My cousin wanted to grab lunch last week and we came up with a list of potential places to get our grub on. Bludso's was on that list and something inside of me told me to go there. Bludso's is a Texas style BBQ joint that brings the glory of Texas to SoCal. So, three Asian kids - my cousin, his friend, and I - pull into Bludso's BBQ in Compton, CA and the moment we step out, we undergo sensory overload. There are some smokers by the parking lot and the smell is simply irresistible.
So we walk in and put in our order, a Texas Sampler. Upon asking if that's enough food to feed three, the cashier gives us a reassuring "Ohh yeahhhh." We choose to eat outside on one of their picnic tables because it was such a beautiful day. After a short wait (a very short wait), our food comes out, delivered to our table.
Let me just stop here and take a moment to comment on the staff. Every single person working at Bludso's is extremely sweet and friendly. One of the ladies there came out several times to check on us and brought us a ton of wetnaps and napkins. They all introduce themselves with their first name. In fact, just as we were about to dig in, owner Kevin Bludso pulls into the parking lot right by our table and asks if he could have some of our food in a joking manner. He is one of the friendliest people I've met!
Okay, on to the food. When we opened up the Texas Sampler, all of our eyes widened...take a breath before you read this: Chicken Links, Beef Links, Pulled Pork, Beef Brisket, BBQ Chicken, Pork Ribs, Beef Ribs, 2 sides (we got cole slaw and mac and cheese), and bread for everyone. All that for less than $30. How is that even possible? I'll just cut to the chase now and say that this was more than enough food for 3 heavy eaters.
How was it? I'll start with the sides. The sides were probably the weak point in the meal, but still good. The slaw was not too creamy, which I like. It was a nice palate cleanser between all the meat. The mac and cheese was good, but not cheesy enough for my taste. It was of the dryer variety with little cheese sauce. [EDIT] I recently went back to Bludso's and the mac and cheese was spot on. Cheesy, creamy goodness. We must have gotten an old batch on my first visit. All of the meat was good, but the stand out stars for me were the pork ribs and beef brisket. The ribs had great flavor and fell right off the bone with no effort. The brisket was so tender that when we tried picking it up, it fell apart. It also had this ever so slight crust that developed from caramelization. Gah. Just thinking about it makes me drool.
The links had an interesting texture to them, not what I'm used to. I'm not quite sure how to describe it, but it felt like they had a coarser grind. Great. The pulled pork was full of flavor from the BBQ sauce that douses the whole platter. Very good on the bread with some slaw. The chicken is...well...just chicken. I was never crazy about BBQ chicken because it's not very interesting. The beef ribs were just as good as the pork ribs, but I just prefer pork ribs over beef ribs. I was a bit confused because on the menu it says that they serve beef ribs only on weekends, but these guys were way too big to be pork ribs. Maybe someone can clear that up for me.
Bludso's gets a giant stamp of approval for food and service from me. My cousin, also a great lover of food, claims that the BBQ at Bludso's is better than the BBQ he had at Salt Lick in Texas. Fail to believe him? See for yourself!
Bludso's BBQ 811 S Long Beach Blvd Compton, CA 90221 (310) 637-1342