This past Sunday, Spring Street Smokehouse held their 2nd annual rib eating competition. A $30 entry fee gets you into the contest, where the winner had to eat the most ribs in 20 minutes. We weren't going to participate but we were present to support the owner, who is a good friend of a friend. The Smokehouse is located in Chinatown and very popular with the lunch crowd. In an area that's swarming with dim sum restaurants, the Smokehouse stands its ground.It's casual inside with a industrial feel. They also have a few TVs which makes this a great place to catch some sports. Each table is set with condiments and a loaf of bread.
The Smokehouse got a face lift a few years ago and added a great selection of craft beers to their inventory.
Smokey ribs fresh off out of the kitchen for the competition. They were actually really massive slabs.
The contestants were hard at work, breaking down the slab. Apparently, the key is to eat it slow and steady. We saw one guy plow through 3/4 of a slab but halfway through the competition, he started to sweat profusely and looked like he was about to gag. Many contestants couldn't even get through half a slab and gave up even before time was over.
The winner (who is a friend's husband) was last years runner-up. This year, he ate 16 ribs FTW. In addition to having his name on the board, he also received a tour and tasting at Firestone Brewery, gift certificate to the Smokehouse, and t-shirts and hats.
Love this contestant's shirt - People Eating Tasty Animals. Very apropos.After the contest, we sat down for lunch and ordered a few items.
Smokehouse Chili. A hearty portion with chunks of beef and beans, and top with shredded cheese and zingy diced onions. The chili was served with fresh crusty french bread.
Cracklins. If you've only had the packaged kind from the gas station, you're missing out. These cracklins were warm and airy, and seasoned with pork rub which had a sweet and salty flavor combination. But beware, they are very addictive.
Smoked hot wings. I'm not much of a BBQ sauce fan so we ordered this with the sauce on the side. The chicken wings were finger licking good. They had a nice char to it but the meat was tender and smoky.
This was what's left of my chicken bones. If there's a competition for cleanest bones, I think I'll win.
Pork Spare Ribs - Select lean, juicy pork ribs, seasoned with the Smokehouse special rub, slowly smoked and served with homemade BBQ sauce.The full rack has 12 ribs, the photo was taken after a few of us had grabbed some ribs. They also serve ribs in a 4 rib basket or a half rack. The BBQ sauce is more of a spicy vinegary sauce (Carolina style) vs. tomato based. The meat was moist and tender. I prefer to eat my ribs sans sauce so that I can get the full flavor of the pork. Thankfully, the ribs at the Smokehouse were smoky and flavored well so it was tasty on its own. I was quite impressed with how juicy it was, and how it tasted great even with minimal sauce. The portion was also very large. Initially I thought it'd be easy to eat a whole rack but the ribs were very meaty and filling.
Sampler Plate - 2 Spare Ribs, Hot Link, Chicken & Brisket, and a side. This is a great way to get a flavor of everything.
Burnt Ends - Crispy trimmings from a Beef Brisket.The next time you're in Chinatown, walk away from the Chinese restaurant. You can get that any other time. Instead grab a brisket sandwich or some ribs at the Spring Street Smokehouse. And wash all that down with a frosty glass of Abita.
Spring Street Smokehouse
640 North Spring St.,
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 626-0535
www.sssmokehouse.com
Bandera is always crowded and waits can be up to an hour. Few people know that you can make reservations (oops, maybe I should keep this to myself...) because Houston's doesn't take reservations. If you forget to make a reservation or if you're at Bandera at a whim, it's still fun to grab a seat at their wraparound bar which is a great spot for people-watching. The clientele is older, sophisticated Brentwood crowd but I did see Josh Duhamel sitting at the bar once, waiting for his takeout order. *swoon* It's dimly lit inside with dark wood interior and wood beam ceilings. They have a pianist and live jazz playing on most nights.
Their menu focuses on rotisseries and grills and entrees are not that cheap and will run you in the high twenties to mid thirties. It's pretty tough to make a decision because I have so many favorites. I like their french dip, ribs, and their prime rib which is cooked perfectly but MASSIVE. Of course, I can never stray from my favorite dish, the BBQ beef ribs ($28). It's not listed on the menu but they always offer it.
BYOB and no corkage. Love it!
Nice Little salad was a simple salad that was dressed with citrus vinaigrette and topped with avocado, tomatoes and goat cheese. It really is a little side salad and resulted in only a couple leaves between the three of us. I enjoyed the dressing which was made in-house, and was light and refreshing. The croutons were made with cornbread so it added a sweetness to the salad.
BBQ beef ribs, we ordered two to split between three of us
We had to order another side of fries because they were gone in seconds (my fault).
Initially we had planned to get takeout and eat at The Surly Goat but I was pleased to see that Baby Blues had its own bar section, so we decided to dine-in. They also have a sit down restaurant area if you prefer not to dine at the bar.
I knew I was going to be consuming a lot of beer after dinner so I started with a glass of wine.
To start, we shared the tackle box which included 2 grilled shrimp, 2 hush puppies, 2 fried green tomatoes and 4 wings. It's a great way to sample a bunch of appetizers. The hush puppies were delicious and were even better when paired with the honey butter and cinnamon dipping sauce. I could have popped a bunch more in my mouth. The grilled shrimp was also delicious with a squeeze of lime and the creamy sauce that was to die for. The wings were pretty good too and were smoked and grilled.
1/2 rack of Baby back ribs and a side of fried okra.
Ace in the Sleeve: Memphis ribs, catfish and shrimp combo with sauteed okra, cole slaw and cornbread
After our meal, we walked a few steps over to The Surly Goat.
The Surly Goat is brought to you by Ryan Sweeney (Verdugo) and Adolfo Suaya (Boho) who carefully select and rotate unique craft beers and many local microbrews. Sweeney isn't just a self proclaimed beer expert, he's in fact a certified cicerone. Unfortunately, I wished he was working the bar because the two female bartenders didn't seem to be passionate or knew a lot about beers. They looked like they belonged in a scene-y Hollywood club.
They have 27 beers on tap and a cask TBD.
Stuffed goat head on the wall.
J got the Pliny the Elder from Russian River because he likes IPA, I went for the Craftsman Saison.
Next round, we ordered the Kern River Class V Stout and Lips of Faith Transatlantique Kriek (New Belgium Cherry Lambic). I sampled the Taps barley wine. Yuck, I didn't like.
After a string of sweet beers, I went for the Wienstepaner Hefe and J got the Speakeasy Public Enemy Pilsner.
They had foosball and shuffleboard tables. Danger!
We ended the night with another round of drinks (I ended with a glass of wine, probably shouldn't be mixing drinks which explains the headache this morning). The Surly Goat is a fun bar. It's a great spot for beer lovers. I liked that there was a good representation of Cali beers. There were so many beers to try but so little space in the belly. We agreed that the beers at The Surly Goat were far more superior than the ones that were served at