A Heritage We Can All Be Proud Of

Heritage BBQ

31721 Camino Capistrano

San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

Did you feel the culinary shift that happened in OC earlier this month? After over ten years of writing restaurant reviews, there has never been something really, really worthwhile for people that live north of Irvine to drive south on the 5 Freeway for. Yes, there have been some standouts, but nothing that has garnered the buzz that Heritage Barbecue has generated in just a few short weeks. 

Not to jump ahead or anything, but this will be the first 4 and a half star review I've had in the last four years, and one of only four that I've experienced in OC. That's out of 879 restaurants I have been to. Yes, I am a tough reviewer, but after so many years of doing this, it's really hard for a restaurant to distinguish itself, but Heritage Barbecue has done just that.   

Even with all of these praiseworthy words, I'm sharing with you, my dear readers, I know a lot of you won't go through the trouble of eating here. Yes, it is not a place where you can get your food and be on your way within 15 minutes. There's no online ordering, no delivery service, and there's only one way to experience Heritage Barbecue, wait in line. This is barbecue that you have to plan your whole day around. Like the big barbecue spots in Central Texas. Where you line up hours before they open and hope and pray that they do not run out of the meat you were hoping to get before getting up to the order window. 

I've had Heritage Barbecue one time before, at one of their many pop-ups that they had at breweries throughout OC. You can read that review by clicking here. To summarize, we waited two and a half hours, but they had run out of their brisket, and I was so famished when we reached the front of the line that I forgot to order the sausage that was available. The items that we did have were all pretty spectacular though, and I knew I'd get another chance to try them out when they opened their long-awaited brick and mortar a few miles from where I live. Talk about feeling like I hit the lottery. 

Heritage Barbecue is run by a husband and wife team, Brenda and Daniel Castillo. In the early days, they started as a catering company but eventually transitioned into doing pop-ups at local breweries. Wherever they went they had huge lines, gained a considerable following on social media, and got raves from customers that waited a long time to try their food. On weeks when they did not have events lined up, they went to Texas to learn even more from some of the greats of barbecue. 

Last year it was announced that they were going to be opening in San Juan Capistrano, but as is the case with restaurant openings, delays turned into months, but they finally opened in early August. They have a pretty prime spot, right near the train station, across from the mission, and situated right near the intersection of Ortega Highway and Camino Capistrano. Parking is not really an issue, as I parked at the train station and walked a short distance up the hill near their patio. 

Make note that they are closed on Monday and Tuesday each week. On Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays they open for service at 3, and on Saturdays and Sundays, they start selling their barbecue at noon. As with most barbecue, they have a limited amount of food that they can sell in a day, so they are open until they sell out. I'd suggest wearing a hat, sunscreen, having water handy, and maybe even bringing chairs while you wait. Capistrano Brewing does offer beer and other beverages to the people waiting in line, which saved me from overheating. 

On a recent Wednesday, I arrived at 2:20 and still waited 90 minutes to get up to the window. Most meats are served in half-pound incremates, with the exception being the sausages, which are sold singularly. They offer turkey breast, pork ribs, pulled pork, sausage, and brisket every day, with the much-coveted beef ribs served only on weekends. There's also an assortment of sides and baked bread to help round out your meal. Keep an eye out for their specials board which features some hidden gems that you won't want to miss. Let's see if this initial trip to Heritage Barbecue's new spot was just as good as when we had it earlier this year. 

We might as well jump right in with what is the star of the show, the meats. For both Katie and myself I ordered One Pound of Brisket ($30), a Half Pound of Pork Spare Ribs ($13), a Pound of Pulled Pork ($26), and Two Sausages ($12). The only thing I missed out on was the turkey, which will have to wait until next time. The brisket was the best I have had, with a ribbon of fat running alongside the top of it, a beautiful smoke ring, and a melt in your mouth tenderness. However much you plan on ordering, add an extra half-pound to your order, you won't be sorry. I actually liked the ribs the next best. An excellent rub on the outside and with just the slightest of pulls, the pork came off the bone easily. These are not the tiny ribs you get at most places. They were full of meat. The pulled pork was another winner, with an excellent mixture of textures from the bark, tender pork, and little bits of fat chopped into a perfect pile. The meats are not overly smoked, where that's all that you can taste, but it hangs out in the background allowing the meat to stand out. They change out their sausages daily, and on this particular day, they offered a Serrano and Cheddar Beef Pork Link and a Pork Linguisa. The cheddar cheese and serrano one was the better of the two. The marriage of the beef and pork in the sausage, along with the cheese made this delicious. It could have used a bit more of the serrano though. The linguisa was the weak link in this tray of meat, (sorry for the awful pun). I was not in love with the texture of it inside its casing. It was almost gristly, and the flavor did not pop like the other proteins. Onto the sides.  

In my experience, it seems like when a barbecue joint has excellent meat, they let their sides suffer, but that's not the case with Heritage Barbecue. Sides are served in half-pint containers, and I'd say they could feed one to two easily, but if you really like one of them, you're going to have no trouble inhaling one all by yourself. That's how I was with the Red White and Blue Potato Salad ($6), I did not want to share any with Katie. This gets its name from the cubed red potatoes, white pickled eggs, and the blue cheese crumbles spread throughout. It's also topped with bacon on top for added flavor. I loved the marriage of flavors in this. The burst of blue cheese in some bites, along with the creaminess of the potatoes and eggs, and the smokiness of the bacon made this the best potato salad I've had in a number of years. I'm getting two of these next time for sure. The Texas Trinity Chili ($6) was a special on this afternoon, and if it's available when you are here, you won't want to miss it. This meaty chili is made up of bits of brisket, sausage, and pork rib. A very hearty chili, and one you don't want to eat while wearing white, this had a depth of flavor that I was not expecting. The Classic Mac ($7) is made with cheddar and jack cheese and mixed with a mornay sauce and topped with a little chicharron. This is a pretty good mac and cheese, but as I ate it I kind of lost interest a bit. Maybe a little more of the topping would have kept me interested, but I will definitely try the one with chorizo and chiles on my next visit. 

To wrap things up, I got the Banana Bread Pudding ($7). This sweet little dish was a nice respite from all the savory items I had eaten earlier. It was not really a bread pudding, but more like pudding with sliced bananas and little bits of banana bread distributed evenly, and topped with candied pecans on top. Not an overly sweet dessert, but still it was a nice ending to any meal at Heritage Barbecue. 

Needless to say, I was beyond excited about this visit to Heritage Barbecue. Some might even say I'm a little obsessed. I have caught myself checking out their Instagram posts and stories very regularly, I find myself stalking their Twitter account to find out how long their line is, even though I have no plans to head over there, and whenever I'm asked about any new places I've tried, Heritage Barbecue is the first place that comes out of my mouth. Again, this is not the most convenient of restaurants to hit up, but trust me you will never think that Lucille's or Dickey's is great barbecue again. There's a reason there's always a line here, it's really just that good, and the people of South OC can count themselves lucky that Heritage Barbecue opened right in their own backyard. It's about time that people in North OC finally have a reason to venture south. 

Out of five trees, (because when you look back on your heritage, you are also looking at your family tree), five being best to zero being worst, Heritage Barbecue gets 4.5 trees. 

For more information about Heritage Barbecue, head to their website here: https://www.heritagecraftbbq.com/