Luv the Q

Virginia BBQ

2008-04-01T07:33:00.001-07:00

We tried Virginia BBQ (a chain founded originally in Richmond, VA I believe) recently. I'd never tried 'Virginia' q before - I usually stick with Kansas-style. We tried the ribs and pulled pork. Both had a definite vinegar flavor. The tables came with two kinds of sauce to add- North Carolina vinegar & spices or Virginia vinegar, tomato sauce, & spices. We stuck with the Virginia sauce as part of our Virginia experience.

I prefer smokey or sweet flavor in my BBQ so I wasn't overly impressed with the flavor offered with this Virginia BBQ. I had slaw on my pulled pork sandwich which helped lesson the impact on my pallet. For sides I chose the barbecued beans and fries. Fries are fries, nothing special. The beans had a vinegary taste to them.

If you like vinegar flavor to your BBQ, then I suggest you make the journey to a Virginia BBQ near you. Vinegar isn't really my thing though so I probably won't go back except to take friends by for a taste - it wasn't bad, just not my preferred flavoring.

Woody's - Classic LA BBQ

2008-03-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles isn't a place commonly thought of by BBQ aficionados. The reality is though that it as a great 'under-ground' BBQ culture with many of the best meat coming from small, whole-in-the-wall restaurants.

I was introduced to Woody's by a coworker many moons ago. He would go around the office and collect orders. Then, jump into his car and head east of the 405 and then north deep into Inglewood. There, at a complex intersection, is a v-shaped parking lot that is home to a small, nondescript building.

Lunch specials cover the range from links, ribs, tips, and sliced beef. Each came with a slice of bread. Sides can be purchased separately and include beans, coleslaw, greens/corn bread, yams, and mac & cheese. Guys I worked with loved the links and ribs. I always went for the chicken. The sauce has a good flavor and the slice of bread means you can rationalize that you did have vegetables (wheat's a veggie, right?) with your lunch. :D

If you happen to be near Inglewood at lunch time, swing by and grab a bite at Woody's Bar-B-Que, 475 S Market Street at South La Brea Avenue.

Grady's BBQ

2008-03-11T18:54:00.000-07:00

On my recent trip to San Antonio, I decided to stop for lunch at Grady's BBQ. Like most of the Texas BBQ places I have been to, this place doesn't include pork, so my favorites were not on the menu. However, they do have beef (including brisket and sausage), chicken, and turkey. I selected a brisket & sausage combo plate. The meat is served wet (with sauce) unless requested otherwise.
The restaurant is set up with an order window and a pickup window - no table service. The order was ready pretty quick (it didn't hurt that the place wasn't very busy at 2 PM on a Sunday).
The food was pretty good (though the brisket wasn't as lean as I like). Not a bad place to stop for lunch.

BBQ Trip

2008-03-04T18:25:00.000-08:00

During my recent trip to Los Angeles, I decided to try out a few Q places. Since I was staying in Los Alamitos (down near Orange County), all the places are near there.

The first one is Beechwood BBQ on Main Street in Seal Beach. I'd been there a couple times for lunch before and thought it was pretty good. I wasn't disappointed this time either.

The restaurant had enlarged since the last time I was there (expanding into the store next door), but it's still pretty small - about a dozen tables and a bar with about 10 barstools. On Friday night, there was a bit of a wait for a table, but take-out was fast.

The bar serves craft beers and imports, and has about 20 on tap, with a nice selection. The place is very relaxed and friendly - seems like a nice neighborhood place.

I had a Brisket and Baby Back ribs combo tbe first time I was there. The ribs aren't bad, but not the best I've had. They seemed a little fatty. The brisket was very good. The meat is served without sauce - they have a selection of sauces in bottles on the tables. The sweet sauce worked really well with the brisket. For sides I had hushpuppies and grilled asparagus - both good.

I liked the first visit so much I went back again a few days later and had their pulled-pork sandwich - also very good. The portions are small compared to a lot of the BBQ places, but it's enough for a normal meal, and the prices are good. I'll definitely be going back to this place.

The second place I tried was Maderas Steak and Ribs in Los Alamitos. I was told that it used to be a Tony Roma's, and it looks the part. I went there on a Monday night, and the place was mostly empty. I had the BBQ plate (Tri tip, baby back, and beef ribs). There was a lot of food, but I wasn't impressed with the quality. The tri-tip was pretty good, but the ribs were a disappointment. The BBQ sauce was also nothing special. The corn and garlic mashed potatoes were bland. I won't be coming back here.

The last place (this trip) was the Naples Rib Company in Long Beach. I'd had ribs from them before, but had never been to the restaurant. I ordered babhy back ribs and brisket. The ribs were good - the best I'd had on this trip. The brisket doesn't match up to Beechwood though. The portions were very large - I had enough left for lunch the next day. I will be visiting them again, though I'll make sure I have an appetite.

Portable Grill

2008-02-27T08:51:00.000-08:00

A few years ago we decided to switch from gas to charcoal (topic for another post some other time) so I began researching charcoal grills. Let's face it, gas is all the rage when grilling in many parts of the country. For us, gas lacked any pizazz and, well, was a real pain to maintain. Finding a charcoal grill was a challenge though.

I found one through L.L. Bean that caught my eye finally - the Volcano II. Volcano II is advertised as a collapsible, portable grill that is convertible for those who just really prefer gas. Intrigued, I ordered one.

We've used it a few times. It is indeed a piece of cake to 'unfold' - just hold the handle and it expands on its own. It did a great job of cooking. The coals burned nicely, no issues with the flame dying or flaring as can happen with many cheap charcoal grills. It comes with a sturdy carrying case.

Those things said, this is not a camping grill unless you are car camping. Yes, it is heavy - too heavy to lug on a hike. In addition, it requires some serious TLC. For the grill to collapse and open smoothly, it must be thoroughly cleaned and lubricated after use. Not doing so leads to rust and build-up... bad news for a collapsible grill.

D.C. BBQ? Try Willard's

2008-02-21T11:22:00.000-08:00

Ask any carnivorous male in Northern Virginia about good barbecue, and odds are good one of the places that will pop to his mind is Willard's. Willard's Real Pit BBQ is a hole in the wall place located in Chantilly, VA not too far from Dulles and the Dulles Expo Center.

Like all good BBQ joints, they offer sandwiches and platters. Sandwiches come with the Q staples of baked beans and cole slaw. Platters come with cornbread and your choice of two sides - baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad, rice & beans, dirty rice, green beans, collard greens, mashed potatoes, and black-eyed corn. I've tried the baked beans, cole slaw, and cornbread - all were great.

Sides are nice but lets get the the 'meat' of this story, shall we? Mmmmmm, meat. How does this sound? North Caroline pulled pork? Kansas City burnt ends? Texas sliced beef brisket? Barbecued pulled chicken? Red hot smoked sausage? St. Louis cut ribs? Barbecued chicken? Jamaican jerked chicken? Yes, Willard's offers a regular smorgasbord of BBQ, something to satisfy everyone's taste.

Got a meeting or party? No worries, mate. Willard's offers combos to feed 4, 6, or as many as you got.

If you find yourself in northern Virginia, maybe have some time on your hands before your flight departs from Dulles, then swing by Willard's and give them a try.

Welcome to all things BBQ

2008-02-14T10:39:00.000-08:00

I got into the BBQ craze thanks to my husband and one of his friends. We used to drive for Q runs into South Central LA at a time when it wasn't considered the safest things for people to do - but the BBQ was great. Watching BBQ contests, trying out new eateries, and grilling have become a part of our family.

A year ago we saw a BBQ episode on Food Network's "Good Eats" where the host made his own smoker. Being a bit into Q ourselves, we decided to turn our patio into a smoked BBQ factory. I chronicled our efforts at Squidoo and found that there are a lot of BBQ fans out there who like to tinker with their own smokers. As an update to that article, we used the smoker a few more times. We never managed to get the temperature high enough to cook the meat - possibly the hotplate we selected or the large size of our pots or both were to blame. Meat was smoked using different types of wood and different size chips then moved to the oven to cook. Given our setup, the smaller wood chips produced a more thorough smokey flavor in the meat but required frequent checks to load more chips (they were small enough to burn up quickly, producing lots of smoke and lots of flavor through-out the meat).