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.

Uncle Darrow's

Uncle Darrow's
2560 S. Lincoln Blvd.
Marina del Rey
310-306-4862

Cajun cooking. I haven't hadCanjun food much, I think the only time I've had Canjun food is at the Gumbo Pot. I've heard good things about Uncle Darrow's, so I figured why not try it.

I ordered the shrimp supper, $13.15. The supper comes with one side, I picked red beans and rice, salad, and garlic bread. The shrimp is butterflied and their fried in a light cornmeal coating. I liked the shrimp since it wasn't a thick cornmeal coating. Cornmeal can be very tough. But this was perfect. Light, yet still crunchy, and the shrimp was sweet.

The red beans and rice were perfect. The beans were cooked just right and had a lot of flavor.

The salad was fresh and tasty. They give you a thousand island dressing, along with a spicy ranch dressing, this is green in color. I passed on the spicy ranch dressing.

Since I've never been to New Orleans, I've never had beignets. They are kinda of like churros but with powdered sugar instead of cinammon. My first taste of beignets were good. They were cooked to order and came to us, pipping hot. I liked the texture of the beignets. They were tasty and not too sweet. They added the right amount of powered sugar.

Service is great. I called before and the guy who answered must have been in the Army, he said Yes sir, so much. He was very polite and helpful on the phone. You place your order at the counter and they bring it to your table. The guy taking our order, not sure if it was the same guy who answered the phone, was nice, polite, and friendly. There was a slight delay in getting the beignets, I had to remind him of our order. But he we got our beignets quickly.

I would go back to Uncle Darrow's but after looking at the menu, the entrees are not the way to go. It's better to order from their side orders section. Shrimp is $6.25, red beans and rice is $3.25. That's $9.50 and the salad and garlic bread aren't worth the extra $4.

Warehouse

The Warehouse Restaurant
4499 Admiralty Way
Marina Del Rey
310-823-5451

The Warehouse Restaurant is right on the water in Marina Del Rey. It's kind of a pricey place that serves decent though hardly great food.

I wasn't that hungry when we went so I ordered the sauteed seafood sampler, $25. You can choose four items, so I got the shrimp scampi, lump crab cake, scallops, and calamari.

The shrimp scampi was pretty good. A good hearty buttery-garlic flavor to this. This would be nice over pasta.

Calamari was OK. This wasn't any better than calamari from any other place.

The scallops were great. They were nice and fresh, not chewy and full of flavor.

The crab cake. They only give you one crab cake was ok. I would say about 50/50 in terms of crab and fillers. This was cooked just right but I wish there were more crab in this.

Service was good. We sat outside to look at the water. But the server was attentive and helpful. He kept our drinks refilled and took our order quickly.

I wouldn't go back to Warehouse. Some of the food is good. Some of it is bad. But one constant is the high prices. $25 is just way overprice for the quality and quanity of the food we got. There are many better options in the general area.

Aunt Kizzy's-Closed

Aunty Kizzy's
4325 Glencoe Ave
Marina del Rey
310-578-1005

Aunty Kizzy's is one of the most well known and popular soul food places in LA. I find it interesting that a soul food place does so well in lily white Marina del Rey. You will find a white guy who drove in his Mercedes and a black guy who may have taken the bus, both sitting next to each other and enjoying Aunt Kizzy's food.


I think Sunday Brunch is the best way to go at Aunt Kizzy's. For $14.95 you can try the wide variety of food that Aunt Kizzy's serves and you can get as much of it as you want.

The first picture has creamed corn, chicken wings, and mac and cheese. The creamed corn is great. A sweet cripsy corn covered with a sweet sauce. The chicken wings have a nice crispy skin and big, meaty inside. The mac and cheese had a lot of cheese and the macaroni was cooked perfectly.

Beef ribs and smothered pork chops. The beef ribs were pretty good. They had a good amount of meat on them. The meat was tender but there wasn't any smoke flavor. A good ribs but nothing special. I wish they didn't drown the ribs with BBQ sauce. The sauce is just too sweet and basically tastes like sauce you buy at the store. The smothered chops are one of my favorite. Nice and tender and flavorful. The brown gravy that covers the chops are is the same gravy they put over rice.

BBQ chicken, chicken wings, and rice and gravy. The BBQ chicken was a bit on the dry side. Yes, it was the breast piece but it was still dry. I've had their fried chicken and the breast piece is moist and juicy. The rice and gravy was pretty good. A nice brown gravy with the dripping of the beef ribs or the pork chops used for flavoring.

Service was terrible. That maybe unusual to say about a buffet but the staff there is rude. My girlfriend accidently bumped into one of the servers and the server said something nasty. If I heard that, I would have told that bitch off. My girlfriend didn't bump into her on purpose. It happens. But there is no excuse for that bitch server to say something nasty. The older gentlemen waited on us, was nice enough but he was slow in clearing plates from our table. The people behind the buffet table had a lot of attitude. They weren't helpful or friendly. They gave you attitude if you asked what something was or what was in a dish.

I have been to Auny Kizzy's serveral times before this and never had such a bad experience. But because of this I will not go back to Aunt Kizzy's again. Yes the food is good. But the service is terrible.

Benny's Bar B Q-Closed

Benny's BBQ
4077 Lincoln Blvd (just South of Washington Blvd)
Marina del Ray, CA 90292
310 821 6939

For me, BBQ is only one thing: PORK SPARE RIBS!!!!!!!! None of this pulled pork, choped pork, beef ribs or sliced beef stuff. Give me a rack of pork spare ribs, a good BBQ sauce, on the side, that isn't too sweet or too hot, and I'm a happy man. I love authentic BBQ, where the meat is coated in a nice rub then cooked with the smoke of hardwood like hickory, mesquite, or apple and cherry wood.

Most people prefer having their ribs "fall off the bone" but to me that is too well done. I prefer the meat to have some resistance when I'm tearing the meat from the bone. I do not like the St. Louis style rib. I like the entire long end ribs.

But I do not consider myself a BBQ snob. I can enjoy ribs from Tony Roma's and Lucille's BBQ which are cooked in an oven at high heat and "finished" on the grill and brushed with BBQ sauce.

Most BBQ places offer two sides, like mac or potato salad, beans, mac and cheese or cole slaw. I sure as hell don't go to BBQ for the sides and I usually only think of sides as icing on the cake, so to speak. If a BBQ place has great ribs and the two sides are terrible, I still will go back just for the ribs.

Tonight, Saturday July 2nd, I went to Benny's Bar B Q in Marina del Rey.

I had been there about six weeks before but in a very rare instance I ordered the beef brisket on a bun. The sandwich is pretty darn good. The sauce was on the sweet side but I liked it. The service was very good and the girl behind the counter was one hell of a good looking woman.

Tonight I order the Long End pork ribs for $10.77 tax included. You get 6 ribs and cornbread. The ribs lacked the rub and worse, they did not take off the membrane that allows for the spices and the smoke to pentrate the meat. But the overall the ribs were good. They weren't falling off the bone, which to me is a huge plus. The ribs were meaty and well worth the money. I was full after three ribs.

The hottie from my other visit wasn't there but a pretty friendly girl was helpful and service was good. Though she was wondering why the hell I was taking pictures of the food and restaurant.

Benny's in mostly take out but they have about 5 tables. There is plenty of street parking and there is a side lot. Remember that Lincoln Blvd is a very busy street.

If you're going or coming from the LA airport (LAX) Benny's is about 7 miles away. I will review another BBQ that is about two miles from LAX later.