It’s been 8 days since we took this trip and if I don’t get something down, it’ll just kill me. Or my brothers in Que will, whichever comes first. The day actually took about 9 hours, 9 hours of either procuring meat or eating it directly and it’s just too big. So, I’m going to split this entry up over two parts. Are ya ready? Click below to read on.

Saturday was to be a very warm day, probably our warmest for quite some time. I dug around and found a pair of cutoffs, you need those for eating barbecue. And since this was to be a meat adventure, I dug out my camera and shouldered the sucker. Paul showed up at 10am sharp and off we went, directly to the Berkeley Farmers Market. Fatted Calf’s special that day was the Lamb Roulade and Paul wanted one, he wanted one real bad. Good thing we brought along a cooler, figured we’d be bringing back a load of que. We were wrong, we ended up having to special order treats just to take home. Anyway, the market was nice and the temperature was rising, probably about 70 by then. It didn’t take us long to get what we needed and head out to Lafayette to Bo’s Barbecue. We showed up a little early and it was far warmer over the hill away from the bay. Probably in the mid 80s, we were blistering. You could just tell it would go over 90, easy. Suffer, oh how we suffer.
Bo’s is located along a 4 lane wide avenue and at this time of day, 11:30, there weren’t many people about.

Bo’s a nice upscale BBQ joint with a pretty new wood deck that had recently been oiled. The inside was clean and they stainless topped tables for eating. What hits you first off is the ordering and cashier kiosk thingy. It’s loaded tight with fancy wines, even really large bottles. Off to the right is an excellent selection of beer and sodas. Honestly, beer & wine aren’t my trip. But the crew were really impressed with the selection.

Paul and I grabbed a few high priced sodas, 5.50 for 2, and hung out for a few. It wasn’t long before Henry Joe, Jim, Rick & Scott showed up and we started right in talking about Barbecue & Meat. Paul was cool, he’d thought ahead and made a badass barbecue rub the days before. He packaged it up and handed it out to everyone. Kinda odd to see a bunch of nerds sniffing baggies all day.
Turns out Henry Joe, Jim & Rick compete locally in KCBS sanctioned barbecue competitions. Very cool to talk to someone who not only does cooking competitions, but does it by lighting fires and not only that, they win. Paul is a cooking ninja himself. He’s been written up in local papers and he’s cooked on tv with Joey Altman, I really really like Joey. Competitions aren’t few to him either, he’s won People’s Choice in a local chile cookoff, I’ve got the recipe (nyah). After the hubub, we decided to order a 3-way combo of pork ribs, brisket and sausage. We asked for chicken, but I suppose it was too early, dang. The meat showed up in a decent amount of time garnished with fancy Acme bread, a green salad (a few leaves of good lettuce) and some decent potato salad.
The brisket was a little dry, but the flavor was good. Henry Joe remarked he’d rather have it over-cooked than under. Someone had used a dry rub and the bark on the meat was good. The sausage was quite tasty and turned out to be our favorite out of the 3 meats tested. It as well had some decent blend of spices and was cooked fine. The pork ribs tasted okay, but as with the brisket, were a little over cooked and the rib I had specifically was a bit mushy. As with any restaurant, barbecue or no, doneness can vary. So, I give a little slack. What surprised me though, was the thimble of sauce that came with the meal. Not only that, Jim remarked later that it was about 1 step above ketchup and he was right. Clearly Bo is making a point here. You see, one of the things we barbecue fans simply cannot agree upon is the use of sauce. Some think sauce is used for covering up bad meat, or they think that just because you have sauce it makes it barbecue. Whether you enjoy sauce with your que or not, serving that stuff was nasty.
After all was said and done, everyone agreed that they liked what they’d eaten and we left satisfied. Keep in mind, Bo’s prices reflect the demographics of the area, they on the higher side. I did hear a rumor from Janet Lee that they use Niman pork, but that’s just a rumor.

I don’t remember exactly what time it was, but early afternoon sounds about right. Our next stop? Everett & Jones in Oakland at Jack London Square. Good thing too, I was feeling a bit hungry. Plus the heat was getting to me, I wanted to go back by the bay.
Everett & Jones has been in this area since 1973 and has only semi-recently opened up more restaurants. The one I frequent in Berkeley is a tiny place on the corner of San Pablo Avenue & University and has always done right by me.

It’s a nice looking building, all bricky. The ceilings are high and it looks like a real restaurant. Yet the tables, chairs & placemats are funky. As though they’re attempting to give you the ‘air’ of a real barbecue joint. We should have known better than to walk in to a restaurant only to be greeted by merchandising, t-shirts, sauce and baubles. But no, we walked in out of the heat needing cool water and steaming piles of pork & beef.
We were seated quickly, but it wasn’t easy. You see, they have the tables and chairs so close together it’s tough to get in or out or down or even to move down. If you’re the type that needs to use the potty, make sure you get an end seat. The water was really good, had lemon wedges in it. Too bad you only get one water, especially on such a hot day. We were ready to order, a 4-way combo with a bunch of sides. We were really hungry and it was time to get it done. As our waitress (the one who brought our water) came back and we started in. Very abruptly we were informed that she was not our waitress. And that people, was that. After maybe 10 minutes a nice man came over, and took our order. He was good and knew his job, but he looked over-worked. Turns out he was looking after 11 tables, they were a person or two short. Where’s management when you need them? Not here pal, not here. Oh, along with our tall order we also asked for a pitcher of fancy beer. Nice cold fancy beer, we could hardly wait. Funny that I just used the word wait. Cause brother, or sister, waiting is what we did. And apparently others were doing the same. Nearly every table was doing the, “where is the food/waiter/beer/” head & neck jerk.
It took us 40 minutes to get our pitcher of beer. This means, as Big D puts it, no more beer. If you deliver beer this late it secures you the fact you will not be reordering this profitable item, fools.
It took us 45 minutes to get our food.

In any case, our food showed up and we drank our beer. The greens Henry Joe ordered had no acid, they forgot the vinegar or lemon sqeeze. The corn bread was really sweet and more like cake. The potato salad was nasty, no flavor and all pasty potatoes. Not even hot sauce (there was none) or BBQ sauce would have saved it. At least E&J’s had chicken, but it was too late. Everything was too late and everyone just wanted to leave. We ate only because it was there and it cost a lot of money. E&J’s saving grace was the sauce, it’s stellar. Sorry for you sauce haters, but the shit is good. So good that Jim & Paul bought a jar to take home with them. The only reason I didn’t is because I can get it at Bev Mo, easy.
This is not an isolated case, I’ve talked to others with the same results. Everett & Jones’ Jack London Square restaurant is hands down one of the worst restaurants I’ve ever been to. And I’m talking restaurants, not just food. The entire place is lousy from decor to food to service. I would not eat there if they paid for it, why? Because I don’t have that kind of time. It was 8 days ago and I’m still feeling the grief and sadness. My only solice is that it will surely fail soon and all I can say is, good-bye.
Luckily for us, the best of the day is yet to come. Please keep your ears piqued for the second installment, it’s worth it.
Stay tuned to this hillbillly channel, you will not regret a moment.
Hugs,
Biggles