Restaurant of the Week: Joey’s BBQ

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Joey’s BBQ, 3689 Riverside Drive (at East End), Chino; closed Mondays

Joey’s, established in 1978 by a couple of transplanted Texans, had a mini-empire at one point in the ’00s, with locations in Rancho Cucamonga, Pomona and Upland, but those have closed, in that order, leaving only the original in Chino.

I enjoyed many a meal at the Pomona Joey’s but had never been to the original, and didn’t even know where it was. When a friend suggested eating there, I was all for it.

It’s off the beaten path on the western end of the city, an area I’d never seen and which feels somewhat country. It was strangely thrilling, as if I’d driven through a wormhole into an alternate Inland Valley. This visit was after dark, increasing the mystery factor. I’m interested in returning during daylight hours for a better look, although I wonder if the sun will reveal a much more prosaic view. [Update: It did, but it still had its charms.] I drove home up East End, itself alternately rural and old industrial.

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Joey’s occupies a corner and it’s a neat old wooden building, a kind of roadhouse, said to date to 1929, with a giant smoker out back. The interior has a Texas mural, below, and several dining rooms.

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They smoke their meat over mesquite charcoal here. The menu has salads, a range of barbecue (beef and pork ribs, brisket, ham, tri-tip steak, turkey and chicken), steaks and sandwiches, with a range of sides and, for dessert, peach cobbler and bread pudding.

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I got a half-order of St. Louis-style pork ribs, a dinner that came with two sides, from which I chose a baked potato and red cabbage slaw ($23.50). This was good, tender barbecue, and the sides were tasty too. I ate it all and could barely breathe.

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My friend had an 8-ounce tri-tip with baked potato and potato chips ($19); she loves the tri-tip but the highly touted chips were a letdown.

The place has a lot of character, and a walk around afterward showed a fenced-in patio with picnic tables, strings of lights and a small stage for performers, with cowboy music taking place on weekends in warmer weather, I’m told. Looks like a fun place and I’ll be back.

(Joey’s might want to update its cash registers: My receipt still lists phone numbers for Upland and Pomona.)

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Restaurant of the Week: Corner Butcher Shop

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Corner Butcher Shop, 2359 Foothill Blvd. (at Fruit), La Verne

It was January 2008 that a standalone butcher opened in a shopping center in La Verne, and while brothers John and Will Feuling’s business may have seemed a bold and even risky proposition to some of us, Corner Butcher Shop has thrived despite opening amid the recession.

I don’t cook, as must be sadly obvious from these weekly posts, but besides selling meat to take home to grill, fry or broil, they serve food in-house: sandwiches, steak and barbecue. Over the years I’ve had hot dogs and burgers, and at one point, after they added barbecue, I had ribs that in my memory were okay but nothing special.

I returned recently for lunch and learned they’d just celebrated eight years in business, and good for them. I eyed the menu and got the brisket as a plate, with two sides and a piece of cornbread ($13), plus a bottled soda, then took a seat at one of the heavy oak communal tables.

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What arrived was a plate with a heap of brisket, tender and delicious. I can’t say it’s the best brisket I’ve had, but then, I’ve been to Franklin in Austin and Pappy’s in St. Louis, two of the best brisket makers in the country. But this was the best brisket I’ve had locally, which is still impressive. The slightly spicy pasta salad and the cole slaw were both fine versions as well. I would definitely order this again.

Corner Butcher sells grass-fed beef, makes its own sausages, buys only hormone- and additive-free meat and sells Shelton’s turkeys, so they set a high standard for themselves. They also sell craft beer (Dale Brothers, Claremont Craft Ales) and wine, and they cater. Sandwiches and entrees range from $6 to $18. The steak dinners are $40, and while I probably won’t be spending that kind of money anytime soon, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn they’re worth every penny.

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Restaurant of the Week: J&J’s BBQ & Fish

J&J’s BBQ & Fish, 751 N. Indian Hill Blvd. (at Holt), Pomona

J&J’s opened in 2009 in a downscale strip center just above Holt, where it replaced a Vietnamese bakery. I had a catfish dinner not long after they opened, thought it was okay but didn’t write about it. For one thing, I wondered how long J&J’s would survive; for another, it’s a hard place to knock even if you’re not sold on it. The usually opinionated New Diner gave it a mixed review in 2010.

Some three years later, J&J’s has hung in there. When a friend recommended it recently, both for its food and the unusual kindness shown to his elderly mother, I decided to drop in for lunch. The menu has all the usual barbecue specialties and, as the name implies, a variety of fish ready to be fried.

I got the pork rib plate ($9, pictured) with two sides: collard greens and hush puppies. (A larger portion, the dinner, is $12.) The plate had five ribs and was a satisfying size. That said, the ribs, cut St. Louis style, were softer than I like. On the other hand, I ate them all and the sides were good.

Returning a month later, I got the beef brisket, potato salad and hush puppies ($9, second picture below). Bingo: A delicious heap of smoked meat and an excellent mustardy potato salad. I got a couple of slices of bread to sop up the barbecue sauce. Best barbecue I’d had in months and deeply satisfying.

Tables have spindles of paper towels to use as napkins, an old barbecue tradition, and some have tearsheets from black newspapers under the glass, a neat touch (bottom photo). A small statue of James Brown stands next to basketball trophies from a team the owner’s son coaches.

It’s a homey place and seems to be a hub for the local black community, as well as barbecue lovers. I hope they keep on keepin’ on.

Update January 2016: I eat here often. Sundays they have a Soulful Sunday buffet where there’s more soul food items. They’ve ditched the cool black newspaper clippings, but the food’s still good, and they use plates, not styrofoam now. Here’s a rib plate with collard greens and hush puppies.

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Restaurant of the Week: Wood Ranch BBQ

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Wood Ranch BBQ and Grill, 3335 Grand Ave. (at Peyton), Chino Hills

Wood Ranch is a chain, and while I rarely spotlight chains here, I do so on occasion when one has only a few Inland Valley locations. Such is the case with Wood Ranch, which has a spot in the Shoppes at Chino Hills and otherwise nothing closer to us than Corona.

There’s an outdoor patio, covered, a bar with copious seating and a spacious dining room with a beam ceiling, lots of wood and ample, comfortable booths. It’s not overly light and not overly loud. Upscale and tranquil for a barbecue restaurant — which will be either a turn-on or a turn-off, depending on your tastes. At least it’s not hoked up.

The menu has beef ribs, tri-tip, chicken, burgers and salads. I got the immodestly named America’s Best BBQ Tri-Tip Sandwich ($12) and a side of smashed sweet potatoes. Those could be America’s Best Smashed Sweet Potatoes (they were excellent) but the sandwich was more like America’s Most Adequate BBQ Tri-Tip (it was fine but didn’t wow me, and the sauce was sweeter than I’d like).

My lunch companion, who eats there all the time, had the pulled pork sandwich (price forgotten), also with potatoes, and enjoyed it.

Later a foodie friend told me she loves the salmon. Well, maybe another visit. I’d give the edge to Lucille’s (which also has a Chino Hills location, as well as one in Rancho Cucamonga) for chain barbecue, but I’ve got no beef with Wood Ranch.

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