I just don\'t get it!

Judy Mayberry

Last week or two ago, someone mentioned Phil's BBQ restaurant here in San Diego. I gave their sauce-drowned ribs a really low rating, but was told their brisket sandwiches were what they were known for.

Last night I went there and brought home pulled pork and brisket sandwiches. The pulled pork was good, but included about only a tablespoon of coleslaw on the bottom. The brisket was totally overpowered by the same aggressive and sharp tomato-based sauce that they drown the ribs in. The buns on both were really huge dense bready things and I removed them and just ate the meat.

Tonight I did the desperate thing...I rinsed the leftover brisket in water to get rid of the sauce. Lo and behold! the meat is shaved paper-thin. Probably to hide how DRY the meat is. It's a travesty on brisket!

Phil's started out as a neighborhood BBQ joint several years ago and was constantly hounded by neighbors to take their smoky emissions somewhere else. They tried all kinds of retrofitting but nothing helped. Now they're located in a commercial area in a huge space. From the time they opened years ago there have been lines waiting to get in and wonderful word-of-mouth buzz, and the place is jammed.

Maybe their french fries are spectacular. I just don't know what to think.

Judy in San Diego

Boxerpapa

Ahhh...the smoke issues. Don't you just love California. My neighbor complained one time about me smoking Buck Board Bacon at 7:00 AM. Gave him a chunk of it and haven't heard a complaint since. that was three years ago.

Hoss

Sounds like our dear Rendevous!!! People still FLOCK there!!! :huh: :blink: UN believeable!!!

elzbth

I feel much the same way about one of our local places - The Shed (Mobile Alabama - original location in Gautier MS). I've tried it a few times, and really want to like it. Finally have given up - the brisket is not brisket - more like a bottom round roast. The chicken is usually overcooked. The only thing that I have to be half-way acceptable is the coleslaw. I guess the egg has ruined me! They also have live music - Blues, and Gospel on weekends. Somehow the popularity of the place is lost on me.

Carolina Q

Judy, here's the deal... the better you learn to cook, the harder it is to find decent food at a restaurant. But lots of people just don't bother.

Jeffersonian

It's like that everywhere, Judy. I can only point to a couple of local BBQ joints where I can get a decent rib. I've eaten at a lot of them, and most have mushy, tasteless food that is an insult to BBQ.

troutman

Been there. Done that. Agree with you.

Had the ribs and pulled pork. Pork was ok. Ribs weren't. Haven't been back, but stood in line to get the food.

h20egg

One of my peculiarities is that I just won't stand in line to spend my money. Which is why if we do venture out for dinner on a weekend, it's reservations or nothing. I agree that the better you get at cooking the less inclined you are to savor commercial fare. That's why if we do go out, it's not for foods/cuisines that we do here at the house. I'll admit that mastering a good grilled fish cook is yet to meet my idea of perfection, so that's a frequent restaurant choice. Last night's pizza cook pretty much sealed the deal; Donato's up at the shopping center won't be seeing us any more unless we're time constrained. A nice thin, crisp, crust even if achieved won't survive a ride in a box! Really appreciated the thread last week where someone actually read temps on a pizza stone; as suspected it takes a good bit of time to really get it up to where it does it's work. I had a very disappointing pizza a few weeks back; soggy. I think I'd only given the stone 15 minutes or so to heat.

Anyway, back to your rib place disappointment -- yes, we're spoiled, but it's a journey to get where we want to be!

Zyme

Hi Judy,
I went to Phil's on the very day they closed for renovations last year, so even though I've been living in SD for 8 years, I still haven't been! :laugh:

I have, however, gone to Abby's on Miramar road and it's pretty good--but not as good as true pulled brisket that any of us can make on the egg. It comes with a complementary airshow of F-18s and V-22 Ospreys from the Marine Corps base, though!

I especially enjoy a moist, Carolina style brisket with a vinegar sauce and my wife's absolutely delicious coleslaw.

As far as the smoke is concerned, I have had a few 5 AM starts where the egg is just fuming. And on one of these occaisions I heard someone shutting their bedroom window in response, lol. As with a lot of us, my neighbors are very close. No one has complained--but if they do they'll be getting a tall glass of homebrew and some BBQ to help smooth things over!
Z

Crimsongator

Two things:

1. People like what they grew up on. I like Sonny's BBQ in Florida and some don't. It is hard to pass up a pork big deal with a side of corn nuggets and sweet tea. My guess is the same for the people who told you to get the brisket

2. I can make better BBQ at home than any bbq joint I have been to (because fresh is always better than what is being held or reheated). It tends to ruin going out to eat BBQ. I do eat it out at times and get very specific things from very specific places. I however know that when I am out and even consider ordering BBQ, my wife gives me the look and says, why not get something else, I don't want to hear it :-)

Judy Mayberry

I would LOVE a recipe for absolutely delicious coleslaw. Please post it!

Zyme

Judy Mayberry wrote:

I would LOVE a recipe for absolutely delicious coleslaw. Please post it!

I totally forgot this thread! Here's the recipe. I think it's the buttermilk that makes its so good. gives a little tartness

8 cup finely chopped cabbage
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 Tbs white vinegar
2 1/2 Tbs lemon juice

in salad bowl, combine dressing ingredients; beat until smooth. Add vegetables, mix well. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hr before serving

Servings: 6