Man Vs Mannion (Mannion edition)

Gus’s Barbecue has been in South Pasadena since 1946. The menu offers a broad choice of classic southern favorites. Parking is available adjacent to the restaurant as well as on nearby streets.

Gus’s does get pretty crowded, so a reservation is recommended. We arrived a little before our reservation time and were seated immediately. I do need to state up front that barbecue is one of my specialties, so excuse me if I am a little picky and overly technical.

Barbecue refers to a way that meats are cooked – low indirect heat with various levels of smoke, dry rubs, wet rubs, mopping, etc. Grilling is what happens on a grill – burgers, steaks, hot dogs, etc, over direct heat. Classic sides like grits, biscuits and greens are essential parts of meals featuring barbecue.

One of our starters was the cast iron skillet cornbread. Most definitely the right presentation and cooking instrument. If you are in the South (and we in California are considered Yankees despite our southern latitude) cornbread is somewhat of a sacred side dish made with self-rising cornmeal mix, eggs, buttermilk and vegetable oil (or bacon fat). There is no sugar in the southern version. This cornbread was most definitely not inspired by the South. Presented in a small cast iron skillet, the cornbread had promise. Unfortunately, the skillet did it no favors. There was no crunch to the crust, rather the texture was mushy and somewhat greasy. The deep shiny surface certainly gave clues to that greasiness. The flavor was reminiscent more of a sweet dessert cake than a skillet of cornbread.

The shredded onion strings were enjoyable. High temperature frying really releases the sugar-chain content, adding a nice sweet caramel note enhanced by the crunchy coating of what I believe was corn meal, flour and seasoning.

The hot wings with fiery wing sauce were pretty much by the book. The cook was perfect and the ranch dressing was a nice accompaniment. The balance of the capsaicin to sugar could have been more balanced, but that is really dependent on the individual eater’s preferences.

Grits. Like nothing I have ever had and is something I would not order again. A very dense porridge more akin to a congee with kernels of corn thrown in. Texture comes into play again as this version has a mouthfeel unlike any grits I have eaten. I was hoping for a taste of high quality corn grits and instead, ate something too overwhelmed with additional ingredients and textures. It felt like someone who doesn’t like grits kept changing and adding things until they liked it.

Greens. I would order these, and, in fact, even make them a meal by themselves. A great balance of bitter greens with a hint of acid (vinegar) and very nice seasonings. Well done!

I ordered the trio of barbecue. This consisted of pulled pork, St. Louis ribs, and brisket. Pulled pork was very good with just the right amount of smoke. The Carolina (mustard based) sauce paired well with this, as would a Carolina vinegar sauce (cider vinegar, chili flakes, sugar). St. Louis ribs were a bit dry. The ribs were cooked and fell off the bone but could have used some mopping or some moisture like apple juice in the smoker. The brisket was downright mystifying. The taste was fine and it was an enjoyable meat but the smoke was intriguing. Smoke naturally absorbs into fat and as the meat cooks the rub on the fat and the smoke combine to make a nice smoky crust. This brisket did not have a crust and the fat did not taste of smoke yet the meat was smoky. The connective tissue was hydrolyzed, and thus the meat itself was tender – and the meat was smoky. The only way I could achieve this smoky meat and not smoky fat would be something like a sous vide cooking with fat drippings from a smoker in the bag as the meat slowly cooked. If this style is used you would then rub the out surface with barbecue rub and place in a smoker to get the desired crust and texture. Normally you would start by placing the meat in the smoker until the desired smoke level was achieved (a few hours) then wrap the meat in foil and continue cooking until tender (several more hours). So, to sum up, pulled pork was good, ribs were ok but dry, brisket tasted good, but defied a lot of what I know about the barbecue process. Try all the meats with their assortment of sauces to find which match your taste and flavor preferences.

My beverage choice, in addition to water, was lemonade. Was very good lemonade, but paired with the spiciness to follow it was too sweet.

Gus’s offers a nice environment, robust menu and good food. You just have to remember that you are not in the south and that some of the dishes feel more like California cuisine meets the south.