See What People Are Saying About Walker's BBQ Smoke Pit |
Gazette Restaurant Writer Walker’s BBQ Ranks Among Best Smokehouses In Town • Location: Walker’s BBQ is located near Lakewood Country Club just off Carson, about a mile west of Lakewood Boulevard. There is a parking lot adjacent to the restaurant. • Staff/Service: The staff is friendly, fun and the service is quick. • Food/Drinks: Walker’s BBQ specializes in smoked meats. You can choose from pork ribs, pulled pork, rib tips, beef brisket, smoked chicken, sliced turkey, turkey legs, hot links and chicken links. There are combo plates available. Side dishes include BBQ beans, potato salad, coleslaw, macaroni salad, cornbread and mac and cheese. Meats are available as sandwiches for lunch or dinner plates. Desserts include peach cobbler, sweet potato pie, cakes and homemade ice cream. • Atmosphere: Walker’s BBQ has a small dining room for dining in, but mostly Walker’s is meant for take-out. The smoker covers one wall and is an impressive piece of equipment; a rich smoky aroma seeps from it into the restaurant. It is quite intoxicating. • The Taste: I stopped to pick up an end-of-week dinner for Jennifer and me. After scanning the wall-mounted menu, I opted for brisket for Jennifer and pulled pork for me. For sides, I chose mac and cheese and coleslaw. I wished I were staying when I saw the sign for homemade ice cream. Instead, I watched as our dinners were prepared. The brisket was beautiful, black coat from a proper smoking to a juicy pink center, hand-carved and trimmed. My pulled pork was cut from a large piece and chopped before being boxed. Once the meats were in place there were topped with spicy sauce (you can choose spicy or mild). A few minutes later, Jennifer and I dug in. Jennifer had plated our dinners with a sample of each meat on each plate. The pulled pork was tender and moist, deeply smoked. The brisket was astounding: melt-in-your-mouth tender, juicy and likewise deeply smoked. The sauce is homemade. While I waited back at the restaurant, I had watched a fresh batch being stirred. The sauce is thick and hearty and quite spicy, slightly sweet. It is one of the best sauces I’ve ever had, good enough to drink. The mac and cheese had a subtle garlicky snap, a nice twist on an old favorite. The coleslaw had raisins, adding a delicate sweetness and was dressed just right. Again it was a nice change for an old favorite. There have been a number of smokers and BBQ eateries opened the last year in Long Beach and environs. Many are very good, excellent even, but Walker’s is in a league of its own. Walker’s BBQ is superior, maybe the best in town.
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| Press Telegram Cheers Magazine Published: Thursday, March 4, 2010    |
