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.

Scottie's Smokehouse-Closed

Scottie's Smokehouse
129 E. Collins Ave
Orange
714-997-3844

While driving home from Tulsa Ribs, I saw a sign for Scottie's Smokehouse, so I had to drop in and see if this is a real BBQ place.

I ordered the Meat Combo A, $12.61. The combo included 2oz of brisket, 2 pork ribs, 1 andouille sausage, and two sides, double mac and cheese for me.

As readers of The New Diner knows, I usually only get ribs, but I wanted to get the combo. The piece of brisket you see in the picture was tender, was full of smoke flavor and when topped with their BBQ sauce, which is on the spicy side, was a great treat. But the piece of brisket under it, was tough, chewy and pretty bad.

The andouille was very good, with a nice snap and more on the mild side.

The ribs were damn good, St. Louis style spare ribs. But they confused me at first. They had a wonderful smoke smell but there was no pink at all. I'm not sure if they use liquid smoke or what, but the ribs were tender, flavorful, and had a ton of meat and little fat. A damn find example of what ribs should be like.

After dinner, I got the pulled pork sandwich, $6.20 on wheat bread. The pulled pork was tender and flavorful but again it confused me. Smoke flavor but no bark or pink. Not sure what the story is but either way Scottie's is a damn good BBQ place.

Service was good. There were three workers behind the counter and the guy taking orders was helpful. The owner came in later and was very nice and friendly. There are two tables and a counter that seats about four people. They also have seats outside but the scumbag smokers from the bar next door are smoking up a storm, so it's not comfortable to eat outside.

One thing to keep in mind, Thursday is Bike Night. They usually show up around 7pm. So it could be crowded at that time. But service is good and you will get your meal quickly.

I would go back to Scottie's again. Good food, reasonable prices and good service.

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.

Steve's BBQ

Steve's BBQ
7007 Greenleaf Ave.
Whittier
562-789-0200

I found out that Steve's has a $6.99 all you can eat, lunch special, Wed-Fri. So I was in the area and decided to give it a try. Steve's is in Uptown Whittier and there is parking in the back.

The buffet is set up with somebody piling your plate with whatever you want. They have everything from bbq spare ribs, chicken, chips and salsa, salad bar, and some Mexican dishes.

The first picture shows the BBQ spare ribs, BBQ chicken leg and broccoli. The ribs are not smoked but baked in an oven and just covered with a sweet BBQ sauce. They were overcooked, falling off the bone, which I'm not a fan of. They had a lot of meat on them but also a lot of fat. The sauce is too sweet for my taste.

The BBQ chicken was also very soft and overcooked. They only have leg quarters, no white meat during the buffet.

The broccoli was also mushy as if they were on the steam table for too long. I prefer my vegetables crispy.

The best part of the buffet at Steve's was the macaroni salad. WOW was it good. First of all it's served hot, which is different than almost every other mac salad I've had at a BBQ place. The mac salad has peas, carrots and huge pieces of ham in it. But the best part is the stroganoff-like creamy topping, which is so good. By far the best macaroni salad I've ever had.

Service is very good. The lady who is behind the steam table was very friendly and she kept asking if the amount she put on my plate was enough. She would have piled my plate with tons of ribs if I wanted.

Steve's is an OK BBQ place. Nothing great but it caters to the area, meaning suburbanites!!! I wouldn't go back to Steve's for the BBQ. I would go back for the mac salad.

Please note, if you're going to comment about Steve's BBQ or any other BBQ place I've reviewed, spare me the "You should try the brisket or the pulled pork." Those comments will be deleted. I have already stated I only go to BBQ place for PORK SPARE RIBS. There are many other blogs that review the other meats served at BBQ places. So if you want those reviews go to those blogs. My blog will only review the PORK RIBS.

Dr. Hogly Wogly

Dr. Hogly Wogly
8136 Sepulveda Blvd.
Van Nuys
818-782-2480

Dr. Hogly Wogly has been rated as the Top 9 BBQ places in LA by Nine on the Town. Nine on the Town needs to get out more. Dr. Hogly Wogly is not good at all.

Dr. Hogly Wogly bills itself as Tyler, Texas BBQ. Texas BBQ means beef but I hate beef ribs. So I ordered the half a rack of pork ribs al carte for $17 including tip. The menu price is $13.95 for the ribs, so I didn't order any drinks or sides.

The ribs came out just dripping with marinate/sauce. A lot different than what I'm used to. The ribs even with the sauce were very dry and tough. They were not smoked but grilled over hickory wood. So there is very little smoke flavor throughout the ribs. The ribs were a good sized but too many skinny ribs and not enough bigger ribs. If you're a beef eater, brisket or beef ribs, Dr. Hogly Wogly is for you. You won't go hungry and they know how to do beef. Pork should be left to the pit masters from Memphis.

Service was good but you get the feeling they are rushing you out of there. No time to sit and talk. But otherwise they take your order promptly, food is served quickly and they are attentive to your needs.

Dr. Hogly Wogly is very overpriced. For $17 I could get dessert and a drink, in addition to much better BBQ, at Phillips. I would not go back.

Update. Feb 28, 2009



Ok I made it back to Dr. Hogly Wogly. I have become more opened minded about BBQ. I will try other meats besides pork spare ribs. So I made it back to Dr. Hogly Wogly for their sliced beef sandwich, $8.45. The server told me it wasn't their brisket sandwich, it was tougher, more like roast beef.

Well the meat in the beef sandwich is from the brisket cut. I think it is just beef that was overcooked or had been in the warmers too long. I was tough but had decent flavor. The amount of beef was huge, just a ton of thick sliced beef. I did like the sandwich but I didn't think it was anything great.

Service again was good.

I still don't get the hype of Dr. Hogly Wogly. I know I didn't get their signature dish, brisket, but got a close comparison and I didn't feel it was the holy grail. I do not think I will be back anytime soon.

Update Oct 25, 2009





So I'm in the Valley for something and I don't want to fight the traffic going to see U2 at the Rose Bowl. It's 6pm and I'm hungry and haven't eaten since breakfast. About a week ago I went to a BBQ potluck and somebody brought beef ribs from Dr. Hogly Wogly and I have to admit they were great. Tender, meaty and very little fat or gristle. So I decided since I'm in the area I would go back to Dr. Hogly Wogly and try their beef ribs and brisket.

I got the beef ribs and brisket combo, $19.95 with cole slaw and mac salad. The cole slaw has a sweet taste, they must put some sugar in there. The mac salad has a lot of dill in there, tasty but a bit different.

Now for beef!! There were three beef ribs in the combo. They only had the marinate on them, no BBQ sauce and it was very good. Not as good as the ribs from the BBQ potluck but still good. The ribs were meaty, tender, and didn't have much fat. But some of the ribs, mostly on the ends, were burnt or well done. Otherwise these were good beef ribs.

Now for the brisket. I'm not a big brisket fan. I prefer my brisket to be brined and corned and turned into pastrami or corned beef. But the brisket at Dr. Hogly Wogly, is hands down the best brisket in LA. Ok, I haven't had that much brisket, but this was great. Tender, flavorful thick cuts of brisket. So tender a fork, even a plastic fork can cut it.

Service was slow to start. I sat down at my table and it took about five minutes before anybody greeted me or gave me a menu. But everything after that was very good. I wasn't hurting for anything. But at Dr. Hogly Wogly, during dinner time, all the servers wait on the tables. So one time I got two refills on my soda at the same time. You can't beat that!!

I have learned my lesson, don't mess around with other meats, just get the brisket and only the brisket at Dr. Hogly Wogly.

Jaybee's BBQ

Jaybee's BBQ
15915 S. Avalon Blvd
LA, CA
310-532-1064

I went to Jaybees back in April and again on Fri, Aug. 5th. As always I had the large order of pork ribs with double potatoe salad. I was little disappointed this time. The first time I got five huge pieces of ribs with a wonderful rub and sauce that was a little on the sweeet site. I thought the ribs were great, nice smokey flavor and done just right ro me, which is a little chewy but not falling off the bone tender.

When I went on Friday, I got small pieces of rib with little meat on the bone. They also didn't take the membrane off the back of the ribs. That was weird because they did take the membrane off the first time I went. The ribs had the smokey flavor and they were a little chewy and not falling off the bone.

I'm not sure if I would go back to Jaybee's. The inconsistency of the food isn't something that makes me want to go back again soon. Plus there are tons of other BBQ places that I want to try.

While driving to a friend's house, I saw there there was an M & M Soul Food on Avalon Blvd, across from the Home Depot Center. Since I will be going to the Home Depot Center I may have lunch at the M & M and give a review.

Update Nov 4, 2009.




Well I haven't seen the hottie in a long time, matter of fact since seeing her at Famous Dave's Pitt BBQ in Long Beach. So we decided to have lunch at Jaybee's BBQ. She comes walking up to Jaybee's and I'm in awe, she looked so hot!!

I wanted to some how tie in Top Chef Las Vegas into my review. One of the episodes this season involved the chefs cooking for the Thunderbirds at Nellis Air Force Base. The chefs were using items in the mess hall. They didn't get to go shopping for any of the food made in the episode. So this was a tough competition.

There were two chefs that really impressed me that day. Kevin, who made a pulled pork that the judges loved, mentioned all the male members of his family had served in the military was most impressive. Preeti, who would get cut at the end of this episode, mentioned that Sept 11th was her defining moment in wanting to become a chef. Yes, this is a competition but the real purpose was feeding American soldiers who are or who have come back from war. Almost all the chefs gave it their all. Only one chef, who I will talk about later, was a douchebag.

Jennifer was the chef in charge during this episode and she was clueless!! Sure she took charge in the kitchen. But her menu choices sucked. Hello, clueless Jennifer, it is 100 damn degrees in Vegas, why do you have two hot dishes? Chili and clam chowder? Tell your fellow chefs, it is hot outside and we should stay away from hot food items on the menu like chili and clam chowder. Make something light and refreshing!!!! Even though I think Jennifer is clueless, she doesn't really bother me, OK, OK, during an episode with dingbat Natalie Portman, Jennifer was so nervous serving food and at judge's table. Get a grip woman. Otherwise she is OK.

Now I can't stand a few of the douchebag chefs on the show. Mike I. is a douchebag and a moron. He is plain and simple an arrogant asshole. He made a terrible "Greek" salad for this episode, hey idiot, Greek salad don't have shrimp in it and does have feta cheese. But the worst part was his douchebag attitude and arrogance. He said something to the affect that I wasn't really happy with it anyways. One of the hosts, Padma, said, "Well then you shouldn't have served it." Though he didn't get cut that night, though he should have, and it took awhile, it was a great night when this douchebag was cut. He even lost on a vegetarian episode and his mom was vegan!!! For all his douchebag arrogance, he deserved to get out much sooner. I would never go to a restaurant this douchebag worked at.

Ash is another douchebag. I can't believe how much he kiss one of the Voltaggio brother's ass!!! I mean, he should have just tucked him in and kiss him goodnight. What a douchebag!!! He needs a dose of confidence!!!

Mike and Brian Voltaggio may have the woman dreaming but both are douchebags. I will give them credit because their younger sister is in the Air Force and they wanted to do well because of that. One of the brothers, I can't tell the difference between these two douchebags, lost to Kevin in a vegetarian episode but instead of losing with class he acted like an asshole. He was such a sore loser, I'm surprised he didn't go suck his thumb and cry. Douchebag. One of the brothers was the winner of The Thunderbirds episode because he made some great bacon. Kevin, came in second but was a classy winner. Not a douchebag.

So as a way to work in this Top Chef episode and Kevin making that great BBQ pork dish, I got the pork shoulder sandwich and the brisket sandwich, each was $5.10.

Readers of The New Diner know I love pork ribs. I rarely order sandwiches from BBQ restaurants. Most BBQ places just drown their pulled or chopped pork and brisket with BBQ sauce, making it almost like a sloppy joe. I hate sloppy joe!!! Maybe it was because I had so much mystery meat sloppy joes for lunch as a kid but I can't stand them. Many BBQ sandwiches remind me of sloppy joes, so I rarely order them. Today I got two BBQ sandwiches, pork and brisket and got sauce on the side.

The pork shoulder sandwich was OK. The chopped pork didn't have much smoke flavor and a bit dry, even after I added sauce. The pork was tender but there were pieces that were burnt. I wasn't too impressed with this sandwich.

The brisket sandwich had more smoke flavor. The brisket was tender and fairly juicy but not as juicy as I would like. I added a small amount of BBQ sauce and it did add some moisture to the sandwich.

Service was pretty good. The lady was nice and friendly.

I know Jaybee's has been on the Food Network with that loudmouthed jerk but I'm still not impressed. It is ok but nothing I would go out of my way for. Well unless I could see the hottie again!!