Getting the Lead Out to Get Some Great BBQ - CLOSED

Leadbelly's Barbecue

711 North Placentia Ave. 

Fullerton, CA 92831

There are some food genres that will always elicit a response from all of you readers. Pizza seems to be a hot topic, and I can always count on a boatload of comments when I write about burgers. Both of these seem to pale in comparison to the responses I get when I review a barbecue place, though.

It might be because there are so many genres of barbecue, which gets people sticking up for their favorites. There's the Texas variety, Carolina, whose vinegar-based sauces are also well represented, and no one can deny the allure of Kansas City barbecue. I get many responses from barbecue posts because good barbecue restaurants in Southern California are few and far between. Let's see if Leadbelly's could help cure our lack of good barbecue restaurants.

Leadbelly's is housed in the former Shortstop BBQ spot we visited two years ago. I'm not sure what happened to them, as we really liked their stuff, but Leadbelly's took over about 15 months ago, and they have received some glowing reviews on the blogs that I read and, of course, Yelp. If you are driving down Placentia Avenue, they are situated in the back of the shopping center that houses Pepe's and Jack In The Box.

We met my parents here at 11am on a recent Sunday morning. Even at this early lunch hour, their 12 or so tables were filled at one time or another during our stay. The dining area is a little on the small side but very comfortable. Four TVs showing sports, lots of wood, and some whimsical signs are part of the decor here. It might become a little cramped during busier times of the day, so be advised. Ordering is done at your table, and the menu, while manageable, has everything you would expect a barbecue restaurant to have on it. I was geared to try this place, so let's see what we ordered.

I had heard good things about the Loaded Pork Garlic Fries ($12), and I'm happy to report that all the hype about these was well deserved. This mound of fries was topped with pulled pork, bacon, Parmesan cheese, pork belly, pepper jack cheese, and chives, then served with a white gravy for dipping. This lived up to my mantra: if pork belly is in it, it has to be good. This was really tasty. The four of us had no problem polishing this off. The meats on this were so good that I knew we were in for a treat when our entrees would make it out of the kitchen. Surprisingly, the fries stayed crisp, even under the mound of humanity piled on them. The cheeses were good and did not get in the way of the meats. The gravy was the weakest part of this dish, but it was still so good. You definitely need to try this when coming to Leadbelly's.

Besides death and taxes, there's one other thing I'm sure of: if my mom's eating in a barbecue restaurant, she's definitely ordering a Pulled Pork Sandwich ($11). As you can see from this picture, they put a lot of meat on the sandwiches. The smoked pulled pork was moist, tender, and easy on the smokiness, which I like. I like the meat's natural flavor to be prevalent, not just smokiness. The sandwich usually comes with coleslaw, but my mom wanted it without. The brioche bun did an excellent job of keeping everything together, even after she added some barbecue sauce to it. The fries were decent, but much better when they had things piled on top of them, like our appetizer, which I can not stop thinking about. My mom left here with half of this sandwich for my dad's lunch the next day.

My dad selected the Smoked Tri-Tip Sandwich ($12.49) for his meal. Again, this had plenty of tri-tip, and the meat was moist and flavorful. My dad noticed the smokiness more with the tri-tip than with the pulled pork. Joining the meat in between the very well-made brioche bun was some pepper jack cheese, peppers, onions, and a spicy mustard. I feared all these flavors would clash, but my dad claims that was false. One of the best tri-tip sandwiches he has had. He decided to go for another side besides the french fries with the sandwich, so he opted for the Corn on the Cob for an extra dollar. The corn here is served more like an elote, but my dad wanted this stuff on the side. It came with plenty of chili powder, a house dressing, and what appeared to be cotija cheese. He only used a little of this but liked it well enough. He'd probably get a different side item on his next visit to Leadbelly's.

Katie got the same Tri-Tip Sandwich as my dad, but she added a fried egg to this for a dollar more. This made the sandwich richer and kept her satisfied all day long. She even skipped dinner on this night. The fried egg was done perfectly, so the yolk spilled out and coated a lot of the tri-tip. She also upgraded her side item to try the Jalapeno Mac and Cheese. This was a good version of this dish. The jalapeno did not overpower but hung out in the background; the bacon provided a nice smokiness that went well with the creamy cheese. An excellent side item.

As is my custom when eating most places, if a combo plate is offered, I will try it. I had the Three Meats Combo Plate ($19) this afternoon. I selected the Tri-Tip, the Spicy Pork Sausage, and the Burnt Ends. The best were the burnt ends. If these are available when you are here, get them. For those of you who don't know what these are, they are cut from the point part of the brisket, and these cubes are packed with flavor. One of the best pieces of barbecue I have ever had in my mouth. Yes, they were that good. The tri-tip was good as well. Moist had a small ribbon of fat running through it, providing even more flavor. Not overly smoky, the natural flavor of the meat came through. The spicy sausage with peppers and onions was good but could have been better. A good meatiness to the sausage, but I expected a little more heat here. I'd try the pork belly or pulled pork on my next visit. I had the BBQ Baked Beans and Creamed Corn for my two sides. The beans were the better of the two; they had little bits of meat in them and a delicious sauce coating the beans. The corn, which you can see on the plate above, was very soupy and missed the mark on the sweetness I was expecting, unlike Gulliver's creamed corn.

I was excited about our time at Leadbelly's. Even after this one visit, Leadbelly's has moved to one of my favorite barbecue places in OC. That appetizer and their burnt ends were enough to make me return here again soon. The other items we had this afternoon were good, and none of us really disliked anything we had on this visit. I've read some people grumbling about their barbecue sauce here. They have a house sauce and a spicy version, both of which were good, but with meats this fantastic, you will only use it sparingly. Our service this afternoon was solid; our waiter answered our questions and took great care of us. I'm looking forward to hearing how all of you like this place as well, so don't hesitate to comment or email me. Also, if you have a barbecue place we should hit up, let us know.

Out of five 12-string guitars (because that was an instrument of choice for blues legend Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter), five being best to zero being worst, Leadbelly's Barbecue gets 4 twelve-string guitars.

For more information about Leadbelly's Barbecue, go to their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Leadbellys-Barbecue/170803192946868