Bludso's Bar & Cue makes for happy Southerners in LA

           The promise of BBQ in the LaLa land of juice cleanses and salads is music to our Southern ears. But we've been fooled before (we're looking at you Baby Blues) and therefore we cautiously approached Bludso's Bar & Que with only mild curiosity as to not get our hopes up too high. Bear in mind we're all born and bred Southerners and tough judges when it comes to our version of soul food. With that being said, to say that we were blown away would be an understatement. We decided to go all out and order the Large Tray to ensure we got to try a litte bit of everything and boy did we make the right decision. The large tray comes with: 1 pound of each meat: pulled pork, brisket, ribs, chicken, rib tips, and two hot links, as well as every side: collards, mac and cheese, potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, bread and butter pickles, and cornbread. It was a Southern feast and I could barely keep the wolves at bay long enough to snap a quick pic.

It quickly became apparent that this was no imitation BBQ joint; this was the real deal and Southern through and through. It took much debating but we finally settled on our favorites, the pulled pork, brisket, coleslaw, collard greens, and the cornbread. That might seem like a long list of favorites, but I assure you that each one certainly deserves to be on the list. Here is a review of each component on the tray:

 

-The pulled pork was so juicy and tender that I opted to not even add the sauce to it. Instead I ate it with the coleslaw and it was a dynamite combination. Most everyone else used the sauces (mild and hot both came on the side) which they loved. They are ketchup based sauces per Texas and Kansas City, but in case you prefer more of a vinegar taste they have spicy vinegar shakers on each table as well.

 

- The brisket was phenomenal and had a beautiful layer of the fat cap on each piece of meat. It was cooked to perfection and had an excellent smoky flavor to it.

 

- The chicken was tasty but it seemed unfair to put it up against any of the pork products because they were just in a league of their own. But I will say that the chicken was very juicy and they got a nice smoked char on the outside of the chicken. It was reminiscent of Beer Can chicken, for all of you deep South folks.

 

- The ribs were good but the meat did not fall off the bone as much as we expected, so we couldn't rate them as high as we could have. Still a great flavor though.

 

- My only complaint from the meat portion of the tray was from the rib tips. Unfortunately they were pretty dried out and difficult to eat. If you had to skip one thing from the menu I would definitely skip these.

 

          Now on to the sides! Some BBQ spots focus so much on the meat (not necessarily a bad thing) that they overlook the sides and don't put as much effort into them. Well fear not, that is not the case here. The slaw was a classic, mayo based slaw that was a great balance with the meat, the collards were melt in your mouth fantastic and you could tell were cooked down alongside a ham hock, and the corn bread pieces were like little pillows of heaven that didn't need a lick of butter because they were as moist as could be. The potato salad and the pickles were decent, the mac and cheese was good but a little separated, and the beans were a little too runny for my taste. The meal was also served with a basket of plain white bread, a Texan tradition, but no one seemed to touch their white bread once they got a taste of the corn bread. It was so good and so sweet that it doubled as dessert. In fact my only regret of the meal was that we didn't save enough room for dessert. After speaking with Noah, the new found secret keeper of Bludso's BBQ recipes, and hearing that his mother is the proud maker of the desserts I knew we'd have to come back and make them a priority next time.

We also enjoyed the mint juleps on tap although they were fairly heavy on the Bourbon and the Texas margarita which was an interesting twist on a margarita since in had PBR in it.

The overall feel of the place is rustically homey with the majority of the seating being picnic tables and then dark wood booths lining the walls. The bar also seats a fair amount and the 6-8 flat screen TVs on the walls play mainly NBA basketball games or other sporting events. It's a festive atmosphere that seems to celebrate the South in every way from the food, the drinks, the ambiance, even down to the roll of paper towels on each table in anticipation of a messy meal.

 

Heads up that they don't take reservations, but it's a fun bar to patronize while you wait and it adds to the quaint, neighborhood feel that they already seem to have accomplished in the matter of weeks since they opened. Bludso's Bar & Que is located at 609 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90036 and they have valet parking.

Website: http://barandque.com/index.html

Menu: http://barandque.com/menu.html

Twitter: @bludsosbar

 

BBQ restaurant rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (but I look forward to going back in the coming weeks to see if they've perfected their ribs and rib tips, which would easily bump them into the category of 5 stars.)

 

Well done to Noah and the whole Bludso's team! We are glad you decided to branch out from your Compton location and we're excited to call you our new neighborhood BBQ joint!

 

The end result: