mmm-yoso!!!

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.

Mike's BBQ (Bay Park)

Way back in March of last year, I mentioned that Mike's BBQ was replacing the rather ill-fated LW's SD BBQ. Mike's has a location out in Escondido and I pinged some acquaintances who lived in North County.....all of them used Phil's as a comparison. Which didn't place them very high on my list of places to try....nothing against Phil's....folks like the place, he makes great ketchup (sauce), but it pretty much ends there for me.

I did end up trying Mike's BBQ three times since they opened and have noticed a couple of interesting things.

They have a adequate selection of beer, pretty much paint by the numbers; that would be no sours, no true Belgians, but still not terrible. What I did notice was that the beer selection, while nothing outstanding was significantly better than Coastal Crave's, which is in the same strip mall. Last time I was there was back in April of last year, so perhaps things have changed.

The set-up is rather corporate, but still nice, spacious, and clean.

The folks were really nice on my three visits and I think folks come here to watch sports....so it's become the local sportsbar of sorts.

On my first visit, I went with the Brisket Sandwich, with Potato Salad as my side. The potato salad was actually the best thing about this meal; though I have to say, the portion size was quite large for a "side".

The folks here were nice enough to serve me the sauce, which wasn't very good....much too sweet, almost artificially sweet....I tried the spicy, which wasn't much better, on the side. The brisket was on the dry side, lacking in smoke flavor, the texture somewhat mealy, like it had been par cooked. No complaints about the amount of food, but this really didn't impress me much.

Still, the folks were quite nice and the portion size decent, so after a few months I returned and got the Four Babybacks and Quarter Chicken ($14.99).

So let's be perfectly honest here......the ribs look like they've been sitting around for a bit too long, then dumped on a grill. It  was rather gummy in texture. I'll pass on the coleslaw and mac and cheese (which had some hard bits) next time as well.

The chicken was quite moist and had a decent seasoning; though this really didn't pass as BBQ Chicken to me, seeming to be roasted chicken heated on a grill. Still, it wasn't bad....

After giving things a break, I returned a couple of weeks ago. They've done a bit more to the place and it looks quite welcoming.

I just went with the Spicy Sausage and Fries. Like before the portion size of the "side" seemed very generous.

The dog was hot, mildly spicy, and very juicy......this was actually the best meal I've had at Mike's. Not earth-shattering mind you, but ok.

I like the folks that work here, the portions are generous, and it's nice to have more options in the area. Not sure when, or if I'll return to Mike's BBQ, but I hope they do well.

Mike’s BBQ
3057 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117
Open Daily 11am - 9pm

Not to beat a dead horse, but this is how I prefer my BBQ from a couple of photos I had lying around......

My baby back ribs.....some chicken thighs for pulled chicken....

A smoked half chicken with a bourbon glaze.....not rocket science.....

Crouse’s Flat Top Grill in Yuma

Kirk and Cathy are busy doing important things today. So Ed (from Yuma) is filling in with a post about a new place in Yuma. 

Longtime Yumans still identify the space at 2855 S 4^th Ave as the location of Hensley's Steakhouse (a.k.a. Hensley's Beef, Beans and Beer). They assure me that the Hensley family owned and operated that successful restaurant for 20 years.

But for the entire time that I have lived in Yuma, this spot's been cursed. It has hosted Mi Playita, TJ’s Marisquero, Viejo Loco, Small Fries, Rusty Spoon, Spanky's Chophouse, The Farmhouse, and probably some others I can't remember. Now it has been reborn as Crouse’s Flat Top Grill:

Inside, the decor is clean and minimalist. There are tables of various sizes and not a lot of decoration on the walls:

There is also a small bar area:

The minimalist ambience with hard flat surfaces means that it gets loud when the tables are full. And because of the food, these days it has been getting loud alot.

For example, just look at this pulled pork dinner:

The bread grilled up crunchy, the beans decent, the battered fries nicely crisp, and the pile of pulled pork magnificent:

The meat tasted every bit as good as it looks in that picture– charred, smoky, rich, with a nice meaty chew.

In fact, it was a pulled pork sandwich on my first visit to Flat Top Grill that convinced me that the kitchen could put out stuff that was seriously wow:

There's a whole lot of good on that plate. The pulled pork, of course, was amazing. The tangy sweet barbecue sauce staying in the background where it belonged. The fresh coleslaw added crunch. The whole thing was so big, that I turned it into two open faced sandwiches just to get it into my mouth, and I still ended up taking leftovers home (our dog was delighted).

Even the mac salad – the sandwiches come with your choice of side – was outstanding. Abundant diced sweet/sour pickles, shredded cabbage, and small cubes of cheese gave the salad a complexity of textures and tastes. Very enjoyable.

Speaking of sides, for two dollars extra you can get maybe the best onion rings in town:

These homemade rings are the standard by which all other onion rings should be judged. The breading was outstanding – the exterior had a crispness that gave way to a firm chew. Inside, the onion slices themselves were sweet and flavorful. The only shortcoming, a lack of equally incredible dipping sauce.

The cheeseburger with extra crispy fries was another tasty lunch:

This day, the battered french fries had an nicely seasoned crackly crisp exterior wrapped around a pillow soft interior. The half pound burger was obviously hand formed and coarsely ground on the premises – great texture. The pickles were sweet/sour, slightly spicy, and nicely crunchy. A good burger that would have been great if it had not been slightly overcooked, so there was no moist pink center to the patty.

The chicken Club was another good sandwich:

The chicken was nicely grilled and seasoned, the bacon chewy and flavorful. If only the avocado slices had been riper and creamier the sandwich would have approached perfection.

Speaking of perfection, it's hard to imagine a better red chile cheeseburger than this open faced example:

The picture does not do justice. In my years, I have eaten dozens of versions of this truck stop/diner standard. Back in the day, my parents’ eatery served a good version, topped with my dad’s recipe chili. The Crouse’s is in a different league entirely. Even with beans, the red chile is deeply flavored and rich. Everything oh my god good.

One more example of the really tasty food at Flat Top Grill, the tri-tip sandwich:

The potato salad is fine if not spectacular and the split ciabatta roll was pretty ordinary. On the other hand, the tri-tip, grilled over oak, Santa Maria style, was rich, tender, and smoky. And look at all that meat. Three slices were plenty for the sandwich, so I took two of them home (happy dog again). Also notice that there is no mayo, mustard, ketchup, cheese, or sauce on the bread. The tri-tip is rich and fatty enough that the sandwich – just roll, lettuce leaf, and meat – needed nothing else. Wow again! – or as the dog would say, Bow Wow!

With the opening of Flat Top Grill, I think the Crouse family has finally killed the curse.

Oh, Those Salad Days: The Man Salad - Iron Pig Alehouse

Man, it's hitting the low 90's here, even near the shore in San Diego. Nothing heavy for us....we just wanted a nice salad. My current favorite is the "Man Salad" from Iron Pig Alehouse. I'm not overly fond of the Barbecue here and the sauce is not really to my liking either. But put some of that normally dry and mealy brisket in a salad, with pickled onions, goat cheese, French fries (!), smoked Portobello mushrooms (something I've been doing for a couple of years, it's great), and arugula....suddenly you have my current favorite salad. It is indeed a "Man Salad" ($12.99).

What's nice is that the vinaigrette doesn't over-power any of the components of the salad and that it's not "over-dressed". It has that great sour-smoky-bitter-mild sweetness-saltiness that is both satisfying and refreshing at the same time.

Also, happy hour (3-6 pm Mon - Fri) with half off select beers is not bad either....though you won't be getting any discount on sours and Belgians.....though ordering a Staffe Hendrick Quad it was pretty over-the-top and perhaps not the wisest thing to do n a hot day like today. In our opinion there's two thing to get here...the salad and the smoked wings....though the wings have been much too salty on our last couple of visits.

Iron Pig Alehouse
1520 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

So with the temps hitting the 90's....what have you been eating?

Ranchwood BBQ and Catering (La Mesa)

You are here: mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog.  Kirk has been working a bit more than usual and Ed (from Yuma) has been enjoying life.  Cathy is writing this short post. 

It's still unusually humid and hot; neither The Mister nor I want to cook.  The other day we stayed close to home, driving on side streets until we got into La Mesa just looking for a small, quick bite. We didn't even use 'air conditioned comfort' as a criterion.

The old brick and mortar location of Pubcakes closed at the end of last year and Ranchwood BBQ took its place.  Ranchwood had only been a catering business  for years and this location is now the storefront as well as catering.   We parked on El Cajon Boulevard and walked in. 

(FYI, Pubcakes exists in a way; they sell craft beer cake mix, (you can make cupcakes at home using beer as the liquid). The mix is sold at specialty markets around town, including Seisels and Iowa Meat Farms {Pubcakes website}.The small storefront holds two picnic benches inside and some small tables out front.  There are several bar stools strewn around.  A lot of the orders are 'to go'. 

That is the entire menu above the counter in that second photo.   The meat is smoked here, behind the building.  We were here one day just after opening (11 a.m.; closed on Monday) and all of the menu was available. Deciding we were going to share and being unable to agree on what, we chose the Cowboy Plate ($13.99).  Two meats and two sides...and two slices of white bread.The sides we always choose seem to be cole slaw and baked beans.  The slaw was good: fresh, crispy, cool and just creamy enough...no real spices added.

The beans...ah the root beer baked beans. Tasty and different.  Two types of beans, onion, celery and maybe some bell pepper... and a creamy slightly tangy sauce which had a faint undertone of the sassafras, vanilla and other flavors of a good root beer.  These were different and tasty beans.  As you can see, these sides were quite large. 

There are other sides we could've chosen: fries, rings, mashed potato, veggies, regular and a chipotle potato salad and house made chips. 

Our two meats? Brisket (we would rather have fatty Brisket than lean Tri-Tip) and Pulled Pork.  Yes, that portion is large; it weighed more than a pound. 

Both meats were cooked low and slow, so the meat was very tender.  The beef was lightly covered with a mustard based sauce and the whole portion (pork and beef) with the BBQ sauce.  

I was happy trying pieces of meat without any sauce, and got only a light smoke flavor from the pork.  The sauce was complimentary to the meats, yet not needed.

We will be returning to this locally owned business to try out other meats and menu items.

Ranchwood BBQ and Catering 7229 El Cajon Blvd San Diego 92115 Website Closed Monday open Sun, Tues-Thurs 11-8:30, Fri-Sat 11-9

Iron Pig Alehouse

This post really underlines why I like to make multiple visits to places when possible. It's not always practical. But if a place shows promise, I try to visit more than once if possible. Iron Pig is a good example, though sometimes it takes a while.

Back in November, Iron Pig Alehouse opened in PB; you can read Kirbie's post on the place. soon after opening, I visited with a friend of mine.....

And while the service was nice and the beer selection decent; I thought the meal left a lot to be desired.

From the nicely flavored but rubbery skinned smoked wings, to the baby backs with a decent rub, but quite dry and mealy texture, to the mushy brisket. The sauce seemed what my friends would call "competition sauce".....tasting like a doctored up base. Not bad mind you, just quite generic.

And yet, there seemed some potential here; the flavor of the wings were quite good........

So it took me six months to convince my biggest BBQ critic, the Missus ("your rubs is too bitter"...."the ribs you made are too dry"......."that pork butt needs to be smoked a bit longer") to check out Iron Pig. And we're glad we did.

Take a look at this version of the smoked wings ($9.99).

Nice and crisp, smoky, perhaps edging on being too salty, but I'll never complain about anything being too smoky. The wings were also moist and tender....just about perfect for us.

Of course the Missus "needed" a salad....sigh.....but, She made the right choice in ordering the "Man Salad" ($12.99).

Our Server/bartender was awesome.....she actually warned us that the "salad has French fries on it....and some folks take exception to that!" Really? It's ok to have fries in the burrito, but not in a salad? This was a huge salad. The blue cheese, brisket (much better than previously encountered), and arugula worked really well for us.

The only item we both didn't care for were the rib tips. I'm a big rib tip fan....I love maneuvering around the chewy cartilage, through all that rich fatty tissue, and the burnt crust for that perfect bite. This was too mushy, mild, and frankly ruined by all that sauce. You really didn't get the joy of having a nice rib tip. Perhaps I'm in the minority, but crunchy, crusty, fatty, rib tips just do well on their own with sauce on the side.

Overall, we had a nice meal. The service was very friendly....actually, I wish I got the name of our bartender/server. She was awesome. I'm sure we'll be back...especially since most draft beers are half price during Happy Hour. I need to have those wings again.....just to see....which version is the norm.

Iron Pig Alehouse
1520 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109