Bowlegged BBQ - Review
Bowlegged BBQ is a family owned, operated spot located in South San Diego. They specialize in East Texas style BBQ commonly loved for its “fall of the bones” quality. With a plethora of classic sides such as cornbread, black eye peas, and collards. Bowlegged BBQ is focusing on doing it right and doing it slow.
We decided to enjoy a wide variety of dishes to get a full grasp of what Bowlegged was up to. After ordering, we sat down in their large outdoor patio, this patio has a very homey feel, almost like I’m sitting in a friends backyard. This atmosphere is great and the music is lively. After a few minutes the Pitmaster had us take a look at what he was up to, and thats where it got really good…
Look at how many ribs are loaded up on these racks! The smell coming off this was literally insane. They had so many going, and they explained that this was only for one day!
The Pitmaster at Bowlegged showed us how he smokes his beef briskets for 16 hours using local black oak from Escondido a few minutes up the road. We love how Bowlegged is using genuine and local products to smoke, their is a ton of care and the postmaster clearly knows what he is up to.
What we Got
Sampler Plate
An awesome blend of beef brisket, smoked chicken, beef ribs with a side of mac & cheese and collards.
This was an incredibly generous dish, loaded up with tons of meat and big scoops of sides. I really enjoyed the smoked chicken it literally fell of the bone and had a juicy and light smoked notes.
The brisket was juicy and smothered in a sweet sauce with a huge smoke ring that showed how long it had been on the smoker.
The beef ribs were THICK, juicy, and well smoked. Covered in sauce, they had a nice bite, but were very tender.
The mac and cheese was dense and obviously homemade. It was a tad salty, but paired with a sweet bite of the BBQ it works.
My favorite side has to be the collards. Not usually the most popular side for most people, but I LOVE em. They were smoky, tender, and reminded me of my moms.
Bowlegged Hot Link
One of Bowlegged’s custom creations.
Wow o wow, this hits. House smoked hot links are always good, but Bowlegged’s are above average. The link was juicy and literally snapped when I bite in. Subtle smoke notes and deep meaty flavors are awesome here and pair well with everything else going on.
Loaded up with rib tips on top for a sweet bite, this dog was packed to the top. With a crisp bite from the onions and some much needed acidicy from the pickles.
This was a solid choice and showed some serious thought from the kitchen. 10/10 recommend
Tri Tip Sandwich
A classic choice. Tri Tip is one of my favorite cuts, I love how it usually has more bite and is more similar to a steak sandwich.
Bowlegged serves up a solid sandwich, loaded with tons of slices of tri tip, house made slaw, pickles, and bbq sauce. I loved how the slaw works with the smoky meat, the sweetness and acidity goes super well and made my mouth water just thinking about it.
This dish came with a side of cornbread which was soft, slightly sweet and I enjoyed it greatly. The baked beans were sweet, and tender, they reminded me of my childhood and I loved it.
Summary
Overall Review: 4.7/5
Bowlegged BBQ is a solid addition to the San Diego BBQ scene. They clearly care greatly about their food, and customers.
Food: 4.5/5
The food at Bowlegged BBQ is decadent, rich, and carefully made. Overall very solid, although a few dishes seemed over salted, and sweetened.
Service 5/5
Bowlegged makes you feel like one of the family, I was so impressed with how happy everyone was. I was asked plenty of times nicely if I needed anything. Everyone from the cashier, the cook, to the busboy, came out and they seemed genuinely interested in making sure I was happy.