Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy.....Mt. Diablo BBQ

Mt. Diablo BBQ hit on almost all cylinders last night. Let’s just get this out of the way; WOW!!!! This meal was fantastic. Let’s start off with the beef ribs.

   Yes you read that right; beef ribs. It seems that lately bbq restaurants have left beef ribs off the menu. Not tonight. These beef ribs were huge. There was so much meat. The meat had the perfect balance of smoke, seasoning, sauce and lovely juicy beef fat. This fat had been rendered by a slow cook which created a taste sensation that is making me drool as I type. Beef ribs like this are a huge treat.

 

 We also loaded up with burnt ends, pulled pork and tri-tip. The tri-tip was smoky and tender with beef flavor that makes you want to sing. The burnt ends had all the right moves of rich, smoky, sweet, and savory. This was meat candy at its finest. The pulled pork had a great mix of bark and tender strands of smoky goodness. It was served with a sweet/tart vinegar sauce on the side. Ms. Goofy loved this sauce.

  If I were to fill out an optional comment card it would read; side dishes were mediocre and just seemed to take up room on the platter. None of the sides were bad but the effort and care seemed to be phoned in.

Overall we shall return to Mt. Diablo BBQ. The bbq meats are fantastic. It is a fun place and also has a large micro-beer selection. If you get a chance try the beef ribs.

PINKY'S PIZZA & PUB

Pinky's Pizza & Pub has been around for over 50 years but it was new to us. We were not dissapointed. This pizza joint has all the right moves. Kitschy decorated, low lighting and wonderful aromas make the interior warm and inviting. There are lots of beers on tap to lubricate the atmosphere. The pizza had a fairly thin crackerish style crust. The dough and sauce are house made. We shall return.

 

Chilebrown's Pepper Project

  As some of you know I have a fondness of chile. This year my project was to grow chiltepin peppers and dry them. They are fiery tiny hot balls of fire. You crush them and put them on pizza or anything you want to liven and fire up. I am proud of my small crop and have put them in a hanging air dryer. I also added some home grown Calabrian & Habanero to make this spicy hot melody.

Savory Dave's "Women Make the World Go Around" Rib Cook-off & Jr. Chef competition

 

A fantastic bbq & steak contest in Natomas California. The bbq teams were made up of Women only Pittmasters and the steaks were cooked by Jr. Chefs. (Kids) What a tasty day!

Seoul Fried Chicken (Pinole, California)

Not sure if it is still Grand Opening (8 months) but new to us. It was fried crunchy chicken with fun and unusual flavors. We enjoyed our meal.

 

Frank’s Red Hot Squeeze Ghost Pepper Ranch Sauce

To fuel my chile addiction, I had to try Frank’s Red Hot Squeeze Ghost Pepper Ranch Sauce. It is available at your local grocery store and cheap. I tried it with some bbq wings. I was pleasantly surprised how good this sauce is. It is creamy and has a familiar ranch flavor. It has a sleeper heat that impressed. At first bite it was cool, smooth and a refreshing accompaniment to the smoky wings. Then the heat slowly creeps in and grabs you by the throat and says “HELLo”. Maybe a slight exaggeration but it did have a medium hot pepper heat. I liked it a lot. Ms. Goofy did not even want to have anything to do with this sauce

BASEBALL STEAKS

We cooked up a couple of 'Baseball' steaks the other night. They are a cut from the sirloin. They have a ton of beef flavor. They are not as tender as a filet but the flavor department shines through to make these steaks delicous.

 

GRACIE'S BBQ

We paid a visit to Gracie's bbq in Vallejo California. This was not our first visit but it has been over 15 years since our last. To be honest our intention was to visit the micro-brewery Vallejo Brewing Company owned by the same people. After a couple of very quenchable beers we decided to revisit Gracies. The nice thing about being next door is you can place your order and they will deliver it to the brewery.

 I had the ribs and Ms. Goofy a pulled pork sandwich. I liked the ribs. They were tender, smoky and meaty. Sauce was on the side as requested. Ms. Goofy liked her sandwich but did not lick her paws afterward. All the side dishes were very pedestrian. This was decent bbq but did not get us excited. It may be another 15 years until we return.

R & W LIVESTOCK

 

 

We were approached by a gentleman at the Rio Vista bbq competition who represented a local livestock Company. He told us about his beef from his company R & W Livestock. We gave it a try. Last night we had a New York strip and a Filet. They are lean but what a umami flavor beef bomb diggity bomb flavor. They are grass raised and corn fed bliss finished. Ms. Goofy's filet was fork tender and my New York had a little tug to it. They both were delicious.

 

WASABI

 

Have you ever had wasabi at a restaurant? Chances are you are not getting true wasabi but horseradish with food coloring. Wasabi is a rhizome which is extremely diffucult to grow. The majority of wasabi is grown in japan. A company in Half-Moon Bay California has recently started to grow and sell wasabi. Because it is so difficult to grow wasabi is very expensive. That is why most restaurants substituted horseradish alternative. I pulled the trigger and purchased some. I wanted to try the real deal.

   To use wasabi one must grate it right before using. Freshly grated wasabi's flavor can deteriorate within 15 minutes of grating. It has a wonderful vegetable smell. The fumes are enticing to the flavor jolt you are about to experience. I tried the freshly grated wasabi with some shrimp. Wasabi immediately gives your sinus a jolt. There is a heat to this root but not like a chile pepper. It can overwhelm if you use too much but luckily the heat jolt is very temporary. I would say wasabi is very similiar to horseradish and maybe not even as hot. It does have a wonderful sweetness and green vegetable vibe to it. This is a lot of fun. Expensive fun.

FOSTER'S BIG HORN

 

 Yesterday we judged ribs & chili in Rio Vista California at "The 12th Annual HOG AUGUST BITES Rib & Chili Competition". This was a great local festival with plenty of food, music, vendors, sun and fun. There is a restaurant in town called Fosters Big Horn. I have always wanted to visit to see the wild game trophies on the wall. It was very impressive. 

Oh and did I mention we judged ribs and chili?

WAIST OF TIME

 

My good friend Bob asked me how I liked his new belt made of watches. I told him it was a waist of time.

RED ROPES

 I am sure most all of us have had red ropes at one time or another. It is a nostalgic flavor & texture from my past. It was cheap and every corner grocer had a big jar that one could stick their grubbly little hands in to. At a dinner I attended, red ropes was an edible table decoration. I think my fond memories were stronger than the actual taste. It still was a fun memory.

DESSERT TABLE FOUND

 The Fratalanza Italian Club has several dinners a month. Tonight's dinner was sponsored by the Womens' Auxillary and we attended. They also included a bake sale which included lot's of homemade treats. I knew of this sale and when we entered the door I head straight to the sale. I want to support the Women of the Fratalanza club. I also wanted to insure first dibs on all the goodies.

BGE PIZZA

 It took many years of begging and groveling to Ms. Goofy before she gifted me a Big Green Egg. It is a great bbq and we are having a lot of fun with it. I think I have the pizza technique down. I purchase dough from Trader Joe's. It is very decent and convenient. The sauce was made from home grown tomatoes. The sausage came from the freezer from a previous meat adventure. A hot pizza stone makes this crust crispy with melty cheese and yummy ingredients. So good!

BUGS

 

I am on another social media platform and I wanted to share a recent post. I really did try these creatures.

Tour de France…….21 days of racing & snacks

The Race     

Malemort is the town this rollercoaster ride will start. 18.5 km later the verdict of the break-away will be decided in the town of Ussel. This is not a mountain route but 3.500m will be climbed.

The Snack        

Hold on to the handlebars because today’s snack is no joke. I really did eat and try this crunchy assortment of bug snacks. Before you judge; they do pack a wallop of salty protein. Ms. Goofy did refuse to try this snack. Her loss was my gain of this mix of grasshoppers, house crickets, sago worms, silk worms and field crickets. There is a difference between house and field crickets you know. To sum it up this snack did not taste like chicken. It was more of a texture thing. The sacrifices I make for you dear readers. 

JOEY CHESTNUT

 This is his cathedral, the crystal dome of umbrella blue skies. Whose vaulted ceilings touch the edge of heaven itself. Whose faithful join as one. To honor those who do not falter, those who do not heal. I speak of this man, who stands of the mortal and divine. Shy of a god perhaps but more than a man. His thoughts rise at the vapor of angels but whose charge is here on earth, to teach that intention is the outcome of those who refuse any other outcome. Hold back when forsaken, stand firm when forlorn, press on when weary, beaten, broken or undone. How long will fight? I will tell you; till he stands on the ramparts of glory overlooking a sea of truth. For he is the champion of now and of always of the air, of the fire of the sea from the land of the free of one nation. The Nathan’s famous 4th of July champion of the world……..JOEY CHESTNUT 

66 dogs & buns in 10 minutes make Joey Chestnut the hot dog eating champion of 2026 and our hero.

Bring Me My Kumquats

I never knew what a kumquat was until we moved into our house with a tree in our backyard. I only thought it was a gag from a W.C. Fields movie. . What do you do with kumquat? They are sweet/tart and make good snacks or jam. I found a hot sauce maker that wants to ferment them as an ingredient into his special hot sauce. I gifted him 14 pounds from my tree. Stay tuned.

MAD

The term second childhood has two meanings. It can mean the decline of an eldery persons mental and physical cababilities to the level of a child. It can also mean and refer to a joyful carfree retirment phase of life. I chose the later definition. That is why I just subscribed to Mad magazine; "What Me Worry?". Today's version of the magazine has; old classic articles, some new material and the iconic foldout. I enjoyed this magazine as a kid and I hope to enjoy it now.

 

RIC'S BACKYARD INVITATIONAL

 

Ric Gilbert is a respected bbq promoter, competitor, guru, Grateful Dead loving, bbq judge, zen master and friend. He also throws hell of a party once a year under the guise of a bbq competition at his house. We have been invited for years and finally were able to attend. This was the bomb diggitty bomb of a party and or competition. I hope these pictures share the fun.