Baby Blues Bar-B-Q

Baby Blues Bar-B-Q
444 Lincoln Blvd.
Venice
(310) 396-7675

LA Dining and the BBQ Junkie teamed up for an afternoon of pork, beef and pudding. Overall, all the pieces were there, but they just didn't seem to quite fit together. I don't think any of us entirely hated the experience, but as you'll see below, none of us are too keen on returning.



combo plate #1. long ribs, catfish and pulled pork




combo plate #2. brisket, short ribs, and shrimp




particularly delicious corn




a better look at those shrimp




creamed (?) spinach




banana pudding-like lard product??



here's a little chat about our meal together:


[14:26] *** biglou201 has been invited to the group chat.
[14:26] *** Bangford has been invited to the group chat.
[14:26] *** biglou201 has joined the chat.
[14:26] *** Bangford has joined the chat.
[14:26] biglou201: hot
[14:26] lemonchicken2: hello everybody
[14:26] Bangford: hey friends
[14:26] lemonchicken2: welcome to the round table discussion of
[14:26] biglou201: hi y'll
[14:27] Bangford: baby blues bbq on lincoln (in venice)
[14:27] lemonchicken2: ah yes, located at 444 Lincoln Blvd
Venice, CA 90291
[14:27] lemonchicken2: Now that we've had some time to simmer.... lets open the discussion up
[14:27] biglou201: http://www.goodeatsusa.com/BabyBluesBBQ/
[14:28] lemonchicken2: I'll start by recapping our ordering strategy
[14:28] lemonchicken2: The three of us ordered two combo plates in order to sample as much different barbeque as possible
[14:29] lemonchicken2: On one plate we had baby back ribs, shrimp and pulled pork
[14:29] lemonchicken2: on the other we had beef brisket, long ribs and catfish
[14:29] lemonchicken2: luis, what was your favorite and why?
[14:29] lemonchicken2: we'll get to the sides and desserts in a moment
[14:30] lemonchicken2: bang, same question to you
[14:30] biglou201: I really liked the baby back ribs
[14:30] biglou201: I felt, and this may sound blasphemous, were tastier than the spare ribs
[14:31] biglou201: they also were a bit smokier than the spare ribs
[14:31] biglou201: Secondly, I would nominate the catfish
[14:32] Bangford: yes i agree
[14:32] Bangford: i'm not normally a ribs person, but the baby back ribs were juicy and flavorful
[14:32] biglou201: I wasn't even thinking about catfish, until we ordered the combos
[14:32] Bangford: w/o being overly fatty and chewy
[14:33] biglou201: a pleasant surprise
[14:33] lemonchicken2: I really enjoyed the long ribs. Interestingly, I found the texture of the long ribs to be quite nice, with the meat falling off the bone quite readily and easily
[14:33] Bangford: yes ordering two "Big Blues" was a great idea
[14:33] lemonchicken2: It was indeed.
[14:34] lemonchicken2: Any issues or complaints?
[14:34] lemonchicken2: Obviously we all have some, or this just wouldn't be any fun
[14:34] Bangford: yeah the 'memphis style 'long bone' ribs had an awesome crispy outer layer of caramelized sauce and meat
[14:36] Bangford: what did you two think about the 'baby blue bayou' rilled shrimp?
[14:36] *** Your previous message has not been sent. Reason: Maximum length (232) exceeded. You can recall the last message typed with Ctrl-Up or Up, depending on settings.
[14:36] biglou201: looking over the pictures, I remember the mac and cheese was really good
[14:37] biglou201: really cheesy
[14:37] Bangford: yes with blue cheese?
[14:37] biglou201: there was something special in there
[14:37] lemonchicken2: My biggest complaint, while not a complete dealbreaker, was the temperature of the pulled pork and brisket.
[14:37] lemonchicken2: Both arrived ice cold. I actually enjoyed both, but would have enjoyed more if served at least a few degrees above room temperature
[14:37] lemonchicken2: sorry, i interrupted
[14:38] lemonchicken2: I think its best if we dont ask what was in the mac and cheese. it was delicious and lets leave the fattening ingredient list out of it
[14:38] biglou201: the pork and beans, which is the same thing as beans only with pork included, were cold as well
[14:38] lemonchicken2: bang, what was your biggest disappointment?
[14:39] Bangford: ...and i thought the shrimp were sometimes overly bitter from the charbroiling process
[14:39] lemonchicken2: and maybe a touch rubbery from being slightly over grilled
[14:39] Bangford: they were better when i smothered them with some of the bbq sauce
[14:40] biglou201: let me just say the the waitress was very enthusiastic about the meal. she knew exactly what to order. that really helped
[14:40] Bangford: yes she was chatty and perfectly borderline hoochie for a bbq joint
[14:40] lemonchicken2: borderline??
[14:40] lemonchicken2: lol
[14:40] Bangford: except she blew it with the banana pudding recommend
[14:40] biglou201: yeah, more hoochie than hooters
[14:41] lemonchicken2: but indeed perfect for a bar-b-q joint
[14:41] Bangford: well, she's trying to sell $22 plates of meat hello
[14:41] lemonchicken2: yes, lets discuss those prices
[14:41] biglou201: when she said it was "the shit" i thought that it was going to be good
[14:41] Bangford: what did she say about the pudding
[14:41] Bangford: that's right!!!
[14:41] biglou201: the prices
[14:41] biglou201: were kinda crazy
[14:42] lemonchicken2: typically a 1 meat plate would be say $12. then 2 would be $15 and three would be maybe $18
[14:42] Bangford: the pudding was like eating what seemed like sweetened crisco
[14:42] lemonchicken2: if i ordered that plate for just myself, I would have expected much more for $22
[14:42] lemonchicken2: yes, the pudding was a disaster
[14:42] biglou201: yeah, but without the sugar
[14:42] lemonchicken2: but we were promised a free pudding on our next meal there
[14:42] Bangford: i don't think i'm going back
[14:43] Bangford: unless that have a lunch special
[14:43] lemonchicken2: she did seem genuinely upset about the pudding
[14:43] biglou201: i'm glad she didn't charge us for it
[14:43] lemonchicken2: i also am not planning on returning.
[14:43] Bangford: that was nice
[14:43] lemonchicken2: i should point out that its 444 SOUTH lincoln
[14:43] biglou201: somehow I think we ended up paying for it anyway
[14:43] lemonchicken2: which puts it pretty far away
[14:43] lemonchicken2: lunch was definately not cheap
[14:44] lemonchicken2: perhaps we should have stuck with the sandwiches
[14:44] Bangford: no, i'm glad we ordered a huge variety of food
[14:44] lemonchicken2: those looked pretty delicious and were "only" $8-$9
[14:44] biglou201: WAIT, big disappointment.... no alcohol
[14:44] lemonchicken2: BYOB is good sometimes
[14:44] lemonchicken2: to save money for your $22 plate of meat
[14:45] biglou201: yeah, the sandwiches looked like the good lunch choice
[14:45] lemonchicken2: unless of course the meat was as cold as ours
[14:45] lemonchicken2: so let me see if i got this right....
[14:45] lemonchicken2:
pros: ribs, baby back ribs, spicy bar-b-q sauce
[14:46] lemonchicken2: cons: cold meat, questionable pudding
[14:46] biglou201: but you think about it, $23 per person was steep considering there were 3 of us, 3 drinks, 2 entrees and one dessert (which was free)
[14:46] lemonchicken2: pros: mac and cheese, corn on the cob with lime and cheese
[14:46] Bangford: and no booze
[14:46] biglou201: corn on the cob was good
[14:46] lemonchicken2: cons: price
[14:47] lemonchicken2: decor: lets not forget that
[14:47] biglou201: East-L.A.-corn-cart good
[14:47] lemonchicken2: wow, high marks from lou!
[14:47] Bangford: but w/o the east l.a. prices
[14:47] biglou201: for the corn
[14:48] Bangford: yes exactly
[14:48] Bangford: decor was...ok
[14:48] biglou201: no complaints about the ribs, but the baby backs would be the recommendation.
[14:48] Bangford: wall art consisted of large nagel-esque portraits
[14:49] lemonchicken2: you know for the money.... we could have almost bought a weber smoker and some meat
[14:49] biglou201: LOL
[14:49] lemonchicken2: but no sides or pudding
[14:49] biglou201: pudding or paste?
[14:49] lemonchicken2: cool whip and a banana?
[14:49] Bangford: more like oleo and a banana
[14:49] biglou201: the waitress did apologize for the pudding
[14:50] Bangford: true
[14:50] Bangford: thanks for a great chat
[14:50] biglou201: yeah, thanks
[14:50] lemonchicken2: thanks for taking the time out of your busy day
[14:51] biglou201: hot, look forward to the post
[14:51] Bangford: have fun editing this ;)
[14:51] Bangford: good eating to you both
[14:51] lemonchicken2: no editing!
[14:51] biglou201: http://homepage.mac.com/XXXXXXXX/XXXXXXXXXX.html (edited)
[14:51] lemonchicken2: lol
[14:51] biglou201: for XXXXXXXX (edited)