Meeting the meat at Mill Creek Cattle Co.
John has told you his tale of Mill Creek Cattle Co., and I shall now share with you my own experiences with this legendary place of flavor, and, most certainly, meat.
My apologies to my vegetarian and vegan friends in advance, I'm going to wax carnivore for a moment.
As the name implies, Mill Creek Cattle Co. is true to form in both food and decor. Stuffed deer heads on the wall are a testament to the fact that MEAT is served here, not quivering blocks of pale tofu and the like. You want meat? You're gonna get meat. The rustic cowboy and indian art on the wall says so, too. This is BBQ. This is WESTERN.
My apologies to my vegetarian and vegan friends in advance, I'm going to wax carnivore for a moment.
As the name implies, Mill Creek Cattle Co. is true to form in both food and decor. Stuffed deer heads on the wall are a testament to the fact that MEAT is served here, not quivering blocks of pale tofu and the like. You want meat? You're gonna get meat. The rustic cowboy and indian art on the wall says so, too. This is BBQ. This is WESTERN.
Of course, there's greenery here, too, for folks not feeling up for
Mill Creek's signature slow-smoked meats. All of their salads are
served with a homemade cornbread muffin and honey butter on the side.
The lighting here is comfortably dim and country music plays softly in the background, somewhere near the kitchen. The interior is warm and a welcome relief to the biting cold outside.
I'm the sort that likes a variety of tastes, so I ordered the Triple Treat BBQ Platter (John jokingly called it the "Triple Threat" as I was deciding). That's a generous serving of tri-tip, brisket, and pulled pork with two sides; I opted for salad with bleu cheese dressing for my sides. John ordered up some sweet potato fries and the Real Deal Turkey sandwich, which came with sliced turkey breast, avocado, bacon, swiss, lettuce, and tomato.
We were given a plastic table number along with our drinks a la Carl's Jr. or Legends, and we seated ourselves in a booth.
It didn't take too long for the food to arrive, either; service was prompt and courteous. I was surprised to see that the dressing for my salad came in tiny tubs instead of the ususal Generic Salad Dressing Company pouches which most restaurants give out, which was a bonus.
In fact, the bleu cheese dressing was one of the biggest surprises during the meal. The crumbles of cheese in it were exceptionally melt-in-your-mouth creamy and was an excellent pairing with the crisp side salad.
In short: really, really good. I wish I could stock my fridge with it.
I managed to snag one of the sweet potato fries from John's basket and was absoluely blown away by the perfect balance between sweet, salty, and crispy. My only regret was that I didn't have an order of my own.
All of the meats were smoked to perfection; my favorite being the brisket. Prior to this meal, the only form of brisket I'd ever had was in the form of corned beef brisket, which is one of my main staples for St. Patrick's Day. Mill Creek's was fall-apart tender like you'd expect from any decently slow-cooked meat, as were the pulled pork and tri-tip.
All-in-all, an excellent meal at an affordable price.
I have but one tiny quibble about the whole experience: the meat wasn't as hot as my expectations for it were, but that's an extremely minor complaint; don't let it deter you from visiting this fine house of barbecue.
The lighting here is comfortably dim and country music plays softly in the background, somewhere near the kitchen. The interior is warm and a welcome relief to the biting cold outside.
I'm the sort that likes a variety of tastes, so I ordered the Triple Treat BBQ Platter (John jokingly called it the "Triple Threat" as I was deciding). That's a generous serving of tri-tip, brisket, and pulled pork with two sides; I opted for salad with bleu cheese dressing for my sides. John ordered up some sweet potato fries and the Real Deal Turkey sandwich, which came with sliced turkey breast, avocado, bacon, swiss, lettuce, and tomato.
We were given a plastic table number along with our drinks a la Carl's Jr. or Legends, and we seated ourselves in a booth.
It didn't take too long for the food to arrive, either; service was prompt and courteous. I was surprised to see that the dressing for my salad came in tiny tubs instead of the ususal Generic Salad Dressing Company pouches which most restaurants give out, which was a bonus.
In fact, the bleu cheese dressing was one of the biggest surprises during the meal. The crumbles of cheese in it were exceptionally melt-in-your-mouth creamy and was an excellent pairing with the crisp side salad.
In short: really, really good. I wish I could stock my fridge with it.
I managed to snag one of the sweet potato fries from John's basket and was absoluely blown away by the perfect balance between sweet, salty, and crispy. My only regret was that I didn't have an order of my own.
All of the meats were smoked to perfection; my favorite being the brisket. Prior to this meal, the only form of brisket I'd ever had was in the form of corned beef brisket, which is one of my main staples for St. Patrick's Day. Mill Creek's was fall-apart tender like you'd expect from any decently slow-cooked meat, as were the pulled pork and tri-tip.
All-in-all, an excellent meal at an affordable price.
I have but one tiny quibble about the whole experience: the meat wasn't as hot as my expectations for it were, but that's an extremely minor complaint; don't let it deter you from visiting this fine house of barbecue.
About this blog
Fine and not-so-fine dining in the Inland Empire.
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