Southern California BBQ Crawl...

[Bentley]

I will have some Pork just for you guys!

Dont do it on our account...I figured we kind of judge each place by what they serve, did not want you doing something special for us.

 

[leanza]

Dont do it on our account...I figured we kind of judge each place by what they serve, did not want you doing something special for us.

Agree

 

[leanza]

Bentley, having never crawled or busted a gut on a crawl.....Answer me this? 15-20dollars is going to be enough for all three stops?

 

[Bentley]

Bentley, having never crawled or busted a gut on a crawl.....Answer me this? 15-20dollars is going to be enough for all three stops?

The first time we did it we had about 13 people, went to 3 places and spent about $5/person at each stop.

2nd time there was 5 of us and we spent about $8/person.

I think the most expensive thing will be ribs at each place, kind of hard to ask grown men & women to share a rib! We should be able to order the brisket & butt by the lb. I dont think anyone needs more than about an oz to really make the call so I am hoping we can get by with a lb of brisket & lb of butt at each place. Chicken may be a little tough to get too. People have to keep in mind when they take samples we all want a taste. I figure $10-$12/lb on the brisket and butt, $15-$18/rack of ribs=12 ribs. 1/2 a chicken $7-$10. Couple sides $5-$7. I am hoping we can get enough for 10-12 people for $50-$60 at each place. I have called all 3 and let them know we are not looking for hand outs, but we are not wanting a full meal at each place either. (The guy at BigMistas was kind of a pain to deal with). We will just see.


I think we are gonna have between 10-15 folks. I believe you will be able to get by with under $20. This is strickly for meat & sides, it does not include any drinks for anyone!

 

[tommykendall]

Have fun farkers. I have a class all day Sat and Sun.

 

[Bigmista]

Dont do it on our account...I figured we kind of judge each place by what they serve, did not want you doing something special for us.

I'm cooking some for my Sunday market. No sweat to have some for Saturday too.

 

[Bigmista]

That guy at Bigmista's can be a jerk but I'm sure he will work something out for you.

 

[Bentley]

That guy at Bigmista's can be a jerk but I'm sure he will work something out for you.

So will you know the kind of wood you use?...Just got off the phone with the people at Phillips, may have made a mistake with this place!

 

[Bigmista]

Hickory unless we can get our hands on some Black Walnut...

And I cook on a Spicewine.

Just want to answer the standard questions.

 

[Garth57]

Was looking more in the line of pellet cooked food

 

[Bigmista]

Sorry. I don't know how to cook a pellet.

 

[Professor Salt]

Have fun, all. I'll be working tomorrow, so I can't go.

 

[Garth57]

Can't wait to sample Bigmistas food. Might be a good idea to just hang out there all day! See everyone there.

 

[Bentley]

Guess I should have posted this yesterday. We are going rain or shine! Is not a beautiful day in LA, but I m ready to eat some BBQ, Good, Bad or Indifferent!

 

[Norcoredneck]

Hey bentley I wasn't able to make the whole day due to work I have to do. Can you post places and rough times? Might take a lunch break and meet up with you guys.

 

[Garth57]

Glad you made it to the last place Pat. Overall it was a pretty good day.

 

[Bigmista]

Awaiting the reviews...

 

[Bentley]

Awaiting the reviews...

I told you I would give you no Quarter just like any other crawl place...You told me you would ask for none!

I will give a qualifying statement and say I like to reserve my comments for a crawl till I have eaten at all places. Although I use some competition criteria in my comments, comparing each places meat and sides against each other is not one of them.


I will qualify my chicken comments regarding all 3 places by saying; the only good chicken is a deep fried chicken!


BigMista’s BBQ

Chicken.

It was a breast, it was somewhat dry. It was heavily seasoned leaning on the salty side, which I like. I do not believe that that plays well with the general public, but maybe I am wrong. I am not a breast fan, I would prefer skinless marinated thighs, but I would also prefer to be thin, hansom & married to a tall Redhead, that isn’t happening either!

Pork Ribs.

Tremendous smoke flavor, did not taste the smoke in either or the other places ribs. Not as tender as either or the other places. Could have used a little bolder rub, but to me this is where sauce shines , and BigMista’s sauce complements their ribs very well.

BigMista’s was the only one of the 3 that served pulled pork.

Pork.

I don’t think it would have matter if Texas BBQ King or Phillips had served shoulder, this was some of the best butt I have ever had! There is a very fine line in shoulder between tender and mush. The pit master at BigMista’s was on his game this day with his pulled pork. Just enough “resistance”, like I said before, I enjoy good BBQ sauce on most of my BBQ. I do like to sample 1st time without. I don’t consider myself as the kind of person that gushes. This pork was very good plain, it went over the top with the sauce. Amazes me that there is no demand for this in Watts!

Brisket.

The meat was almost perfectly cooked. A little dry, but the flavor stood out without sauce. I like BBQ sauce on most of my BBQ, not on brisket. This did not need it. If I was judging this meat in a KCBS competition I would have given it an 8 for both taste & tenderness.

Links.

Nothing special, but not bad either. I think they were chicken, not my favorite meat for a link.

The Sides.

Greens. Good texture, properly cooked. I have been trying to get a word that describes the flavor of these greens since we left Watts and I have been unable to come up with one. I will say to “acidic” just because I cannot find a better one at this time. This is the only place I will offer my unsolicited advice, add ham hocks!

Beans. I do not like sweet beans, these were sweet beans. About all I can say.

The staff at BigMista’s was very friendly. They took the time to make a special platter for our needs and I did sincerely appreciate that. They had their pit in full view for any patron to see. The owner new his pit and they cook on charcoal with Hickory wood for flavor. They were knowledgeable and willing to answer question regarding BBQ question a patron might have.

Texas BBQ King.

The owner said he was going to be there he was not. Robert his brother was managing the establishment and was the pit master, very friendly. He offered to show us their pits after the eats. They also cook on charcoal and Hickory. These were some butt ugly unit’s people, but they put out a pretty good product.

Chicken.

OK. Again, nothing to write home about. They only served ½ or whole chickens, Robert did take the time to cut it up so it would be easier for 12 people to eat, again appreciated. We appreciate someone that will accommodate us! Could have just as easily said sorry, that the way it is served! Not a huge smoke flavor in the chicken, but I did not find smoke flavor in any of the 3 places and can’t get it in my own competition chicken!

Ribs.

We have a winner today in ribs. TX BBQ King. Very tender, again there is a fine line between perfectly cooked and fall off the bone. My rib was almost perfect! Heavy sauce, very sweet, very good. Nuff said about TX BBQ Kings Ribs!

Tri-Tip. This is Texas BBQ King, where is the brisket guys?

It was flavorful, but it was way overcooked! It probably had the most smoke flavor of any of the meats at this place. Robert, I know you said you don’t cook with temperature gauges and all that fancy stuff…Brother, pull that tri-tip off about 30 minutes sooner.

Links.

Again nothing special. Chicken again I think, see above. End of story.

The sides.

Greens. They are getting better. Theses had a little more flavor, did not ask how they were cooked. Not to mushy, could have used a little more flavor.

Mac n cheese. I liked it a lot, if it was out of a box, they have me fooled. I thought it was real cheddar, again if it was not they got a good imitation going!

Phillips BBQ

This place was strictly take-out. I had called the day before, like I did with BigMista’s and TX BBQ King to let them know we were coming and that we did not expect any hand outs, but do like to talk about their pits and what kind of wood they cook on. You did not get any real exposure to the staff, I spoke with the manager I had talked with the day before. Asked her if we could see the pits? No was the answer, she advised that the owner was there "from 12:30 to 1:30 like you told me when you were going to be here, and he has left." I said I hoped we would be there between 1:30 and 2:00; we got there at 1:45. No great loss, in their defense, was a small place and may not have been conducive to health codes to have 12 folks walking through your establishment. On Friday I asked her what pits they cooked on and what wood they used, shed did not know the answer to either on Friday. This is where I will not cut them any slack, I asked her today, well did you ask the owner what kind of pits and wood you use…No was the answer!

Chicken.

The best of the 3. No great smoke flavor, but a well balanced flavor for smoked chicken.

Ribs.

I read on a couple of reviews here in LA…”Best ribs in the LA basin”…ehhhhh wrong. No smoke flavor, good tenderness, no flavor… but again, best in LA….Next!

Tri-tip.

This meat was nowhere near as over cooked as TX BBQ King, but did not have anywhere near the flavor either.

Beef Links.

3 different places for links, all 3 could have been the same link if you asked me. I would almost swear this was a chicken and not a beef link.

The sides.

Greens. Best of the bunch by far and the best thing at this place.

Beans. Again, sweet beans and they are just not my bag!

I would normally overcome the short comings of no flavor in a properly cooked piece of meat like the ribs and tri-tip at Phillips with sauce. I did not like their sauce at all, a way to heavily laced vinegar base, way to cumminee tainted BBQ sauce!

The Score.

Chicken. 1st Phillips, 2nd TX BBQ King, 3rd BigMista’s

Ribs. 1st TX BBQ King hands down, 2nd Phillips, 3rd BigMista’s

Pork. BigMista only one who served it. TX BBQ King and Phillips probably would not have stood much of a chance against this Pork today anyway!

Beef. 1st BigMista’s by a landslide, and I like Tri-tip much more than brisket! 2nd TX BBQ King, 3rd Phillips.

Links. Toss a coin!

Sides. Greens at Phillips by far the best of all sides. 2nd would be slaw at BigMista’s. 3rd Mac n Cheese at TX BBQ King.

I have started to use the "would I go back" as the best rating of a BBQ joint. This is my 3rd Crawl. Of the 1st 2 Porky’ by the Forum is the only one I would say I would go back for. I would go back to BigMista’s, on the fence with TX BBQ King, would probably go back just to chew the fat and with Robert and have some ribs and Mac, Phillips BBQ I would not go back to. But this review and $1.79 will get you a tube of toothpaste so take it for what its worth!

Did enjoy the day with the other BBQ Brother & Sisters!

http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n90/lwnna/BBQ%20Crawl%20III%201-24-09/?albumview=slideshow

 

[leanza]

Highlights from today. I will post a slide show on photo bucket when it's safe. Food pics are in this order. Big Mista's ribs and brisket, Original Texas BBQ, Phillips BBQ and the last one is Mista's chicken, link and pork. If I had to give an over all. Personaly, I would rate the three locations this way overall.

1. Bigmista's BBQ
2.Original Texas BBQ
3. Phillips

It's not an over statement for me to say that, Neil, your food rates as good as those established guys. Just my two cents Edit. I forgot to put Mista's ribs and brisket pic in. My next reply will show that.

 

[leanza]

Big Mista's ribs and brisket