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Sounds amazing. I wouldn’t mind the drive itself on a lazy weekend, but Ima gonna wait for the crowds to die down b/c 7-hr total time (for driving + food) is… a lot. Thanks for doing the waiting for us!
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OMG The place looks fantastic! Especially those two huge smokers 
The shokupan is a nice touch! And they’re even using white oak (vs the more common red oak in SM BBQ) which more closely aligns with Central TX post oak.
A few questions:
- No acidic complements - pickles etc to cut the fattiness, rich sides & dessert?
- Lots of fancy branded meats - what are we talking about $/lb?
- Do they offer any BBQ sauce(s)? May help rehydrate the pulled pork which is typically cut with sauce in whole hog BBQ regions like the Carolinas.
- BYOB?
Wow!
SJC 
, I think my buddies in San Diego will make it there sooner than I will.
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I am more likely to head into Austin than SJC
Thanks for the review CS and allowing us to live vicariously through your food adventures.
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SJC is my milestone that I’m finally getting close to SD 
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I watched Heritage being built out over the past six months plus and hope to try it out when crowds calm down a bit. The Castillos operated an incredibly popular BBQ food truck for A long time prior to this new venture so they already have a huge following.
I’ve taken a few notes, so I may be able to help with some of the questions above:
- They serve seasonal pickled veggies that seem to be complementary.
- They share the space with Capistrano Brewing Company which serves beer and wine. No BYOB from IG posts I’ve seen.
- They have complementary bourbon and mustard sauces. It’s a 100%+ Texas deal.
- See the attached pic for price listings they posted recently.
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Thank you, and definitely agree about waiting for the crowds to die down; it’ll be more reasonable, and it reminded me of one key thing (I’ll update the original post):
- Heritage Barbecue closes for the day when they sell out of meat. There’s no guarantee for a normal closing time.
With the lead time to make all the various meats, they can’t just make more Smoked Brisket in time as they run low.
I hope you get to try it in the near future after the initial rush. 
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Hi @Sgee,
@Midlife covered your questions, but yes, thanks for the reminder! It was probably because of the Grand Opening (or you have to ask for it (so they don’t waste it just giving it to everyone who may not want it?)):
I just looked the picture of the menu (when you order), and it says:
Complementary
- Sauces - Bourbon BBQ or Spicy Mustard
- Pickled Seasonal Produce - Fruits, Onions, Cucumbers, Peppers
Ah, darn it! We forgot to ask for it! 
We were so excited to finally order after a few hours of waiting…
And yes their online menu has prices:
Lastly, no BYOB, and as @Midlife said, Capistrano Brewing Company (next door) had their servers walking the line and taking orders and delivering drinks (various Craft Beers, Water, Sodas), so that was nice. 
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@Midlife @Chowseeker1999 Really legit operation to the max. They thought of everything.
Prices are higher than normal but frankly reasonable given the quality of meats. Hope to check it out soon.
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Wow! The pork ribs looks amazing, the color is exactly how I like mine.
Thanks for the report @Chowseeker1999 I’ll make my way down there and check it out some day. Those micro greens they add have to be some sort of tongue and cheek humor.
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Hi @Ns1,
Thanks! The way I explained it to myself was: We drive down to Little Saigon (and have a blast) anyways. What’s a little bit more freeway driving past that? 
It’s also only ~14 - 15 minutes after Irvine Spectrum (where I’ve met OC friends to hang out before), so it’s not that bad (OK, it’s a bit far overall, but it was wide open this past Saturday).
Hi @Midlife,
Thanks for helping answer the questions! That’s awesome that you’ve been keeping up with the Castillos and the build out and finally Grand Opening for Heritage Barbecue!
Pitmaster-Owner Daniel Castillo was really friendly and welcoming to everyone yesterday. He was chatting up the crowd inbetween working the smokers, and we heard him talk about how he has a newborn baby at home.
Him starting a family and starting a brick and mortar business in the time of a pandemic… it’s not the easiest time right now, but we’re hoping this grows into something wonderful on both fronts!
Looking forward to your report back and hope you enjoy it as well! 
I worked at a place about 200 yards away for the past 3 years so I had a front seat. Unfortunately the place I worked for didn’t make it through Covid.
Hi @Midlife,
Ah, I’m sorry to hear about your job loss. 
Hope you are doing OK.
Heritage Barbecue is the gift that keeps on giving:
From the moment we finished eating their decadent, extremely marbled Black Angus USDA Prime Smoked Beef Ribs (Niman Ranch), I was wondering what it might taste like if you rendered out some of the excess (delicious) USDA Prime Beef Fat and then made a Beef (Fat) Rice with it.
Well, it was dinner time, and we decided to try: Slicing half inch slices of the Smoked Beef Ribs, placing them in a pan with no oil, and letting them crisp up:
The sheer amount of Beef Fat rendered out was crazy, and it smelled wonderful with the sizzling Beef Rib slices.
I was going to try making a Beef Fat Fried Rice (a la Majordomo), but seeing how much marbling and how tender the Beef Rib slices were still, we just placed them over some Steamed Brown Rice and Quinoa (we needed some healthy in this experiment!). 
Just how good is Pitmaster Daniel Castillo and his slow-cooked Smoked Beef Ribs? The first bite of the leftovers I pan-seared to crisp up, yielded a luscious, insane beefy, balanced smoky, melt-in-your-mouth bite of pure joy! 
It’s still insanely delicious the next day, and this super simple homemade reheat of Beef Rib Rice was even more glorious than the last Beef Fat Rice I had at Majordomo (pre-pandemic)! It is ridiculous.
We had no idea you could make something this delicious with Smoked / BBQ Beef Rib leftovers (I’m a newbie, I know).
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I’ve been following Castillo for a while now and am excited to hear that he’s finally open. However, I doubt I’ll make it all the way to San Juan Capistrano, even if we make our trips to/ from San Diego. I read an article about him and how he and a bunch of other pitmasters in SoCal are talking a lot together to improve BBQ in LA area. What we really lack here is good affordable BBQ that’s not considered “high end”. Go to places in the South and they have just average looking restaurants with really good BBQ that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. One day, especially if those smokers that meet commercial regulations become more common.
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there are enough people here with sufficient disposable income that will pay top dollar if they think they’re getting value for what they’re paying. sadly, the perceived value may not lie entirely in the quality of the food but it’s what it is. and if a place is paying for top notch ingredients the overall cost is going to be correspondingly high. factor in what constitutes a living wage in LA, not to mention rent and i’m not so sure what you want is a reasonable expectation in LA unless street food legislation changes drastically post quarantine.
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Still haven’t gone to Heritage but I follow them on IG and Twitter. They do sell out most days but, on weekends, seem to be arranging food trucks in the evening to supplement. That’s unusual but good PR and certainly helps their co-tenant Capistrano Brewing. From their postings (which are several a day) the lines seem to be not quite as long now but that could be because of the heat, then smoke , over the past ten days.
This is a different kind of experience than what many people here may be used to. From a recent post they made they may have gotten some blowback because they sell out. You can wait a couple of hours and not get much if anything. But that’s real Texas BBQ and I’d think they’ll be better able to judge demand as time goes by.
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How long did you wait?