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!!

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.

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!!

Downtown BBQ Company-Closed

Downtown BBQ Company
11045 Downey Ave.
Downey
562-904-0447

On my way to Bob's Big Boy Broiler, I saw Downtown BBQ Company. But I wasn't sure if it was opened, the restaurant looked closed. But a quick search online, led me to a phone number and they are in fact opened. Sadly, though, that is the last good thing about Downtown BBQ Company.

When you combine bad service and overcooked BBQ, you get a bad BBQ experience.




I got the half rack of pork ribs, $10.95, with mac and cheese and onion rings. The ribs had no smoke ring or smoke flavor. These are the same type of ribs that you get from Chili's. But they were chewy, dry, tough, and fatty. Not good at all. These ribs were either cooked in an oven or under high heat on a grill. Either way, that is not real BBQ.

The BBQ sauce was pretty good, a sweeter tomato based sauce. But really nothing can save badly cooked ribs. The server wasn't helpful, I never heard the words "Thank you" and she was too busy talking to the other server. No wonder the restaurant is empty.

The mac and cheese was served cold, barely had any cheese, and lacked any seasoning. The onion rings were so salty and cold!!

Service was bad. When I walked in, a man was picking up his order and left. So I was the only customer in the restaurant.

I would never go back to this terrible BBQ restaurant again.

Les Sisters Southern Kitchen

Les Sisters Southern Kitchen
21818 Devonshire St
Chatsworth
818-998-0755

While I was enjoying dinner at Rosie's BBQ Kitchen, a couple of my dining companions told me that Les Sisters was very close by. I have known about Les Sisters for about four years but have never tried it.

Les Sisters is more of a soul/Southern restaurant, than a BBQ. But I wanted to try their ribs.



BBQ pork spare ribs, $7.95. Not impressed at all. These ribs were dry, flavorless, and pretty bad. There was no smoke flavor to speak of. Either these ribs were a couple days old or they do not know how to do BBQ. The BBQ sauce was pretty sweet and I don't like sweet BBQ sauce. But I needed something to make these ribs, moist.



Shrimp basket, $7.95, with one side; mac and cheese. But the shrimp was great!!! Lightly battered, in a spicy batter, these fried shrimp was among the best I've ever had. You get five shrimp in a lunch order. The shrimp was tender, flavorful and wonderful!!

The macaroni was tender and the cheese sauce just coated the macaroni, perfectly. But overall, it was too bland. Adding some seasonings would have made this mac and cheese very good.

Service was a bit slow, because they were short a server. But they were hard working and friendly.

I would go back to Les Sisters but I would only order the soul food items. I bet the fried chicken is awesome here, because they use the same batter on the chicken as the shrimp. It should go without saying, the shrimp Po' Boy, would be awesome too!!

Ranch House BBQ and Grill

Ranch House BBQ and Grill
6157 Van Nuys Blvd
Van Nuys
(818) 908-8399

This is your typical everyday, suburban BBQ, cooked in an oven. For what it is, oven BBQ, Ranch House does a pretty good job. Ribs cooked in an oven isn't something I go seek and if it was up to me, I would ban the use of the phrase BBQ, if the meat is cooked at temps above 250 degrees.




I got an order of baby back ribs with mashed potatoes, $9.50, but $8.99 on the outdated menu. The baby backs had a sauce just like Chris and Pitts, a bit sweet but tangy, tomato based sauce. The meat was tender, since it was baby backs, and pretty flavorful with the sauce. But there is no smoked flavor. The meat was white throughout. A true sign of smoke is the smoke ring.

Service was good, the owner is nice and friendly. But they do need to update the menu prices. But the biggest thing was the smell in the restaurant. They need to throw away the rugs or get them dry cleaned. Just a terrible musty smell in the restaurant. So bad that I couldn't eat there. I actually drove from Ranch House to Cupid's Hot Dogs, which is still great, to eat the ribs.

I wouldn't go back to Ranch House, because when I want ribs, I don't want oven cooked ribs. If you like oven cooked ribs, these ribs are better than the ribs you get from Chili's or Uncle Andre's.

JV's BBQ & Grill-Closed

JV's BBQ & Grill
5659 Las Virgenes Rd
Calabasas
818-878-9512

Calabasas, the land of lily white people. So of course the will think JV's is good BBQ. When really JV's is nothing but a fake BBQ place, just like Chili's.



I got the spare rib lunch, $9.25, with mac salad and fries. When the best thing about a BBQ restuarant is the fries, you know the BBQ sucks. The ribs were cooked in a oven and the finished on a grill. You see the results of oven cooking of ribs, the white meat!! Ribs should be pink, if you call it BBQ.

Service was bad. The guy taking my order is the owner's son. He was too busy with his Ipod to be helping people. He wasn't friendly, he was going through the motions and gave the impression he wanted to be somewhere else. He answered all questions in one word, if he could help it. Terrible.

I'll let the lily white people of Calabasas have JV's. There are much better real BBQ and oven cooked BBQ places in the area.

Mr. G's BBQ-Closed

Mr. G's BBQ
8022 Limonite Ave
Riverside
951-681-1993

When I first read about Mr.G BBQ, I had some high hopes for finding some good BBQ pork spare ribs. But after doing some search, I got the feeling this was going to be an oven cooked ribs. I would classify Mr. G as a soul food restaurant, more than a BBQ restaurant.

I got the lunch pork spare ribs, $8.95, with mac and cheese and smothered potatoes and the 15 piece hot wings, $8.95. The owner was very kind to give me a free fried chicken wing.

The pork spare ribs were oven cooked, thin, and drowned in a sweet BBQ sauce. Not my kind of BBQ. But for those people who think BBQ is what is served at Chili's or Tony Roma's, then you'll love these ribs. Now don't get me, the ribs were good. There is nothing "wrong" with ribs being cooked in an oven. But I'm looking for REAL BBQ. Real BBQ is smoked at low temps and for long periods of times. Oven cooked ribs take a couple hours.

The hot wings were OK. They were crunchy but had little meat inside, even though they look big in the picture. There were some pieces that were too well done, not burnt just fried a bit too long.

The fried chicken wing was huge!! It had a nice crunch and great seasonings!! The meat inside was moist and tender. If the hot wings tasted like the fried wings, things would be great.

Service was great. The owners were nice and friendly. They brought your food to your table and refilled your drinks.

I would not go back to Mr.G's for the BBQ. But I would like to try some of the other soul food items.

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.

Big Pop's BBQ and Grill

Big Pop's BBQ and Grill
10755 Glenoaks Blvd
Pacoima, CA 91331
818-896-5599

Things I do not want to see at a place that calls itself, a BBQ restaurant; a grill, an oven, or a microwave. Why? Because when you make REAL BBQ, you don't need all those crap. Now some places will "finish" the ribs on the grill to heat up the ribs but ribs should really sit in a warmer or if they are put in the frig, they can be heated in an oven, not a microwave.

I found out about Big Pop's and I made my way over there. Walking in a nice smell of cooked meats fills the air. But upon closer look, the meats were on a grill!!! I got the St. Louis pork spare ribs plate, $11.99 with seasoned fries and mac and cheese. After placing the order, I saw the six ribs placed on the grill and some sauce brushed on to add moisture. I wasn't happy and not expecting too much.

The ribs had no smoke flavor. They say they do smoke the ribs, but no smoke ring, no smoke flavor, no seasoning/bark of any kind. They were pretty tender and had little fat. But I'm guessing they are cooked in an oven.

The fries were the seasoned fries variety and they give you a huge portion. The mac and cheese tastes exactly as the mac and cheese from KFC.

Service is very good. The nice college age kid was friendly and helpful.

I wouldn't go back to Big Pop's. The ribs were not smoked and nothing special. How they were rated the best BBQ by the Daily News, I'll never understand. Oh, wait I do. The readers of the Daily News are lily white and have no clue what real BBQ is.

Hutch's BBQ-Closed

Hutch's BBQ
390 E Walnut St
Pasadena
626-449-8095

Pasadena not the first place I would think of for good BBQ. You have Robin's and Gus's. Now I found Hutch's, which has been in Pasadena since 1947. They also serve Jamacian food. But the name is Hutch's BBQ, so I tried the BBQ.

I got the baby back ribs, $13 with fries and cole slaw. I wasn't expecting much and Hutch's met up to my low expectations. The ribs were cooked in an oven and was heavily seasoned with pepper. The ribs were fairly meaty and didn't have much fat but they are baby backs.

I got my order to go and the server was ok. But the manager or maybe the owner was very nice. Giving me a quick history of the house that became Hutch's.

I wouldn't go back to Hutch's but if you like oven cooked ribs, this is the place for you.

Huston's Pit BBQ-Closed

Huston's Pit BBQ
1620 N Cahuenga Blvd
Los Angeles
323-464-3972

Huston's Pit BBQ is another example of a fake BBQ place. This is not real BBQ. They do not smoke their meats, there is no smoke ring on the ribs. They must braise the meat before cooking over hard wood. But this isn't real BBQ.

I got the quarter rack of spare ribs, $7.50. The ribs were very tender, almost falling off the bone. But there was no smoke flavor, was drowned in a sauce that tasted exactly like KC Masterpice, and the ribs had a lot of fat on them. So they need more braising time or better yet, they need to be really smoked!!!!!!

Service is good.

Ok, I am a BBQ snob. I do not like going to places and wasting money on oven cooked or grilled ribs. I can do that myself at home. Why the hell do I need to go out and pay somebody to do that for me???? I want somebody who will smoke their ribs, using hardwoods for six or more hours. I won't sit in front of a smoker for that long, so I have no problems paying somebody, if they do it right.

Don't bother going to Huston's Pit BBQ unless your idea of BBQ is Tony Roma's or Chili's.

Handy Market BBQ

June 6, 2009. 65 years ago today Allied Forces, under the leadership of Dwight Eisenhower, stormed the beaches of Normandy. This invasion was officially named, Operation Overload and is more commonly known as D Day.

The mission of D Day? To liberate Europe from the scumbag nazi. American forces stormed Omaha Beach. Other Allied countries stormed, Utah, Juno, Sword, and Gold Beach. Within a few hours Allied Forces had captured all those beaches and started their way into liberating France. Soon Allied forces liberated France and then onto Germany and getting rid of the nazi scum.

Too many brave men died on the beaches of Normandy. They didn't burn their draft notices, dodge the draft, protest the draft, act like cowards and run away to Canada, they all answered the call of duty for their country. Too many paid the ultimate sacrifice and never came back home.

Today we need to take a moment to honor them. The saying at the end of the movie; Ike Countdown to D Day is so true, "We may never see their like again."

25 years ago, Ronald Reagan made one of his best speeches on the 40th Anniversary of D Day.









Handy Market
2514 W Magnolia Blvd
Burbank
818-848-2500

To honor those brave men who made the ultimate sacrifice on D Day, I went to BBQ. Every Saturday, Handy Market has a BBQ, it is actually a grill but it is well known and as you can see from the line, it is popular.

Baby back ribs, beef ribs, chicken, and tri tip are sold by the pound. Sausauge and corn are also sold.

I got half a rack of baby backs, $7.49/lb and three beef ribs, $3.99/lb. Most half rack of baby back ribs are going to be about a pound.

The ribs are smoked in a smoker with mesquite charcoal. But the ribs are cooked at a very high temp, so they aren't really true BBQ. The ribs are oversmoked, they need to control the flow of the smoker better. The ribs since they are baby backs were fairly tender but that chemical flavor of lighter fluid just ruins the taste for me.

The beef ribs were pretty bad. Lots and lots of gristle and tough meat to go along with the chemical smell. Not a good combination.

This isn't real BBQ. What this is GRILLING-cooking meats at high temps. Most people in line with me thought this was great and love the meat drowned in BBQ sauce.

Service is OK, the people are nice and helpful but slow. I waited in line for about 30 minutes. Then I had to go to pay for the meat inside the market. At least it doesn't take that long to pay.

Also when calling for directions, they aren't too helpful. I called and asked what exit to get off at going north of the 5 freeway. They told me Buena Vista. Well Buena Vista is only off the 134 freeway. If you are on the 134 get off at Olive and go south to Buena Vista.

I would not go back to Handy Market's BBQ. It is not real BBQ and I can do a better job grilling ribs.