Phillips Bar-B-Que
2619 Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles 90016
(323) 731-4772
Much has been made of the barbecue sauce at Phillips, easily one of Los Angeles’ most beloved Southern-style barbecue institutions. The restaurant’s popularity hit critical mass after Jonathan Gold waxed poetic about it in 2004, but it had been a neighborhood favorite for years before. The resultant long wait, which most regular customers know to expect, is a one trademark/quirk of this takeout-only joint.
By now, the kind folks at Phillips – and they really were quite kind, even with five clueless first-timers interrupting the constant flow of regulars picking up orders – have it down to a science. Their seamless system might have created a sort of barbecue hubris, but the love and slow cooking required for truly transcendent barbecue seems to have been sacrificed in the name of efficiency. Let us be clear: the sauce was very good. I ordered mine “mixed,” a blend of their mild and hot sauces, and it had a nice, smoldering kick that blended wonderfully with the vinegar base. A simple piece of a friend’s chicken dinner, tender and thoroughly sauce-saturated, proved to be the night’s most satisfying bite. Beyond that, though, the food simply felt rushed.
The combo meal – five pork ribs, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, corn and cornbread – had, in theory, all the essential elements of a Southern feast. But ultimately, both the size of the meal and the spirit of it proved to be lacking. The ribs, which came swimming in sauce, had very little meat on them. This meant the crucial task of absorbing the excess sauce fell to the cornbread, whose crumbly dryness rendered it incapable of doing so. Rather than a tender sponge, the bread resembled a brick that one could easily picture having sat on the counter all day long. The soggy half ear of corn was the same. To be fair, the meal did have its bright sides. The rich, creamy macaroni and cheese provided a perfect counterbalance to the spice of the meat, and the smoky deliciousness of the baked beans added a satisfying dose of protein to a tragically meat-light meal. All in all, however, given Phillips’ steep prices – my plate was $17 and I left far from stuffed – patrons are better off ordering only the meat that the place is famous for.
It’s easy to see why people are loyal to Phillips. It’s an L.A. institution that offers no-frills food with a good dose of the community spirit that’s so vital to the barbecue tradition. But as I headed out of Crenshaw and rode off into the sunset – or at least onto the 10 Freeway – I knew the search for LA’s best barbecue had just begun.
Story by: Liz Schneider