With Memorial Day just around the corner, backyard and balcony chefs are cleaning their grills; at least you hope they are if you’re invited to a BBQ, to kick off the summer. I love to grill it up, but sometimes I’m a lazy, lazy man. Sometimes I just want some good BBQ with lots o’ meats and a place where my kid can be…well…a kid. Since Toy R Us isn’t serving tri-tip, as far as I know, I ventured east to the land of traditional BBQ stopping just short of the Texas border in, you guessed it, Pasadena. Everybody who’s anybody knows Pasadena is known worldwide for the Rose Bowl, the Rose Parade, and sausage. Well, maybe I’m stretching it a bit, but I found a great place to kick back with boots on and enjoy some good ol’ meat and sauce.

The Barn Burner Texas Barbeque Restaurant on Fair Oaks feels like, well, a barn converted into a restaurant. You have your traditional peanut shells on the floor, along with tubs of peanuts to go and grab more whenever you need to crunch and throw. Seating is usually easy to find at lunch, but the dinner crowd, especially on a Friday or Saturday, can have you waiting about 10 minutes. Patrons sit at picnic tables and drink lemonade and homemade iced tea from jars while watching one or many of the various flat screen monitors positioned throughout the restaurant.

Service here is unbelievably fast at first. Drinks are on the table, orders are up, and food is delivered very quickly, which is such a plus when dining with little ones. Getting the check, for some reason, has always been the problem when I visit. If you can turn on the obnoxious right before you’re done, you should be good to go. “But Cody, how’s the food?” you ask.

Meaty. Just plain meaty. Sorry Vegans, this is your Hell. The menu is divided up by portions. One plate may be just right for “1-2 Texans”, while some orders will knock down “5-6 Texans”. I don’t know how that translates to Californians, but you have to carry the four and somehow Pi is involved (we’ll get to desserts, speaking of pie). You’ve got traditional BBQ entrées here including Smoked Tri-Tip, Smoked Baby Back Ribs, and your 1½ BBQ Chicken. I highly recommend the Tri-Tip with the bowl of sauce to dip it in. It’s perfectly cooked and seems to fall apart in your mouth. No rough stuff here, unless you’re fightin’.

The “Sides and Fixins” section of the menu features some great southern specialties like mashed sweet potatoes, sweet potato fries, creamed corn, and Pa’s Tater Salad. I’m a sucker for their garlic fries which are like nicotine, not the taste but the addiction. Of course there’s corn bread and something called Texas Toast, which my ignorant So Cal self has never ordered. By the way, there are salads and fruit, but all the salads have some kind of meat in them. I think even the napkins have chicken.

You can end your meal with some apple, pecan, or sweet potato pie. Bread pudding is an option along with good old fashion yellow cake with chocolate icing like big mama used to make.

The Barn Burner Texas Barbeque
1000 S. Fair Oaks Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91105
626-403-RIBS

Photos by k-dj via flickr