The "taste of Texas" in the heart of Compton. Before hearing about Bludso's, I'd have said, without hesitation, that there's no good reason to go to Compton. But the draw of good BBQ would make a man go places he wouldn't normally venture. So when the belly began to rumble on a late Saturday afternoon, the call of smokey, sauce-covered meat beckoned and we listened.
Bludso's is probably best described as a "hole-in-the-wall" establishment. There's not much of a restaurant space. You order and pay for your food in a small corridor that houses a few stools and a narrow countertop. There is one table in the rear parking lot next to the BBQ pits, with well worn chairs around it. However, the well worn furniture is complimented by the hospitality of all the employees that worked there. Southern hospitality in central LA.
Unable to decide between a variety of delicious sounding options, we went with the Texas Sampler and added two beef ribs (only available on weekends), four orders of corn bread, and a slice of red velvet cake (they were out of the sweet potato pie). The sweet lady that took our order also set up the table in the back for us. That is, she taped down a large paper table cloth for us to eat on.
Where the magic happens.
texas sampler - beef and chicken links, beef ribs, pork ribs, tri-tip, chicken, beef brisket, pork shoulder - The Sampler also came with two sides, on which we decided to go with mac 'n cheese and potato salad. The mac 'n cheese was very tasty and had huge chunks of solidified cheese at the bottom of the container. Good stuff. The potato salad was decent.
For the meat, we went with the "mixed" sauce, which is half mild and half spicy. The sauce was tasty - sweet, spicy, with a hint of vinegar. All the meats were quite tasty. The pork ribs were tender and flavorful. Before we dug into our Sampler, the kitchen dropped off another pork rib for us, as appearantly, meal only came with three and there was four people in our party. Not sure if they forgot to put it in the Sampler or if they just gave us an extra one, I'd like to think it was the latter. Very nice of them to do so.
The beef ribs were as expected. Not as tender as their pork counterparts, but a lot more meaty. Tips, brisket and shoulder all met expectations. Chicken was juicy enough and very good with the accompanying sauce.
The red velvet cake was a big disappointment. The cake wasn't quite dry, although the cream cheese frosting did help. The pecan topping were a nice addition. Overall, a great BBQ experience and worth another trip down to the CPT. The best BBQ we've ever had? Probably not. If I had to choose, I'd still say Fat Matt's has the upper hand.