Holy Smokes Bar-B-Que-Closed

Holy Smokes Bar-B-Que
116 N Vincent Ave
West Covina
626-339-6787

I went to Hungry Al's Bar-B-Que in 2005, when I first started The New Diner. I wasn't impressed and never went back. A few months ago, I drove past Hungry Al's and noticed, what I thought was a new sign. But, a closer look showed a new BBQ place that replaced Hungry Al's.

Holy Smokes Bar-B-Que opened in August, 2011. The owner of Hungry Al's retired and closed the restaurant in April 2011. Today, I finally got a chance to try the BBQ at Holy Smokes.

I got the lunch rib plate, $7.88, with macaroni salad. The lunch portion is served all day and has three spare ribs. The ribs include the tips, so they aren't St. Louis ribs, making them huge, these three ribs filled me up. The ribs had a decent bark, I tasted cumin and a nice smoke ring. But, when I bite into the ribs, they had a weird texture. I thought they may have been boiled before they were smoked, but the more I ate the ribs, I'm thinking they are grilled at high heat, which isn't BBQ, it's grilling!! For what they are, grilled, the ribs were pretty good. But, it's not the BBQ I was expecting. The BBQ sauce is a tomato based sauce with a strong cumin flavor. The macaroni salad tasted like it came out of a can.

Service is pretty good. The lady taking orders, who I believe is the owner or related to the owner, isn't really a people person, she is more reserved and not the friendly out going personality that is more suited for customer service. She is friendly, just not out going. It may bother people that the food was service to to go containers and utensils were plastic, but it's BBQ-which isn't gourmet.

While the ribs were huge and the prices very reasonable, I personally wouldn't go back. The ribs aren't smoked or the very least, they didn't do a good job of smoking the ribs.

Hambone's BBQ and Po'Boy Sandwiches

Hambone's BBQ and Po'Boy Sandwiches
9342 Alondra Blvd
Bellflower
562-920-1090

After watching the BBQ episode of Top Chef Texas, I wanted some BBQ. I recently found out about a new BBQ restaurant in Bellflower, called Hambone's, so I called a friend and we got ourselves some BBQ. Opened for about a year, Hambone's has been serving BBQ, po boy sandwiches and soul food. The restaurant has a small indoor dining area with a couple tables and counter space, and a good sized covered patio with about 6-8 tables.

I got the 3 baby back ribs with mac and cheese, $5.98, #18 on their menu. As readers of The New Diner know, I'm not a fan of baby back ribs. I got the baby backs because they do not offer spare ribs. Many place make the mistake of too much smoke on baby backs. Hambone's does a very good job of smoke their ribs. The baby backs were very good, with lots of meat and good smoke flavor. Baby back ribs are pretty tender to start with, so not much smoking is needed. I really like the quality of the ribs, good flavor, meaty. They use good quality ribs.

The mac and cheese was fantastic!! Perfectly cooked macaroni, covered with a gooey cheese sauce that was well seasoned and flavorful. They use a good roux that coats all the macaroni with that cheesey goodness.

Service was very good. They are friendly and helpful, which was good to see because they were a bit abrupt.

It's been awhile since I've had good BBQ and I'm glad I've tried Hambones. But, if I have one complaint it would be the high prices of their dinners and plates; half ($21.99) and full rack ($24.99) of baby backs with two sides. They did have a five baby back ribs for $11.50, which is a good price, but I'm not willing to spend a lot of money anymore for bad BBQ, so I got the 3 baby back ribs combo. Luckily Hambone's serves up very good BBQ. I will be back get that and try a po boy sandwich, $11.99.

Kansas City Barbeque

Kansas City Barbeque
600 W Harbor
San Diego
619-231-9680

The movie "Top Gun" just celebrated it's 25th anniversary. One scene in Top Gun, was filmed at Kansas City Barbeque. It seems as though being in Top Gun is Kansas City Barbeque's only claim to fame.

This was my second stop on my Veterans Day tour of San Diego. I first went to Broken Yolk, and a few hours after Kansas City Barbeque, I went to Old Town Mexican Cafe.

When the San Diego Padres opened their new ballpark, Petco Park, in 2004, I went to a game and while exploring the area, I went to Kansas City Barbeque. It wasn't really that good but I decided to see if they had improved. I found out that two years ago, Kansas City Barbeque, had a fire in the back portion of the building. It took awhile to rebuild, but they have reopened.

Kansas City Barbeque is located in a great area, right next to the Seaport Village trolley stop and some nice views.

Spare ribs lunch plate, with mac and cheese and corn on the cob, $11.95.

The ribs were overcooked. They were too mushy and the slightest touch and the meat fell off the bone. Good BBQ, the meat should have some pull. It should be tender, but not fall off the bone tender. There was a decent, not great smoke flavor.

The BBQ sauce was just dressed up ketchup, so that didn't add any taste or flavor to the ribs.

The mac and cheese, was from a mix. How do I know? The cheese sauce had a gritty texture to it. That means they couldn't even follow the directions of the mix.

The corn on the cob was so bland and flavorless. They need to buy better quality corn or put something else on the corn.

Service was terrible. There were three servers working. But, there wasn't anybody at the hostess stand, so I waited about ten minutes until a somebody finally came and lead me to a table. The table was on the patio, but it was dirty, with grim and dirt all over. They need to change the table clothes and give the chairs a good power wash.

Then I waited and waited for the server to come and take my drink order. About ten minutes later, the server comes. She is friendly but that's the only good thing I can say about her. I'll admit I didn't go inside the building, I sat on the patio, but she just wasn't around. I get my food, but she doesn't refill my drink. I had to wait to get the check and then I had to wait another five or more minutes for her to pick up my check and get me my change.

Kansas City Barbeque is living off being in a movie 25 years ago. The food is below average and the service is terrible!! There is no reason to go back.

The Hollywood Way-Closed

The Hollywood Way
1333 N Hollywood Way
Burbank
818-845-4400

I have been to two very mediocre BBQ restaurants in Burbank, Handy Market and Ribs USA. About a year ago, The Hollywood Way, part BBQ, mostly a sports bar opened up. So, I finally got a chance to give The Hollywood Way a try.

I went on a Tuesday night, when it's trivia night. The place wasn't crowded but it was pretty loud with the trivia game host, asking questions. The Hollywood Way is set up as part sports bars-there are a ton of TV's all over and part BBQ restaurant.

The BBQ at The Hollywood Way is smoked over a combination of oak and apple woods, the finished on a grill where they add their sauce. I'm not a fan of any BBQ being finished on a grill. I want that full smoke flavor! I'm also not a fan of baby back ribs. They don't take as much skill or talent to BBQ, as spare ribs.

I got the K.C. RIB TEASER- four of our baby back ribs, smoked, grilled and glazed with our honey BBQ sauce. Served on a bed of onion straws. $9.95. I was going to get half slab with two sides, $17.99, but I wasn't really that hungry and I would have much preferred spare ribs.

The ribs are coated with a tangy/spicy honey BBQ sauce, which is a tomato based sauce with a good helping of chili power. I liked this sauce, though a bit too sweet.

The ribs had some char on them, since they are finished on the grill. There was a good smoke flavor and the classic smoke rib. But, these are baby backs, so they are already tender. But, they were just slightly too done, the meat was a bit too mushy, that falling off the bone BS, that does NOT make good BBQ. The meat should have some give, not fall off the bone. But, overall I did like the ribs much better than the other BBQ restaurants that I have tried in Burbank. Though Burbank is hardly a good BBQ city.

Service was OK. The biggest problem is you don't know if The Hollywood Way is a sports bar or restaurant. There isn't a host station. I walked in and I actually had to ask one of the servers, if I just pick a table or if I needed to be seated. The server I had was nice and friendly, but a bit slow at refilling drinks and just being around. While it was trivia night and fairly busy, it wasn't packed and there were three other servers working. Not sure why I didn't see my server that much.

I wouldn't make a special trip back to The Hollywood Way, but I wouldn't be against going back if I was in the area.

Crossroads BBQ-Closed

Crossroads BBQ
2927 S Sepulveda Blvd
Los Angeles
424-832-7300

I haven't had BBQ in a long time, so I figured I would give Crossroads a try. Crossroads BBQ is owned by the same people who own Dinah's Family Restaurant. I first saw Crossroads mentioned on Chowhounds, when a jerk named servorg, mentioned he saw a sign announcing the imminent opening of Crossroads BBQ. After 4-5 months, they finally opened. I guess the new Webster's, now has a different definition of imminent? Anyways, servorg is an idiot and I don't pay attention to his reviews. But, I always pay attention to the opening of new BBQ restaurants. So I called a friend and we met at Crossroad BBQ. Finding good real BBQ in West LA is limited because the snotty jerk people of West LA, have no clue about good real BBQ.

Crossroad BBQ is a shared restaurant, next door is a Mexican restaurant and you can order from both menus are either location. Interesting business model and the night we were there, the BBQ side was packed.




I got the half rack of spare ribs, dry rub, with mac and cheese and mixed vegetables, $17.

These ribs remind me of Lucille's, meaning they were almost burnt, badly smoked, flavorless, and just plain bad. They are St. Louis spare ribs, so they look nice but there isn't much meat, and the what little meat this is, just tastes terrible.

The mac and cheese was bland and the cheese sauce barely covered the macaroni. The mixed veggies were pretty good, with string beans, carrots, broccoli, and squash, though I didn't touch the squash, that were lightly sauteed, well seasoned and cooked perfectly.

This is so overpriced for such mediocre food.

Service throughout dinner was pretty good. But, when we first came in, there was nobody at the hostess area and it took the hostess about five minutes to appear. Not sure what was happening, but that's a good way to lose customers.

I would not go back to Crossroads BBQ again. I wasn't expecting great things from Crossroads BBQ and sadly, I was proven correct.

Allen's Take Out-Closed

Allen's Take Out
6541 Greenleaf Ave
Whittier
562-696-9151

Not sure what is it about Whittier, but bad service, at BBQ restaurants seems to be a theme. I got bad service at Red Oak BBQ and I got even worst service at Allen's Take Out. I found out about Allen's, and decided to give their Friday, all you can eat ribs night a try.



All you can eat spare ribs, $10.99. The ribs are cooked in a oven, there is no smoke flavor at all. It's ok, but nothing I can't do at home. I also got a bunch of rib tips, not actual ribs. The ribs were fairly tender, but lots and lots of gristle and fat. I got two more servings and both were more of the same, lots of gristle and fat, mostly rib tips. The bbq sauce was a tomato base sauce, that was bit too sweet, for my tastes.

As I mentioned service was terrible. I was greeted when I walked in but it went downhill from there. I never got any silverware, I had to wait and wait to get the second servings. Nobody bothered to ask how the ribs were. Just terrible service, maybe one of the worst I've ever had.

I would never go back to this place again. The fact that it's not real BBQ, I can live with. But terrible service should never be rewarded!!

Roger's Rib Shack-Closed

Roger's Rib Shack
8450 Reseda Blvd
Northridge
818-741-4070

A few months ago, I heard a new BBQ restaurant opened in Northridge. But, I wasn't overly excited nor did I rush to find more information about it. But, last Saturday, I was going to be in Northridge, so I figured I would kill two birds with one stone and have dinner at Roger's Rib Shack. Right in front of Roger's you see their smoker and huge bags of hickory charcoal. So that's a good start, but sadly that maybe the only good thing about Roger's.



I got the half rack of spare ribs, $12,95. The ribs are smoked, as I mentioned their smoker is right in front of the restaurant. But, these ribs are "finished" on a grill and I hate when restaurants do that. For real BBQ to be real BBQ, it should never touch a grill. How could I tell it was finished on a grill? The grill marks and char from the grill.

There isn't much of a bark on these ribs, either. The ribs were fatty, very fatty, and while some parts were tender others were tough. Their BBQ sauce was a bit too sweet for my tastes. I need a little more kick to my BBQ sauce. Overall,I wasn't impressed at all with the BBQ at Rogers.

The do have a large selection of bottled BBQ sauce. They will give you a cup of any BBQ sauce you want, you just have to ask.

Service is friendly but below average. When you walk in, you're not sure if you're suppose to order at the counter or you wait to be seated or seat yourself. I was told take a seat, so I told them I would sit outside. I took a menu, went outside and waited, and waited and waited. The lady never came outside. There were maybe 2-3 people who ordered or picked up food, but it wasn't crowded. She simply forgot. I walked inside and while she did apologize for forgetting about us, she said it was busy. 2-3 orders and maybe 8-10 people already inside the restaurant, isn't busy.

I wouldn't go back to Roger's Rib Shack again; poor quality ribs and below average service, just don't add up for a return visit.

Bobby Ray's Bar-B-Que-Closed

Bobby Ray's Bar-B-Que
1657 W Base Line St
San Bernardino
909-885-9177

I was all prepared to do a review of Bobby Ray's BBQ, last year. But, I called and asked when they would be close, that night. It was about 4pm and he told me they were going to close at 7pm. I was in downtown LA, and figured I would make the drive out to San Bernardino. I arrived at 6pm, even on a Saturday the traffic was bad, and they had already closed, but there were 4-5 people, all black, eating inside. I asked, nicely if he could make one more order to go, but he said no. I was pissed. I thought the owner, who is black, was racist and lied to me. I swore, that I would never go there again.

But I was going to be in the area and decided, what the hell. Try it, if I don't like it, I can write a review about the bad BBQ and terrible service.



I got the half pound of pork spare ribs, $9. The ribs are smoked with fruit woods, I got tastes of apples and cherry wood. The ribs were very dry and chewy, and some ribs were very fatty. There was a lot of meat on the ribs, the smoke flavor was nice and subtle, and there a lot of ribs in the order. He wasn't measure the ribs on a scale, he was just putting ribs into the container. But, overall I wasn't really impressed with these ribs at all. These ribs tastes as though they were in the warmer for too long.

The BBQ sauce tasted like Chris & Pitts BBQ sauce, which I don't like, because of it's too sweet flavor.

Now, I don't hold grudges and kept an open mind. The man, who I believe is the owner helped me today. I walked in and he was outside, talking on his cell phone. He came in, talked a little longer, then got off the phone and helped me. This was about two minutes at most. Not a long wait. To my surprise, he was very nice. He addressed me as sir, nice touch, even though I am younger than him. He could teach others about costumer service.

I'm glad I got good service, but I wasn't happy that I was lied to the first time. When a restaurant says they are going to open until a certain time, they better stay open. And really, it would have been very easy to serve me, but for whatever reason, he decided not to.

Anyways, the BBQ is below average and there is no need for me to return.

SmoQue Barbeque-Closed

SmoQue Barbeque
5374 E 2nd St
Long Beach
562-439-4189

I was surprised to learn that another BBQ restaurant opened less than a mile east of Lucille's, on 2nd St. in Long Beach. But SmoQue Barbeque has taken on Lucille's. For those of you who like yuppie, white, suburban BBQ, this place is for you. If you like REAL BBQ, this doesn't hold up.

SmoQue is billed as a Texas style BBQ, they smoke the meats with hickory but they do not do a good job of it. The restaurant is a combination of upscale location trying to be dive, with sawdust and peanut shells on the floor.



I got the half order of baby back ribs, $17, with bacon jalapeno mac and cheese. They do not have spare ribs. The ribs has a very gritty wet rub, that had tons of chili power. The ribs maybe better, if there wasn't as much rub. But the worst part of the ribs, was it was too mushy. They had either been in the warmer or smoker for way too long.

The bacon jalapeno mac and cheese was pretty damn good. There wasn't much jalapeno, which is good, because I'm not a big fan of jalapeno but the macaroni was nice and tender, the cheese well blended and tons of nice smokey bacon. So a savory, salty, smokey dish; who wouldn't love this?

The corn on the cob was ok, the corn didn't taste fresh but was well cooked and wasn't drowned in butter.

Service was good, though a misunderstanding, almost led to a bad start. When I arrived, the place was almost empty. SmoQue is filled with flat screen TV's and they have a patio area. I wanted to see Georgia beat Auburn, so I asked if I could take this table and I pointed to it. But the hostess, who turned out to be my server, actually asked "How long do I expect to be?" I was like what kind of question is that? But she thought I was asking to sit in the patio, I was talking about the table in the dining room. That and the fact they asked if I needed change; something they never should ask a customer, service was fine.

I would not go back to SmoQue again. I thought the BBQ was average at best, and a bit overpriced.

Smoke City Market-Closed

Smoke City Market
5424 Van Nuys Blvd
Sherman Oaks
818-855-1280

Smoke City Market was suppose to open, at least according to an LA Eater story, back in September. That didn't happen.

Then according to their Facebook page, they were going to have a soft opening on October 28th. That didn't happen.

But, finally Smoke City opened on November 4th. A friend who lives nearby told me about the opening, and a group of us dropped in.

This is billed as a Texas style BBQ, mean brisket and beef are king. But the Texas BBQ I like, is smoked with mesquite. Smoke City meats are smoked with oak.

All meats are sold by the pound and are very pricey. $18/lb for beef ribs, $8.25/lb for brisket, and $8.50/lb for baby back ribs.




I'm all about pork ribs, I prefer spare ribs but baby backs are fine. This half rack of baby back ribs was dry, salty, and just overpowered with smoke. Smoke should enhance the flavor of the meat, not overwhelm it. There was very little to no rub, but the salt and pepper seasoning was too heavy on the salt. The ribs, actually all the meats, were dry because they had been sitting in a warmer for too long.

This was not worth the $8.50/lb price.




The beef ribs at $18/lb, must be the most overpriced BBQ meat I have ever had. The ribs were huge, I'll give them that. But otherwise, it was dry, fatty, and lacked flavor. I rib I got was slightly over a pound and not worth the roughly $20 price tag.



The brisket is the best meat, I had at Smoke City. They have three selections of brisket. Lean, moist, and cutter's choice. The cutter's choice is a mixture of the lean and moist brisket. The brisket was a bit fatty. Look, I know brisket has a lot of fat. But when the right pitmaster works on the a cut of meat, he can turn that fat into flavor. The moist brisket was more fatty, than the lean, but still too much fat. The lean brisket was dry, and while it didn't have as much fat, it was too dry.

But, for three people our bill came to $100!!! This was not worth $100, not even half that amount. Ok, I'll grant you, we didn't have to order the beef ribs at $18/lb. But even at that price, we got about 3lbs, that's still $40 for a lb of brisket and half rack of baby back ribs and a few sides, which I didn't touch. The last time I went to Dr. Hogly Wogly, I was able to get a brisket and beef rib combo, with two sides for about $20 and their brisket and beef ribs are much better than Smoke City.

Service was very good at the restaurant. The people are nice and friendly and they really want you to enjoy your dining experience. But, while their use of
Facebook is a good thing, what good is it, if you give the wrong information. They were suppose to have a soft opening on Oct. 28th, this is their post:

"Smoke City Market Hey Fans!!! We are ready!!! After all this time, effort, and research we will be opening our doors for a soft launch on Thursday, October 28th! Thank you all for your support and we can not wait to serve you!
October 24 at 9:51pm"

But that soft launch didn't happen. The food trucks are using Twitter and Facebook to get the word out. If the trucks tweeted they were going to be at a location at 7pm and didn't show, they wouldn't have many customers anymore. Thus it's important to have accurate information!! Look, I know it's a pain to get permits and other things. But at least inform the people by updating the Facebook page.

I wish Smoke City Market, success. I hope they do well. They are nice people in person. But the high prices, poor quality of BBQ, and not giving accurate information on social websites, are three strikes against them. I won't go back here and to be honest, I would be shocked if Smoke City is still open next November 4th.

Slavko's Harbor Poultry

Slavko's Harbor Poultry
1224 S Pacific Ave
San Pedro
310-832-8171

I watched; Once Brothers, a documentary on ESPN this week and was very moved by the show. Once Brothers is former, LA Lakers, Vlade Divac's journey to find closure to his friendship with Drazen Petrovic. I'll give readers of The New Diner, a condensed version. Divac and Petrovic grew up playing for Yugoslavia. At that time Yugoslavia, was made up for six republics, including Croatia and Serbia. But in the 90's, Yugoslavia split up, with Croatia and Solvenia being the first two republics to declare independence, but only after civil war destroyed all the republics. Divac is Serbian. Petrovic was Croatian. After the 1990 World Championships, a fan came running onto the court with a Croatian flag. Divac took a Croatian flag, saying this team represents all of Yugoslavia, not just one republic. But in Croatia, that act was seen as an act against Croatia.

Divac and Petrovic, both came to the NBA in 1989. Divac with the Lakers and Petrovic with Portland. They were each other's support group, talking many times on the phone. But after the flag incident and after the war in Yugoslavia, Petrovic, along with other Croatians; Toni Kukoc and Dino Rajda, stopped talking to Divac. Divac wanted to rebuild those friendships. While his friendships with Kukoc and Rajda were later rebuilt, Petrovic died in a car accident in 1993, his friendship with Divac, never to be rebuilt.

In Once Brothers, Divac talks to Petrovic's mother and brother, his former teammates; Toni Kukoc and Dino Rajda; talk about why they stopped talking to Divac and, at the end, Divac visits Petrovic's grave site.

This is a must see documentary. I'm sure it's already on You Tube.

So what does this have to do with food? Well, after seeing the documentary, I wanted to try some Croatian and Serbian food. I also wanted to find out what a Croatian man said in the documentary. When Divac went to Croatia to visit Petrovic's family, a man on the street said; Vlade Divac? Cetnik! I know about the Cetnik movement. But I'm wondering in what context cetnik was used. I'm sure, it wasn't used as a compliment.

I was a bit surprised to learn, that San Pedro has a big Croatian population, but it made it easy to find a Croatian restaurant.

Slavko's Harbor Poultry, was started and currently owned by Croatians. I read they have great fried chicken, so I figured I give them a try.




Fried chicken breast; $3.25 and wing; 99 cents. Since I heard Slavko's had great fried chicken, I decided to try it. I liked the fact that both pieces were cooked to order, though they normally keep a few pieces of chicken, in the warmer.

Both the breast and wing, had a nice, crispy skin, that was well seasoned. But, both were pretty dry and lacked real flavor. The breast was very dry. The wing wasn't as dry but still not as juicy as other fried chicken, I've had.



Slavko's is also known for their chicken nuggets. So I got a seven piece chicken nuggets; $4. The nuggets are breast pieces and coated with the same batter as the fried chicken. This was ok, slightly dry and they were in the warmer, not cooked to order. I would not order this again, either.




I haven't had ribs in a long time, so I decided to get the rib dinner which comes with potato nuggets and beans; $7.50. The ribs are steamed or cooked in an oven. They gave a few pieces of rib tips and not the actual rib. There was no bark or seasoning on the outside. The ribs were dry and lacked flavor. They must have been sitting in a warmer for awhile. Not a good example of ribs.

The potato nuggets were well seasoned, had the skin on, and was pretty good.

The baked beans were too sweet for my tastes. The beans were well cooked but it was just too sweet for me.

Service is pretty good.

I would not go back to Slavko's again. Everything I had was dry and really didn't taste that good.

J & J's BBQ & FISH

J & J's BBQ & FISH
751 N Indian Hill Blvd
Pomona
909-865-6700

I read yesterday, that J & J's BBQ & FISH had been opened for a little over a year, I was very surprised. What took me so long to know about a BBQ restaurant! At first I thought it was the JJ's Fish and BBQ in Ontario, reopening. But they are different names, J & J's compared JJ's.

The owners of J & J's are related to the owners of Bodacious BBQ and Walker's BBQ. J & J's is located in the same center as Pittsburgh Broasted Chicken, which sadly is now closed and has been replaced by a taco stand. J & J's is a good sized restaurant with about 8-10 tables and they are related to Walker's BBQ.





I wasn't that hungry and decided to get the spare ribs lunch, $7.99, with double hush puppies. They have a large selection of sides on the menu, but some sides are not available all the time. I got about five St. Louis style spare ribs in my order and the guy, who I believe is the owner, gave me a rib to try, while I was waiting.

The ribs were a bit small and had very little meat on them. Yes, I know St. Louis style ribs, mean the tips are cut off, but there should be more meat on these ribs. The ribs were also a bit dry. They had been sitting in a warmer for too long. A pit master told me, when you have a BBQ restaurant, you are going to get ribs that need to be thrown away because they dry out and/or have been sitting in warmers for too long. The ribs had a nice smoke flavor, they use hickory and oak, but I just couldn't get over the dryness of the ribs.

Service is good. But when I first arrived, the guy just went about straightening up. He didn't acknowledge me or anything. But once I was ready to order, he was nice.

I'm not sure if I would go back to J & J's.

Annia's Kitchen

Annia's Kitchen
4233 Santa Anita Ave
# 18
El Monte
626-401-2422

In continuing my theme of trying restaurants in new cities, I went El Monte, after reading about their Friday special, ribs. I never these ribs were not going to be real BBQ, but I figured what the hell.

Annia's Kitchen is located at the El Monte Airport. I was a bit surprised but Annia's was busy when I got there. So must be a popular place.




I got the spare ribs special, that is only served on Friday, $9.49; with fries, clam chowder, and a drink. A very good deal for the amount of food you get.

First, let me tell you about the clam chowder, maybe one of the best clam chowder I have ever had. Nice, rich hearty flavor, with a good amount of clams. The potatoes were cut really small, so there wasn't any filler. I would go back to Annia's, just for the clam chowder.

But I came here for the ribs and I was disappointed. The ribs were dry, chewy and tough. They overcooked the ribs. The sauce was a tomatoey sauce, that was a bit bland and did not hide the dryness of the ribs.

The fries, you can also get mashed or baked potato, was very good. Crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. Wish the ribs were as good.

Service was good. Nice friendly people.

Annia's Kitchen, has baby back ribs on Wednesday, so I'm thinking of going back to try the baby backs. But I know I will go back for the clam chowder!!

Aunt Rosa Lee's Mississippi Soul Food

Aunt Rosa Lee's Mississippi Soul Food
2781 S Western Ave
Los Angeles
323-733-8586

I love soul food!! What I don't like is the fact, that there aren't many reviews of soul food restaurants in Los Angeles. Why? I think part of it, has to do with white people, not wanting to go into South Central and South LA, where many soul food restaurants are located. So I'm trying to go to more soul food restaurants in South Central and South LA.




BBQ Pork spare ribs, $10.99 with mac and cheese and mashed potatoes and gravy. The spare ribs are not smoked. They are cooked in an oven and then drowned in a very sweet BBQ sauce. Not my type of BBQ, I prefer BBQ with smoke flavor, but some people find this acceptable.

The ribs were so mushy. Ribs should not be mushy, they should be slightly chewing. This was past the falling off the bone, that many have been brain washed into thinking is good. The ribs had no smoke flavor.

The BBQ sauce was so sweet, which I do not like.

Almost all soul food has nice bold flavors. But the mac and cheese was very bland. The thing I did like was the amount of cheese sauce, that really coated the macaroni.

Mashed potatoes seemed like it was made from a box. I wasn't impressed. The gravy was bland too.




Chicken breast, $3. When I first saw the chicken breast, I thought it was a mistake and they gave me half a chicken. This was huge!! But, soooo salty. The skin was nice and lightly batter which made for a nice crispy crunch. But it was so full of salt. The inside was very dry, not juicy at all. It was tender but I couldn't get over the dryness and saltiness.

Service was great. The young man was the only person working and he was great. I sat at the counter and I wasn't lacking for anything. There were a few take out orders and about three other tables had people.

I really do want to like Aunt Rosa Lee's, but somethings were bland and no flavor, others were too salty. I wouldn't come back because the food wasn't that good. But service is outstanding!!

Renee's Fish & Soulfood-Closed

Renee's Fish & Soulfood
15074 Foothill Blvd.
Fontana
909-349-1800

I'm rarely in Fontana. But, The Moving Wall is in Fontana, at the California Speedway, over the July 4th holiday and you know damn well, I'm going to be there. The Moving Wall is a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, in Washington D.C. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial has over 58,000 names of Americans who died in the Vietnam War. It's a powerful, moving experience, something everybody should see.

One thing I want to mention, it is called the Vietnam VETERANS Memorial. It is NOT the Vietnam Memorial,it doesn't honor a country. It honors the men and women who died in the Vietnam War. Calling the Vietnam VETERANS Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, is disrespecting all the Vietnam VETERANS. We as a country, already disrespected the Vietnam VETERANS, enough, when those gutless, coward draft dodgers, spat on and yelled at, when they came home. Nice homecoming, you gutless coward draft dodgers.

While driving to The Moving Wall, I saw Renee's and saw the word BBQ. So I figured I would give them a try. I have been another restaurant in Fontana; Up N Smoke BBQ.



Mac and cheese was the side I got with my dinner. The mac and cheese was loaded, I mean loaded with black pepper. But there was little cheese and what cheese there was, didn't mix well with the macaroni. It was also very salty. Not a good example of mac and cheese.



Fried shrimp dinner, $10.95. The shrimp was coated with a cornmeal batter, but so salty, I needed gallons of water. The shrimp was a bit rubbery and didn't taste all that fresh. The cornmeal batter was crunchy but just way too salty. I'll give them good points for the large amount of shrimp, but when it's so salty, that's not a good thing.




BBQ pork spare ribs, $10.95. The bbq ribs are only served Fridays and Saturdays. I asked for the sauce on the side but got sauce on the ribs. I got five good sized ribs with the order. The ribs were tough and chewy, as they had been sitting in warmers for too long. They could have been good if the ribs had not been dried out.

Service was friendly but slow. I understand the restaurant was crowded but it took so long to get my to go order.

I would not go back to Renee's again. Up N Smoke BBQ is so much better.