Argh!!! Partner cooked up some carne asada yesterday (for fajitas) from the SaMo Bristol Farms location, and I forgot to take pics (I’m blaming the heat). It wasn’t going to get me any OG points, but it was still pretty damn tasty…
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Went to Torihei on Thursday. I forgot to take many photos, but I snapped a few of the yakitori we tried.
Chicken meatball (always a favorite):
Beef tongue (tender with great flavor):
Bacon wrapped asparagus (too much mustard drizzle…not my favorite):
Not pictured, but consumed: shiitake mushroom, chicken & green onion, smelt, and sausage yakitori. My favorite dish of the evening was not grilled, but their natto and radish salad with barely-cooked egg. Just wonderful if you are a natto lover.
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Oh, snap, I just realized the DoTM thread has been pinned up here the whole time lol! I have some catching up to do…
Yeah, you gotta steam the pastrami. Failing to do so is the number one mistake people make imo.
Holy crap, @Nemroz! That’s like a Noah’s Ark of grilled meat!
Really? I’ve had bbq from Lang that was less than stellar. He’s a talented chef, but everyone has off days.
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ermagod, I went to Barrel & Ashes for a revisit after this. And by went I mean ordered a half rack via UberEats. I order delivery/pickup from B&A all the time, at a late hour, and the product is usually decent.
But this time was total what the fuck - at least the mac & cheese they accidentally threw in was better than I remembered it. They need a new sausage provider though, not nearly as good as their competitors IMO.
Conclusion: I’ll give B&A another visit after this, but as of last week Max City >>>>>> B&A for pork ribs.
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BBQ & Politics 
Bludso’s La Brea - We got lucky tonight… Kinda’. It was early in the evening and the meat was freshly cooked. But as with Bludso’s, it was hit or miss.
Brisket was very tender. Chicken is always good. But the ribs! They are always uneven - one tender, two chewy. The chicken link was tasty, hot w/jalapeños inside. The whole meal was pretty spicy. The sauce was good. The biggest complaint is the salt… Why? Why? Their food has good flavor. There is no need for all the salt. Honorable mention - the beans & spicy greens were delicious tonight. Also included, but not pictured were potato salad & coleslaw.
I don’t often give price unless asked or warranted, like a good or bad value. Well, unless you get the trays for a group - which are good value, but have gone up - everything for dinner is al la carte. This meal was $64+ 
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The wife wanted a repeat of Ribs USA. They have the magic trifecta: acceptable taste, relatively cheap, and they deliver. Thus, these beef ribs are definitely greater than the sum of its parts if you want delivery.
Corn on the cob is terrible though, even KFC is better.
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Rolled and tied tri-tip done Santa Maria style. Was feeling lazy so I didn’t fire up the smoker but did the initial cool cook on the unheated area of the grill - thus the unsightly grey ring (shudder). Nevertheless it was delicious!
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[quote=“ebethsdad, post:167, topic:3662”]
Nevertheless it was delicious!
[/quote]It looks it!!! 
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The meat platters Maple Block serves at lunch are great. I get the one with two meats and two sides for $18, and I make sandwiches using the brioche buns from Whole Foods that @ebethsdad peeped me to.
Here’s the sausage link with vinegar potato salad:
And here’s the fatty brisket with braised greens:
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sorry, i’m dim and therefore confused.
so is that the amount of food you get for 18.00 without the bun?
or just the plate you assembled?
thanks.
One order = two meats and two sides for $18, so you get everything you see in both pictures combined minus the buns. The pickles are also mine, though each order comes with their house pickles, too.
PS: Each serving of meat in the order is approximately a quarter pound, so you get a half pound total on the two-meat plate.
ah, o.k. thanks for the info. dopey moi.
Picked up a couple pounds of brisket (fatty and lean) and a chicken at MB last night. The brisket was great as usual, but the fatty was really fatty. The lean was moist enough for me.
The chicken was great. It’s $28, but it’s moist, flavorful and the skin alone is worth getting this bird.
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Yeah, that smoked chicken is superb. Not sure how they keep the breast so moist. Maybe they sous-vide before smoking?
My first guess was brining. But your idea would work for sure.
Not sure that it would. If you sous-vide first it wouldn’t pick up as much smoke flavor. Dry brine, then smoke low and slow with a good chicken and the results are excellent.
I guess so. The amount of moisture retained would probably act as a barrier to the smoke working its magic.
Ah, very interesting!
Actually I think its more a function of time than moisture. Smoked chicken takes around four hours at 225 to reach an internal temp of 160. If you sous-vide it to 150 first it won’t take very long to hit 160, and any hotter than that it dries out.
Makes me want to smoke a few chickens this weekend!
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If they are smoking at low temps, it is actually sort of difficult to dry out chicken, especially if brined. Moisture loss is slower when cooked at lower temps. In my experience, the window is much more forgiving it you cook chicken at say, 225F for 3.5-4 hours. If they baste/spritz, they can add even more moisture.
I think the one step many people make is not properly resting their bbq. For a 3 pound chicken, I like to let it rest in a cooler for at least 2 hours.
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