Maple Block Meat Co

Same experiences here for me. Have stopped going. Not sure what happened. This place went from fine-dining perfection brought to BBQ to making places that half-ass the job look like studs…

Just go to Bludso’s now.

Still sad about it; sometimes I go get some smoked wings at Maple Block even though they aren’t as good as in the past just because I have a strange addiction to white BBQ sauce and no one else makes it besides Animal sometimes for their turkey leg.

Yep same here as well.

Maple Block Meat Co - Culver City

Trifecta Plate - brisket, ribs, sausage

I have to say, this place has really become average. The brisket and ribs used to be really amazing, now they are pretty average and the smoke flavor is barely apparent. The ribs were super rubbery, even for their style of bbq. I like a good chew but this was just undercooked to the point where the muscle tissue was not broken down enough.

One saving grace was their sausage. At first, eating the sausage by itself was meh. But eating it with their mustard and POW! This was a great combo and so many flavors popping. The slight sweetness of the sausage pops when paired with the mustard, which provides lovely balance and brings out the flavor of the sausage even more.

Salad, pretty good.

The mac n cheese was standard bbq fare, the greens were too salty for my taste but otherwise solid. I think I liked Slab better than what Maple Block is offering these days. Hard pass except for that sausage. Such a shame considering I had some of the best BBQ ever here, specifically their giant beef rib.

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Such a bummer. Those pork ribs were amazing during the first year or so after they opened.

Is that sausage undercooked?

yes. I am heartbroken by what’s happened at MBB.

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I don’t think it was, the texture was great. Probably just globules of pork fat? It was extremely juicy as well.

I can still vouch for Maple Block. It is still good. :slightly_smiling_face:

The ribs were perfect - tender, juicy, nice smoke, not salty at all. I’m trying to slow-my-roll on the pork & red meat but I devoured the rib! They didn’t ask if we wanted fat or lean brisket. It was tender but a tad dry, not enough to deter & enough fat to make up for it. :blush:

I can be picky about southern sides so take my opinion w/a grain of salt but MBs are good, above average - good greens, creamy mac & cheese. You can tell they put thought into each side. Slaw is really good w/a choice of creamy or vinegar dressing (dressed to order). It pains me to say but we’ve thrown in the towel with Bludso’s La Brea so I’m glad MB is still putting out good cue to satisfy that itch.

Beans are not sweet. They’re savory with beef in them and a black peppery kick.

What’s so impressive is the restraint they use with salt (on everything) like they’re not trying to hide anything.

Our reigning favorite LA Q is still Moo’s with their flavors and duroc pork, but there’s no complaints about MB from us. And they have a full bar now or maybe have for a while? Also a really efficient party tray/catering system. Service is really friendly.

Happy BBQ Eating!

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Thanks for the update! I had been so upset over the last few meh meals in the before times…. I am so happy to give it a go for lunch again! It’s super close to my office!

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Hi @Dommy -

Yah, I was reading this thread and it seems people have been disappointed with MB the last few years. Our brisket was a little dry as I said, not as good as when we first had it but still good. The ribs were almost falling off the bone tender, juicy, fatty, good… possibly not enough smoke for some but I don’t like a lot of smoke. I like that they don’t douse everything with table salt but some might find the flavors a little muted. I’d be curious to read your thoughts if you go. Thanks.

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Just was there, too, and noticed the full bar. They said they’ve had it for a couple months.

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Had to spend a good deal of time at the office this week so I was able to pop over at Maple Block for some Rib Lunch!

Here’s the thing though, they don’t have Rib lunch. :confused: They have a Ribs entree and well, there was no way I could power through that… So I ended up ordering A’la Carte…

1/2 lbs of Ribs

So yeah… two ribs. But they were meaty! They were tender, but not super tender. I don’t like my Ribs fall off the bone, but there were a touch too firm to make them swoony. The smoke flavor was also strong. Almost too much. Again, I am a little sensitive to smoke (like I hate Pollo a la Brasa) so again, these were good, but I think I’m going to save my ribs eating occasions for Moos.

To round out the meal, I got the creamy slaw…

This was really… REALLY… REALLY good. This was not sweet and the dressing was super fresh tasting. Our previous favorite slaw was Honey Bird, but this may take the cake (I am not a huge fan of Moo’s slaw)

Two little quibbles…

I like BBQ sauce, so when they asked me if I wanted some for my ribs, I said YES! But they keep the sauce in a packet with the pickles in a chiller. This means you get cold sauce to spread on your warm to go ribs. Bleh.

The Coleslaw doesn’t come pre mixed. You get a big blob of dressing, then you have to mix it with the mostly bare slaw mix, which can get a little messy because it’s absolutely packed in there.

Otherwise, it was quite the treat for lunch and do think it’s much better than my last visit.

–Dommy!

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Hi @Dommy

Glad I inspired you to give MB another try. :slightly_smiling_face: Sorry you didn’t have the same experience. We’ve had stiff ribs from MB on more than one occasion but our recent batch was so good - meaty, fatty, juicy, almost falling off the bone (I don’t like falling off the bone either) and almost under smoked (I don’t like a lot of smoke either). AI thinks it’s because we got them early when they first opened, but it also might depend on the pitmaster that day like a lot of BBQ.

#MooStillRules

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I almost dropped in yesterday, I’m glad I didn’t.