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Gotta get those coals white hot,
and celebrate freedom with steak and potatoes, and a Mexican Coke.
Because just one barbecue is not enough.
And you're not celebrating freedom without a kid in a Captain America mask...and a piñata.
Two celebrations are better than one.
Hope you all had a fantastic, safe Fourth of July!
This post has been a long time coming. I'm surprised it took me this long to get it up. But alas, in all its glory, Phil's BBQ. For many Southern Californians, Phil's needs no introduction. The 2 hour waits to get in testify to that. However, if you are not familiar with this San Diego institution, it was founded in 1998 by owner, Phil Pace. BBQ in California? Barbecue purists are probably calling heresy. Calm yourselves, perhaps this isn't "real," but this is good stuff. Really good.
On a side note, there's some great BBQ in SoCal. There's always Bludso's Texas style BBQ in Compton.
Whenever we make a trek down to San Diego, it's usually for our pilgrimage to Phil's. As I mentioned before, the lines get long. However, if you get there before the rush, say, around 4 pm, you'll get your food in no time (relative to the typical 2 hour wait). Just remember, they are closed on Mondays. If you're at Phil's for your first time, you'll have plenty of time to wrestle with your heart in regards to what you'll order. My typical order is the half rack baby back dinner with fries and slaw. Some swear by their sandwiches, beef ribs, or chicken, but I stick to the tried and true baby back ribs. Also, don't you ever dare forget to order onion rings. Just do it.
If you survive the wait, successfully procure a table, and wait a little longer for your food, you'll be greeted with something like this. As I said, this is my typical order. And it's perfect. You have your mesquite grilled baby back ribs, fries, and some sort of vegetable, if you want to call it that.
The cole slaw is essential. You need some cool, creamy veggies to cleanse your palette between mouthfuls of tangy, slightly spicy meat and fried potatoes. The slaw is actually not too heavy like some other slaws you'll have. It's light and refreshing. Perfect. The fries are the quintessential carbohydrate. They aren't particularly crispy at Phil's. They kind of remind me of thicker In-n-Out fries. Don't let that drive you away, I know some people hate In-n-Out fries (I don't). The fries are perfect for sopping up all that extra sauce. Oh, and the portions. Dear lord, the amount of fries and slaw you get is almost scary. You'll be more than happy.
You didn't forget those onions rings, now, did you? These are some of my favorite onions rings. Ever. They have a light, crispy crust with a sweet, tender onion on the inside. Absolute perfection (I'm using that big word quite a bit here). Maybe I've developed some unhealthy affection toward Phil's onion rings, but I don't care. They are some of the best I've had. Please do dunk these in the buttermilk ranch they serve them with. Moving on.
Here is the main attraction. These are the tender, fall-off-the-bone ribs you hope to have when you eat BBQ. Yes, great. But do you know what's better? The sauce. The sauce really brings these ribs to life. It's definitely a unique sauce in the world of BBQ. It has the viscosity of a Kansas City BBQ sauce, but with a flavor akin to a North Carolina BBQ Sauce. Thick, vinegary, and a slight bit spicy. Oh, and Phil created this sauce when he was 15 years old... You have to try this. It's really that good.
On our trip in December, the table we were sitting at had these awesome sticker labels on the malt vinegar. The Korean in me was proud and a slight bit embarrassed. Who even thinks of doing this?
Anyway, there you have it. If you live in San Diego, are visiting San Diego, or don't live anywhere near San Diego, you have to go to Phil's. Please. For me.
Phil's BBQ 3750 Sports Arena Blvd San Diego, CA 92110 (619) 226-6333 www.philsbbq.net
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