mmm-yoso!!!

Smokin' Joe's Soul Food Weekends at the Poseidon Project - A Quick Look

I had to make a quick run to Siesel's last week. At that time finding parking was just horrible and I managed to find a spot several blocks away from the shop. While walking back to the car I noticed a huge set-up in back of the Poseidon Project.

  I went in and chatted with the nice folks at Poseidon and they told me that they were starting BBQ on weekends starting on the 5th of August, running from Fridays to Sundays.

Sure enough, I drove past the place yesterday and saw the signs up.

The BBQ is being done by the folks from Smokin' Joe's BBQ. If I recall, these were the folks doing BBQ in at Iowa Meat Farms a while back.

Since I'm all for more variety in our area, I decided to drop on in and get some takeout.

The drill is; you order from the friendly folks here, get a receipt, pay inside Poseidon, and return back with a ticket and pick up your order.

Before ordering, I asked what style of BBQ this was...especially since the menu had Pork Ribs, Beef Ribs, Tri-Tip, Sausage, and Brisket on it. Having worked and travelled thru some of the south during an earlier life, I was quickly educated on the BBQ of different regions. The guys working looked surprised when I asked, but quickly replied, "Mississippi style".

So, at least for me, unless it's Mississippi Smoked Pot Roast (it's really good, try it if you have a chance) it's basically pork products. I was tempted with pulled pork, but really was craving some ribs and rib tips, which is what I got. Speaking of what I got; the meal also gets you three sides.....aaah, the good 'ole "meat n' three" in spirit.

And also some (rather mediocre) corn bread.

 The rib and tips both had a very nice, deep, distinctive smoke ring and a decent, almost "crisp" if uneven bark.

The amount of run used on the baby backs made it really salty, though strangely, the amount on the rib tips were perfect. 

The rib tips were very tender, moist, with the porky flavor shining thru and was my favorite. If the baby backs weren't as salty; they would have been quite good as the meat came off the bone perfectly.

The sauce was on the sweeter side; though the spicy version had a good amount of spice. I really didn't use any of it for my ribs/tips.

As for the sides. Well, I had wanted Black Eyed Peas but they were out.

My favorite item was usually one of my least favorite' the Breen Beans. Can you tell why?

Yep, that's fatty pork parts in the beans. It added some good flavor. Also, as you can tell, unlike many versions the beans aren't overcooked and are tender, but still somewhat firm. I'm not a fan of mushy green beans....mushy peas maybe, but not green beans.

I thought the texture of the collard greens, usually one of my favorite items was good.

But this was much too salty and acidic. I also like a nice touch of smokiness in my collards which this lacked; perhaps it was shrouded by all that salt?

The Mac and Cheese was like one giant lump and not my favorite.

Still, not a bad start. And I'll try them out a again in a couple of weeks. It's a nice addition to the neighborhood and I hope they stick around. I enjoyed the BBQ from Joe's much more than other places that had opened (then closed in the area). It might be a good option if you're grabbing a cold one from Harland or Poseidon; or just looking for a picnic at Mission Bay across the freeway.

And sometimes, because I'm getting and such....these type of posts bring back blogging memories.

And also is a reminder that I need to start using the 'ol smoker again.

Anyway, if you check out Smokin' Joe's, let me know what you think.

Smokin' Joe's Soul Food Weekends at The Poseidon Project
4126 Napier St
San Diego, CA 92110
Every other weekend (Fri - Sun) starting on August 5th

Iron Pig - A Takeout Revisit

**** Iron Pig has closed

The recent warm weather had the Missus craving takeout from Iron Pig. So I dropped by, placed an order, and then went to do a quick visit to Trader Joe's. My takeout was ready when I returned to Iron Pig. I had found parking nearby and everything just seemed hunky dory.

On my last post, I noted that the wings were dry and tough. Unfortunately, these were basically the same.

Large, meaty wings, but super dry and tough, and the large size meant that it was somewhat lacking in enough smokiness.

I also got the Rib Tips and specifically asked for sauce on the side. Sadly, this must have been lost in the translation.

Over-sauced and very salty......

Our favorite menu item over the years is the Man Salad...make that the Gender Neutral Salad. Which looked mighty appetizing.

Until we started eating....and started noticing something...hidden underneath all those fries and brisket.

All those brown and discolored greens. Sigh.......

I take no pleasure in typing this out and it's kind of sad to get a meal like this from a place that's been a favorite over the years. We understand that times are tough and are trying to support local businesses, but it seems like the appreciation is not being returned? Not quite sure what to make of this meal.....

Iron Pig Alehouse
1520 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

Barbecue Pit (La Mesa) again

mmm-yoso!!! is rolling into the weekend with another post written by Cathy; Kirk has had a long week.

Another local business survivor of COVID-19 is a favorite for old school oak smoked meats and delightful house made sides, the Barbecue Pit, which has been in business since 1947.    The menu choices are the same, as are the flavors. 
 Walk up, order, watch the meat sliced, meal assembled and put on a tray.  Pay and find a seat.  There's a small condiment bar near the beverage fountain, along with utensils and napkins.
 This was our meal, which also included a slice of pie (you'll see).
 The pulled pork sandwich plate ($10.99) includes the tender pork, shredded, mixed with a bit of sauce and overfilling the steamed bun along with two sides (choice of fries, macaroni salad, potato salad, Cole slaw and baked beans) and some extra house made sauce (tangy, sweet, fresh-made warm). The sides have the 'made from scratch' flavors- brown sugar slow baked beans, lightly dressed slightly tangy slaw.  This is like a good home made meal, without having to cook at home. 
 When I saw the roast beef behind the counter, I decided on the Soup and Sandwich ($8.99). Plenty of slow roasted beef with a nice smoke ring on the steamed bun...along with 
 a bowl of Navy Bean Soup (beans!, carrot, celery, onion).  The other soup choice is split pea, which I also like, but think it goes better with a ham sandwich. This was a wonderfully filling meal with all the flavors of scratch cooking. We ordered and paid for one dessert ($4) and were told to grab what we wanted from the refrigerated display when we were ready.
 Coconut cream pie, of course.  A delicate (from scratch) buttery graham cracker crust topped with a coconut filled pudding-like filling topped with whipped cream and shredded coconut.  Decadent.

Not hipster, not fancy, just good food. 

 Barbecue Pit 2388 Fletcher Parkway El Cajon 92020 (619)462-5434 Open Mon-Sat 10:30-9 CLOSED SUNDAY Website 

Roadtrip (During Covid-19) - Sidecar Cocktail Co. and Old San Luis BBQ Co. (San Luis Obispo)

On the way back to the motel after dinner, I asked the Missus if She'd like to stop for a cocktail. I was somewhat interested in a place we had passed earlier in the day named Sidecar....no, not "that" Sidecar; this Sidecar, located on Broad Street.

This was the place we passed that had seating along the the creek. They also had tables lined up outdoors as well.

Unfortunately, none of those tables were available....plus, we weren't eating anything, so we just got one of the tables in the bar area which was nicely spaced.

The folks working were quite friendly....the Missus ordered one of the specialty cocktails....called "Walk on Home Boy" ($15).

Strange this supposedly had both Bourbon and Mezcal, but was quite mild in flavor and on the sweeter side/

I asked for an Old Fashion made with Mezcal - which wasn't too bad at all.

 We decided to call it quits after one drink each and decided to head back to the motel.

We enjoyed the service and vibe was very nice.

Sidecar Cocktail Co.
1040 Broad St.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

A half a block away, we stopped by this nice piece of public art named "Web of Life".

Close by was the Old San Luis BBQ Company - also known as "Old Slo BBQ". It was basically a window and small attached dining area. 

 Along with a small outdoor dining area along the sidewalk. The menu had tri-tip "sliders" on it, so I talked the Missus into ordering one ($4.25) to take back to the room.

It was a short wait, but soon enough our little slider was ready and we walked back to our room.

Old San Luis BBQ Co.
670 Higuera St.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

Returning to our room I opened things up......

The rather dry tri-tip was served on a standard issue sourdough-ciabatta style roll. The tri-tip had a strong smokiness with not much else in terms of seasoning and was quite tough and dry. The actual flavor of the bread was stronger than the meat....except for all that smoke.

That BBQ sauce was overly sweet for my taste. I guess we'll stick with our "old faithful" if/when we're back in SLO......

Eating to Beat the Heat - Takeout From Iron Pig Alehouse

**** Iron Pig has closed

Well, I had a pretty interesting end of last week. A sinus infection combined with the rather warm days really had me on my back! Luckily, I'm feeling much better, though it's still kinda warm out there. I wanted something with some flavor and looked back at some of our "eating to beat the heat" posts and Iron Pig Alehouse popped up! Man, has it been over 3 years since we ate there? Well, we weren't feeling like eating at Iron Pig, but I noticed that online ordering was available....so I thought what the heck, and placed an order. A combination of summertime and rush hour traffic makes it a bit of a chore, but I arrived right at the designated time and my order as ready to go....just hop back in the car and fight the traffic out of PB. 

So, was this worth it?

Well, feast your eyes on this.

It's the dish formerly known as "the Man Salad". It's been renamed to the "Gender Neutral Salad"....ohhhkay......

Regardless, the Missus absolutely loved this. I ordered it with the add on of an fried egg and you know the Missus with fried eggs, right? While I'm not a fan of the brisket ala carte at IP, it's wonderful on this salad, adding a nice beefy-smokiness, that goes so well with the pickled onions, goat cheese....and of course, those french fries. The arugula adds a nice mild bitterness to things. We don't even need the dressing. The salad seemed huge, but we polished it off with no problem.

The Missus also loves the Rib Tips and She really loved this as well.

Rib tips tend to have bit more fat and porkiness in my opinion. These were much more tender than what I'm used to with rib tips. Nice smokiness, nice swine to dine flavor. A decent rub.....don't need much more. The Missus likes these straight up without BBQ Sauce....She just loves the texture and the smokiness.

I was kind of excited to get the Smoked Wings, which I hadn't had in a while.

In the past, the wings were a bit inconsistent, but when they were slightly crisp, super smokey they really hit the spot.

Sadly, these were not. It was weak in terms of smoked flavor, decently seasoned, but dry, tough, and the skin quite rubbery.

This is what the wings look like when I know they're done right.......

Still, no complaints about the meal at all......

   

Still, the Missus did present the question of "why didn't you get this earlier?" My answer? Pointing to Her plate: "Hey, it looks like you missed some salad there....." 

The online ordering was easy, as was pick-up. I don't know if I hit the lottery on this afternoon, but I found parking close by.

So, I guess more Man Salad, ummmm, "Gender Neutral Salad" is in our future. Especially when temps rise.

Iron Pig Alehouse
1520 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109
Current Hours:
Mon - Tues 4pm - 9pm
Wed - Thurs 1130am - 9pm
Fridays 1130am - 10pm
Saturdays 10am - 10pm
Sundays 10am - 9pm

Barbecue Pit (El Cajon) Revisit

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog.  Kirk is busy with 'work' and will return soon enough. Until then, Cathy is writing.

Barbecue Pit is a longstanding (since 1947) restaurant in El Cajon. Posting in 2014 as well as in 2018, combined with Kirk's post of Wrangler Family Barbecue, in 2010 (Wrangler has the same menu, decor, ambiance and flavors as Barbecue Pit; it was once part of the chain) doesn't really show how much this place is part of our 'regular rotation'.  Its location, kitty corner from Beef 'n Bun, on the North East corner of Fletcher Parkway at Garfield, (next to the Baskin Robbins) has plenty of parking in front and in a larger area in the same lot, serving a 99 Cent Only store as well as a few other storefronts. 
 Step inside, walk up, order and watch your meal being prepared.  The Texas style, pit smoked (over oak) meats available are beef, pork, ham, chicken and links.  The sides are slaw, potato salad, baked beans and fries.  The soups are pea soup and navy bean.  The combinations for meals are plenty and delineated on the wall. 
Pay, find a table, grab your beverage, check out the condiment bar and grab some utensils.  
 I ordered the 'soup and sandwich' ($8.99). A large bowl of navy bean soup and a ham sandwich- smoky, thick slices of ham on a toasted bun.  The soup is a particular new craving of mine.  More on that in a moment.
We went on a Saturday night (the Barbecue Pit is closed on Sundays) and there was a Special on the white Boards- the Sloppy Joe beef sandwich plate was $9.99. Slaw and potato salad were the sides.  You can see this was a generous portion of smoked beef.  You can add more BBQ sauce as you wish...tangy and sweet, warm and luxuriously thick, the sauce is a compliment to the beef.
  Here's another visit. The rib and chicken combo plate with sides of baked beans and potato salad and cornbread ($16.50) was The Mister's order. 
Two large, juicy, meaty, well smoked (leaving a bark on the meat) beef ribs and 1/4 chicken (breast and wing).  Not using the sauce, the smokiness really comes through.  Using the sauce halfway through makes the meal a new experience. 
 On this visit, I tried the chicken sandwich and navy bean soup.  The soup really is all beans with carrot, celery and onion; a bowl by itself is a meal.  The chicken sandwich is plentiful and has a more delicate smokiness when tried plain.  

Everything here is good. 

Barbecue Pit 2388 Fletcher Parkway El Cajon 92020 (619)462-5434 Open Mon-Sat 10:30-9 CLOSED SUNDAY Website 

 There is dessert here, too. 

Barbecue Pit (El Cajon) (again)

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog with posts about food.  Cathy is writing today, while Kirk enjoys another long day at work. 

Since 1947, the Barbecue Pit has been a family owned restaurant located in El Cajon. 

It is next to the Baskin Robbins, shares the parking lot with a 99 Cent Only store and is kitty corner from Beef 'n Bun (I'll have an updated post for BnB soon).
Walk in, stay in line to the right...
order (there are some white board specials to the right)
watch your meal prepared, pay
and find a seat.
The pulled pork plate ($10.49) is a BBQ pork sandwich (sauce on the side; there is some sauce on the meat but I like to eat just the 'basic' sandwich first then add more sauce to the second half) and two side orders (slaw and potato salad here, but also choices of baked beans, macaroni salad and French fries). The BBQ here is "pit' style- slow and low heated oak wood smoking in a sealed above ground oven.  The flavor is unique yet familiar. 
However, that was The Mister's order.  I was here for my comfort food on this chilly day. The soup and sandwich plate ($8.99) Split Pea soup, made from scratch daily (as is the Navy Bean soup).  Carrots and celery and ham and peas.  There may be potato in there, but I've never gotten chunks of potato, so if it is an ingredient, it is sparse, smoothed out and used as a thickener.
  The BBQ (smoked) ham sandwich.  Plenty of ham...warm, juicy, flavorful.  The combination of a ham sandwich with soup is just so right. 

Another birthday meal for our eight days ...you see the theme now...local, long time restaurants.

The Barbeque Pit 2388 Fletcher Parkway El Cajon 92020 (619) 462-5434 Open M-Sat 10:30a.m.-9 p.m. Website

   

Eating to Beat the Heat - Revisits to Iron Pig Alehouse and Prime Grill

Here are a couple of more revisits to places during the recent hot and sticky weather we've had.

Iron Pig:

I'm not sure why we don't drop by Iron Pig more often. Actually, I do know why; these days the Missus is more into wine and cocktails and beer has lost favor with Her. She is also not fond of the tumblers used for wine here...…...yes, She's becoming a bit of a snob I guess.

Still, on one of those hot days, I wanted one of my favorite salads....the "Man Salad". Which, by the way; the Missus enjoys as well.

Smoked brisket, goat cheese, arugula, Portobello mushrooms, and yes, French fries. With a nice vinaigrette that doesn't over power nay of the ingredients. Great crisp textures, combined with beefy-milky flavors. Definitely a favorite of mine.

That said; I'm not a big fan of the BBQ here; though the Missus does enjoy the rib tips....She likes chewing on the cartilage and crunchy bits. It's also one of the few items still on the Happy Hour menu.

Sadly the smoked wings; which I enjoy here, is no longer on HH menu.

So, we'll save that for our next visit.

Iron Pig Alehouse
1520 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

 Prime Grill:

For some strange reason; the Missus enjoys a nice Dolsot Bi Bim Bap when it gets really hot. I was glad to know that even though Prime Grill now has an AYCE menu; it still features good quality items on the menu.

Though I think the panchan here has definitely taken a step down from when Ed from Yuma and Cathy joined myself back 2016 when the place first opened. It is still a step above all the other Korean BBQ places in town.

Over the last couple of years; the Bi Bim Naengmyun at Prime Grill has over taken the version at Buga as my favorite. The noodles are not under cooked, but not mushy, and are the thinner version.

On this visit; they provided a good amount of the spicy-savory sauce; add some cho-jang, vinegar, and I'm good to go.

And the Missus got Her Dolsot Bi Bim Bap.

And all was good in the world. At least until we had to step back out into the heat and humidity.

Prime Grill
4620 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

What have you been eating to beat the heat the last couple of weeks?

Ranchwood BBQ (La Mesa) (revisit)

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog of randomness.  Once again, Cathy is writing, because Kirk deserves some time off.

It's been more than two years since my first Ranchwood BBQ post.  In the interim, there was a fire and the Ranchwood storefront was closed for more than a year (The fire occurred in April 2016...the restaurant reopened June 2017...but I read of some catering done in between). As you walk up, you can smell the smoke, if the wind is right.
The menu choices have remained the same (the prices have increased slightly).
 The interior (and seating out front) is new, with a few more seats than the old picnic benches, still keeping the SDSU color scheme. 

  The Tri-Tip sandwich ($7.99) is served on a lovely toasted sesame seed bun, topped with slaw and the red (there is a yellow) BBQ sauce. The flavors melded in a good way-the smoke plus sweet of the (catsup based?) red sauce plus the slaw (which has celery seed) with the toasty crunch of the roll.  There is a small smoke ring on the Tri-Tip and the meat was tender and moist.  It didn't need much of the sauce. 
The pulled pork plate ($10.99) comes with a choice of two sides as well as two slices of white bread.  The Mister chose cole slaw and onion rings for the sides. Again, the slaw, with the celery seed, was just right (not overdressed, crispy and fresh) and the onion rings were whole, battered and fried perfectly. The plate was very heavy-it felt like more than a pound. The pork? A very nice smoke flavor, which I thought went better with the yellow (mustard based/tangy BBQ sauce).  There's a tiny bit of 'bark' in that above photo-a crunchy edge of the pork; crispy and smokier.

 Ranchwood BBQ & Catering 7229 El Cajon Blvd San Diego 92115 Website Open daily 11-9

Flat Top Grill Again – Yuma

While Kirk and Cathy are doing important things like working or resting, Ed (from Yuma) is posting today.

Usually, after I've written a post on a place in Yuma, I don't visit again for a while, maybe feeling a little burned out. And when I do visit, I don't bring my camera. So when I had lunch at Crouse’s Flat Top Grill in early March I didn't have my camera with me, so I didn't take this picture of the entrance that day:

I ordered one of the sandwiches that I hadn't tried, the smoked brisket. When it arrived it looked something like this:

It was a great sandwich – a crunchy long roll filled with two thick smoky slices of brisket, crowned with abundant sweet grilled onion, and served with a choice of barbecue sauces on the side. Even the potato salad, which I had largely ignored before, was wonderful, the sour spicy crunchy pickle pieces adding true zest.

It was a meal so good that Tina and I have been eating at Flat Top Grill regularly, and of course I've been bringing my camera along.

Although the restaurant has a very modest wine list:

and a limited number of changing taps,

I can always find at least one or two interesting beers

On our most recent visit, Tina ordered an amazing watermelon, mint and jalapeño Margarita:

The rim of her glass was coated with Tajin, and that lime chili salt added one more level of complexity to the cocktail. Spicy, sweet, sour, cool, and smooth, with a touch of salt and a hint of mint. A real winner.

Since that last post, we have eaten a bunch of different things. For example, we were dining there with friends and they wanted to try the loaded JoJo's:

That could be somebody's dinner. The potatoes were nicely cooked and there’s bacon, cheese, and sour cream. Glad our friends had their teenage son with them.

Tina enjoys the tri-tip salad:

The fresh lettuces are nothing special, but the meat is well flavored and she loves the cilantro lime dressing that adds a Sonoran accent.

Of course, we often have sandwiches. Recently, Tina had the hot dog – split in half, grilled, placed atop a strip of bacon, and thickly covered with guacamole:

That same night, I had the guacamole bacon burger – we must have had guacamole on the brain:

In the last post, I complained about an overdone burger; this one was on the verge of under cooked, but the flavorful hamburger, ground on premises daily, had excellent flavor. And bacon and guacamole.

My favorite burger is the green chili burger:

8 years ago I posted about the mutant green chilies found in some Yuma Mexican restaurants, which are always made with beef, usually finely diced or ground. The green chili here is another variation on that theme. The beef is coarsely ground and is the focus of the dish. The chili has some good heat and green chili flavor. It is topped with melted cheese, pico de gallo, and chopped scallions (also with sour cream, but I ordered that on the side).

We have eaten several entrées as well. The Turkey dinner is an amazing combination of familiar and unusual:

On the left side of the plate, covered with gravy, was first rate red skinned mashed potatoes. The Turkey breast slices, like the ones on their turkey sandwiches, were grilled and pretty ordinary, but the waffle made with turkey dressing underneath was something I'd never seen before:

Kindof a Thanksgiving dinner like no other.

And yes, during evenings The Flat Top Grill does have good old-fashioned greens as a side dish. I'm talking serious greens, smoky and meaty:

A little less interesting – though still very flavorful – was the chicken with mushroom gravy. Two thick slices of grilled chicken breast rested on a bed of those mashed potatoes, all covered with delectably creamy mushroom gravy:

On a couple of weekend nights, we ordered specials not on the menu. Once it was the rib special:

Wonderfully spiced, deeply smoked, and fall off the bone tender. Though there is barbecue sauce on the side where it belongs, it really wasn't needed. We took the leftovers home and had biscuits, ribs, and eggs for breakfast. The corn was a little tough and flavorless, but I was still happy.

And if you are ever at Flat Top Grill and they are serving chicken and waffles, you should be eating chicken and waffles:

The waffle was crispy chewy and served with two different syrups, one maple and one spicy. The moist chicken was encased with a flavorful hard crust. Wonderful deep frying technique.

This place is so good it is hard to stay away.