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.