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.

Red's Barbecue & Grillery

“If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.”

--- Abraham Lincoln

 

 

RED’S BARBECUE & GRILLERY

3090 Cochran Street

Simi Valley, CA  93065

(805) 581-9076

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

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

http://www.redsbarbecue.net/

 

It’s been a long time since our last post.  Well, as they say, “Life happens.”  Unfortunately, barbeque doesn’t always happen.  Between personal and business issues we just haven’t had the time, or the energy to search out good que. 

Our six-year-old grandson was having an afternoon baseball game and, of course we went.  Afterwards, we were trying to decide where we would all have dinner and his father suggested Red’s Barbecue & Grillery.  We agreed immediately since it would give us a chance to have some que and get material for a new post.

Red’s is located in the approximate center of the Simi Valley in a shopping center.  It’s a bit larger than most barbeque places.  The décor is high end coffee shop with nice touches such as real cloth napkins, and barbecue sauce on the tables in large syrup dispensers.  We were there at the beginning of the dinner hour but were seated promptly.  The servers were most attentive and very quick.  A plate of Rolls was put on the table as our drink order was taken. 

The dinner menu occupies both sides of a plastic laminated sheet.  The menu has more than just barbecue, with appetizers, salads, soups, sandwiches, giant baked potatoes, and three pasta dishes.  The meat available is Baby Back Ribs, Beef Ribs, Half Barbecued Chicken, and Boneless Barbecued Chicken Breast.  They also have Tri-tip, Rib-eye Steak, Salmon, and Sword Fish.  Interestingly enough, they have a Barbecued Pork Sandwich in their sandwich menu, but do not offer the pork on the barbecue menu.  Two, three, and four meat combinations are available including soup or a salad and a choice of two sides or a giant baked potato.  Sharon and I decided to get a sampling by ordering two combos, hers with Baby Back Ribs and Boneless Chicken Breast, and mine with Tri-tip and Beef Ribs.  Her sides were Mac and Chees and Baked Beans.  Mine were Coleslaw and Sweet Potato Fries.  She had a Green Salad with blue cheese dressing and I had the Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Rolls

The first plate of these must have come from the bottom of the bag since they were decidedly squashed.  The server promptly brought us another plate without being asked.  These were not squashed, and were brushed with garlic butter and dusted with grated Parmesan cheese and parsley.  Although slightly doughy and chewy were quite pleasant.  I said that the first ones came from the bottom of the bag since we believe these to be commercially made rolls that we have had at other places.

Green Salad

Everything in the salad was fresh and crisp.  It consisted of lettuce, chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, shaved carrots, and had croutons and grated Parmesan cheese on it.  The dressing was only suggested.  Sharon asked for some more dressing and it was supplied immediately, however it was a bit watery, not the thick, creamy blue cheese dressing we are used to and seemed a bit bitter.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Now this is an odd thing to order in a barbeque place, and I normally would not have even mentioned it, but tortilla soup is one of the ways I judge Mexican restaurants, and I wanted to see how they did it here.  It was certainly edible, if not up to the standards of a good Mexican restaurant.  It was somewhat thickened and had some small chunks of chicken in it, a few vegetables, tortilla strips and a sizable chunk of avocado.  The puzzling thing was that it seemed to be a mix of two commercial soups with the vegetables, tortilla strips and avocado added and not a made from scratch tortilla soup.  This is workable, but the kind of thing that is typically done by coffee shops.  It didn’t bother me at the time since this isn’t a Mexican restaurant.

Baby Back Ribs

They came with covered with a sauce that did not seem to be the sauce on the table.  Sharon found it to be a bit too peppery, giving her a little mouth burn.  What bothered me was that they had grill marks on them which indicated a certain style of preparation.  They had no visible smoke ring, were not particularly meaty, seemed a bit dry, and were not all that flavorful.

Beef Ribs

These had grill marks on them too.  Again, they were large, but not especially meaty and while not dry, and relatively tender for beef ribs, were not that flavorful and had not a hint of smoke.   

Tri-tip

The tri-tip was tender and not sliced too thinly.  It had no smoke ring but had grill marks which definitely told me how it was prepared.  It, like all the other ‘barbeque’ we were served, had been slow cooked, overnight, in an Alto-Shaam oven and when ordered warmed up again on a mesquite fired grill.  In the case of the tri-tip, it produced a tender and pleasantly flavorful piece of meat, but it was not barbeque.

Boneless Barbecued Chicken Breast

The chicken was the same as the tri-tip.  It was tender and quite pleasant, but not barbecue.  Much to Sharon’s relief the sauce on the chicken was not as peppery as the one on the back ribs.

Coleslaw

This was a conventional two cabbage and carrot coleslaw with a creamy dressing.  Well, it wasn’t that creamy being a bit on the watery side and it was just a bit bitter.  The slaw was not too wet, however my opinion of it was that it was a somewhat substandard coffee shop coleslaw.

Baked Beans

The beans were a very conventional preparation, not too sweet, but better than the usual canned beans.  They were not unpleasant, but not particularly remarkable.

Mac and Cheese

Sharon called this an abomination.  The pasta was not al dente but barely cooked.  There was no suggestion of creaminess to the sauce and in fact it was so dry that the sauce didn’t even stick the pasta together.  At least there was some cheese used in its preparation.  Probably the worst mac and cheese we have experienced since starting this blog.

Sweet Potato Fries

Now here is something exceptional.  The sweet potato fries were probably the best thing on the plate.  They were thoroughly cooked, but still retained their sweetness and were not too oily as is often the case with sweet potato fries.  We really liked these.

Anyone who approaches commercial barbeque from the restaurant management tradition rather than the barbeque tradition would call me a barbeque snob.  I’ve had a restaurant owner tell me that having a smoker for the meat is just a waste of time and effort because when meat is slow cooked in an Alto-Shaam overnight, then finished off on a wood fired grill and covered with barbecue sauce people can’t tell the difference. Want to bet?  Done that way the meat can be very tender and flavorful, like the tri-tip and chicken here, but without the long, slow wood smoking it just isn’t barbeque.  Red’s has been here since 1992, so obviously people like it as is, but I would say that the Grillery part of the name is far more accurate than Barbecue.  As a high end coffee shop with a barbeque oriented menu it scores well, but as a barbeque place we would rate it about a 4.

Todd's Cookhouse Bar-B-Que

THIS PLACE IS GONE!

“The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of the human race than the discovery of a star.”
---Jean Anthelme Buillat-Savarin

TODD’S COOKHOUSE BAR-B-QUE

40713 Highway 41

Oakhurst, CA 93644

(559) 642-4900

11:00 AM t0 9:00 PM                         Daily

No Web site yet

I suppose that you have been wondering what we have been up to.  Well, even if you haven’t, I’m going to tell you anyway.  We’ve been revisiting some of the places that we have posted about.  Most of them are satisfyingly consistent. One declined. One improved.  We also tried another location of a chain restaurant we reviewed and had an experience so bad that I couldn’t even bring myself to write about it.  However, this last weekend, we took a trip to Yosemite with a couple of friends and on the way had some interesting barbeque experiences.  This one is a diamond in the rough and seemingly ignored by the local population.  Shame on them!  They don’t know what they are missing.  But then again, it just means us tourists get the pleasure of enjoying the food here.

The only major town immediately south of Yosemite on highway 41 is Oakhurst. (Fish Camp is a wide spot in the road and Coarsegold seems to have had an extra decimal place added to its population count.)  Driving through Oakhurst, we spotted Todd’s Cookhouse Barbeque.  The building it’s in is a bit off the road and slightly down a slope, so it’s fortunate they have some good signage. Walking in, your first impression is that this is going to be fast-food barbeque.  You are facing an ordering counter with a couple of small dining areas to either side at the ends of the building.  The menu is hand scrawled on a piece of cardboard behind the counter and on a chalkboard to the left by the self-serve drink dispenser.  The interior is wooden plank with a few country memorabilia nailed up.  No restaurant designer was used in the construction of this place and you feel you are in a real hole in the wall barbeque place.

The girls behind the counter are friendly and take your orders on paper, no computers here. They do have a 2-meat combo plate listed but we were having dinner at the Ahwahnee that night so we ordered different sandwiches to get a sampling.  Sharon ordered a Tri-tip sandwich with a side of Chili Beans.  I had a Pulled Pork sandwich with Cole Slaw.  Our friends ordered Chopped Brisket sandwiches with Hush Puppies.  We found a table and after a very short wait, our orders arrived.  The generous quantity of the meat in the sandwiches almost spoiled our dinners.

Pulled Pork

I’ve had pulled pork in Memphis and the Carolinas.  The first bite here took me right back there.  This is moist and flavorful pulled pork, as good as it gets.  They use mostly California red oak here, but I think they threw a little apple wood in when they did this one.  My only complaint, and this is nitpicking, was that the slaw was not on the sandwich.  Some people prefer fried onions on a pulled pork sandwich, I like slaw on one.  I would also have liked a mustard based sauce for it, but this is just a personal preference.  This pulled pork can stand on its own.  Great!

Tri-tip

Someone in this kitchen knows how to do tri-tip.  It was moist and tender, not sliced too thin, and had a proper smoke ring with a subtle taste of California red oak. You will be hard pressed to find any better tri-tip anywhere.  You could cut it with the plastic knife that serves as cutlery here.  The buttered bun it came on was very fresh and fluffy with a smear of barbeque sauce that did not overwhelm the tri-tip.  The barbeque sauce was tangy and definitely has some pepper in it as it made Sharon’s mouth burn.

Chopped Brisket

I’ll bet that when they took this brisket out of the smoker and threw it on the cutting board it quivered.  It was probably fall apart tender before it was chopped because it certainly was on the sandwich.  Brisket should have a flavor that says “Beef!” over and above the smoke and any rub and this does.   Again, you will be hard pressed to find a better brisket anywhere.  This also came on the same fresh bun.

Hush Puppies

OK, they’re hush puppies.  They don’t have jalapenos in them, which allowed Sharon to sample them.  While tasty, they were just a little over done, and could have used some honey butter. I prefer a lighter hush puppy just golden and done but still soft on the inside.  These came with a tangy dipping sauce that helped to make them more than ordinary. 

Chili Beans

This is not a side dish bowl of beans.  What you have here is a fabulous; make a meal of it, bean dish with both pork and beef in it.  It is more than amply meaty and the sauce, while sweet, is just right.  This is one of the best bean dishes you will find anywhere.  I would have no problem ordering just a bowl of chili beans with a side of bread for a meal here.

Cole Slaw

While it is not fantastic coleslaw it is definitely better than a simply competent one.  The surprise is a little cilantro in it.  It has a creamy style sauce that is a bit on the sweet side.  I did object to there being a bit too much sauce on my serving.  If you have been following this you know that I have a thing about overly wet coleslaw.  Besides that, it is a very good side dish slaw.

Sharon and I, along with our friends, were absolutely delighted with Todd’s Cookhouse BBQ.  We always have fun on a road trip (Well, there was the time we got to our destination and found the next morning we were surrounded by a wild fire, but that was an adventure.) and it’s even more fun when you can find a little gem like Todd’s.  While we were there we spoke to a gentleman waiting for a go order who said that he had recently moved to Oakhurst and was delighted to have found this place.  He told us that he was surprised to find that many of the locals did not know about it.  They’re missing something.  For the meat, we rate Todd’s a 9.6.  As a total experience we rate it an 8.5.  It’s a bit out of the way unless you are going to Yosemite, but it is definitely destination barbeque.

The Egg Revisited

 “I know my husband really loves me because he takes me to have ribs.  He says I’m the only girl he ever took out who actually ate anything on her plate, as opposed to pushing it around.”

---Julia Barr

Now you would think that during National Barbeque Month we would make an effort to review at least one barbeque place a week.  That was the intention but life happens.  However, since Memorial Day is the unofficial start of the summer barbeque season I had to at least try to barbeque something. 

Smart and Final cooperated by holding a Memorial Day weekend sale on pork ribs for $1.99 a pound, tri-tip for $3.99 a pound , and rib eye, for $4.99 a pound.  As with all such special sales there is a catch.  You have to buy a whole piece of any of these items…a whole side of ribs, a whole tri-tip, or a whole rib eye.  I found a nice looking, meaty side of ribs that was only $24.00.  I did better with the tri-tip finding very good one that was only $10.00.  All the rib eye looked great, and I would have loved to slice one up into steaks, however the smallest one was $103.00, not really a problem, but we had just stocked up on our usual food items and adding the ribs and tri-tip we didn’t have enough freezer space for all those steaks.

Since Thanksgiving I have become much more proficient with, and appreciative of the Big Green Egg.  With some research, and a bit of practice, I am now able to easily get it to hold the low temperatures required for slow smoking.  The temperature control is much easier than the Weber Kettle and requires much, much less fire tending.  It now takes me about seven minutes to fire it up it to the 230 degrees for smoking ribs.  As for the fire tending, I just put the Egg where I can see the thermometer from my den window, set the timer on my iPhone for 15 minutes so I can check the temperature (After turning the alarm sound way down.  The timer alarm on my iPhone sounds as though it was warning of a nuclear attack.), then sit down to watch tapes or DVDs.   (On Memorial Day we almost caught up with season three of Game of Thrones.)  During the six hours that the ribs were in the Egg I only had to make minor adjustments to the vents twice.

I had cut the side of ribs into four small racks, since there is usually just the two of us for dinner, and froze three of them.  I put a dry rub on the fourth on and put it in the refrigerator.  Now, I don’t claim to be anything but an amateur grill master, but I do lay claim to a signature rub.  My rub is truffle salt (Yes, it comes from Italy and really does have bits of truffle.), smoked Hungarian paprika, and black pepper.  I also use truffle salt and pepper on steaks when I grill.  The truffles impart a flavor to the meat that really has to be experienced.   The rub went on four hours before I fired up the Egg.

I use the 3-2-1 method to do the ribs.

 http://www.smoking-meat.com/july-12-2012-221-baby-back-ribs-on-big-green-egg-ceramic-cooker

Yes, I know the web page is entitled 2-2-1 Ribs.  That’s for baby back ribs…read the web page.  It explains how the process of setting up the Egg and preparing the ribs for smoking in detail much better than I could in this short post.  His rub is quite good, I just like mine better. The last hour, with the ribs on the grill, is sometimes shorter than an hour since I check my meat with an instant read thermometer as it gets close to being done.  You want it done, but not dry.

The meal was completed simply with corn on the cob and some dinner rolls.  The ribs were so meaty that we had a couple of leftovers.  I rib for lunch each of the next two days and they were still great as leftovers.

If you select good ribs and use this method you will get ribs as good as any you can find at a barbeque restaurant.  The difference is that you have to put the time and effort into making them, which, when you want to really do something special for yourself and others, is very satisfying.

It’s summer, Happy Barbequing!