, sheet pan cornbread that while firm is not quite able to stand up to an unwarmed butter patty.  The texture is spongy and the taste is almost dessert sweet which is not a bad thing.  It is somewhat different from a usual sheet pan corn bread, good but not great.

Mac & Cheese

It was interesting.  The sauce was creamy, the pasta al dente, and yet is was strangely flavorless with the cheese sauce not even cheddary…a less than pedestrian version of the classic side.

Coleslaw

With a good mix of cabbage and other ingredients in a not too wet mayonnaise type dressing I would call this a competent slaw.

Collard Greens

This was a somewhat underwhelming and a bit bitter standard preparation of greens.  Do not give this one to someone who does not like greens.   It will only reinforce their preconceptions.

Seasoned French Fries

Actually, these are battered wedge fries.  They are good although while the seasoning is different, and the battering fries up crisper, but I would not say they are noticeably better than the wedge fries at KFC.  They certainly don’t have the same taste pop as the original MoJo Potatoes at Shakey’s.  (In truth, I haven’t been to a Shakey’s for a long time so I can’t say that the MoJo potatoes are still as good as I remember.)

Fried Pickles

The breading is a conventional Southern style corn breading not the Panko breading used at some places.  It works well but they definitely needed to start with crisper pickles.   I suspect that the most successful fried pickles, such as the ones at Lucille’s, may actually start with a half-dill pickle which keeps them crisp after the breading and frying. 

St Louis Pork Spareribs

Meaty but not fall off the bone tender these ribs were actually quite good.  The flavor is a bit subtle since even the regular barbecue sauce (The other choice is spicy.) could overwhelm the flavor.  Definitely try dry before you sauce.

Beef Ribs

These ribs were adequate in size and not tremendously meaty, but had very good beef flavor. They were tender without any sign of stringiness, and definitely seemed worth ordering.

Pulled Pork

When I opened the box I found the serving to be a generous amount wrapped in foil.  After tasting it I decided that no one in the South would be ashamed to serve this pulled pork.  While not the best pulled pork I have had I really would have to stretch to find fault with it.

Bib Pops serves competent takeout barbecue.  There menu is obviously adjusted to the lunch trade in the heavily industrial area they serve.  They also can make larger quantities and do a significant catering business.  Having tried it, we do have to disagree with my friend who recommended it, however, in that it is not destination que.  If I were in the area at lunch time and didn’t want sit down service I wouldn’t hesitate to drop in for a takeout pulled pork sandwich.   On our 1 to 10 scale it rates a 7.

Pappa's Place

THIS PLACE IS GONE!

“I'm pretty sure that eating chocolate keeps wrinkles away because I have never seen a 10 year old with a Hershey bar and crow’s feet.”
--- Amy Neftzger

PAPA'S PLACE  “A Mecca for Barbeque”

1525 W. Avenue K

Lancaster, CA  93534

(661) 726-0066

(No web site found)

On a trip to the antelope Valley this week to attend a meeting, a colleague and I spotted Papa’s Place at the Avenue K off ramp of the 14 freeway.  We decided to challenge the statement that it was a “mecca for barbeque” and try it on our way back to our office after our meeting.  The restaurant is located in a former Coco’s that has been several other things since the Coco’s closed.  We were greeted promptly and seated at one of the many empty tables.  The restaurant was divided into two sections; the dining section and the “sports bar” section which naturally had the big screen television tuned to a sports channel.  There is also a bar you can sit at and chat with the bartender while you drink your lunch.  The restaurant is obviously just getting started and hasn’t found their identity yet.  The tables were covered with black tablecloths but lacked the customary sampling of sauces and did not even have salt and pepper shakers on the tables.  There were a couple of paper towel dispensers on the walls but the whole place just lacked atmosphere.  On the whole it was cold and uninviting.

Our waitress appeared promptly and took our drink orders while we perused the menu.  I noted that they had both collard greens and gumbo, two of Howard’s favorites.  I texted him the information and we agreed to make this a road trip at a later date.  I ordered a sampler of beef ribs, tri tip, a half chicken, pork rib tips and two sides: mac ‘n cheese and pit beans.  My lunch companion ordered the pork spare ribs with French fries.  I ordered a basket of fried pickles to see how they made them.  The menu included several traditional Southern items like fried green tomatoes and the previously mentioned gumbo.  Our server returned and apologized that they were out of beef ribs, so I had the pork spare ribs as well.

Fried Pickles

I would like to report that these were just as yummy as the ones at Memphis Championship or Lucille’s but I can’t.  They were tasty but were breaded with a cornmeal breading that made the thinly sliced rounds very dry to the palate.  They were sprinkled with a white cheese, maybe Monterey jack and served with a peppery dip.  The menu said they would come with Ranch dressing but if it started out as Ranch, it was heavily laced with a hot pepper sauce that made it a reddish color.  It was a little too peppery for my taste, but my lunch companion seemed to like it.  Our meal arrived promptly and I was aghast to note that everything on the plate was drowning in the same bar-be-que sauce.  Note to other barbeque fans: ask for the sauce to be on the side unless you like everything to taste the same.  

Mac ‘n Cheese

The mac ‘n cheese was obviously baked and had a nice custardy texture and flavor to offset the overcooked macaroni.  It did have a nice blend of flavorful cheeses but the baking process made the pasta soft and on the mushy side. 

Pit Beans

Again, the beans were overpowered by both red and green bell peppers.  It had an indistinct sauce of no identifiable regional origin and some bits that I think were pork.  All in all, they were not that great.   

Tri Tip

There was a generous serving of sliced tri tip with a distinctive smoke ring.  It had a nice smoky flavor, but not distinctive enough to tell the diner what type of wood was used.  It was not overcooked but the generous portion of barbeque sauce on it made it difficult to fully appreciate the subtly of the smoking process. 

Chicken

This was a generous portion but definitely not smoked and somewhat dry.  Most likely roasted and thoroughly cooked (a good thing with chicken) but the only flavor came from the bar-be-que sauce slathered on it.  

Spare ribs

The two spare ribs were meaty with a good smoked flavor.  They were not fall-off-the-bone tender but neither were they stringy, over cooked or hard to chew.  I would have preferred to try them initially without the ever present bar-be-que sauce to appreciate their flavor before putting something on them, if anything. 

Rib Tips

These were surprisingly meaty for rib tips with good smoky flavor.  Rib tips are always a little on the chewy side, but these were not particularly chewy, nor were they stringy.  All in all, they were quite excellent.   

In sum, Papa’s Place is not yet a “mecca for barbeque”.  They definitely need to find their identity and make this former Coco’s into their own special place where they can showcase their personal take on barbeque and establish their place in the barbeque hierarchy.

Hollywood Way Barbecue, Bar and Grill

"I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food."
--- W.C. Fields


THE HOLLYWOOD WAY BARBECUE, BAR AND GRILL

1333 N. Hollywood Way

Burbank, CA 91505

818-845-4400

11:00 AM to 12:00 AM        Monday through Thursday

11:00 AM to 2:00 AM          Friday

9:00 AM to 2:00 AM            Saturday

11:00 AM to 10:00 AM        Sunday

http://thehollywoodwaybbq.com

Oh the things we endure for our readers.  You have no idea.  If you go to The Hollywood Way Barbecue Bar and Grill you will.

The first impression is that you have walked into a dive bar.  When you walk into a real dive bar you can smell it.  In this case there is no smell, the appearance is deliberate…the décor is restaurant designer dive bar.  It’s dark on the bar side and darkish on the restaurant side.  Beyond doubt, this place is primarily a sports bar.  About one third of it is simply bar and the other two thirds is restaurant with a couple of large card tables instead of the usual sports bar pool tables.  Now this surprised Sharon who was born and raised in Burbank when the only place it was legal to dance in the town was at the American Legion Hall (and maybe at the VFW Hall.)  But, playing cards in public in a bar?  Unthinkable!  Burbank is not quite that conservative now.  The seating in the restaurant is a mix of various height pub tables and booths.  There are ten flat screen TVs in the restaurant side alone tuned to three different sports channels.  There are three more in the bar along with a sound system playing head banging rock loud enough to keep you from thinking.  That was not nearly as annoying as the fact that some parents had parked their kids in front of a TV on the restaurant side while they partied in the bar or played poker at the gaming tables.

There is no hostess and a sign just inside the door invites you to seat yourself.  The servers were very busy but managed to be bright, cheerful and reasonably quick.  As soon as we had selected a table and seated ourselves our server arrived with menus and to take our drink orders.

The menu is a laminated sheet done in a type style meant to look like a page typed on both sides.  Whoever wrote this tried to do it in an entertainment industry style but couldn’t decide if they wanted to go movies or live theater.  For example, the side dishes are referred  to as “Out Takes” but the main courses are called “Center Stage”.  The menu has appetizers, salads, sandwiches, burgers, and barbecue.  Some of the appetizers show the same mix of Mexican and barbecue that is popular at some Southern California barbecue places such as pulled pork nachos or barbecue pulled pork or pulled chicken quesadillas.

We each ordered a Hollywood’s BBQ Combo Platter, Sharon’s with Baby Back Ribs and Tri-tip and mine with Half Chicken and Pulled Pork.  I also ordered an a la carte hot link.  Our “Out Takes” were BBQ Baked Beans, Coleslaw, Mac-N- Cheese, and Potato Salad.  All this came with Texas Toast.

Mac-N- Cheese

The sauce was made with real cheese and quite creamy.  The pasta, simple macaroni, was al dente.  And, it was quite tasteless.  How do they do that?  We don’t know.  Even salt and pepper couldn’t save it.

BBW Baked Beans

This is a concoction of beans that are overcooked and mushy, a sauce, small bits of processed ham, and large chunks of green bell pepper.  I can’t tell you what the sauce tastes like or how well the ham works in it because the whole thing is overwhelmed by the bell peppers.

Potato Salad

Definitely over mixed, this potato salad is also mushy.  It has red bell peppers and onions in it with some of the onion pieces being rather large.  Salt and pepper improved it a bit but not much. 

Coleslaw

This is a great mixture for coleslaw, two different kinds of cabbage, onions, carrots and what tastes like apple.  The creamy, mayonnaise style dressing is not too thick and the slaw is not drowning in it.  The only negative is that it seemed to be at about the end of its service life when served.

Tri-tip

The tri-tip portion on the plate was generous, looked properly sliced, and had a good looking smoke ring.  Reality was another matter as it was a bit dry, tough and overcooked to the point of tastelessness.  This is California and it’s disappointing to find the distinctively regional type of barbecue done poorly.  The sauce ladled on it gave it the only moisture and helped a little to make it somewhat palatable, but not much.

Baby Back Ribs

I have said in the past that baby back ribs should not disappoint.  These, unfortunately, disappoint.  They were not exactly tasteless, but were dry and chewier that baby backs have a right to be.  The sauce caked on them gave them some flavor but didn’t help with the dryness.

Pulled Pork

The description in the menu calls it Carolina style pulled pork.  It doesn’t taste Carolina style.  In fact it doesn’t have much taste at all.  Not only that, but the sauce served with it seemed more St Louis than Carolina.  Sometimes when you have leftovers the flavors develop further after a day or two.  Not with this, a pulled pork sandwich made with the leftover was still flat.

Half Chicken

Someone back there knows how to do something right.  There is nothing wrong with this chicken.  The chicken here is moist, tender, done through, and has a wonderful smoky flavor.  If I come here again I will order the chicken.

Hot Link

Hot it’s not.  It tasted like it was a Hillshire Farms Kielbasa from the Smart and Final across the street.  It’s not what anyone would expect from a hot link.

This place should work.  The idea is cute.  It’s in a media town and near enough to the media district to attract an up market clientele, which were certainly not in evidence the night we visited.  And, the menu has an attractive selection of items.  So, what happened?   My guess is that the food became the right stuff done wrong, the clientele became less upscale, and the place became more bar than barbecue.  Considering the food and the whole experience we debated whether or not to give it a five or a six and after deliberating decided to give it a five.