Rib Ranch Bar-B-Q

Have you ever got up in the morning and decided that you had to have some barbecue. That's what happened to me today. I was really craving some slow smoked barbecue spare ribs, but deep down inside a little voice was telling me that I don't have the time make any today. Lets face it, real good home style BBQ takes time to prepare. On to plan "B," convince my wife that I really wanted to take her out to get some BBQ for lunch and that it had entirely nothing to do with my BBQ Junkie blog. She is a very understanding soul and went along with it. Yesss!

So, off we went, cruising down Ventura Blvd. towards a BBQ joint called My Brother's Bar-B-Q, a Woodland Hills restaurant since 1957. Oh, I could almost taste the ribs... mmmmm. No such luck. Come to find out that the place opens late on Sundays (4:30 pm). Why, oh why? Is it only me, or is Sunday just as good a time as any to serve BBQ all day long? Going to plan "C." There is a place, just south of Ventura on Topanga Canyon Blvd called "Rib Ranch Bar-B-Q" that we had visited before. I was a bit reluctant to go there because in my previous visit I remember it being just "o.k." but I needed my BBQ fix. So off we went. We took a table on the front patio (they also have a big side patio) with a good view of the boulevard and their smoking BBQ pit. Bring me the menu and a drink...I'm so ready to eat. Another wrench was unexpectedly thrown into my BBQ master plan... no alcohol. Ouch! They bring me a tall Coke and I'm good to go.

My wife is not that hungry and orders a BBQ hot dog. Interesting choice, she is a big fan of hot links but she orders the dog instead. Hmmm? It must have been all of the hot dog stands that we passed along the way. Anyway, you throw in a side BBQ beans and potato salad and she has a meal. I wanted BBQ spare ribs, but they only ribs they offered were BBQ baby back and beef. I definitely had to have the pork as one of my choices, but with the combo you have to select another. Should I go BBQ beef ribs, BBQ chicken, or BBQ tri tip? If you have ever read this blog before, you know in which direction I am inclined to go. BBQ tri tip all the way.

Now, about the meal. I hear the hot dog was actually very delicious and her sides weren't bad either. Grill beats griddle every time when it comes to hot dogs, kinda like scissors to paper in a game of Ro-Sham-Bo. I really enjoyed the BBQ baby back ribs, which were grilled over mesquite charcoal and nice and tender. The grilled flavor was good, but really not smoky at all. I enjoyed them none-the-less. The BBQ tri-tip on the other hand was not very good, I should have ordered the beef ribs instead...next time I will, for sure. The BBQ tri tip came, and this is a pet peeve of mine, with the BBQ sauce pre-applied. You don't pre-apply the BBQ sauce. If your BBQ skills are up to par, BBQ sauce is condiment not a necessity.

Sorry about that, I just had to get it out. Anyway, even with the BBQ sauce bath, I found that the BBQ tri tip still needed salt and a little bit of pepper. The Sauce was sweet and seemed to favor the pork over the tri tip. I could also see it going good with chicken, although I didn't order any. My side dishes were pretty good. They represented the coleslaw quite well, it was bright and refreshing. We both felt that it was better the Dr. Hogly Wogly's. Not that I am bashing the Doctor in the least bit.

If you live in woodland hills or find yourself passing through someday from the greater Los Angeles area, stop by and have lunch. The people are nice and, plus, the Valley has great weather. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend driving out from anywhere outside of the San Fernando Valley just to eat here.

Rib Ranch Bar-B-Q
4923 Topanga Canyon Boulevard
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
818-884-7776