Fire Breather BBQ
22722 Lambert St. #1702
Lake Forest, CA 92630
I have often used this blog to lament that there is no good barbecue where I live in South OC. The best is probably Wood Ranch, but the rest is really subpar. I've had a few decent meals at Lucille's, but most of the time, it's been, at best, mediocre. Dickey's was impressive when they first opened up here, but they have gone downhill fast. Bad to the Bone in San Juan gets a lot of love from people, but I've found their stuff to be bone dry like sandpaper going down. Texas BBQ on El Toro Road? Unedible.
When my good friend David asked where I wanted to head for dinner for my birthday, I recalled seeing Fire Breather BBQ when I picked up sandwiches at Philly's Best next door. The unmistakable aroma of barbecued meats hit my face when I entered to pick up a menu on that trip. It must have stuck with me because I told David we would meet at Fire Breather. Barbecue restaurants had burned me many times, so I did not come here with such high hopes. Big mistake.
We arrived at Fire Breather at 5:30 on a recent Friday evening. This is a casual barbecue restaurant. Ordering is done at the counter, and the food is brought out soon afterward. There are less than ten tables inside and a few small tables in front of this strip center restaurant. The decor inside is non-existent, except for the large wagon wheel with hanging lights in the center of the room and a wall with artificial turf fastened.
The menu at FireBreather is pretty sparse as well. They offer five kinds of meat for their one-, two-, or three combo meat plates. There are also two sandwiches, (brisket and pulled pork), five sides, and the rest of the menu is rounded out by kettle chips and bottled beverages. That's basically it, straightforward and to the point, which you can get away with if your barbecue is good. Let's see if that's the case here.
Starting things off for us is the Pulled Pork BBQ Sammy ($12) that tempted Katie. This sandwich had plenty of pulled pork piled on a Hawaiian burger roll. The meat comes without sauce, and it's up to you as to how much you want to add. Not that this pork needed any. It was moist, with a nice subtle smoke to it. The smoke was manageable, and there was not a bad bite during the short life of this sandwich. The sandwiches come with Apple Slaw and your choice of one side. Katie got the Potato Salad, which she was over the moon about. She felt this was one of the better potato salads she has had in a long while. It was chunky style, with plenty of celery and red onion included. Just like grandma used to make.
There would be no doubt what I'd be having this evening at Fire Breather's, the Beast Mode Combo ($24). I like trying as much as possible on one plate, and this was a perfect choice here. It also helped that David would be paying, thanks, buddy. For my three portions of meat, I went with brisket, baby back ribs, and pulled pork. All were fantastic. Brisket is the king of barbecue meats and indicates whether a place will be good. Fire Breather passed this test with flying colors. The brisket was tender, with a small ribbon of fat running through it, which gave it a nice flavor boost. The outside bark was flavorful, along with the rub that they used. That is precisely what I look for in brisket. The ribs featured a nice-looking smoke ring on them, and they were meaty, while the pork pulled easily from the bone with just a little tug. Just like Katie's sandwich, the pulled pork continued to shine. I liked that some textures were included with this pile of pork. You get some of the crispy ends along with the moist inside cuts. I went with the BBQ beans for my side item, which were fine but did not elevate to anything above average. Some cut-up brisket in these would have made them better.
David probably didn't want me to feel like I was the only one eating a ton of food here, so he also went the Beast Mode ($24) route at Fire Breather. He picked brisket, tri-tip, and pulled pork. Tri-tip can be a tricky barbecue meat to get, as it is easy to come out dry and flavorless. That is not the case here. It was meaty and flavored nicely with a nice rub and a tinge of smoke. Easily one of the best tri-tips I have had in a long while, even though David allowed me to have one slice. He selected the mixed veggies for his side item, which I did not get a chance to try.
Fire Breather BBQ should be where you head when you are in South OC and want a good barbecue. I was impressed with all the meats we tried on this trip here, as they are not just South OC good. They are some of the best we have had in Orange County. The sides were disappointing, as they were all basic. Maybe they don't have room to make mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, or greens in this storefront. This is definitely a family-run business, as Kat, the amiable woman at the counter, is one of the owner's wives, and she had her adorable infant behind the counter with her. They are proud of the barbecue they serve here and have every right to be. Be aware that they are closed on Sunday and Monday, so you only have five days to get your barbecue fix. Based on just this one visit, I can now declare the South OC curse of bad barbecue is broken.
Out of five kisses (because the co-lead singer and bassist of Kiss, Gene Simmons, was famous for breathing fire on stage at their concerts), five being best to zero being worst, Fire Breather BBQ gets a strong 3.5 kisses.
For more information about Fire Breather BBQ, head to their website here: http://www.firebreatherbbq.com/
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