Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que
13122 Jamboree Road
Irvine, CA 92602
We have been on a real barbecue kick lately. My friend at work was traveling to Texas and wanted me to research the best barbecue joints he should visit. After looking at many pictures and descriptions of these wonderful Texas barbecue restaurants, I was in the mood to have some barbecue here at home. I called my parents, and they met us for an impromptu dinner at Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que in Irvine.
I had never been to a Famous Dave's before. They have 173 units operating in 32 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates. They have two spots in OC: this Irvine one and one a few blocks away from South Coast Plaza. The Irvine location took over the shuttered Opah spot and is nestled right next to the busy BJ's Restaurant at the corner of Irvine and Jamboree. They have been in business here for nearly two years.
As we were waiting for my parents to arrive, as they were uncharacteristically late on this Friday evening, Katie and I stayed near the front of the restaurant, watching the antics in this busy corner of the Irvine Marketplace Shopping Center. This lady was pulling in and out of a parking space about thirty times, a space that was obviously too small for her huge SUV. Another couple of guys were yelling at each other over another parking space. As all this was happening, I noticed the absence of barbecued meats wafting through the air in front of Famous Dave's, which made me a little apprehensive about this meal.
Entering the Famous Dave's, I was surprised to find out that this was a full-service restaurant, not an order at the counter spot. For some reason, this made me happy. The restaurant is deceptively more enormous than it appears from the outside. There's a nice bar in front of the house, with several high-top tables facing three large TVs tuned to three different games this evening. A large, partially enclosed patio is also off the restaurant's side. Plenty of hanging light fixtures and exposed high ceilings provide a well-lit openness to the space, which is appreciated. Still no smoke or barbecued meat smell inside the restaurant.
There are plenty of choices on the Famous Dave's menu. They offer a plethora of combos, a family feast, burgers, sandwiches, and appetizers, and if you are into that sort of thing, they even have salads. We all quickly made our selections and waited for our food to come while keeping one eye on the Ducks game on the corner TV. Here's how it all worked out for us this evening.
My mom was adamant about trying these Onion Strings ($7.99), and I was not about to disappoint her. These flash-fried onion strings came out with a delicious remoulade sauce, and it reminded me of the now-departed Awesome Blossom from Chilies or the Bloomin Onion at Outback. The top layer was the best, lacking the grease that fell to the bottom of the paper-lined basket. The size of this was perfect for the four of us.
My dad has a proclivity to ordering oddball things at barbecue restaurants. That held true this evening at Famous Dave's when he got these Texas Beef Brisket Tacos ($13.99). The brisket was joined in the grilled flour tortilla by red onion, jalapenos, cilantro, and pico de gallo. My dad liked this, but after my two bites, I thought these were a little boring and needed either a hot sauce or some barbecue sauce on the table to tie this all together. Even my dad's choices of sides were a little off this evening. He had the fresh fruit, which was two slices of watermelon, and the corn on the cob. Both were fresh but different from what I'd choose at a barbecue restaurant.
Like my dad being a wildcard when ordering in a barbecue restaurant, my mom is old and reliable. She always gets some version of a pulled pork sandwich and was true to form getting the BBQ Sliders ($7.99). Usually, these come with one pork, one hot link, and one pulled chicken version, but mom wanted them to be all pork, and Famous Dave's obliged. I was amazed at the amount of pork that these sliders included. They were overflowing with meat, and I knew right away my mom would only be able to eat half of them. The pork that I had was okay. It could have had more flavor to it and a little more tender. It was made better with a liberal dose of one of the six barbecue sauces available on each table. I liked the Devil's Spit and the Rich and Sassy as the best out of the bunch.
Katie also opted for sliders but got these BBQ Sliders ($11.99) off the sandwich portion of the menu. It gets you an extra sandwich and a side. She got these Memphis style, which means they top the sliders with coleslaw for an additional dollar. She got this because she wanted to try various kinds of their meat like me. She got one slider each of pulled pork, beef brisket, pulled chicken, and a hot link. She liked this plate but was not enamored with the hot link, which was the only one she did not finish. For her choice of one side item, she selected the Famous Fries, which she called very good, as they had an almost cottage fry kind of feel to them.
Yeah, I went big here. This massive pile of food is the Burnt Ends and Ribs with a Hot Link added ($24.98). With this combo, you get a fair amount of dice-sized burnt ends and a third of a slab of St. Louis spareribs. None of the meats here really wowed. The ribs were a little tough, and there was not too much meat on these bones. The burnt ends were equally disappointing, as they were tough and lacked any smoke flavoring. I'm not usually a big smoke guy, but I want at least a little included. The hot link was probably the best of the bunch, but even that fell flat in the heat department, and it had a grisly texture to the inside of it. The sides were solid. I really enjoyed Dave's Cheesy Mac and Cheese, which had a lot of heat. The Garlic Red Skin Mashed Potatoes were forgettable, with minimal garlic present but a good consistency to the potatoes. I was full when I got around to the Corn Bread Muffin, but it surprised me by how good it was. Moist, but not crumbly, just the way I like my cornbread.
Even though I had a big meal, I always try to save room for dessert. We ordered the Famous Hot Fudge Sundae ($5.49) and the Down Home Banana Pudding ($6.99). Willpower be damned. I really enjoyed the banana pudding the best. It was rich and creamy, with a good banana flavor, and the crunch from the vanilla wafers was a significant textural component of this dessert. The hot fudge sundae was better after we asked for extra hot fudge. The ice cream was okay, as the overabundance of whipped cream took over here.
The lack of a barbecue aroma here told me all I needed to know about this restaurant. If I had to describe Famous Dave's in one word, it would be mediocre. The sides simply outshined the meats here, and that's not a good sign for any barbecue restaurant. The meats we had were not even tender. The solid and varied sauces on the tables were very welcome, and if not for them, it would have been a much worse dining experience. The sides were good, with the mac and cheese, cornbread muffin, and fries all worth getting. Service this evening was excellent, and the management team was very hands-on and active while working in the dining room. Even this visit has not kept me from trying more barbecue restaurants. For now, I'll go back to salivating over pictures of Texas barbecue restaurants.
Out of five Velcro suits (because the most famous Dave I could think of was David Letterman, who wore a Velcro suit on his show in 1984), five being best and zero being worst, Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que gets two Velcro suits.
For more information about Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que, head to their website here: http://www.famousdaves.com/home
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