lunch review - todd's cookhouse bar-b-que

i was out & about, looking for lunch in all the wrong places. and then it hit me that a new bbq place had opened in clovis. i loves the bbq so i drove over a few streets to get some.

like many local bbq places, they have a order at the counter system, with the menu on some large boards & hand held menus - worked fine, and they had enough counter help to keep it moving along. their staff was friendly and it took about 10 minutes after ordering to get my food.

i ordered the 2 item combo - brisket & sausage. it comes with 2 sides + bread. with a soda & tax it was just over $18. not terrible price, but a little more than some other local places.

the brisket was very tender, and that made me quite happy. it had a good flavor.  but what really did stand out to me was the tenderness - a lot of places fail at this. i could easily cut it with my plastic cutlery.

the sausage had a nice casing, and still had a good snap to it when i bit down. now, i have to admit that the sausage also confused me a bit. yes, it is clearly labelled as sausage, but in my head i figured it would still be a hot link or something spicy. nope, just a sausage. tasted good, but nothing special.

onto some other details: sauce - they have their own sauce, i think they call it's todd's memphis sauce or something like that. it's a sweet sauce, that has a slight kick to it. good, and they put a little on the meat itself and give you some on the side. i'm pretty sure that all of their meats are cooked without it, or with very little. i'm fine with it that idea, because a lot of times bbq places will hide their meat in too much sauce.  but what really stood out to me was what was missing from both the brisket & the sausage - any smokiness. now, i don't need or want to be overwhelmed by fake smoke flavoring, or for it to taste like i'm eating a campfire, but really, there was nothing about these meats to tell me that this meat was actually barbecued. and i also didn't see any smokers or grills outside (i could've missed it, or they could prep off site).  for example, the brisket, which was super tender, really lacked any sense it being barbecued, any smell or taste of being slow cooked on any sort of wood.

final bits - the sides. i had the hush puppies & the onion rings. both were good, and complemented the meal well enough. they had several others, and these sides probably are a little better suited to some of their other meals, but i liked them.

give it like 3/5 stars

• 1414 Clovis Ave
  Clovis, CA 93612

lunch review: watts family grill

good, solid bbq restaurant. i went there and ordered the watt's riot to go with some friends before one of the nfl games. i was happy that they were able to accommodate on the spot, and the guys behind us ordered the same without any problem.

the ribs were decent, but i've had a little better lately. the pork was amazing and tender. the chicken was decent, tri tip was good. what really stood out to me was the baked beans. they were great. almost like a chili bean.

the watts riot is a big meal, that they say serves 4. i think with all the sides and meat you could easily serve 5 or 6. i'm a big boy, and the guys with me are pretty big eaters as well and we had left overs.

good place, and it's pretty close to my neighborhood so i'll be back to try some of their combos or their chicken & waffles.

1448 N Blackstone Ave
Fresno, CA 93703
(559) 268-6800

smokin them bones

i'll say right off the bat that this is probably a 5 star place, but i'm going 4 stars because i've only been there once and i want to give it another try to really confirm that 5th star. but, really, this is a five star place in my opinion.

i had heard about a new bbq spot in town and wanted to try it out, and since i had some free time today i thought i'd go find it. and really, you've got to find it. to track down the location i googled 'smokin them bones fresno' and the only worthwhile hit was something on twitter - fortunately someone i know so i knew that the directions were legit - on mckinley east of first. and, that's just where it is, on mckinley, just past the shopping center with popeyes & carl's jr, on the right if you're headed east. there is a small, 8 or so car lot + street parking.



i came in and it was just me and the staff, but by the time i was finished with lunch the place had several customers. the staff had a friendly report with all the customers, and two guys came in and had tracked the chef down from another bbq spot he had been at. the service was very quick and the restaurant was nice and clean.

i surveyed the the menu and of course decided to get ribs. originally i ordered the rib dinner, but switched to the rib sandwich - 2 ribs on bread + 1 side. for my side i ordered the cajun friend rice. the rice was my first surprise. when my order came up it looked lovely, and the rice was very tasty. it had rice, sausage, squash, onion and maybe a few other little things. very good tasting.



the ribs had a light sauce coating but were very good. the meat was super tender and easily came off the bone. honestly, i want to go back and order a whole rack or more. very good.

i noticed that they make (& i think sell) their own sauces - bbq & hot sauce. i hadn't used the hot sauce with my meal, so i put some on my fork just to taste - another nice thing. not too hot, good smokey spice flavor.

overall, great experience, and i'll definitely go back.

open mon-sat 10 a.m.- 7 p.m.
3298 e. mckinley, fresno, 93703
559.237.1700

steak and broccoli lunch

some days when i'm home for lunch i think, "i just don't want another quesadilla or sandwich. i think i'll make something different and better." today was one of those days.

so, as i did things this morning, i decided to thaw out a steak i had in the freezer and to grill it up. i had recently heard adam perry lang on both the adam carolla podcast and the b.s. report talking about bbq so i had some ideas and techniques i wanted to try out. i also had recently been to lowes and bought some grill prep pads that you use after cleaning the grill but before you put the meat on.

after thawing the meat, i rubbed in salt, pepper and a little garlic powder on both sides. i then took the meat to the grill and put it on. in the past, i've stuck to the idea that steaks you don't want to turn a ton of times. in fact, i usually would turn a steak like this once. adam perry lang disagrees, and does it more than i do, and did today. i seared one side of the meat for 30ish seconds, then flipped it to let it cook on the other side. in the mean time, i went back inside and grabbed a few things to put on after the next flip. when i came back, it had been a minute or two and was ready to flip. i turned the meat, and on the up side gave it some more salt and pepper, and a few slices of butter. i let the meat cook a short while, and repeated this process once more on the next flip.

as the meat progressed, i wondered what in my fridge would go well with this and still not be an overly big lunch? i looked and saw a bit of leftover broccoli that we had steamed for dinner two nights ago. i popped it into the microwave and let it heat back up. as that finished i went out and pulled the meat off the grill and onto a plate to rest. i then came back inside and paired the steak with the broccoli florets.

i felt it needed one last thing, and remembered some blue cheese crumbles that we bought for use with salad. admittedly, i am not really a big fan of blue cheese, but often enjoy it on steak. and, this particular cheese has ended up being pretty mild, which is good for me, not so good if you like it sharp. so, i took a handful of blue cheese crumbles and applied it liberally to the steak and broccoli. see here:



wow. this ended up being a really flavorful and enjoyable lunch. the one drawback was that the steak ended up being cooked a little longer than i generally prefer, but that could be remedied by having all my ingredients ready before and not doing minor prep work during the cooking. whatever. it was still good. and now i'm full, but not too full, and ready to get on with the rest of the affairs of my day.

big ced's famous bbq & cafe corazon - what a saturday!

check out my reviews of big ced's famous bbq and cafe corazon. (i yelped 'em as well.)

lunch review ribs & tips

okay, so i was looking for something different and new, but still on the edges of my neighborhood. i thought i had seen a place that was south of me, towards downtown. so, i went in search of. and i found it: ribs & tips. i almost feel bad about reviewing another place that's some sort of bbq...then again, i love bbq so i don't feel bad at all.

as i pulled up, the bbq outside was smoking away and it smelled nice. i came into the restaurant, which used to be some sort of chinese/thai buffet. it's a big space, with 10 or so booths and seats at least 40. it wasn't too busy, and it seemed that all the staff was in the back working. it took a moment to get helped. but after that things went smoothly. while i waited for service, one of the other customers told me how good the tri tip was. he wasn't sure if it was their marinade or what, but he said he really liked it. on his way out, he told another first time customer that they'll be back.

so, i perused the menu, and actually ordered the most expensive thing on the menu, the big sampler plate. i figured why not try all the meats o the menu and really get a good idea of their food. the sampler plate comes with chicken, ribs, and tri tip, along with 2 sides and bread. for my sides, i picked the potato salad and the ranch beans. i ordered @ 12:19 and my food was up by 12:26.

i started with the tri tip. wow. holy cow. this was good stuff. so flavorful. it was a tiny bit dry, and this made it just a little tough, but outside of that it was delicious.

the chicken, well, i'm not sure what piece i had. it looked like part of a breast & thigh. but the flavor was good. the sauce on it was a tangy, spicy sauce. good stuff.

the ribs were good and smoky. i'm glad i saved them for last to try, they were worth it. they were worth cleaning the bones as well as licking my fingers.

i appreciate that they had 3 different flavors of sauce & seasoning on the meats. or, at least they all didn't taste the same on each meat. because really, the sauce shouldn't be the same.

as for the sides, the roll was just a store bought type (i think) but it was good for soppin'. the potato salad was sorta bland, but not bad. the beans...now these were good. spicy, but not too hot, i ate them all.

for some, there may be some turnoffs to the restaurant. it's not a "classy" joint. it's not in the best neighborhood. but honestly, i've been to world famous (presidents & celebs eating there) bbq joints in kansas city that were in bad 'hoods. this place is totally manageable for everyone. others might be turned off by plastic silverware. i wasn't. and, most of their customers seemed to be to go orders. but, if this place stays open, it'll be a great bbq joint, right next to all the new downtown housing.

one final word, the website has an old address & phone # for them. and, yelp has an old address. not sure why, but they've been @ this locale since july 07.

ribs & tips
575 divisadero (at h street, next to the lampost)
222-4204

their hours are also sketchy. on the window they have 10am-2pm painted, their to go menu says 10-6 M-F. their website, i think, says something different.

go to my yelp review (which is exactly the same here & on fres fam because it's cross posted) and see pictures of the menu & food.