ROBERT EARL'S - THE BEST BBQ IN LONG BEACH

If you're the type of person that's fine with eating drive-thru for a "fine" burger or maybe Subway completely satisfies your craving for a solid sandwich, this post is not for you. This blog is not for you. Then again, you're very likely not here if any of that was the case.

It drives me crazy when people tell me about their favorite BBQ spots that consist of peanut shells purposely thrown about the floor and the same old blues collection being piped in digitally to put you in the perfect southern facade. How can one eat BBQ from a chain restaurant? How can any chain eatery be considered 'a good place to eat'? [aside from the occasional In & Out Burger, come on now]

Robert Earl's is absolutely none of that funny business. It's the real deal, independently owned and operated by him and his wife. 

I might be getting a little too preachy, but I'm just really stoked on this new restaurant here in the LB. So consider this a mini-review because my hungry ass couldn't help but to start eating before I could get solid photos of everything. I'll have to go back for further investigation! But for now, let me tell you that Robert Earl's BBQ is in North Long Beach, just off of Artesia near Jordan High School. Easiest to get there right off the 710/Artesia, just blocks from where I used to reside.

Oh, I did manage to get this one photo though right before I inhaled it. Going clockwise from the dinner roll, we have an AMAZING turkey neck (which I consider the "Oxtail of Fowl"), three pork ribs, a chicken leg, potato salad and BBQ beans. Notice that I'm eating all this WITHOUT sauce, I'm consuming it dry style like I had it in Tennessee. Robert Earl himself is that confident in his BBQ that it can be eaten without sauce (or with sauce on the side, how I like it!). 

EAT HERE!  

Check out Robert Earl's BBQ!

703 E Artesia Blvd
Long Beach, CA 90805
(310) 961-6548

BBQ ON ANAHEIM, LONG BEACH

Scooter, posted this clip for you... took that photo I posted earlier at the same time.

WHEATONS EATINS BBQ - SOUTH BAY

So driving through Harbor City on Friday, with Morrissey singing me his clever lyrics, I saw a big flag reading BBQ and smoke billowing by. It was about 2pm and I was starving.

Never seen or heard of this guy before but I had a good feeling about it. They had their deal set up in the Auto Zone parking lot.

Gotta love street vendors. I live for them.

I got to take a peek at the beef ribs. The rest was too smokey to get even a fairly clear shot.

I had the combo plate, the sides were potato salad and BBQ beans... they tasted ok, maybe they were out of a can to be honest (or at least the beans started out of a can). Took a few bites but I pretty much skipped them. Ate the roll though.

The meats I chose were Brisket, Beef Ribs and Chicken.The brisket was done well, not too lean or overcooked. I can eat brisket like this all day. The chicken was good, but they only gave me one thigh (but it at least it was a thigh!). Wish I had like four of those chicken thighs. 

And they gave two beef ribs. Slightly fatty, but in a good way. I was kinda surprised that they gave more beef ribs than chicken. 

Maybe I should've gotten the sauce on the side. Guess I'm more of a dry BBQ kinda guy. I keep feeling like the sauce is masking the good cuts of meat underneath. It's the style of BBQ that's around here though, wherever I can find it.

Bottom line, check these guys out if you can. I can tell some love is going into this BBQ and they're not out there just slanging meat just to make a quick buck.

Check their site for future locations, they're usually moving around the South Bay (last two spots were Harbor City and Compton): www.wheatonseatins.com

BLUDSO'S IN COMPTON REVISITED

Did you forget to eat at Bludso's since the first time I posted it? It's been almost 3 years, man. Get your ass on the 710 and head up to try this place out! What man could ever say no to BBQ? If you do not partake in the BBQ, we DEFINITELY are not friends.

So Sasha had a hard day at work and wanted to feast on someone else's cooking, so I did not waste even a moment to call Bludso's for an order of their Texas Platter.

Just off of the 710 freeway on Long Beach Blvd. About 10 minutes from my pad. If you live in Long Beach and live near any freeways, you have no excuse. It really is a quick drive.

Sunday nights are their busiest. Tuesday and Wednesdays are their slowest.

And on this Sunday night it was no exception; line was out the door. As it states on their website, the owner Kevin Bludso's originally a Texas man and learned his BBQ'ing techniques which was passed down from his great great grandfather. I can respect that.

Lets talk about the BBQ. Texas Platter comes with everything except beef ribs. Should've ordered some, but I'll report on that later. All the meats come in one big tin foil, wrapped in BBQ sauce. You would think it would all taste the same because of this but no - each meat still has its unique flavor. Pictured above is the tender pork ribs.

Its meat piled upon meat! and more meat! There's a BBQ chicken thigh behind that rib, I swear! I could eat a whole chicken from this place, which I'm planning to next time.

More pork ribs and there's the hot beef links on the right. My head's sweating just looking at the hot links again... which also makes for an interesting omelet the next morning. Oh, there's a chicken link somewhere in there too.

Pork shoulder, shredded! Dang, I forgot to take a photo of the sliced beef that was also included, which made killer mini sandwiches with the sliced white bread they provide. so did this shredded pork.

I missed a few photos but total, this is what you get in the Texas Sampler:  pork ribs, rib tip, sliced beef, beef links, chicken links and pork shoulder.

You get two big sides with the Texas Platter. I chose mac & cheese.

And the baked beans as well. I like baked beans!

Added a side of greens too. I think all the sides were decent, pretty good. The BBQ is where it's at though.

If you're going to give this place a try, start with the Texas Platter. You'll get 3 maybe 4 full meals out of it for 2.5 people. Yes, it's that big and totally worth it. It's take-out only, no tables or anything. 

EAT HERE! 

Just call the number below and ask for the Texas Platter! 

811 S Long Beach Blvd
Compton, CA 90221
(310) 637-1342

MOM'S BBQ - LOS ANGELES

Drove by this place on the way to watch a few of our guys compete in a jiu jitsu tournament. With smoke billowing out of the place and a half dozen cars eating BBQ in the parking lot, I had to check it out.

No benches or chairs, no restroom. Just BBQ.

Paul had the Rib Tip Plate with BBQ beans and potato salad.

Horse and I both had the Sliced Beef Sandwich with BBQ beans on the side.

I thought the sliced beef was good but it didn't quite rock me. Soft, lean meat sliced thin. BBQ sauce itself was decent, but not extraordinary either. All served on regular sliced bread. Would I eat here again? yeah, if I was in the neighborhood... but I'm more likely to check out Jim Dandy Fried Chicken down the street.

1050 W Imperial Hwy
Los Angeles, CA 90044
(323) 756-8405

MEEEEAAAAN BBQ

Rod Chmolack has his technique down to a science and it shows when you bite into his Chamorro Style Chicken and Pork Ribs.

Big mahalos to Rod for the grinds!

An den look'um! Special guest, Kyle Yanagimoto!

ROADRUNNER BAR-B-Q - PORTLAND, OR

On the way to the airport we came across this truck. I saw the smoker at work and did a quick check online for reviews, which was 5/5. Couldn't risk eating shitty BBQ on the plane, come on now!

Turned out excellent. The old guy who runs this deal, Jim, said to us "it's good BBQ, trust me. I'm from Texas, I know what it's supposed to taste like" and he did.

We went with a chopped brisket sandwich and a chopped brisket plate. Had mac & cheese and BBQ beans as sides.

The sandwich had lean slices of brisket, but not lean like dry. Lean but flavorfully smoked. The plate's chooped brisket had some gristle, but it was welcomed gristle!

The sides didn't keep all that warm by the time we had it on the plane, so I can't really tell you the best opinion but it was pretty good. Probably top notch when hot.

Thinking back, wish I ordered a 1/4 chicken too.

BULGOGI PARADISE

We all had an amazing meal yesterday while watching the fights. Cruz vs Faber was pretty exciting and so were many others... but I'm not here to talk about that. 

The Hater aka Davecat spent a whole 1.5 hours on the grill to fill our meat-loving Korean BBQ cravings. Hats off to my favorite yobo! On the right, he had brought in some seriously good Pork Bulgogi, marinated and traditionally spicy, all the way from San "Juan" Diego. I'm not sure how to explain this but the Pork Bulgogi tasted soo authentic, like it had a real bite to the spice. Not just "hot" but a flavorful hotness. Wish there were left over of that for fried rice.

The Kalbi on the right was also tasty as ever. This time though, this Bulgogi just shined through.

I was a little busy yesterday and all I could muster up was a couple of plates of The Mac Daddy (aka Macaroni Salad) from Big Island BBQ down the street. The mayo-naisey-ness of the mac and white rice being "ground and pounded" by the spicy Pork Bulgogi was a perfect combo to the fights.

You notice I did not take any photos of The Hater's rice though. That is because its inferior to mine. I just like to show GOOD kine grindz on my blog, not junk kine.

SISTAHS SOUL FOOD - LONG BEACH, CA

I been curious about this place for a couple of years. It's just a few steps from the corner of PCH and MLK, right next to the iconic, world famous VIP Records. It's been a spot that I always forgot about. It's not that easy to see while rolling down PCH but on this very fine Saturday, I did remember and we had to make a field trip.

It was smokey outside, like the valve seals on your engine that had completely gone. But that's the bad kind of smoky. This was the good smokey, the kind that makes you hungry. They were out grilling meat fresh for the day, which is a good sign.

We walked in just before noon. I thought the place was going to be fucking swamped on a Saturday but it was only CantStayJose and I. Both of the ladies working in there were super nice; they immediately asked us if we'd been there before and if we'd like to "try before you buy".

What? We get to sample it before we eat?

She gave us a small plate of the hot links, mac & cheese, some greens and a rib tip.

From the looks of what was grilling and how much pride they had in their cooking, I didn't need samples. But we took two small sample plates anyway...  It was obvious they put love in their cooking. So this is some of the sides we had (above). Greens, mac & cheese and potato salad.

Both Jose and I couldn't decide so we ran it like we just won the lottery and got the $19 Combo Platter, which includes 1/4 chicken, 3 pork bones, 2 links and a 2oz slice of beef.

The BBQ beans and string beans were excellent. I thought the BBQ beans were so tasty, we all started dipping meat into it along with the extra BBQ sauce. I like their BBQ sauce, its got a kick to it in the end. Of course they make their own BBQ sauce. 

Sasha got the ribs. There was so much food, we had left overs the next day. So fucking full, we skipped dinner that night.

Oh shit, almost forgot. We had a peach cobbler which was quite a delight. It was gone soo quick I barely had time to get any proof of its existence. 

Oh yeah, Saturday is their BBQ day at Sistahs Soul Food. Their menu changes by the day, so you might want to look up their menu online before heading down there. I gotta get my ass back there for OXTAILS on Wednesdays!

1782 W Martin Luther King Ave

Long Beach, CA 90813

(562) 450-8853

CHRIS & PITTS

Almost everyone who lives in the Orange County/Los Angeles area have eaten here. It's an easy pick. In my opinion, it's NOT exactly the BEST PLACE EVER... but when you're in the mood for food that's not good for you and/or just looking for a Meat Fest, this is it.
And on top of that, the place looks like its made out of bacon! Every American city probably has a joint like this.
I'm going to be quite frank but this place always has huge people dining here. I didn't want to really go right up to them and take pictures to prove my point but trust me, some 300+ pounders are always seated with the evening's specials. The big guy in the white shirt and his lady got this huge pile of spaghetti and ate it all. So did the couple next to us; they got huge slabs of pork ribs plus desserts and didn't have anything to take home. Fucking heroes! I applaud them. I'm being a dick, I know, but I'm just speaking facts as I had seen it.
The menu is rad. Fucking huge. I get lost in the menu. I've had every chicken, beef or pork BBQ'd item before. I've also tried their breaded pork chops with gravy which were off the hook too (Isaac from the Squires tipped me off on that one). I almost got the chicken fried steak on this fine meat fest of a night but I, uh, chickened out. Plus I already had a gravy covered item before so I wanted to move on.
As Sasha always says, "menus with pictures are so fucking great!" Yes, they are. Especially a menu that has "not serving" written over the photo. The menu Sasha was looking at just had a big X scrawled through them instead.
The decor is also interesting. The dreary lighting puts you into this mood of just wanting to eat meat! '

MUST... EAT... MEAT!!! NELLY WANT MEAT!!
I had a big, fancy cup of water with a lemon.
If you don't want your salad drowned in dressing, always make sure to ask for it on the side. Otherwise they will cover your salad like it was gravy on mashed potatoes.

Ah, and here is my gravy covered mashy-mashy potaters! Comes with a funny toasted half roll.
I got the t-bone steak. I never had the steak at this place. Speaking of T-Bones, the now carnivorous T-Bone canceled on me yesterday. Supposed to shoot his new trike for a feature in Street Chopper but it wasn't done in time. Why do you treat me like an animal, T-Bone? I am clearly not your friend anymore.

Lets not talk about that T-Bone anymore. Lettuce (ha ha) talk about this t-bone instead. I fucked up royale by ordering it medium-well. I meant to say medium. What the hell is wrong with me? It came, well, well-done. The steak wasn't bad, maybe I had a mediocre cut. I ate half of it and was kinda over it. I should've gotten the chicken fried steak. I'll be back here no matter what though.
The onion ring was kinda gnarly. I ate half of it and wished I hadn't. It was a greasy ring of batter-fried yuck. Don't let me disappoint you. This place still rules even though my steak wasn't that great. I'd probably recommend not getting the steak. Like I said, order any of the BBQ stuff. May not be the best BBQ ever but it's certainly good enough for a Meat Fest of a good time. This place is always a treat.

I ended up taking my half a t-bone steak and used it to make fried noodles the next day.

Chris & Pitts
9839 Artesia Blvd
Bellflower, CA 90706
(562) 867-9160

Bludso's BBQ - Compton, CA

It was another beautiful Sunday right around noon-PM and I decided that I wanted to give Bludso's BBQ a try in beautiful Compton, CA. My wife had heard about this place so we took a cruise up Long Beach Blvd. to check it out.
We walked in right when they opened, so we got pretty lucky (this place was fucking packed maybe 10 minutes after this photo was taken).
It was a hard call ordering for the first time. I asked what they recommended, they said I should try the Texas Sampler.
It's a take-out only kinda place, no seating inside or outside, which I don't mind at all. So we got our BBQ and headed home. From the way things smelled in the place and how heavy the bag was, I knew it wasn't going to be a very productive Sunday afternoon.
Saw this dog on the way back to the truck. Looked like a Shar Pei/Pitt mix. He wasn't about to have any bullshit from anybody but I bet I could Cesar-Millan this dog. Here's a shot of Long Beach Blvd. in Compton just before we split:
Just a 12 minute drive and we were in Long Beach, cozy in the back yard. Couldn't wait to see what they served us up. We got a side of mac & cheese and greens too. Beef brisket, pork ribs, both chicken & beef links, pork shoulder and BBQ chicken was a huge mound of food. It fed the both of us for two entire meals:

Oh, maybe you saw the black-eyed peas on the plate too. Sasha just happen to have made it the day before, so of course it went well with our big lunch Sunday lunch.

The verdict? It was real good. They use quality meats and I'd definitely go back again.

Check them out!