Recently, the Missus was invited to a Birthday/Happy Hour with coworkers. Since we've had JJ for 8 months now and he's getting a bit older, we thought we could leave him for a couple of hours so the Missus could attend. Since I'd be just dropping the Missus off then killing time; I thought I'd take JJ with me; but since it was in El Cajon, it just seemed a bit too hot for the little guy. Plus, I had a place in mind that wasn't dog friendly. So, I dropped the Missus off and then headed to get dinner at the restaurant on my "list"; to find the place (Brothers Turkish) was closed, even though their website, Google, and the four lettered site said they were open! Sigh…… So, I needed to find a plan B….which ended up being Buckboard's BBQ & Brew.
Which is located in a mixed residential – business area on Greenfield Drive. The place was fairly busy, the folks quite friendly.
And quite kitschy as well……
The folks working were quite friendly. This is one of those order at the counter, pay, and they'll bring the food out to you. I initially wanted the sausage plate, but they were out of sausages, also out of beef ribs, it must have been a pretty busy day…..I understand that they do Santa Maria style BBQ, so tri-tip seemed like the better "consolation choice".
I got an order of Tri-Tip ($23), some street corn ($6), and sweet potato fries ($6). I took a seat in the bar area and my order arrived in like 15 minutes.
This was interesting as the signage said the tri-tip was served medium, which this was not. I read that the tri-tip is dry brined for five days. The beef was quite juicy and tender, though it lacked a mild smokiness that I enjoy. It could have used more seasoning and lacked a smoke ring. It's pretty good, though not nearly as good as what we get at Firestone Grill or even what I make at home. The horseradish sauce was nice and creamy, though on the milder side. I do like my horseradish sauces to have some nice sinus clearing pungency. The butter toast could have been toasted a bit more as it was quite soft. Still, the portion size was quite large, I could only finish half. Though I saw the woman several seats down from me polish off her entire meal, including her sides!
Speaking of sides.
The Sweet Potato Fries, were thin slices, slightly crisp, but got soggy quite quickly.
The starchy-sweet flavor did come thru nicely though.
As for the "Street Corn". Well, much like the version at Shalhoob's Funk Zone Patio, there was way too much aioli.
Though the portion size was quite generous.
In the end; Buckboard's seems like a fun stop, nice employees, with generous portions. Glad I had a chance to visit, though I still want to try Brothers Turkish!
Funny thing, when I did that Google thingy, I noticed that both Mary and Soo have posted on Buckboard's, so please check out their posts as well!
Buckboard's BBQ & Brew
975 Greenfield Dr.
El Cajon, CA 92021
Current Hours:
Thurs – Sun 11am – 8pm
Closed Mon – Wed
Thanks for the review! I’ve driven by a few times but never felt inspired to go inside. Prefer smoked meats over BBQ/grilled stuff. No smoke rings, forget it. Happy 4th!
it always bums me whenever “things” say they are open but they aren’t
Soo’s site seems to be down.
I think you could have gone to Dalu which is right across the street from the Turkish place instead
Hi Kenneth – I was wondering what you thought of this place! Happy 4th to you and yours as well!
I know Kat….I was quite disappointed.
Yes, I could have Kimo. Though I wanted to try someplace I hadn’t already been to.
Hi Dereck – I just clicked on the link and it seemed to work fine! Thanks for the heads-up!
Thanks for the link! I fixed the site down problem. The beef ribs were really good but my friends have found they are usually out. I go at opening time and have gotten them.
Yes, they were out of both the beef ribs and sausage on visit Soo!