Phillips Barbecue - Chino-Closed

Phillips Barbecue
11748 Central Ave
Chino
909-517-3500

Back in July I did a review of Clark's BBQ, which is now closed. In it's place is the answer to my prayers; a Phillips BBQ closer to me than any of their other three locations, Phillips on Crenshaw, Phillips in Inglewood, and Phillips in Leimert Park.

The Chino location, has been open for about a week now and has seating for about 30 people in their dining room. Always a plus since the BBQ is so good, you can't wait to try it.

I got my usual, half slab of spare ribs, $13.48. Again a wonderful bark, smoke flavor, and meat ribs. Phillips knows how to BBQ ribs and they do a great job. There is no doubt that Phillips has the best BBQ ribs in LA.

Service was very good. I was greeted promptly and they guy behind the counter was nice and friendly.

There are a couple other choices for BBQ in Chino, but the best choice is Phillips.

Update Sept. 20, 2009.



I went back to Phillips and got the three item combination, $17, with pork ribs, chicken link, and sliced beef, which is tri tip and mac salad and cole slaw as the sides.

You already know about the how great the ribs are. This time was no exception. One look at the picture should tell you how great the ribs look.

But the chicken link is awesome!!! The combo comes with two sliced chicken links. The links have a great casing and wonderful flavor. They use good quality chicken for these links.

The sliced beef was only OK. It was bland and lacked flavor, I had to use BBQ sauce to add flavor. The only good thing I can say is that it was tender.

Service was OK. The young girl taking orders must have just started working there because she was very slow and asked the guy in the kitchen a ton of questions. The food came out quickly.

I now have two favorites at Phillips, pork ribs and chicken links!!!!!!!

Update Nov 2, 2009

Thanks to The New Diner reader, S. Britchky, for mentioning that The New Diner's review of Phillips BBQ was mentioned in the The Daily Bulletin The written, David Allen, has his own blog, David Allen Blog. Here is Mr. Allen's blog post on Phillips BBQ.

Green's BBQ & Soul Food-Closed

Green's BBQ & Soul Food
468 W Arrow Hwy
Covina
626-332-3936

Green's BBQ & Soul Food is a small restaurant in a strip mall. This strip mall has a Chinese, Mexican, and seafood restaurant nearby. So lots of choices. Green's reminds me of Big Mamas Rib Shack

I got the spare ribs, tri tip, and links combo, $16.24 which includes double mac and cheese, a salad, and corn bread. The price would have been $15.24 but they add a $1 fee to any debit or credit card transaction.

None of the meats were smoked. They were all cooked in an oven or on a grill and then drowned in a sweet bbq sauce.

The ribs were good for what they are. Tender, fairly meaty and the BBQ sauce assured it wasn't going to be dry.

The tri tip was a bit tough, it shouldn't be this tough, and but was flavorful with the sauce.

I liked the link. A sweet sausage with a nice snap. The BBQ sauce was a bit too much since the link was sweet not hot. But overall a good link.

The mac and cheese was terrible, just terrible. They didn't make a rue to combine the mac and cheese but topped the macaroni with cheese. The macaroni was also very watery and flavorless. The top part of the macaroni, was hard, there was a crunch when I took a bite.

The corn bread was very good. Right out of the oven, hot, fresh, warm, moist. Very good.

Service is friendly but lacking. I had planned to go to Green's but when I saw the seafood place, I decided to go there. But I looked at the menu for Green's in the window and as I was walking to the seafood place, the young lady came out with a menu and said, come back soon because we have good BBQ. I went to the seafood place but they were out of cod, so I went back to Green's.

Like I said the young lady was nice. But she kept asking the same questions twice and messed up my order. I said I wanted ranch for my salad but she asked again. I said no butter for the cornbread but she asked again. I asked for sauce on the side but I got sauce on the meat. Again she was friendly but she should write things down instead of having to asking the same question over and over.

I would not go back to Green's BBQ & Soul Food. I didn't notice many soul food items. No smothered pork chops, no chicken and dumplings. And any soul food restaurant that makes a bad mac and cheese, isn't much of a soul food place.

BBQ Co-Closed

BBQ Co
4077 Lincoln Blvd
Marina del Rey
310-821-6939

BBQ Co used to be Benny's BBQ or Benny's just changed the name. Either way the BBQ is still pretty bad.

I got the lunch special, $7.95, pork rib, beef rib, and a link with cole slaw and corn on the cobb. This would be a great deal if the BBQ was any good.

The beef rib was very dry and only had a hint of smoke flavor. This may have been better if it wasn't sitting in a warmer for so long. I would bet this was smoked two or three days ago. The rib did have a ton of meat on it.

The link, they actually say 6 slices of link, they shouldn't bother cutting it, but the link was pretty good but again a bit dry, the casing was so brittle!! The link had good flavor and a nice kick. But the slicing of the link showed the links have a lot of fillers, which is never a good thing. Again I would like to try this when it isn't so dry

The pork rib was dry, but just like the beef rib, it had a ton of meat. Both the pork and beef ribs were the same size, which is very unusual. The ribs had a decent smoke flavor, wasn't fatty, and would be ok if it was fresh!!

The cole slaw looked terrible, the cabbage had turned a different color. I didn't even want it anyways and didn't touch it. The corn on the cob I didn't touch either but it wasn't hot at all. What a terrible way to present food.

Service is below average. The girl had a lot of attitude and wasn't friendly. BBQ Co is right next to Brennan's Pub parking lot. But there are signs that say Brennan's Pub parking only. Violators will be towed. The girl asked would that be for here or to go? I asked can I park my car at Brennan's? With a lot of attitude, she asked would that be for here or to go? I told her I need to know if I can park my car at Brennan's, because I wanted to eat there. Lots and lots of attitude.

BBQ Co is among the worst BBQ restaurants in LA. The ribs are so dry and aren't fresh. There is no reason for me to go back.

Bodacious Q-Closed

Bodacious Q
637 E University Dr
Carson
310-515-2227

Bodacious Q has been on my BBQ radar for about five years. But just as I made plans to go to Bodacious, a fire destroyed their restaurant. Of course with the red tape and everything it took about two years to rebuild.

So finally I made it to Bodacious and ordered the lunch special, which is served all day, two ribs, hot link, mac salad, and a small drink, $6.50. A STEAL. The ribs were a bit dry for my taste, a bit overcooked and there wasn't much smoke flavor.

The hot link was great. It wasn't too spicy but had a nice texture and smoke flavor.

The mac salad was creamy but I got the feeling this is from a package.

The owner came to our table and talked about BBQ and he was kind enough to give us a sample of his chopped pork and smoked turkey. WOW. The chopped pork was awesome. Maybe the best I've had. Very tender, well smoked, and just wonderful. The turkey had a very nice smokey flavor to it. He uses oak to smoke his meats.

Service is great. Nice and friendly people.

I would come back to Bodacious for the hot link, chopped pork and brisket. But I would not come back for the ribs.

Spring Street BBQ-Closed

Spring Street BBQ
640 North Spring
LA
213-626-0535

I never realized all the other options for food around LA city hall. Spring Street BBQ is a very good BBQ place.

Ok, OK I know it's rare to see me review a BBQ restaurant and see other meats. But I had already gone to Spring Street BBQ and had the spare ribs but I forgot my camera. So two days later I go back since a couple buddies and I are going to the Dodger game.

Instead of the ribs, I order the Sampler plate, $10.95, baby back rib, St. Louis style spare ribs, smoked chicken, sliced brisket, and hot link. A lot of food. Some good, some I wouldn't order again. But well worth the price.

The good:

Baby back ribs. Pretty good sized and meaty. Nice and tender and flavorful.

St. Louis spare rib. A very good example of why spare ribs are better than baby backs. A nice tender, full of smoke flavor rib. When I went the time before, I got the lunch basket of St. Louis spare ribs, $7.95, which is about four good sized pieces.

Hot link. A nice kick to this sausage. Full of flavor and very tasty.

The bad:

Chicken: smoked and sliced thin, this is just too dry. I wouldn't order this again.

Brisket: again smoked and sliced thin but just too dry. Even the BBQ sauce doesn't help.

Service is very good. The server was a nice, friendly young lady. I tried to call earlier and the line was busy, I tried two other times and still busy. I mentioned this to her and said I called just to make sure they were open. She said yes the phone was off the hook and Thank you for letting us know. Then she said we are open everyday except Sun. Most servers wouldn't have even bothered replying.

I would go back to Spring St BBQ. I liked many items on the menu, but the spare ribs are very good.

Update Feb 7, 2009



I went back to Spring St. Smokehouse and tried their pulled pork sandwich, $9.95. I wasn't impressed. The pork was a bit dry on some parts and just drowned in sauce in others. The small parts of pork that wasn't dry had a nice smoke flavor but this just didn't work for me.

I wouldn't order the pulled pork again. But somebody at my table ordered the spare ribs and they looked great.

Bam Bam Bar B Que-Closed

Bam Bam Bar B Que
853 E. Route 66
Glendora, CA 91740
626-914-4754

I found Bam Bam while driving on Route 66. I wish the BBQ here was better because I would come back. I ordered a lunch special, one beef rib, one pork rib, one hot link, corn on the cob, and coleslaw for $6.99.

All the meats are stored in steam trays. They take the meat, then dip the meat into a sweet BBQ sauce. The meats are not smoke but cooked in an oven. I think they are overcooked because the meat is just too soft and mushy. Sure it's falling off the bone but I hate that.The pork rib did have a lot of meat but the meat was flavorless. The sauce didn't add much as it was too sweet and very thick.

The beef rib, suprisingly had a lot of meat on it. But again the meat was flavorless. I did like the hot link, more on the mild side than hot, but I think it would make a great hot link sandwich.

The corn on the cob was drown with butter but wasn't sweet and pretty flavorless. Coleslaw was OK but "dry" not much mayo on there.

Nice service by the young lady there but I wouldn't go back to Bam Bam for the ribs.