Happy 25th Anniversary to Blake's Place

 Blake's Place

2901 East Miraloma Ave. 

Anaheim, CA 92806

25 years is a pretty long time when you think about it. Twenty-five years ago there were no cellphones, debit cards, or caller ID so you could ignore your bill collectors when you failed to pay your credit cards on time. In 1996 I was living a carefree life with my best friend in Newport, working until ten every night, then hitting up a different bar every night of the week, depending on where our bartender friends were working, so we could maybe score some free beverages. 

Good times, but while I was out sowing my wild oats, others were doing way more worthwhile things. Gene Hobel, owner of Blake's Place was creating a legacy for his son Blake. Back in 1996, Blake was six months old when Gene opened Blake's Place in an industrial area of north Anaheim. Gene took over a small sandwich shop all those years ago and built a thriving restaurant and catering business that he will someday pass along to his son.  

Fast forward to the present day, my friend Daren and I were recently invited to experience what's new at Blake's Place since my last visit over ten years ago. They now have a covered patio that has almost nearly tripled their seating area, and has made the restaurant way more comfortable, as there's no more waiting for tables during their legendary lunch rush. I'm not entirely sure, but the menu seems to have been expanded a bit also. There's a bunch of entree salads, a trio of deli sandwiches, and some good-looking loaded fries to go along with their award-winning barbecue. 

Unfortunately, when we visited on a recent Thursday just before noon, Gene was away on business, but Blake, who is now a manager at this busy spot, filled in wonderfully for his father. He could not have been any more gracious to the two of us, not an easy task when you consider the lunchtime rush was happening all around us. The restaurant business is definitely in his blood. We ordered rather quickly, as I knew what we would be having, as I checked out their menu on their website before visiting. We easily found a table and waited for our food to be brought out to our table. 

Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you, it really is that big. This is The Beast ($29.99). Two and a half pounds of sheer awesomeness. Not to be messed with by just anyone, Daren was hoping that he was the man to tackle this monstrosity. This big pile of deliciousness was made up of pulled pork, pulled chicken, chopped brisket, coleslaw, pickle, red onion, and Blake's BBQ sauce, all placed between a custom-baked extra-large bun. 

When ordering this behemoth you have the option of doing it at your own pace, or you can attack it as a challenge like Daren did. He needed to put this away in 20 minutes or less, and then he'd get a bumper sticker, a T-shirt, and more importantly, his picture would go up on their wall. He started off slowly, as he couldn't get over how good it tasted, and he was taking too much time to savor it. He also took the bun off to save it for later, which I knew was a mistake. I told him to concentrate and finish the bread as quickly as possible, as it would be harder to eat as the time was ticking down on the stopwatch they brought out to our table. He eventually finished with just seven seconds to spare, a far cry from the standing record of four minutes which someone inhaled this sandwich. Maybe next time Daren. 

Not to be outdone by Daren, I also went pretty large at Blake's with Blake's Big Barbecue Plate ($29.99). As is my custom when eating in a barbecue joint, I always veer towards combo plates to get the most variety offered. This good-looking plate came with baby back ribs, sliced brisket, pork spare ribs, coleslaw, bbq baked beans, garlic bread, and plenty of french fries. All the meats were very solid, but if I had to choose a favorite it would have to be the pork spare ribs. They had the perfect amount of sauce on them, which was present, but allowed the meat's natural flavor to shine through. Each rib had plenty of tender meat attached, which gave way with just a little pull. The baby backs were nicely done with more meat on them than other baby backs I have encountered recently. The lean brisket was thinly sliced but lacked a ribbon of fat that I like included with my brisket. The sides were good, with the beans leading the pack with nice bursts of flavor in each forkful. This was a lot of food, which could have easily fed two adults, but I wanted some of the glory that Daren had garnered while conquering the beast, so I finished everything, but a few of the fries. 

It's good to see that Blake's Place is still thriving after a quarter of a century of serving north OC residents some of the best-barbecued meats in these parts. Keep an eye out on their social media accounts for some special events to mark their silver anniversary. I'd like to thank Gene and Blake Hobel for the invitation and opportunity to visit their restaurant, which you can clearly see is a labor of love for both of them. Gene has created quite the legacy for Blake, which I hope will live on for well past another 25 years.  

For more information about Blake's Place, head to their website here: https://www.blakesplacebbq.com/

Barbecue Bliss at Blake's Place?

Blake's Place

2905 E. Miraloma #3

Anaheim, CA 92806

Ever since we got back from our vacation to Dallas, Katie and I have been on our own personal journey to find the best barbecue that Orange county has to offer. We have tried several places, chain restaurants, hole in the wall places, and reader recommended joints. One thing that all these places had in common, was the fact that they were not as good as anything we had in Texas. I am not saying that all of these were bad, but they all were lacking in one aspect, either the meats were not good, or the sides were weak, or a mixture of both. Let's see if Blake's can break our streak.

Blake's Place is located off the beaten track to say the least. Located in a very industrial area, and opened 14 years ago, they have a rabid following and glowing testimonials from local magazines, newspapers, and fellow bloggers. So needless to say, I was very excited to see what Blake's Place had in store for us.

My Mom has a small appetite, so she opted for the Half Sandwich and Salad. For her sandwich, she got the pulled pork. This sandwich was killer. The crispness of the Coleslaw, the right amount of sauce, and the tender meat made this sandwich a winner. Mom gushed, "the sandwich had a really good flavor, and the sweet sauce was a good compliment to it."

My indecisive Dad went with the Sandwich Sampler, a great deal at $7.99. The sandwich sampler had three half sandwiches of smoked beef brisket, turkey, and pork. My Dad felt that these sandwiches were great, and made better when he added extra sauce, because he likes things, " a little messy". I also thought that these sandwiches were good. The meats were moist, and you could taste the smokiness, but it did not overpower the meat.

Katie and I decided we would split two items. I was really hungry, so our first dish was Blake's Big Rib Plate. This mountain of ribs featured baby backs, pork spare ribs, and a beef rib. Also included were Blake's BBQ beans, Coleslaw, French fries, and garlic bread. I could have eaten this all by myself, but I had a little something else on the way. The meat fell off of the bone with all of these ribs. They say that they slow cook all of there meats, some up to 16 hours, and it shows. The baby backs were my favorite, with the beef rib a close second. The sides here were good as well. The fries were crisp, the Coleslaw had a good flavor, with a decent amount of dressing on it, and the beans had a sweet tang to them. Excellent rib plate!

Pictured above, and definitely worth a second look is The Beast. This two and a half pound sandwich is the type of food that makes a place a legend! The sandwich has pulled pork, pulled BBQ chicken, chopped beef, Coleslaw, pickle, red onion, and BBQ sauce. They have an eating challenge with this sandwich, (the record is four minutes and five seconds), but I wanted to be able to enjoy it, and I am so glad I did. The meat was so tender and flavorful, even the bun was good. I tackled this sandwich with a knife and fork, and could not get it down quick enough.

I think I have found my barbecue nirvana. All of the items that we tried were really good, and there is definitely more on the menu that I would love to try in the future. The prices were not exorbitant, they may even be too cheap. Even writing this post has made my mouth water. I think it is time to go back!

Out of five Fred's, (because that was the name of Robert Blake's cockatoo on Baretta), five being best to zero being worst, Blake's Place gets four solid Fred's.

For more information on Blake's Place, click here: http://www.blakesplacebbq.com/