Deliciousness BBQ beef brisket with fried cauliflower. Spicy & mild BBQ sauce with pickled onions…read morewith jalapeños balance the sweet/spicy/rich meaty flavors. Fast service and friendly folks. Korean Fried Chicken (KFC) wings with garlic soy was great, but I forgot to take a photo ‍

Yesterday, my wife made some black-eyed peas--but nothing to go with them. That was my cue to find…read moresome meat and cornbread. On the way home, I stumbled across Wholly Smokes. I'd never been there before, so this review is all about first impressions. As we approached, the sign caught my attention: "Under New Ownership." Outside, an employee sat scrolling on his phone. It was a quiet Sunday around 3 PM, and we were the only patrons in sight. Checking Yelp beforehand had been a bit of a letdown, as their menu featured items they no longer offer. No links were available either. We ordered half a pound of pulled pork, half a pound of brisket, and four pieces of cornbread--all priced reasonably. Their tap selection turned out to be decent. The Cali Squeeze Blood Orange was a standout, and they also seemed to carry Firestone Walker products, including 805. The staff were friendly and responsive, which was refreshing. While the brisket had cooled by the time we got home, it was still tender and flavorful--just like the pulled pork. The real surprise? The chimichurri that accompanied the brisket--an unexpected and delightful touch. Overall, I'd rate the experience as average. While it's clear they've got potential, a bit more effort could turn Wholly Smokes into a go-to spot. Leaning in on those small details would really elevate the experience.

Come here for smoked meats that melt in your mouth. You get exactly what you want: bowls, plates,…read moresandos, MEAT. Family owned business that gets you warmly and serves you at your table. This place is way too tucked away for how good it is! (plenty of parking)

The place itself was not bad just a little dark and cold. Some decent music or a TV watching some…read morekind if sports woukd have been nice. Service was horrible. The older man behind the register had an accent and spoke very softly and seemed to get offended when I asked him to repeat himself. The food was incredibly disappointing. The only saving grace was the brisket and baked beans. We got 1/2 pound of both brisket and pork. Pork was too salty for my wife and the BBQ sauce was enough for me to eat it. Oh the BBQ sauce tasted like it was from a bottle. Baked beans were good but it had toooo much juice; wr would only get 3 or 4 beans with each spoonful. The elote was weird. We're hispanic so maybe it was just because it wasn't traditional but there was no sweetness to the corn and the cheese was different. Last of all the fries. We like salt on our fries but there a thing called too much salt. You know how your mouth feels when there is something too salty? Well these fries had that. I took them to the counter and said they were too salty. The older man looked at me and asked "what does that mean?" I said it means there is too much salt in the fries. He put his face really close to the fries as if he was looking for the salt. He then tells me there's only a pinch of salt and tries to hand them back. Believe when I say I wasn't looking for them to be replaced but to tell me there's only a pinch of salt was pretty bad. Not to mention he was really rude about it. It's not they were hand cut fries. They were the fries you buy at the Costco business center. Nothibg special. Over all never coming back. One of the worst experiences I have had

Veronica is the best. The food is good as always. This is actually my favorite place. I go here…read morewith Harold and Bobby.

Last night, after a long day, we had a great dinner at Wood Ranch in Cerritos. The food was…read moreabsolutely delicious! I was once told that when the people serving your food are attentive and welcoming, the food tastes better and the beer is colder! I didn't have a beer, so I can't confirm whether it was colder, but I can definitely say that our waitress, Brittanie, was on point with everything. She was very knowledgeable and helpful with her recommendations. She explained that the grilled asparagus has more flavor than the steamed asparagus, and of course, you can never go wrong with the tri-tip! She even offered to make a fresh pot of coffee for some very tired people. When it came time for dessert, Brittanie told us that the butter cake is one of her favorites, but she also said you can't go wrong with the peach crisp topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I want to personally thank Brittanie for the amazing service she provided last night. Her never-ending smile lit up the room, and she made sure everything about our dinner was perfect. Thank you again, Brittanie, for helping make our dinner so enjoyable and delicious. Your outstanding service did not go unnoticed!

Tony's Barbeque in Artesia is one of many locations/franchises of the larger Tony's, specializing…read morein authentic Filipino-style grilled meats. My wife, her mom, and I stopped in for a weekday lunch at the Artesia location. We found the service to be friendly and prompt, and the food (portion and taste) to be great. This visit was a direct result of Yelp reviews, specifically for the pork barbeque sticks that have gotten such great feedback. They were great, but for me, there was a dish that was far, far superior. It's a fast food set-up, with space behind glass for a point-point type of set-up. However, all the food is made fresh and it makes a huge difference. We waited in line for a bit, looking at the menu on the above monitor. It's small, with most of the items being combos. Once we placed and paid for the order, found seats and waited for the food to be brought out. I was warned that the third dish ordered would take a while, but was super glad that I still ordered it. Drinks are in cans and they will provide ice in a cup if requested. There is also a self-serve ice water dispenser. They do push their Java rice (which I don't like), but they have good and simple white rice as well (no garlic rice though). A decent egg drop soup is provided as well, which came out first. Then it was the 3 Pcs Pork ("marinated pork on skewers char-grilled to perfection" for $16.95). In addition to the rice and soup, it came with a small container of finely julienned green papaya achara. In this case, I think the picture taken does do the food justice. They used nice cuts of pork butt, not too grisly but still containing fat. Both my wife and her mom really liked it, saying it was very good and definitely worth the price. My wife especially liked that they used a thin flavored soy sauce as the marinade/basting liquid, instead of a banana ketchup sauce which she does not like. My mother-in-law was happy that the pork shoulder contained a bit of fat...definitely 'Lola approved'. We also got the Pansit Bihon & Canton mix ($16.95), which we all liked. It had been mixed fresh and served piping hot. Sometimes one gets used to buffet steam table pansit so much, that they forget how good freshly made pansit tastes like. I saw something on the menu that I've only seen at a couple of other Filipino restaurants: grilled tuna collar $17.95 (inihaw na panga). My goal was to go over to the nearby Hawaiian mixed plate restaurant and get a beef rib plate to go for later, if my tuna plate disappointed. It did not. The first time I had this dish was at Noypitz, and have tried it many other places as well. This was the best, with the largest piece of tuna collar, cut into four pieces for easier and more consistent grilling. Some places don't do this: for better presentation they keep the collar whole, but then a lot of the hidden meat is raw...and this dark meat around the jaw is not good raw. This place did not have that problem, and the marinade (same as used for the pork bbq) had gotten into the crevices. Some extra marinade was given as well. Most of the dish was bone, but there were plenty of meat crevices if one looks hard enough, and it was still so moist. I really loved this dish, and there was still enough to bring home. I asked the host about how they source the fish, and he seemed very proud of it. I told him about my experiences around getting inconsistent size and cooking result, and he assured me that it would be the same for any future visits. I guess what else could he say...but I appreciated the enthusiasm. Was a bit difficult to ascertain the correct history of Tony's Barbeque and will correct this as needed. Google is telling me this location opened in March 2024, but I see that my Yelp friend Ken C. did a review in 2023, so thinking that's a bit off (first review was in Sept 2023). The original location started in 2008, with locations in places like West Covina and Alhambra. What I read was that many of these original locations later rebranded, serving similar foods but no longer being a franchisee. Examples: In Carson, it was rebranded as Fiesta Barbeque and Bibingka and in Alhambra, E&J Pinoy Barbecue and Bibingka. The one in Anaheim opened in late 2023 (around the same time as this location it looks like).

The first Tony's I visited was the Anaheim store. At the time I didn't realize that there were…read moremultiple locations. When I saw that the menu was slightly different at each one, I knew I had to come to the Artesia restaurant specifically for the ube bibingka! The Artesia store is in a rather large shopping center that has LOTS of eateries as well as a 99 Ranch Market, so parking during peak hours and weekends can become quite the hunt. The interior decor and set up is very similar in both locations. This one is also very clean and seating is spaced comfortably. Orders are placed at the counter and your food is brought to your table when it's ready. Exclusive to the Artesia location's menu are 3 different kinds of pansit, so of course I had to try the pansit bihon as well as a chicken inasal plate. For dessert I had to try the 2 varieties if bibingka that were not available in Anaheim: ube and Macapuno. My foodie friend ordered the chicken skewers plate and an original bibingka. Everything was SO good!!! My chicken inasal plate came with 2 portions of leg & thigh, java rice, a small sampling of papaya salad, and a cup of egg drop soup. Whatever they marinate the chicken in made the meat SO tender and flavorful. The pansit bihon filled an entire to go container! The glass noodles were light (compared to egg noodles) and the whole dish was seasoned perfectly. Even with sharing the pansit with my friend, I still ended up taking more than half home with me. Same for the bibingkas. I ended up sharing the bibingkas with my son later that evening. The ube one is a must try for ube lovers. The macapuno one had a generous amount of coconut "strings" in it. Both were the perfect combination of creamy, light, yet decadent and very addictive. Service was friendly and efficient. Food is made fresh when ordered and came out fairly quickly. (bibingkas are made in fresh batches throughout the day). It's safe to say that I am now a huge fan of Tony's Barbecue. I took a little looksie at the menu for their West Covina location and I spotted some things I wanna try there as well. Stay tuned for a review for them soon :)

I was taken to this restaurant for the first time by my best friend during happy hour and honestly,…read moreit is one of THE BEST kbbq spots I have been to. Its chill and the music is always amazing. The staff are so helpful and welcoming. One of the members, Olivia is SO sweet. Always welcoming my friend and I with a hug. I recommend this place to anyone who wants to try kbbq for the first time! I always look forward to my visits here!

Best server in the world (I didn't get his name) but he was the goat. Workers all super nice and…read morekind. Meat was good. Totally recommend this place. A lowkey underrated spot especially for the happy hour which is at 9:30.

When people say LA is one of the world's best cities, it's because we have restaurants like Matiki…read moreright around the corner. I love this place. Big Kahuna Plate, #1 (ribs combo), #7 and of course the musubi and macaroni salad as well.

Matiki Island BBQ on Lincoln in Anaheim is the kind of place that makes a family dinner feel easy…read more We went for the island BBQ plate energy, and it delivered. The beef ribs were really good, big and properly cooked, the kind of meat you actually talk about on the way home. The galbi was right there with them, savory and satisfying, and between the two we were set. The kids loved the spam musubi. That alone would have made the stop worth it for us. Spam musubi is one of those things that either works for kids or turns into a negotiation, and here there was no negotiation. They were happy, which meant the adults got to eat in peace for a minute. Dessert sealed it. They have a version of Dole Whip that tastes just like Disneyland. I am not being cute about that. Same soft, cold, pineapple hit you remember from the park, which is a wild thing to get after a plate of ribs in Anaheim. We finished full and already half-planning the next visit. One caveat: it was really smoky inside. Enough that I noticed it the whole meal. If I could give 4.5 I would, but I'm rounding up because the food was that good. Portions felt solid for a plate-lunch place, the vibe was casual and family-friendly, and nothing about the meal felt fussy. If you want Hawaiian-style BBQ with kids in tow, this is still an easy yes. Five stars.