Restaurant Review: Big Ed's Buzzard BBQ

Big Ed's Buzzard BBQ - lunch on June 3, 2014

 I've been slacking on trying out new mom-and-pop restaurants lately, partly because I haven't had socializing time and partly because when I have gone out, I've fallen back to places I've gone to before. But I decided to make more of an effort to try something new and, as always, turned to yelp for suggestions. I chose Big Ed's Buzzard BBQ, not just because of the 4.5-star rating on yelp but, once I read their story on their website and confirmed they were a small, family-owned and operated business, that was a no-brainer for the kind of place I want to support and try out.

I'm not quite sure what I expected when I went in but it was a little surprising. They're in a business park, towards the back so they're not very visible from the street and I had a little trouble finding it. It's not a setting that really says "restaurant". It's more like "eatery". The inside is bisected with a few tables in each section and a counter where you place your order. The woman who took our order was very nice and when we asked for recommendations because it was our first time, she suggested the trio of sliders: beef brisket, tri-tip and pulled pork. It comes with a side order and the total was $10.82 so it was decently cheap. At each red-checkered-covered table was a plastic cylinder of barbecue sauce as the sliders and sandwiches come out plain, just the meat and the bread. That works just fine for me since I don't like a lot of "stuff" in my food and I'm a very plain eater.

My coworker thought it was all a bit dry, hence the need for adding as much barbecue sauce as you wish. I thought the meats were decently good although each of them could've used a little more flavor, even marinade, instead of relying just on the barbecue sauce. Of the trio, the brisket was the best one to me and the lady behind the counter said that's what they're most known for. In hindsight, I think it would've been better to have gotten just the brisket or the brisket sandwich. The bread to meat ratio with the sliders leaned too heavily towards the bread and there wasn't enough meat but as we were leaving, I saw someone else with a brisket order and their full-size sandwich was overflowing with brisket.

As always, I'm glad I tried it so now I know. As a lunch place, it's somewhere you go for the food or for cheap eats rather than the ambiance or the location. I don't know if I would've rated it as highly as the yelp reviewers but to be really fair, I probably need to try more than 1 order. Next time, I'll focus on the brisket.