Navigating: BBQ
Go low and slow when you cruise these favorite ’cue shacks
By Jiyeon Yoo, Metromix, and Katherine Spiers, Special to Metromix
May 21, 2008
Baby Blues Bar-B-Q
444 Lincoln Blvd., Venice310-396-7675
This bright, inviting spot is located on a corner in Venice, but its grub is squarely grounded in North Carolina—which is most apparent in the allegiance to vinegary and spicy sauces. The two young bucks behind Baby Blues have a wicked sense of humor: A sign in the door vows “No fat added,” and a redneck wind chime of beer cans hangs about the counter. Menu items are also playfully named: Get Down Miss Brown is pulled pork, and the house-made hot sauces are labeled from XXX to “porno hot.” You decide which one’s more palate-scorching.
Boneyard Bistro
13539 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks818-906-7427
Meaty down-home fare as big-city dining is not an oxymoron at Boneyard Bistro. After serving time in Nashville kitchens, co-owner and executive chef Aaron Robins returned to his West Coast roots and opened a restaurant that combines traditional barbecue with a flair for California fusion cuisine. Yes, you can get an appetizer of Thai-spiced calamari or a Mediterranean chopped salad to go with your hickory-smoked brisket or tri-tip. Or opt for the literal-minded Mega Platter, a $250 ode to carnivorousness. Whatever the case, the mac ’n’ cheese is deep-fried. How’s that for upscale?
Doctor Hogly Wogly's Tyler Texas Bar-B-Que
8136 Sepulveda Blvd., Van Nuys818-780-6701
This Valley fave is named for its original owner, a pharmacologist who started out as a chubby Texas delivery boy for the local Piggly Wiggly. Considering the ample barbecue served at his namesake restaurant, it's no wonder he was a little on the Hogly Wogly side. Low and slow is the good doctor’s motto, and all meats are cooked over wood in a brick pit. While some say this joint is coasting on legend alone, the consistent crowd (reservations aren’t taken) would probably disagree.
Gus's Barbecue
808 Fair Oaks Ave., South Pasadena626-779-3251
This family-run-since-1946 establishment was purchased in 2007 by another Pasadena restaurant family, the folks behind the Original Tops. The new owners are wholly respectful of Gus’ history: While the interior was gutted and spiffed up with modern touches, the original neon sign with running chickens and piggies still graces the historic red brick façade. The food has changed with the addition of a rotisserie and two smokers—indeed, there’s even greater focus on barbecue. All the classics are here, including pulled pork, brisket, baby back ribs and—scream it out—ice cream sundaes!
Jay Bee's Bar-B-Q
15911 S. Avalon Blvd., Gardena310-532-1064
House of Fine Bar-B-Q seems like a mighty big name for this unassuming shack, but it’s a dead giveaway of the culinary wonders that await. People come from all over the Southland, especially after Jay Bee’s was featured on the Food Network as “Real Deal BBQ.” The owner also boasts a fraternal connection to Interstate BBQ, a Memphis institution, and the brothers even share recipes. Of course, there’s a variety of ’cued meats, but it’s the pork (ribs and shoulder) that makes knees shake and arteries clog.
Kansas City BBQ Company
10863 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood818-754-0030
When the Studio City location of this venerated barbecue joint was shuttered, there was widespread panic among meat lovers. Luckily, it was just a minor blip. This temple to Kansas City’s meaty masterpiece is reopening in North Hollywood. The name of the game here is brisket—brisket all the time, every way. There's regular brisket, brisket to flavor the famous smoked baked beans, and brisket “burnt ends,” the crispy end trimmings that people go absolutely crazy for. Remember to wear your big pants.
NYBBQ
901 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles323-934-4343
Nah, there’s really no such thing as N.Y.-style barbecue. The name pays homage to the owners’ Southern roots by way of the Eastern Seaboard. The ’cue itself is a blend of North Carolina’s vinegary application and Memphis’ love of slaw, which is best piled high atop pulled pork, another point of River City pride. There are also incredible beef links, which can be hard to come by in L.A. Sides include collard greens, baked beans and corn bread, but the mac ’n’ cheese is the star of the sideshow.
Phillips BBQ
4307 Leimert Blvd., Los Angeles323-292-7613
No consideration of barbecue would be complete without what many consider the definitive L.A. BBQ joint. Even the uninitiated know to use their noses when they first embark upon the original Leimart Park location: The air turns rich with hickory smoke, a prelude to the famous ribs, rib tips and hot links that await. Frowny-pants say the place is overrated, but dealing with haters is part of being a legend. Get the famous sauce spicy—it’ll make a man out of ya. (Fine, get it mixed if you’re squeamish.) Aside from the luxurious choice of white or wheat Wonder Bread, the sides are inconsequential, but dessert includes peach cobbler and red velvet cake.
Porky's BBQ
801 E. Manchester Blvd, Inglewood310-671-2900
Porky’s proprietor (just call him Earl) is full of quips: “We’re not jokin’, we’re smokin’!” Hickory-smokin’, that is. House specialties of pork, beef, chicken and ribs are slow-cooked over hickory wood for upward of 16 hours. The special dry-rub recipe and tangy house-made barbecue sauce get rave reviews. Portions are huge, and all orders come with an equally sizable Texas toast. The Golden Bird fried chicken is also particularly popular—true, it’s not barbecue, but it is delicious.
Santa Maria BBQ
9552 Washington Blvd., Culver City310-842-8169
The little town of Santa Maria in Central California has a special way of barbecuing meat—over California red oak wood. This Culver City establishment specializes in that particular technique, utilizing a blend of dry seasonings to transform the region’s signature tri-tip. No need to get weirded out by the accompanying pinquito beans and salsa—that’s traditional, from Cali’s Wild West days of rancheros and vaqueros. In fact, the combination is taken to the next level: You can get your tri-tip in a burrito or quesadilla.
Spring Street Smoke House
640 N. Spring St., Los Angeles213-626-0535
This barbecue joint has its own way of doing things, starting with the incongruous location in Chinatown. The menu is equally idiosyncratic: A pasta entrée is made of penne and smoked tri-tip tossed in the house barbecue sauce. The kitchen also has a wacky penchant for deli slices—both the tri-tip and brisket are shaved thin, even if you’re not getting either as a sandwich. But there’s nothing strange about the friendly service, the cheap prices or the full catalog of Angel City microbrews on tap.
Swinging Door Texas BBQ
11018 Vanowen St., North Hollywood818-763-8996
Meatheads have clocked disproportionate miles to NoHo just to get elbow-deep in authentic Texas-style barbecue. None of the proteins—tri-tip, sausage links, chicken breast and the like—sees a direct flame or is baked in an oven. It’s all 100 percent slow-smoked in a 3400-pound, custom-made-in-the-heart-of-Texas steel pit for up to 12 hours. The excellent sauce is tomato-based (natch) with an even more excellent spicy option. And Swinging Door’s dessert menu takes the cake: deep-fried Twinkies, y’all.
Tasty Q Bar-B-Que
2959 Crenshaw Blvd., Los Angeles323-735-8325
Tasty Q Bar-B-Que is a land of pigs’ feet, greens and Cajun-spiced everything, a place where the mild sauce is potent enough to cure a cold. On Crenshaw Boulevard near the 10 freeway, you'll find this converted Taco Bell with brightly colored, hand-painted murals of chickens running from a boiling pot. Meals and combos are super-cheap and offered in heaping portions. But the thing that brings outsiders to this gem of a place is the deep-fried turkey service offered all year long. You bring the turkey; they’ve got a turkey-sized vat of oil with your name on it. If you want classic barbecue, the pork ribs and rib tips are where it’s at.
Zeke's Smokehouse
2209 Honolulu Ave., Montrose818-957-7045
Zeke’s originated here in Montrose, the collaboration of two critically acclaimed chefs who raised the bar in upscale comfort food at the late Maple Drive in Beverly Hills (a far cry from the South). Leonard Schwartz and Michael Rosen mind their B’s and Q’s, creating an ambitious menu that borrows from the major hotbeds of American barbecue. Brisket is Texas-dry-rubbed, Carolina mustard accents pulled pork, and the ribs come either as a slab of Memphis-style baby back or trimmed in Kansas City fashion. While fixins are an afterthought at many ’cue shops, sides of chili; homemade kettle potato chips; and a “frito misto” rendition of hush puppies, sweet potato fries and onion rings aim to steal the show.
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