Bludso’s Bar & Que

April 30, 2018

Los Angeles, California – Somewhere around ten years ago, this place showed up on my radar. A popular magazine had rated it among the top ten barbecue places in Los Angeles. Quite a claim considering the number and quality of barbecue joints in this city. Ever since then I’ve been trying to visit to test this assertion, but my schedule and their business hours didn’t synch. A new schedule (for me) and a new location (for them) made it possible for me to check them out today.

According to the story on the website, owner Kevin Bludso was born and raised in Compton. His roots go back to Texas where five generations of his family have been mastering the pits. During his summers in Corsicana, Texas, a young Kevin learned the art of ‘cue while working with his grandmother. As he grew older, he avoided the inevitable family history as long as he could. In 2008, Bludso finally heeded the call. The result? You’re reading about it.

The original Bludso’s site is in Compton, but it has been closed for some time now. Word is they will re-open at some point in the future. A second location was opened in Los Angeles just outside Hollywood. The building had enough space to add a bar. So Bludso did. The other spot is in Melbourne. As in Australia. Not Florida. Which means now Bludso’s is truly an international affair.

I could smell the smoke from five blocks down the street. The first whiff got my attention. To the best of my recollection of the area, there are no other barbecue places in the vicinity. The closest one would have been 6 blocks south. Downwind of where I was. So this glorious smell of pit-fired barbecue filling my nose had to be coming from Bludso’s.

Bludso’s is easy to spot from street. The building is painted grey with a red “Bludso’s” sign over the entrance. An awning covers the small patio on the sidewalk. A menu is displayed in a cutout on the wall outside just as you enter.

Be sure to pay attention to the parking signs wherever you park, no matter whether it’s on La Brea or one of the side streets. Parking Enforcement is notorious for diligently (and swiftly) enforcing the posted regulations in this area. Parking tickets are dished out like flyers at a concert. Trust me on this.

Now that we’ve found a place to park, let’s go inside.

The hostess station is located immediately to your right as you enter. A bench sits in the waiting area to your immediate left. Further inside you’ll find a mix of dark, wooden benches and tables. Lighter colored metal-legged wooden chairs attend wooden tables in the center of the dining area. A long, amply-stocked bar with plenty of bar stools takes up the entire south wall of the dining area. Maybe a dozen flat screen television screens encircle the room, all playing sports.

When I arrived, there were two guys at the bar. A couple sat at one of the tables. This was right after dinner hours began so it was pretty quiet at that time. While I was there, blues, old school soul, and R&B was playing on speakers.

The décor certainly does not look like your typical barbecue joint. However, the paper towel rolls and bucket with utensils on each table remind you that, yes, this place really might know a little something about ‘cue.

While looking over the menu, I noticed that the meats are portioned by the quarter, half, or full pound, while the ribs come in either a half or full rack. I wanted to sample as much as possible so I prepared myself for a big bill.

I decided on: Meats – ½ lb. brisket ($14), ½ rack pork ribs ($17), ½ rack beef ribs ($17), two Texas Red Hots (beef link) ($6 each). Sides – ½ pint collard greens ($6), ½ pint baked beans ($6), ½ pint potato salad ($6), two pieces of cornbread ($1.75 each). For dessert I went for a slice of pie. The Chocolate Chess Pie ($7) sounded interesting.

Of course, all of this would be to go. (Dining in? Your meal will be served family style).

I was amazed at how quickly my to-go order came out. And with fast, friendly service. Then again, I arrived only a couple of minutes after they opened for dinner. My rather large meal came in one of those aluminum catering trays with a cover. Everything was carefully packed. It was arranged so well that it resembled a Tetris game. (No photos, but the food actually looks like the pictures on the website)! Everything was still warm when I arrived home nearly two hours later.

Bludso’s uses their own special dry rubs on their meat. After that, the meats spend as much as 14 hours smokin’ low and slow, with fire fed by whole hardwood logs and charcoal. That’s how it’s done here.

After breathing in the bouquet of smoked meats for the past couple of hours without being able to do anything about it, I was more than ready to dig in when I finally arrived home. Here’s the rundown:

The brisket had a mellow, smoky flavor through and through. Each slice had a nice char on the edges. Nice color. Impossibly tender. It fell apart while trying to pick it up with a fork. The rub Bludso’s uses is on the salty side, but still good. Even so, I would prefer Bludso’s use a bit less salt.

There is a noticeable amount of fat on the brisket. The lean version has less fat but costs more. On the other hand, that fat really amplified the flavor of the brisket. Surprisingly, the flavor of the brisket was stronger than the barbecue sauce. I ended up not using sauce on the rest after tasting a few bites with it. It was so good, it didn’t really need any.

The pork ribs were extremely tender! Good color. The smoke flavor comes through nicely. Again, it didn’t need any sauce. Though the barbecue sauce didn’t really go well with any of the meats, it worked best with the pork ribs. At least the mild sauce did. The hotter sauce kind of clashed. I really like how well the rub goes with the pork ribs. The rub is what makes these ribs stand out from the crowd.

As with other meats, the beef ribs were very tender. They had a light flavor of smoke. Not as strong as others, but the presence of smoke is definitely there. I opted not to try them with the sauce.

Careful. There’s some heat in those house-made Texas Red Hot beef links. They really live up to their name. Firm texture. Nice bite. Lingering heat. I put one of them in a wheat bun I had at home and ate it that way.

All of Bludso’s’ meats are seasoned (and smoked) extremely well. They really don’t need any sauce. That’s a sign of great barbecue.

A lot of meat calls for a lot of sides. Bludso’s’ sides are all scratch-made in house. I decided to take a chance with the collard greens. Readers of this blog know how I feel about greens. For those who are new, most of my family and my wife’s family cook greens. Really good greens. For this reason, it is not often that I will order greens from a restaurant. And when I do, I admit I am quite critical.

The smell of the collard greens was much stronger than any other aroma emanating from the bag. They had a strong, hearty flavor to match. There’s some pepper in there somewhere. Smoked pork takes these greens up a couple of notches. Later I saw the flakes of red pepper. The greens tasted even better as leftovers once the seasoning had had a chance to work through. So how do these greens fare? They absolutely pass the test.

I noticed the baked beans on the menu. I figured they would complement the greens. They had a nice, semi-sweet flavor. Included in the beans are bits of brisket you can actually see. When you have an outdoor barbecue, this is what you imagine when it comes to baked beans. They became addictive after a couple of forkfuls.

Since this is a barbecue place, I had to get the potato salad, right? It is topped with paprika. Chunky potatoes and celery really earn this salad its stripes. Delicious! Not sure what else to say about it.

To go with all of this, some type of bread would be nice. Two pieces of cornbread filled the bill. It tastes like regular cornbread, with a tiny hint of extra baking powder. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it comes with honey butter. Whipped honey butter at that. The light taste of the honey and the butter goes very well with cornbread.

Two types of barbecue sauce are available. I got both the hot and mild sauces on the side. Both sauces had a slight sweetness. Aside from the very light sweetness, overall, both sauces were nearly bordering on neutral. I had to taste each sauce three times before I could tell which was hot. The hot does leave a lingering bit of warmth once it finally hits. Unfortunately, I have to admit I was not really feeling either sauce. It put me more in mind of mole rather than barbecue sauce. It didn’t really pair well with any of the four meats I ordered. Seems like it’s missing something. Maybe some smoke flavor to blend better with the meat?

Bludso’s serves pies by Nicole Rucker. You may have heard of her. She is a National Pie Championship Blue Ribbon award winner. I had never heard of Chocolate Chess Pie before. It looks and tastes like a brownie in a pie crust. Very moist, very good. Chocolate is definitely in charge here. It would be even gooder served ala mode – which Bludso’s will do if you want for $2 extra. Maybe I’ll try that next time.

Bludso’s’ fare is a bit pricey but they do serve large portions. Definitely no skimping here. It’s a good bet you’ll be taking some home. If you enjoy their seasoning, Bludso’s sells their brisket and pork rib rubs in store and online. They even have their own app.

About that claim I mentioned at the beginning of this review: Yes, I would wholeheartedly agree that Bludso’s does deserve its spot on that top 10 list.

Bludso’s Bar & Que – 4.5 forks. Highly recommended. Their name says all you need to know. Check hours if planning to visit on a weekday. Catering? Yep, they do that, too.

 

Mr. Cecil’s California Ribs

March 24, 2008

Sherman Oaks, CA – Last week someone sent me a review of a barbecue place called Mr. Cecil’s California Ribs. I had heard of this place before. In fact, back in 2002 it was mentioned as one of the ten best barbecue restaurants in the Los Angeles area (they have a location on Pico Blvd in West LA). So it had been on my list of places to try since way back then but I was never in the area. Today I finally had the time to try out Mr. Cecil’s. My plan was to visit the West Los Angeles location, but in order to get a jump on traffic I decided to visit the Sherman Oaks location instead.

According to their website, Chef Jonathan Burrows has taken “western American barbecue” and given it decidedly unique California style. How? By infusing a hint of Asian influence, using high-quality, fresh ingredients (even the chicken and veggies are organic), and adding fish and a variety of salads to the menu. Oh, and there are plenty of ribs.

Mr. Cecil’s was easy to find; it has a big red patio cover proclaiming the name of the place, and large lettering on the building itself. I walked in around 5:20pm or so. Since it was before the dinner hour it was relatively empty. There were two ladies at the bar and a group of four people at one of the patio tables. The hostess greeted me and said I could sit anywhere. I chose the patio since it was still in the upper 70’s in the Valley by this time.

The enclosed patio was covered by a red canvas, paneled in wood. There were a few pictures of cows on the wall. One of the benches was painted like a cow. The legs were carved in the shape of cow’s legs, hooves and all. Since there was all that wood paneling and wooden tables, it would have been nice to have wooden chairs. But they were metal. Still, it was nice sitting out there, watching the world walk – and drive – by on Ventura Boulevard. Most of the windows were open and there was a nice little breeze. Quite relaxing.

My server showed up rather quickly and asked if I wanted anything to drink. Homemade lemonade seemed like the obvious choice on a day like this. She returned almost immediately with the beverage. It tasted sour and sweet (a little too sweet), but not quite homemade. No pulp swimming around in the glass. Nonetheless, it was refreshing. My server was either a mind reader or eagle-eyed because each time I would so much as think about another round of lemonade, here she comes with another cool glassful. I downed three of those puppies over the course of the dinner.

Since I was by myself, the only way to sample a variety of their wares was to order 3 or 4 different meals. No matter. This way I’d have dinner for the next several days. They have a Beef Short Rib sandwich on the menu. This caught my eye since you usually don’t see this offered. It’s served on a Kaiser roll and comes with grilled red onions (!) and horseradish-mayonnaise sauce. First impression was this was kinda dry. But that’s what the two sauces on the table are for – one a hickory-flavored sauce (which tastes a lot like Kraft’s hickory-flavored sauce), and a Cajun sauce, which, as Emeril would say, has been kicked up a notch or two. Both are molasses-based. The sauce helped moisten the meat (not that the meat itself was dry) but the bread was still on the dry side. The meat itself actually did taste like barbecued short ribs. I was pleasantly surprised.

The sandwich comes with one side. Barbecued baked beans filled that slot. The beans are loaded with chunks of bacon you can actually see. I eagerly dug into these first. Hmmm. Hot from the kitchen but if not for the bacon, these beans would be run-of-the-mill. They were kind of on the sweet side, too. Since the bacon had raised the taste up a level, I finished them in short order.

To get the best sampling of ribs, it got kind of complicated. I ordered the rib combo, which gives you a choice of two types of ribs from the available baby back, St. Louis, and beef. I chose the beef and St. Louis, and ordered a side of baby back ribs. The combo comes with two sides. I chose the steamed green beans. The second choice, grilled corn with chili lime butter, jumped out at me from the menu. My server said it was delicious so I took her word for it. Obviously two examples of the California-style menu options chef Jonathan has created. The steamed green beans were plump, long, and crunchy. Score a few points there. They had a buttery, garlicky flavor. Very tasty.  The corn was cooked on a grill and had a hint of lime flavor. I expected a bit more kick from the chili, but realized that more chili taste would had subdued the natural taste of the corn. After thinking about it, this is a tricky combination of tastes to mix and Mr. Cecil’s got it right.

Now for the part I came here for…RIBS! I ordered these to go since I had already eaten the sandwich. But I couldn’t help sampling a couple of each type of rib. First thing I noticed were the baby backs. The looked like they had been cooked much earlier that morning but were still tender enough to easily separate with your fingers. The St. Louis ribs were just as tender. The beef ribs looked the freshest. The meat came off the beef bones just as easily as the other two styles. You gotta hand it to Chef Jonathan; these ribs were very tender. Of the three, I’d have to say the St. Louis-style ribs tasted best. That’s only because the beef ribs were kind of greasy. And they were a bit on the short side. I like my beef ribs to be long enough to play drums with.

All of the ribs were good enough to eat without sauce, but the sauce really improved the taste. I tried switching off between the two sauces – one bite with one flavored sauce, one bite with the other – and ended up mixing the two. The result was a kicked up, Cajun-hickory sauce. My eyebrows rose at the unexpected great new taste I had ‘discovered’.

Unfortunately, the ribs did not have that smoky flavor I expect from a barbecue restaurant. Maybe they were par-boiled, then put on a grill for a few minutes. Call me a purist, snob, whatever, but real barbecued ribs are supposed to taste smoky, whether from the grill or from a smoker. The lack of smoky flavor results in a lower rating in my book and also causes me to wonder how Mr. Cecil’s, though the food does taste good, makes into the top 10 list of best barbecue places.

I didn’t realize how much I had eaten until I walked out the door. Attempting to walk off some of the dinner, I ended up walking about a half a mile up one side of Ventura Blvd and back down the other.

Mr. Cecil’s seems more like a place to visit when you’re with friends and you’re more interested in talk than taste. It’s a good bet that the ‘California style’ of this restaurant is the reason for the prices. For a barbecue restaurant, the prices are quite high. Still, I would visit again.

Mr. Cecil’s California Ribs – 4 out of 5 stars. And plenty of Wet-Naps.

 

Woody’s Bar-B-Que

October 2, 2007

Woody’s Bar-B-Que consistently tops many, many critics’ lists as being among the best barbecue in Los Angeles. Those of us who live here have known that for decades, before the critics found out about it. It takes a mighty good rib joint to beat Woody’s, and admittedly there are a couple around LA. For me, eating at Woody’s is like eating at a relative’s house; you know the food is good and it spoils you because it’s always available. So you take it for granted.

It had been more than a decade since I last ate at Woody’s Bar-B-Que. I went back this time on a sudden whim; I was driving right in front of it when my barbecue jones hit. To satisfy it, I had to hang a hard left and stop in. For years I’d pass by the place and savor the smoky aroma for the next few blocks as I drove east down Slauson. Mmmmm, real pit barbecue! Today was as good as any to re-acquaint myself with that aroma; and the ‘cue that emitted it.

No other customers were there so I walked right up to the window. I ordered the combo, which was beef (tri-tip), links, and ribs. Mixed hot and mild sauce. Beans and potato salad are the menu sides for the combo. The beans were tasty, slightly sweet, and had tiny bits of beef hidden throughout. It was so good that I had inhaled it almost without putting the fork down. They were gone before I realized it and I found myself craving more. The potato salad tasted like the packaged industrial kind; good, but typical of most decent ‘cue joints.

In order of taste preference I say beef, the links, and then ribs. The ribs were good but not award-winning. They were tender enough, and the sauce complemented them well. Oh yeah, I’d order them again, it’s just that they didn’t get my taste buds rockin’. Now the links, on the other hand, did. I sandwiched the link between the requisite slices of white bread that came with the combo. You know it’s good when you sop the basket with the bread to get every last bit of sauce off the container and onto your food. Same with the tri-tip. The tri-tip had that slight pink edge I like to see on my tri-tip. It was tender, smoky, and it, too, was well complimented by the sauce. I had intended to eat the whole meal for lunch but that wasn’t happening; there was just too much food. I saved half for the next day. I certainly got my money’s worth on this meal.

They have 3 locations now; the original on Slauson just west of Crenshaw, one on Market Street in Inglewood, and a third restaurant on Foothill Blvd. in Rancho Cucamonga. I can’t vouch for Woody’s #2 in Inglewood but last year on a rainy night in Southern California I stopped at the Rancho Cucamonga location. It’s in a mall. The meat tasted like it had been cooked by boiling it first, then bathing in sauce. Nowhere did I detect any real pit-smoked flavor. Maybe because they are located in a mall they can’t use a real pit to cook with. I don’t know. But it surprises me that this could even be called Woody’s. For my money, the Rancho Cucamonga store fakes the funk. Wait until you’re in the LA area and go to their other locations.

Woody’s #1 on Slauson – 4.5 out of 5 forks (and lots of napkins).

Update: The Woody’s in Rancho Cucamonga has closed down.

 

The Pig

July 2007

Los Angeles, CA – Several southland critics and L.A. CitySearch rate “The Pig” as having L.A.’s best barbecue. Is it really L.A.’s best? Let’s find out.

The Pig has been on my list of places to visit for 6 six years, ever since I first read about it in a write-up of top L.A. barbecue restaurants. I happened to be in the Hollywood area near La Brea yesterday so I figured now is as good a time as any. Besides, the traffic will die down while I’m eating. Despite the heavy traffic, parking was surprisingly easy to find.

Upon opening the screen door and walking into this hole-in-the-wall eatery, you are immediately transported to back one of those southern joints you see in movies. License plates from states across the nation, photos of celebrities hung on the wall behind the stairs. Even Elvis’ picture is there. And the counter seats facing the window have nameplates. Looked like a real enough barbecue joint.

I was the only patron there. (A group of four came in later as I was just about finished with my meal.) As I walked in, the guy behind the counter handed me a menu. I sat down, reviewed the choices, and decided on the sampler. Oddly enough – and perhaps befitting the area – it was called Comborama. It included 4 Memphis-style dry-rub ribs, 4 St. Louis style ribs, and New Orleans-style chicken wings. For the sides I chose bbq beans and potato salad, and a Fanta orange soda to wash it all down.

Since I was the only diner there, the staff put on a soccer, er, futbal match on the television. Uruguay was playing Brazil. I moved over one table so I could see better. They saw this and kindly angled the set toward me. It must have been a tie game because they were in the middle of the penalty kicks. The announcer had his own unique way of acknowledging goals, just as most good soccer announcers do; gollll, golllll, gollll, gollll, gollll, gollll, gollll. Always seven times. Brazil won when the goalie blocked the 3rd kick by Uruguay. Back to the food.

The meal arrived. I was pleasantly surprised to see the plate was full. The chicken wings were big and looked like they came off a real chicken as opposed to a Cornish game hen. I started to doubt whether I’d be able to finish it all.

So I’m sitting there, eating my dinner, watching the soccer match on TV (this is a barbecue joint, right?), grooving to the music coming from the speakers, tripping on the complete irony of a Black man eating pork in a barbecue joint called The Pig, that sits in the middle of an orthodox Jewish area with orthodox Jewish people walking by wearing the full orthodox Jewish regalia (yarmulke, peyos, tallit, the whole nine), being served Memphis-style barbecue by Latinos, that was cooked by Latinos. Only in California. Then I bit into a cold rib. (Cue needle being dragged across a vinyl record.) I chalked that up to the fact it was the outermost rib and I was sitting close to the fan. The rest of the ribs were warmer.

How was the food? First, the beans. Excellent! Hearty. Full of flavor. Little bits of meat. Best of all, not runny. The potato salad was good, too. Lots of big chunks of red potatoes with the skin still on. Now on to the wings. Spicy, not greasy. Good marks there, but they were kind of on the dry side. Still, plenty of meat for a wing. The St. Louis ribs were also on the dry side. But the smoky, sweet sauce helped redeem them. Last up were the Memphis ribs. These were more tender, not as dry as the other meats. The Pig has four different types of sauces on the table; spicy mustard, vinegar-based, mild, and spicy hot. I tried all of them except the spicy mustard on the Memphis ribs and found the spicy hot sauce hit the spot. I lost count of how many napkins I went through.

The verdict: L.A.’s best barbecue? I don’t think so. Even if the ribs had been at their tender best I wouldn’t give it the high marks the critics did. Makes me wonder where they’ve been eating. Honestly, The Pig wouldn’t even make it to my top 10 list. The staff was very friendly, though. Would I go back? If I lived in the neighborhood, maybe. But since it’s out of the way, most likely not.

The Pig: 3 out of 5 forks. Good, but overrated and slightly over-priced

Update – The Pig closed down early in 2008.