I was recently at Bludsos La Brea and it was not the same as Compton. The bbq tastes like McDonalds, which is not a bad thing but not the same as Compton. Also, the ribs don’t taste the same at all. They are more heavy on the smoke and less of a sugar based rub. I really loved Compton ribs and rib tips, but La Brea is not Compton. Most of the food tastes different. I did think the brisket was better than Compton, but the ribs are more of a less is more approach. I really wish they served up the ribs and rib tips more like the Compton location. I used to buy a whole chicken, rack of ribs and a pound of rib tips. And the greens were delicious as well.
I guess what I’m saying is, the name Bludso is on the restaurant, but the food is markedly different.
The signs point to a downward slide. The meat was a strong point. I made a reservation and asked for the beef Dino ribs to be made and the person who answered the phone told me they never served them. I have photo proof. Then she told me she would ask her manager and have that person get back to me, which I never received any sort of communication. So I cancelled my reservation and went to Park’s BBQ where I had an unbelievable meal. I never had a problem before. The previous staff told me I had to reserve the beef Dino ribs in advance, which I did one time. The first time it was offered as a special. It was seriously one of the best beef ribs I have ever eaten and easily the best bbq I have eaten in Los Angeles. It stole the show over their amazing prime rib, which was excellent. I probably won’t be back unless some people here vouch for the regained quality. And the coppa ribs (which were baby back) were fall off the bone ever time I have had them. The spare ribs did have a slight bite which I enjoy.
From my experience at MB, their ribs were never “fall off the bone” tender. I personally prefer their ribs because of this. However, I haven’t eaten their in a long time, so I can’t comment on any downhill issues.
I like Max City a lot but everytime I mention it, seems like a lot of bbq people don’t care for it. I get that they may have some consistency issues, but Horse Thief which gets a lot of love from bbq people have been consistently bad to me in every one of my visits. But I’ll gladly second your Max City suggestion.
I finally visited this place recently and was not impressed at all. Had the trifecta plate which was perfectly adequate but as someone who has tried bbq in texas, the south and even the midwest, to me this is sad that it’s considered one of the top bbq places in LA. The best bbq I’ve had thus far anywhere on the west coast is in phoenix of all places, (Little Miss BBQ) which imo rivals any bbq place in texas or the south surprisingly. I’m still hoping that someday LA will have something comparable since MBM and Bludsoe’s (besides their brisket) aren’t memorable destination worthy bbq if you’ve already had what many people consider the best bbq in bbq centric cities.
just a single data point, and I’m far from a bbq aficionado, but I tried Maple Block for the first time a few months ago and I actually really enjoyed it, comparable in some ways to Bludso’s (La Brea) and better than others like Gus’s in South Pas, and better than Baby Blue’s from Venice. We had the moist brisket and it was very fine. Mac and cheese, and cole slaw, were both great sides. The hot links/sausages were tasty but sooo spicy. I’d go back and try more of their menu again.
Given the negative comments I went back today.
I only had the pork ribs which were just fantastic - meaty, smokey, and texturally superb with the right amount of fat, bark and smoke ring.
Maybe better than ever.
And there was a solid lunch crowd for a Saturday.
Half smoked chicken and pork spare ribs. The chicken was the saving grace, moist and tender with sufficient smoke flavor. The pork spare ribs had great flavor, but unfortunately they were undercooked. Now MBMC has a bite to them, but this was straight up a rubbery mess with the largest rib being the most egregious.
Then she told me she would ask her manager and have that person get back to me, which I never received any sort of communication. So I cancelled my reservation and went to Park’s BBQ where I had an unbelievable meal. I never had a problem before. The previous staff told me I had to reserve the beef Dino ribs in advance, which I did one time. The first time it was offered as a special. It was seriously one of the best beef ribs I have ever eaten and easily the best bbq I have eaten in Los Angeles. It stole the show over their amazing prime rib, which was excellent. I probably won’t be back unless some people here vouch for the regained quality. And the coppa ribs (which were baby back) were fall off the bone ever time I have had them. The spare ribs did have a slight bite which I enjoy.
did it suck.
