JP23 BBQ Smokehouse
101 S. Harbor Blvd.
Fullerton, CA 92832
Barbecue could be the "it" food of 2014. So many barbecue restaurants have been opening up that OC is starting to resemble Texas or the Carolinas. Okay, maybe that is stretching it a bit, but a rash of barbecue joints has recently opened up. Famous Dave's are popping up all over. There's Fred's BBQ in Orange, Leadbelly's is now open in the old Shortstop BBQ location in Fullerton, and also in Fullerton is a restaurant celebrating their first anniversary this month, JP23 BBQ Smokehouse.
JP23 is located in Downtown Fullerton, right in the middle of all the action, on the corner of Harbor and Commonwealth. If you remember where the dreary club Church was, this is in the same spot. I never understood how the Church stayed in business as long as it did. Every time we walked by, there was never anyone in the place. Now that JP23 has taken over, it's a much more vibrant spot. You would think that with 43 TVs, this would scream sports bar, but sports bars usually conjure up mediocre finger foods, lackluster burgers, and pretty dull drinks. JP23 wants you to consider them more of a "sports restaurant." Where food does not take a back seat to watching a game with your buddies.
We were recently invited to try JP23 by General Manager Adrienne Bennett, whom we met about two years ago at another restaurant event. She came to JP23 two months ago and has been busy. She is hiring staff like crazy, working on overhauling the wine list and hiring a new chef. As with many restaurant general managers, she's working long hours with minimal days off. We were excited to see what she and JP23 had in store for us that night.
Arriving at JP23 just after 6PM, the sweet aroma of barbecue hits you as you walk in the door here. We were seated immediately, and many people were already enjoying their dinners. We sat in a very comfy booth with many TVs showing the Duck's pregame show. I had a feeling we were in for a great night. The menu here is broken up; as you would imagine, many barbecue restaurants do things. Appetizers, salads, burgers, and sandwiches, then the main event, the barbecue meats, headline things. We were pretty hungry after making the trek up from Irvine to get here. Let's see how things turned out for us at JP23.
There were plenty of appetizers here, but most incorporated meat into them. I knew I would have my fair share of their barbecue, so we went with the Smoked Artichoke Dip ($7.95). This was a delicious version of the classic spinach and artichoke dip. It's not too rich, and the smokiness came through. I also liked the cheddar cheese on top of the dip, which was nice. This came with their homemade tortilla chips, which they make here every day. Thicker than your usual tortilla chip, these held up to the dip without breaking off. An excellent start to our meal.
Katie also started off with a JP23 House Salad ($5.95). Their house salad comprises a spring lettuce mix, arugula, Roma tomatoes, shallots, and Parmesan cheese tossed with a balsamic vinaigrette. This pretty good-sized dinner salad used fresh produce, but the dressing really set this apart for Katie. It had some garlic undertones and a good amount of tanginess. Just as she polished off this salad, the entrees made their way to our table.
You would probably not expect to see pasta dishes on the menu at a barbecue restaurant, but Katie was excited to have Linda's Pasta ($12.95). The menu proclaims that this is the owner's home favorite and one of Katie's now as well. This dish starts with penne pasta, smoked sausage, grilled chicken, peppers, sundried tomatoes, shallots, and a Cajun cream sauce. This came out of the kitchen smoking hot, and Katie had to let it sit for a minute or two. Once cooled, she really enjoyed this decadent dish. The chicken was tender, with plenty of sausage, and the Cajun seasoning popped with flavor. The heat started off slowly with this, but with each bite, it became much more prevalent. This was a good-sized serving, which Katie could not finish, so I had the rest for lunch the next day.
As with all barbecue restaurants I eat at, I almost always gravitate towards a combo plate on my first visit. It makes the most sense so you can get an idea of what's the best for subsequent visits. JP23 offered a BBQ Two Meat Combo Platter ($27.95), which I also added a Kentucky Hot Link to this meal. This was a big plate of food. What I liked about the barbecue here was that it came out with no sauce. I always feel that barbecue slathered in a sauce hides something. You don't really get an authentic taste of the meat. It also allows you to add the right amount of sauce for your preference. I'll talk about the sauces next, but my observations of the meats were that they were all solid. The brisket was my least favorite, as it was a little inconsistent, with some dry pieces in the middle, but the ends were tasty and showed great promise. The hotlink had a smoky flavor, was juicy, and could stand independently. The best of the bunch was the half rack of baby back ribs. These were very tender, as the meat came off the bone in big hunks, perfect for dipping into the sauces. Real good ribs here.
JP23 has four barbecue sauces to offer, which are brought to your table to decide what you are in the mood for. The four sauces loosely represent four geographic areas of barbecue hot spots. The Chipotle Pepper Sauce is supposed to conjure up Texas, while the Citrus Bang BBQ sauce, for some reason, is supposed to represent Kansas City barbecue. JP23's signature sauce is a Berry Bourbon Spice and is said to express a California barbecue. The last one was the Same Ole BBQ Sauce, which is more of a standard sauce that you would see in southern barbecue. Going in, I thought the chipotle one would be my favorite, but the citrus sauce got my attention on this visit. I'm not much of a citrus fan, but the citrus popped in this sauce and went well with the meats. My second favorite was the Same Ole BBQ sauce, which had a nice mellow flavor without trying to do too much. It was simple, great tasting, and complimented the meats without overwhelming your taste buds. I also have to mention one other sauce that we had. Our visit to JP23 was during OC Cocktail Week, and Chef Eric made a special sauce for the event, which was excellent. The Siracha Cherry BBQ sauce was so good. This is the one that I had packaged up so I could enjoy it with my leftovers. It started sweet, then really packed a punch. Before I realized it, I had gone through two glasses of iced tea and could not wait for more of that sauce. I still have a little left in my fridge that I am saving for a special occasion.
Not taking a backseat to the meats here, the sides at JP23 can not be ignored. Adrienne told us they had the best Collard Greens in OC, so we had to try them. She was right. These were some great greens. It was not overly soupy but still firm, and with the little hunks of bacon and other meats in here, the greens really picked up the smokiness. This is a definite must-get when choosing a side item at JP23. The Mac and Cheese was also a winner. Their version included bacon throughout the bowl, and I liked the cheese layer placed under the broiler to provide a nice crunchy crust. On the way home, Katie could not stop raving about the Cornbread here. She was enamored with the simplicity of it. It was not overly sweetened but had hints of honey and corn, negating the need for butter. Since our visit, she has mentioned going to Fullerton for this cornbread, which I am sure we will do soon.
Chef Eric allowed me to cross something off of my bucket list on that night. I had mentioned that I wanted to get a picture of their smoker, and there was nice looking pork butt that was ready to be taken out. He grabbed some of this, which shredded at the merest of touch, and gave some to me. I have watched all the cooking shows where the host gets to pick at the meat straight out of the smoker and always makes that "oh yeah" face. It was my turn to make that face tonight. This was delicious. Very tender, and it made me glad I was not a chef because I would never be able to part with the meat after tasting it right out of the smoker. Thanks for this great opportunity, Chef Eric.
Katie and I were excited about our visit to JP23 BBQ Smokehouse. Everything we had on this night was a winner, and things will continue to move that way with Adrienne and Chef Eric at the helm. They are working on a dessert menu, and the regular menu will also be going through some changes. I'm hoping that one of those changes will be having Siracha-cherry barbecue sauce added to the menu, but no pressure, guys. We are happy that barbecue restaurants are sprouting up all over OC, and it's an added bonus when it's a good barbecue, like at JP23 BBQ Smokehouse.
Thanks go out to Adrienne and Chef Eric for the invite to JP23. We enjoyed talking with you guys and getting a sneak peek at what is coming for your restaurant. We are excited to come back again soon. We would also like to thank all the servers and waitstaff we encountered on this visit. You guys really made us feel comfortable and met all of our expectations. Thanks again.
For more information about JP23 BBQ Smokehouse, check out their website here: https://www.jp23.com/
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