From Michael Lippman's Blog on Eat, Drink or Die -
MY TOP 10+ BARBECUE JOINTS IN L.A.
by Michael Lippman Thursday October 16, 2008
Why are people so passionate about barbecue? Why does barbecue take hold of the imagination so strongly? What about barbecue gives it an almost spiritual dimension? And … where’s the best barbecue in Los Angeles? (with links)
1. JAY BEE'S BAR-B-Q
Let’s start somewhere random. A shack in the middle of an industrial strip in Gardena. The woman who owns the joint is not the friendliest but, hey, she’s bombarded with crowds of people clamoring for her barbecue starting at 11:30 AM every single day of her life. It’s really, really good barbecue, and people know it and come for it -- white collar, blue collar, no collar, cops, criminals -- all walks of life descend on the joint. I order two meats – pork ribs and pork shoulder. I taste the rib first, I've had it before, it's a solidly excellent rib, and the sauce is nice and round, with a heat that touches every part of the mouth. First rate. Cole slaw's just okay, baked beans excellent and filled with pork. Then I try the pork shoulder -- whoa! hello! holy sh-t! I don’t think I really understood "pulled pork" before today -- who would want random bits of meat on a plate when you could be eating ribs? -- but I leave the very good ribs in the dust and can’t stop pounding this pork shoulder, each bite different, some fattier, some crispier, some meatier -- I start taking larger bites, so each bite has the full combo of textures, and the heat comes through strong, and boom, it’s all gone. I’m in love.
1. JAY BEE'S BAR-B-Q
Let’s start somewhere random. A shack in the middle of an industrial strip in Gardena. The woman who owns the joint is not the friendliest but, hey, she’s bombarded with crowds of people clamoring for her barbecue starting at 11:30 AM every single day of her life. It’s really, really good barbecue, and people know it and come for it -- white collar, blue collar, no collar, cops, criminals -- all walks of life descend on the joint. I order two meats – pork ribs and pork shoulder. I taste the rib first, I've had it before, it's a solidly excellent rib, and the sauce is nice and round, with a heat that touches every part of the mouth. First rate. Cole slaw's just okay, baked beans excellent and filled with pork. Then I try the pork shoulder -- whoa! hello! holy sh-t! I don’t think I really understood "pulled pork" before today -- who would want random bits of meat on a plate when you could be eating ribs? -- but I leave the very good ribs in the dust and can’t stop pounding this pork shoulder, each bite different, some fattier, some crispier, some meatier -- I start taking larger bites, so each bite has the full combo of textures, and the heat comes through strong, and boom, it’s all gone. I’m in love.2. PORKY’S
I'm not a big fan of Porky's, so why is it on my list? Because a big part of loving barbecue is being opinionated about it, and when a place gets a lot of praise, and you think it’s overrated, you gotta say so. The ribs are served on a skillet, atop onions and peppers, loudly sizzling when delivered – which might be a tradition somewhere, but I’ve never seen it before.
I've had the ribs twice now, six months apart, and both times I had exactly the same notes. (Yes, believe it or not, I've been writing this article for months) There's a caramelization about the rib I really like, and some bites are incredibly delicious in a kind of Chinese sparerib way. But the meat is not suffused with barbecue-ness. It's bland. There's no flavor in the middle of the meat. It's like neither the cooking process nor the spice reached the center of the rib, and that's just death. As they say so haughtily in the Wine Spectator: “tasted twice with consistent notes”.3. BABY BLUE S
4. BONEYARD BISTRO
5. DR. HOGLEY WOGLEY’S
6. KANSAS CITY BBQ
7 & 8. JR’s & J & J’s
9. ZEKE'S
10. PHILLIPS BBQ
11. NY BBQ
12. BENNY’S BBQ
13. SPRING STREET SMOKE HOUSE
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