8136 West Third Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
It's starting to feel like life is getting back to normal a bit. Now that both Katie and I have started the process of getting vaccinated, we have become a little more active and social. We even took advantage of the lighter than normal Sunday traffic up to LA to meet up with my boss and her husband Kyle. Our main motive was to visit a nearby bakery, which you will read about in my next review. First, before we scarfed down a bunch of sugary treats, we needed a base of some protein, 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 the name 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 1pm 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 more steady stream of customers dining in and getting food to go.
The menu at Slab is exactly 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 by the half or whole portion sizes. There's 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 for your enjoyment on weekends only. We ordered at the counter, waited for our meats to be weighed and our sides to be dished out, 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 myself was the Frito Pie ($8.00). Just like when we ate at the now-departed Barrels and Ashes in Studio City, this Frito Pie was a good way to start off with at Slab. Fritos are layered with a cheese sauce, a ground beef chili, grated cheeses, onions, and some chopped cilantro. I'm usually not too fond of cheese sauces, but this one was pretty unobtrusive, and this was layered well enough that it was not hard to get all ingredients in one bite. This Fritos actually held their crunch while we turned our attention to the main reason we were here, the barbecue.
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 all at one time. Since we were going to 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 flavor of the meat to be the star of the show. The brisket had a nice ribbon of fat running alongside the bottom of it, along with the beautiful pink hue of the smoke ring, which even Katie did not mind. The pulled pork was on point, not too mushy, and with some nice pieces of 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 I felt was a little boring. I kept waiting 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 a little too pricey, as it's going to set you back more than what the combo plate will, but this one rib is well worth the costs. 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 like the most tender steak you've ever had. Again it does not rely on smoke for flavor, but allows the natural flavor of the meat, along with a nice amount of fat distributed through each piece to wow your senses. I regretted instantly not getting two of these, which 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, with the exception of a very good 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 shy away from 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 there are now people that have learned the Texas way of barbecuing and have brought it to Southern California. Now maybe people will learn that there are way better options than Lucille's and Famous Dave's here. Yes, barbecue is moderately expensive, but you shouldn't mind 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 is plenty of cactus 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/
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