BBQ – mmm-yoso

Buckboard’s BBQ & Brew (El Cajon)

June 30, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, BBQ

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.

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Which is located in a mixed residential – business area on Greenfield Drive. The place was fairly busy, the folks quite friendly.

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And quite kitschy as well……

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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.

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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.

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The Sweet Potato Fries, were thin slices, slightly crisp, but got soggy quite quickly.

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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.

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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!

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Buckboard's BBQ & Brew
975 Greenfield Dr.
El Cajon, CA 92021
Current Hours:
Thurs – Sun 11am – 8pm
Closed Mon – Wed

Road Trip – Whiskey n’ Rye, Exploring Solvang, and Bell’s (Los Alamos) Yet Again

April 12, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, BBQ, Dog Friendly, French Restaurants, Road Trip, Santa Barbara County, Travel

As soon as we got back from our last road trip with JJ, the Missus had me planning another one. Looks like we're doing one and month? Anyway, JJ had so much fun in Solvang and it was the slow season, so She wanted to stay there. I managed to find a dog friendly motel close to the edge of the "main drag" and we were set!

Of course, the Missus wanted to have lunch at Bell's yet again, so I made reservations for lunch and called to make sure we had a patio table. This time, even though it was on a Monday, I had 1pm reservations, so things were a bit more busy.

Still the service was great as they immediately brought JJ his own bowl of water when we were seated.

Lunch was as expected. Not going to go into much detail since I've done so many posts on the place before.

Though I will say, that even though the beef cheek in the beef cheek sandwich was delicious; we didn't care for the "rye-ish" bread that really messed up all the flavors.

Perhaps I should have stayed with my favorite here; the beef tartare. Still, this was a nice lunch.

Bell's
406 Bell St.
Los Alamos, CA 93440

After lunch we headed straight over to Solvang to see if our room was ready. And yes, it was! So we were able to check in an hour early.

We stayed at the Viking Inn on Mission Drive.

We liked the outdoor space with a fence right outside our door. The room was comfortable. I had read about street noise, but that wasn't a problem at all. Later that evening, the Missus, JJ, and I sat and relaxed outside for a bit. We had the whole area to ourselves. Being on the first level made taking JJ out at 4 in the morning a lot easier!

It seemed like the place was only half full, so no parking or similar issues. The only time we dealt with folks was when we checked in; the rest is done by code and text messages. While these accommodations were quite different from where we stayed in Solvang before, we enjoyed it.

Not sure how it is when things are busy, but this was really relaxing!

Viking Inn
1506 Mission Dr.
Solvang, CA 93463

After unpacking, we took JJ for a walk. On our last visit to Solvang we found a really nice Pet Store, which just happened to be across the street from where we were staying.

And then headed down 246 and did some shopping. While there seemed to be traffic heading out of Solvang……I found out later that all the folks working in the town head on home….the opposite happens in the morning, there we hardly saw anyone walking!

We enjoyed ducking in and out of shops!

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It was quite entertaining.

Folks working at these shops were very friendly. I'd usually stop at the front of the shop with JJ and let the Missus walk in if there's no "dogs welcome" sign. Most of the time we got waved in.

This soap shop was interesting…..

Mainly because of this sign…..

I asked the young lady working about it and she told me that every once in a while they'd find teeth marks or a chunk bitten out of the soap when they close up!

We ended up at the Mission Santa Ines, which we visited before.

We walked JJ along the grounds where dogs are allowed. JJ seems to be fascinated by statues. I call this one "JJ meets JC"!

I love the view from the Mission.

As we headed back you could see the line of cars heading out of Solvang…….

We got back to the room, took a short break and then headed out to dinner. One things about Solvang, it seems that many places are closed on Monday and Tuesday, so we had rather limited options when it came to dog friendly establishments. We decided to stay close and went to a place named Whiskey 'N Rye Smokehouse which was down at the end of Atterdag Road.

We were surprised to see that the entire interior of the restaurant and the bar was packed. I guess folks eat pretty early here? But we lucked out as the entire patio area was empty. I guess folks thought it might be too cold? The really nice Server was shocked when we said that he didn't need to fire up the heater.

As the name says; the place has a huge list of Bourbon, Scotch, Rye, and similar spirits; but I just wanted a beer.

The food offerings were BBQ/Meat/Burgers based, you know what I mean right?

The Missus had seen photos of the Brisket Dirty Fries ($22) and was fixed on ordering that.

While I don't think this was worth twenty-two bucks; it was the better of the two dishes. The fries had been "dusted" thus it was able to retain crispness thru the whole meal. The brisket wasn't very smoky and sort of stringy and chewy. I wish the cheese mix had more Gouda in it than Mozzarella, but it was great at making a gooey mess. The pickled onions and jalapenos were good as it added spice, pungency, and acidity. I thought this was decent "beer food".

We also got the Filet Mignon Tips ($34) which was a mixed bag.

We ordered the meat rare. but only the large piece was rare, the rest were medium-well, skewing things to the tough side of the scale. The meat was well seasoned, though the "sauces" really didn't go well with the proteins but was necessary for the really dry "garlic bread" bites in our opinion. The Bloody Mary aioli was interesting, but pretty bland; the BBQ Sauce was too sweet.

We were hoping for something in line with Shalhoob's, but this was more in line with "chain/tourist" food. At least the service, while a bit slow, which I can understand based on the crowd was quite nice. Not too many places open on this day so we had limited choices.

Whiskey 'N Rye Smokehouse
442 Atterdag Rd.
Solvang, CA 93463

Still, Solvang has it's charm and we were enjoying ourselves.

Thanks for stopping by!

Road Trip – Shalhoob’s Funk Zone Patio and Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. (Santa Barbara)

April 4, 2025 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, BBQ, Beer, Dog Friendly, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Santa Barbara County, Travel

After our stroll along State Street, we settled into our hotel; the Moxy. We took a short nap and then had to decide on dinner. A couple of places on my "list" were closed; several of them for "Employee appreciation parties"! Pretty nice; I'm guessing Super Bowl Sunday is pretty quiet round these parts. There was one place I wanted to try; Santo Mezcal, but they don't do reservations and there was a 90 minute wait.

There was one interesting place I had on my "list", it was all outdoor dining, which was perfect for JJ. Shalhoob's Funk Zone Patio was just barely two blocks away. An extension of a company that runs several butcher shops, the menu has everything from tacos to burgers to BBQ, and beer of course. So, we walked on over.

The Funk Zone is an interesting location; there are wineries, restaurants, breweries, shops, and even some houses sprinkled among auto shops, warehouses, it has a real industrial transitioning to hipster feel.

The actual restaurant used to be the main "cutting room" for the butcher shops and has now been converted.

While the few parking spaces were taken….the place was maybe half full. There was a large screen television mounted on a large golf cart showing the Super Bowl pregame.

You order at the counter, they give you a number, and you have a seat at one of the tables or barrels. The Missus wanted a beer! Go figure! The features brews made inhouse. Not quite knowing what the Missus would want; I got a Funk Zone Blonde to go with what the Missus ordered; the Funk Zone Lager.

Turns out the Missus preferred the Blond Ale….whew…good thing I got that, right?

The Missus wanted a 1/4 Rack St Louis style BBQ ribs ($10.95), with a side of Street Corn ($8.95). I went with the Oak Smoked Tri-Tip Sandwich ($16.50). The woman working the counter was very nice.

The Tri-Tip Sandwich was pretty good; the meat a bit on the drier side, but tender enough. There was a very nice smoke ring, and so I knew the assertive smokiness of Oak would be front and center.

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I think the pico de gallo was kind of overwhelmed by the smokiness of the tri-tip, though the garlic bread and aioli came thru nicely; adding some moistness and a rich-mild pungency to the sandwich. The BBQ Sauce, which I believe is St Louis style was a bit too sweet for my taste, but this was an enjoyable sandwich overall.

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The "street corn" was sweet and maizey; though it had too much other "stuffs".

Was still pretty good.

I had reservations about the ribs; but they turned out to be pretty good.

Like the tri-tip, the BBQ sauce was a tad on the sweeter side; but the ribs were tender, quite smokey. It might be a bit much for some folks, but the Missus enjoyed the smokiness and the "fall off the bone tenderness" was quite good.

This ended up being a relaxing and enjoyable meal for us. Just what we needed on this day.

Shalhoob's Funk Zone Patio
220 Gray Ave.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel. JJ was pooped as was the Missus. I'm not sure why since I had been the one doing the driving up from San Diego! I decided to take the opportunity, since JJ wouldn't be displaying his yappy separation anxiety, to walk over to the Figueroa Mountain Brewing tap room a block away and watch the end of the Super Bowl. Like the rest of the area, things were pretty mellow. There was only one table taken and a couple of folks over at the bar.

I had a Frozen Goat Weizenbock.

Fairly boozy, fruity – yeasty notes.

And I took in the last quarter of the Super Bowl and chatted with one of the local guys, who told me that the sports bars around the area are pretty busy, but many places close during Super Bowl Sunday. He lives on State Street and walked on over here.

Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. Santa Barbara
137 Anacapa St. F
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

It was a lovely end to a fun day.

The Barbecue Pit (El Cajon) (again)

May 6, 2024 Cathy BBQ, What Cathy Eats!

Thank you for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog, while Kirk is enjoying a vacation. Cathy eats, too and is here to share.

I wrote about the El Cajon location of The Barbecue Pit the first time in 2014, again in 2018, again in 2019 and once more in 2021. It's time for another post.

Not much has changed since the last time, or even from 1947, when The Barbecue Pit first opened in downtown San Diego.

Other than the prices and having a daily availability of brisket (used to only be on weekends).

Walk up, order, pay and you walk away with your tray of food. Efficient.
Find a seat.
Go back to the condiment bar and beverage station. Remember to grab utensils!
A bowl of Navy Bean Soup-filled with beans, carrots, celery and bits of ham. An excellent version almost always ordered (except when I really want the Pea Soup)..
This went well with a beef sandwich. (Soup and Sandwich, $11.99). This is Pit Barbecue-slow cooked over oak-not overly smoked (there is a smokey BBQ sauce available on the condiment bar). The sandwiches are 1/2 pound, the bread is lightly toasted. It all comes together in each bite.
The Mister ordered the chopped burnt ends plate ($10.99) which included two sides. The burnt ends are meaty, not fatty.
We decided to share a slice of pecan pie ($4.99) which had an excellent, flaky crust, not too sweet filling and still crisp pecans. A nice treat.

The Barbecue Pit 2388 Fletcher Parkway El Cajon 92020 (619) 462-5434 Open Mon-Thur 10:30-8, Fri-Sat 10:30-9 Closed Sunday Website

Smokin’ Joe’s Soul Food Weekends at the Poseidon Project – A Quick Look

August 6, 2022 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, BBQ, yoso-silly

I had to make a quick run to Siesel's last week. At that time finding parking was just horrible and I managed to find a spot several blocks away from the shop. While walking back to the car I noticed a huge set-up in back of the Poseidon Project.

Smokin Joes 02 Smokin Joes 01 I went in and chatted with the nice folks at Poseidon and they told me that they were starting BBQ on weekends starting on the 5th of August, running from Fridays to Sundays.

Sure enough, I drove past the place yesterday and saw the signs up.

The BBQ is being done by the folks from Smokin' Joe's BBQ. If I recall, these were the folks doing BBQ in at Iowa Meat Farms a while back.

Since I'm all for more variety in our area, I decided to drop on in and get some takeout.

The drill is; you order from the friendly folks here, get a receipt, pay inside Poseidon, and return back with a ticket and pick up your order.

Before ordering, I asked what style of BBQ this was…especially since the menu had Pork Ribs, Beef Ribs, Tri-Tip, Sausage, and Brisket on it. Having worked and travelled thru some of the south during an earlier life, I was quickly educated on the BBQ of different regions. The guys working looked surprised when I asked, but quickly replied, "Mississippi style".

So, at least for me, unless it's Mississippi Smoked Pot Roast (it's really good, try it if you have a chance) it's basically pork products. I was tempted with pulled pork, but really was craving some ribs and rib tips, which is what I got. Speaking of what I got; the meal also gets you three sides…..aaah, the good 'ole "meat n' three" in spirit.

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And also some (rather mediocre) corn bread.

Smokin Joes 04 Smokin Joes 05 The rib and tips both had a very nice, deep, distinctive smoke ring and a decent, almost "crisp" if uneven bark.

The amount of run used on the baby backs made it really salty, though strangely, the amount on the rib tips were perfect.

The rib tips were very tender, moist, with the porky flavor shining thru and was my favorite. If the baby backs weren't as salty; they would have been quite good as the meat came off the bone perfectly.

The sauce was on the sweeter side; though the spicy version had a good amount of spice. I really didn't use any of it for my ribs/tips.

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As for the sides. Well, I had wanted Black Eyed Peas but they were out.

My favorite item was usually one of my least favorite' the Breen Beans. Can you tell why?

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Yep, that's fatty pork parts in the beans. It added some good flavor. Also, as you can tell, unlike many versions the beans aren't overcooked and are tender, but still somewhat firm. I'm not a fan of mushy green beans….mushy peas maybe, but not green beans.

I thought the texture of the collard greens, usually one of my favorite items was good.

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But this was much too salty and acidic. I also like a nice touch of smokiness in my collards which this lacked; perhaps it was shrouded by all that salt?

The Mac and Cheese was like one giant lump and not my favorite.

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Still, not a bad start. And I'll try them out a again in a couple of weeks. It's a nice addition to the neighborhood and I hope they stick around. I enjoyed the BBQ from Joe's much more than other places that had opened (then closed in the area). It might be a good option if you're grabbing a cold one from Harland or Poseidon; or just looking for a picnic at Mission Bay across the freeway.

And sometimes, because I'm getting and such….these type of posts bring back blogging memories.

And also is a reminder that I need to start using the 'ol smoker again.

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Anyway, if you check out Smokin' Joe's, let me know what you think.

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Smokin' Joe's Soul Food Weekends at The Poseidon Project
4126 Napier St
San Diego, CA 92110
Every other weekend (Fri – Sun) starting on August 5th

Iron Pig – A Takeout Revisit

June 22, 2022 mmm-yoso BBQ, Chicken Wings, Salads

**** Iron Pig has closed

The recent warm weather had the Missus craving takeout from Iron Pig. So I dropped by, placed an order, and then went to do a quick visit to Trader Joe's. My takeout was ready when I returned to Iron Pig. I had found parking nearby and everything just seemed hunky dory.

On my last post, I noted that the wings were dry and tough. Unfortunately, these were basically the same.

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Large, meaty wings, but super dry and tough, and the large size meant that it was somewhat lacking in enough smokiness.

I also got the Rib Tips and specifically asked for sauce on the side. Sadly, this must have been lost in the translation.

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Over-sauced and very salty……

Our favorite menu item over the years is the Man Salad…make that the Gender Neutral Salad. Which looked mighty appetizing.

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Until we started eating….and started noticing something…hidden underneath all those fries and brisket.

All those brown and discolored greens. Sigh…….

I take no pleasure in typing this out and it's kind of sad to get a meal like this from a place that's been a favorite over the years. We understand that times are tough and are trying to support local businesses, but it seems like the appreciation is not being returned? Not quite sure what to make of this meal…..

Iron Pig Alehouse
1520 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

Barbecue Pit (La Mesa) again

August 20, 2021 Cathy BBQ, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is rolling into the weekend with another post written by Cathy; Kirk has had a long week.

Another local business survivor of COVID-19 is a favorite for old school oak smoked meats and delightful house made sides, the Barbecue Pit, which has been in business since 1947. The menu choices are the same, as are the flavors.
Walk up, order, watch the meat sliced, meal assembled and put on a tray. Pay and find a seat. There's a small condiment bar near the beverage fountain, along with utensils and napkins.
This was our meal, which also included a slice of pie (you'll see).
The pulled pork sandwich plate ($10.99) includes the tender pork, shredded, mixed with a bit of sauce and overfilling the steamed bun along with two sides (choice of fries, macaroni salad, potato salad, Cole slaw and baked beans) and some extra house made sauce (tangy, sweet, fresh-made warm). The sides have the 'made from scratch' flavors- brown sugar slow baked beans, lightly dressed slightly tangy slaw. This is like a good home made meal, without having to cook at home.
When I saw the roast beef behind the counter, I decided on the Soup and Sandwich ($8.99). Plenty of slow roasted beef with a nice smoke ring on the steamed bun…along with
a bowl of Navy Bean Soup (beans!, carrot, celery, onion). The other soup choice is split pea, which I also like, but think it goes better with a ham sandwich. This was a wonderfully filling meal with all the flavors of scratch cooking. We ordered and paid for one dessert ($4) and were told to grab what we wanted from the refrigerated display when we were ready.
Coconut cream pie, of course. A delicate (from scratch) buttery graham cracker crust topped with a coconut filled pudding-like filling topped with whipped cream and shredded coconut. Decadent.

Not hipster, not fancy, just good food.

Barbecue Pit 2388 Fletcher Parkway El Cajon 92020 (619)462-5434 Open Mon-Sat 10:30-9 CLOSED SUNDAY Website

Roadtrip (During Covid-19) – Sidecar Cocktail Co. and Old San Luis BBQ Co. (San Luis Obispo)

August 14, 2021 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, BBQ, Cocktails, Paso Robles/Cambria/San Luis Obispo County, Road Trip, Travel

On the way back to the motel after dinner, I asked the Missus if She'd like to stop for a cocktail. I was somewhat interested in a place we had passed earlier in the day named Sidecar….no, not "that" Sidecar; this Sidecar, located on Broad Street.

This was the place we passed that had seating along the the creek. They also had tables lined up outdoors as well.

Unfortunately, none of those tables were available….plus, we weren't eating anything, so we just got one of the tables in the bar area which was nicely spaced.

The folks working were quite friendly….the Missus ordered one of the specialty cocktails….called "Walk on Home Boy" ($15).

Strange this supposedly had both Bourbon and Mezcal, but was quite mild in flavor and on the sweeter side/

I asked for an Old Fashion made with Mezcal – which wasn't too bad at all.

We decided to call it quits after one drink each and decided to head back to the motel.

We enjoyed the service and vibe was very nice.

Sidecar Cocktail Co.
1040 Broad St.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

A half a block away, we stopped by this nice piece of public art named "Web of Life".

Close by was the Old San Luis BBQ Company – also known as "Old Slo BBQ". It was basically a window and small attached dining area.

Along with a small outdoor dining area along the sidewalk. The menu had tri-tip "sliders" on it, so I talked the Missus into ordering one ($4.25) to take back to the room.

It was a short wait, but soon enough our little slider was ready and we walked back to our room.

Old San Luis BBQ Co.
670 Higuera St.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

Returning to our room I opened things up……

The rather dry tri-tip was served on a standard issue sourdough-ciabatta style roll. The tri-tip had a strong smokiness with not much else in terms of seasoning and was quite tough and dry. The actual flavor of the bread was stronger than the meat….except for all that smoke.

That BBQ sauce was overly sweet for my taste. I guess we'll stick with our "old faithful" if/when we're back in SLO……

Eating to Beat the Heat – Takeout From Iron Pig Alehouse

July 5, 2021 mmm-yoso BBQ, Gastropub, Pubs and Pub Grub

**** Iron Pig has closed

Well, I had a pretty interesting end of last week. A sinus infection combined with the rather warm days really had me on my back! Luckily, I'm feeling much better, though it's still kinda warm out there. I wanted something with some flavor and looked back at some of our "eating to beat the heat" posts and Iron Pig Alehouse popped up! Man, has it been over 3 years since we ate there? Well, we weren't feeling like eating at Iron Pig, but I noticed that online ordering was available….so I thought what the heck, and placed an order. A combination of summertime and rush hour traffic makes it a bit of a chore, but I arrived right at the designated time and my order as ready to go….just hop back in the car and fight the traffic out of PB.

So, was this worth it?

Well, feast your eyes on this.

It's the dish formerly known as "the Man Salad". It's been renamed to the "Gender Neutral Salad"….ohhhkay……

Regardless, the Missus absolutely loved this. I ordered it with the add on of an fried egg and you know the Missus with fried eggs, right? While I'm not a fan of the brisket ala carte at IP, it's wonderful on this salad, adding a nice beefy-smokiness, that goes so well with the pickled onions, goat cheese….and of course, those french fries. The arugula adds a nice mild bitterness to things. We don't even need the dressing. The salad seemed huge, but we polished it off with no problem.

The Missus also loves the Rib Tips and She really loved this as well.

Rib tips tend to have bit more fat and porkiness in my opinion. These were much more tender than what I'm used to with rib tips. Nice smokiness, nice swine to dine flavor. A decent rub…..don't need much more. The Missus likes these straight up without BBQ Sauce….She just loves the texture and the smokiness.

I was kind of excited to get the Smoked Wings, which I hadn't had in a while.

In the past, the wings were a bit inconsistent, but when they were slightly crisp, super smokey they really hit the spot.

Sadly, these were not. It was weak in terms of smoked flavor, decently seasoned, but dry, tough, and the skin quite rubbery.

This is what the wings look like when I know they're done right…….

Still, no complaints about the meal at all……

Still, the Missus did present the question of "why didn't you get this earlier?" My answer? Pointing to Her plate: "Hey, it looks like you missed some salad there….."

The online ordering was easy, as was pick-up. I don't know if I hit the lottery on this afternoon, but I found parking close by.

So, I guess more Man Salad, ummmm, "Gender Neutral Salad" is in our future. Especially when temps rise.

Iron Pig Alehouse
1520 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109
Current Hours:
Mon – Tues 4pm – 9pm
Wed – Thurs 1130am – 9pm
Fridays 1130am – 10pm
Saturdays 10am – 10pm
Sundays 10am – 9pm

Barbecue Pit (El Cajon) Revisit

September 24, 2019 Cathy BBQ, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Kirk is busy with 'work' and will return soon enough. Until then, Cathy is writing.

Barbecue Pit is a longstanding (since 1947) restaurant in El Cajon. Posting in 2014 as well as in 2018, combined with Kirk's post of Wrangler Family Barbecue, in 2010 (Wrangler has the same menu, decor, ambiance and flavors as Barbecue Pit; it was once part of the chain) doesn't really show how much this place is part of our 'regular rotation'. Its location, kitty corner from Beef 'n Bun, on the North East corner of Fletcher Parkway at Garfield, (next to the Baskin Robbins) has plenty of parking in front and in a larger area in the same lot, serving a 99 Cent Only store as well as a few other storefronts.
Step inside, walk up, order and watch your meal being prepared. The Texas style, pit smoked (over oak) meats available are beef, pork, ham, chicken and links. The sides are slaw, potato salad, baked beans and fries. The soups are pea soup and navy bean. The combinations for meals are plenty and delineated on the wall.
Pay, find a table, grab your beverage, check out the condiment bar and grab some utensils.
I ordered the 'soup and sandwich' ($8.99). A large bowl of navy bean soup and a ham sandwich- smoky, thick slices of ham on a toasted bun. The soup is a particular new craving of mine. More on that in a moment.
We went on a Saturday night (the Barbecue Pit is closed on Sundays) and there was a Special on the white Boards- the Sloppy Joe beef sandwich plate was $9.99. Slaw and potato salad were the sides. You can see this was a generous portion of smoked beef. You can add more BBQ sauce as you wish…tangy and sweet, warm and luxuriously thick, the sauce is a compliment to the beef.
Here's another visit. The rib and chicken combo plate with sides of baked beans and potato salad and cornbread ($16.50) was The Mister's order.
Two large, juicy, meaty, well smoked (leaving a bark on the meat) beef ribs and 1/4 chicken (breast and wing). Not using the sauce, the smokiness really comes through. Using the sauce halfway through makes the meal a new experience.
On this visit, I tried the chicken sandwich and navy bean soup. The soup really is all beans with carrot, celery and onion; a bowl by itself is a meal. The chicken sandwich is plentiful and has a more delicate smokiness when tried plain.

Everything here is good.

Barbecue Pit 2388 Fletcher Parkway El Cajon 92020 (619)462-5434 Open Mon-Sat 10:30-9 CLOSED SUNDAY Website

There is dessert here, too.