8136 West Third Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
It's starting to feel like life is returning to normal. Now that Katie and I have begun getting vaccinated, we have become more active and social. We even took advantage of the lighter-than-normal Sunday traffic to go to LA to meet with my boss and her husband, Kyle. Our main motive was to visit a nearby bakery, which you will read about in my following review. First, we needed a protein base before we scarfed down a bunch of sugary treats. That's where Slab came in.
The story of Slab begins with an Israeli immigrant visiting Texas on a business trip. That man is Burt Bakman, who found his calling as a master pitmaster. He gained wide acclaim serving barbecue in his San Fernando Valley backyard under Trudy's Underground. Renamed, Slab began to take form in 2015 with his new business partner, and three years later, after finding the perfect space, getting the kitchen the way he wanted, and perfecting his recipes, they opened this location a few blocks west of the Original Farmer's Market on the very trendy 3rd Street.
The four of us agreed to meet at Slab at 1 p.m. on a recent Sunday. I was a little worried about my restaurant selection because we were the only ones in the small place when we arrived. Then I realized this is prime brunch time in these parts, as the long lines at Toast and Joan's on Third could attest to. As we did go through our meal, there was a steady stream of customers dining in and getting food to go.
The menu at Slab is precisely what you'd expect from a Texas barbecue joint. Brisket and pulled pork are sold by the pound only, while baby back pork ribs, spare ribs, and chicken are sold in half or whole portion sizes. There are sandwich options, along with seven sides to choose from. There's also the wildly popular pastrami sandwich, served on Mondays only, and beef ribs, which you will see in a moment, are available only for your enjoyment on weekends. We ordered at the counter, waited for our meats to be weighed and our sides to be dished out, and then made our way out to one of the four tables out in front of the restaurant, which was excellent for people-watching. Let's see if the food could overshadow the people watching here.
First up for Katie and me was the Frito Pie ($8.00). Like when we ate at the now-departed Barrels and Ashes in Studio City, this Frito Pie was an excellent way to start at Slab. Fritos are layered with a cheese sauce, ground beef chili, grated cheese, onions, and chopped cilantro. I'm usually not too fond of cheese sauces, but this one was unobtrusive, and it was layered well enough that it was not hard to get all the ingredients in one bite. These Fritos held their crunch while we focused on the main reason we were here, the barbecue.
It was not listed on their menu online, but I was ecstatic to see that Slab had combo plates, which is a great way to try a good amount of their menu simultaneously. Since we would be stopping at another place while we were up here, Katie and I decided to make the wise move to share our meal. For this 2 Item Combo Plate ($26.00), we selected Brisket, Pulled Pork, Collard Greens, and Mac and Cheese. Both portions of meat were the best I've had in Southern California, even a tad better than Heritage BBQ, which is closer to where I live. The brisket and pulled pork were tender but did not rely too much on smoke for flavor, instead allowing the taste of the meat to be the star of the show. The brisket had a lovely ribbon of fat running alongside the bottom and the beautiful pink hue of the smoke ring, which even Katie did not mind. The pulled pork was on point, not too mushy, and had some lovely bark in there to help keep each bite a bit diverse. The collard greens were solid, but the weak link of this plate was the mac and cheese, which was a little boring. I waited for a burst of flavor to come through, but it never did. The potato salad or beans would be my choice on future visits.
This Beef Rib ($29) might be too pricey, as it will set you back more than what the combo plate will, but this one rib is well worth the cost. It's the best thing I've eaten in a long time, and that's not an understatement. Nicely cut by the guys on the line, this is the most tender steak you've ever had. Again, it does not rely on smoke for flavor but allows the meat's natural flavor, along with a nice amount of fat distributed through each piece, to wow your senses. I regretted instantly not getting two of these, and I will not make that same mistake again. Well worth the trip up here for this weekend-only special.
I haven't really focused on what Melissa and Kyle have gotten yet because they basically got the same thing as us, except for a delicious jalapeno cheese sausage that I forgot to take a photo of (I'll blame my euphoria over the beef rib), and this 6 Piece Smoked Wings ($9). I usually avoid chicken in barbecue restaurants, but these beautifully done wings have me rethinking this decision. Great flavor and tender, these were a nice reprieve from the usual overly breaded and fried wings you see on menus all over town. I still would have enjoyed some blue cheese with these, though. Some habits are hard to break.
Slab really rocked my world this afternoon. I love that some people have learned the Texas way of barbecuing and brought it to Southern California. Maybe people will realize there are better options than Lucille's and Famous Dave's here. Yes, barbecue is moderately expensive, but you should be okay with paying for it when it's this high in quality. The sides were fine, but not going to blow your socks off like that beef rib and brisket. Slab was well worth the hour drive from OC, so if you are lucky enough to live closer, make that trek.
Out of five cacti (because Slab City, California, is an off-the-grid squatter community situated in the desert near the Salton Sea, and I'm sure there are plenty of cacti out there), five being best to zero being worst, Slab gets 4 cacti.
For more information about Slab, head to their website here: https://www.slabbarbecue.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment