BBQ in Monterey

Back in October, about a week before Halloween, the hubster, kid (our German Shepherd) and I took a weekend trip up to Monterey. The last time we had gone was probably sometime in early 2006, so it's been a few years, and the hubster was itching for another road trip (a shorter one)... so off we went!

Unfortunately, most of the weekend was overcast and drizzly, but at one point towards the end of the weekend, the clouds parted and sunlight shone through. We drove around and found Henry's BBQ. It sounded good and looked like it would be good. It was a no brainer.

It was a very quaint little place, and I wonder if it was converted into a restaurant from a single-family residential house. Quite possibly. There is a small patio on the street front, raised a few feet above sidewalk level that... if it was a clearer day, you can see the ocean over yonder.

Interior shots: quaint, no? Totally looks like it was once-upon-a-time, someone's home.

So quaint, right outside the window where we were sitting at (with the view of the patio and ocean over yonder) was a small flower bush. And a hummingbird. Naturally.

But let's not forget why we're here: to eat!

Oh yes... food mmmm

My appetite hadn't been so great, so I went with a smaller dish (yes, "smaller")... I think it was a tri-tip sandwich? With a side of chili (it looked super liquidy, but was actually quite tasty) and of course, french fries. I think I managed to eat half the sandwich (with about a quarter of total bun) and some of the chili. Oh and of course, the fries. Dipped in the chili.

And the hubster? Ready to get his grub on! After starting with a side salad, he ordered a combo plate that included four types of meat of your choice; we went with the Pork Spare Ribs, Hawaiian Style Pulled Pork, Tri-Tip and Boneless Pork Loin, accompanied again with the beef and bean chili and a couple of slices of their Bert's Bacon Cheese Bread.

As far as food goes, it was good. Enough. I'm not too picky on meats actually, or maybe food in general, unless it's obviously awful. But coupled with the quaintness of the setting, I'd recommend this place.

Baby Blues BBQ

So it's been nearly 3 months since my last post - woops, sorry! A lot has been going on and while I continue to cook at home and occasionally head out to dine somewhere, I've stopped photographing, particularly at home. I'll try to pick it up again, I promise! Meanwhile, let's see what I've got stored in my photo library...

In early July, a few of us headed up to Malibu visit the Getty Villa... unfortunately, we were a couple of days late for the exhibit we had wanted to check out, but still had a nice time anyway. On the way back home, we decided to swing by Baby Blues BBQ in Venice, as featured on Guy's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

It's a fun, not-quite-a-bar, not-quite-the-back-of-someone's-house feel where they specialize in, you guessed it: BBQ. According to Yelp!, the must try was the pulled pork, the mac n' cheese and the cornbread. And they make their own BBQ sauce in 4 different flavors: Sweet, BBQ, (something I can't remember the name of but it happened to be my sauce of choice), and XXX (the hot one).

So... the hubster and I ordered some chicken wings and the "Big Blue" platter (24.95) with 3 choices of meat (we went with the pulled pork, Memphis-style ribs and baby back ribs), 2 choices of sides (mac n' cheese and collard greens), and it came with cornbread. YUM!

Between the two of us, we didn't finish. It was good though, real good. The ribs were tender and yummy and the mac n cheese was pretty darn good... it was kind of thick, so any more than the serving they gave might have gotten me sick, but splitting it, it was the perfect amount. I wasn't fond of the collard greens, but the hubster was all right with that - more for him!

Would I recommend this place? If you're in the area, sure, why not? But if it's going to be a trek, I think your local BBQ place might be okay. Like Lucille's or something. Yeah.

Thee Pitts... Again!

We left the cold in Flagstaff and headed down to the Sun in Phoenix. Our first food stop (the next afternoon) was to a Diners, Drive-ins and Dives featured spot: Thee Pitts Again, a BBQ joint:

The theme was Pork.

The place is a fun little restaurant, very kitschy (displaying the most interesting collection of pigs) and diner-esque, but with a tin tile ceiling (very cool).

To start, we girls opted for the deep fried pickles (3.25). These were good - I've had deep fried pickles at a local place and they battered pickle chip slices and deep fried 'em like no tomorrow... the end result was super salty. However, Thee Pitts Again revived my like of deep fried pickles - theirs were pickle spears battered and rightly deep fried. A bit salty, but not appetite-losing salty.

The boys... well the boys saw one item on the appetizer list and said, "We HAVE to order this"... deep fried rattlesnake (priced at current market value... currently around $15). I for one steered clear of that one! It looked normal enough, though. The meaty part was battered and deep fried like little nuggets and then... part of the boy... skipped the batter and went straight to getting fried. The waitress said that is added for decoration but is perfectly edible. Needless to say, the boys finished that off too! Every little bit (ugh).

And then our food came out.

The four of us actually ordered the same plates per couple, but with different sides. I went with the Slab Dinner (pork ribs St. Louie's - 16.95) which comes with cornbread and honey butter and two sides (I chose potato salad and coleslaw). The other Slab Dinner plate had the sides of beans, and mashed potatoes and gravy. Yum-o-yum! The ribs were so tender, I just pulled them apart with my fingers with the bone coming clean off of the meat. I was barely able to finish 4 ribs before calling it quits (weak sauce, yes, I know!). Oh yes, speaking of sauce, it wasn't overly drenched in BBQ sauce, which is a + in my book.

And then there were two orders of the Combo Platter (16.95)... which was a giant feast in itself. The combo platter's plate consisted of a cornucopia a meats on a plate: a sampling of pork shoulder, pulled chicken, chopped and sliced ham, beef, pork ribs and beef ribs, as well as the cornbread with honey butter and two sides. The hubster (who had ordered this plate) went with the side salad and a bowl of fresh fruit as his 2 sides. The other order of Combo Platter had seasoned fries and grilled veggies as the sides.

If you haven't guessed, we left with boxes and boxes of leftovers.

And a nice little touch at the end of our side-splitting lunch - individually wrapped Jelly Belly jellybeans!

Okay... I have just gotten hungry again.