Everett and Jones Barbeque

December 4, 2010

Oakland, California – Back in the ‘aughts’, my cousin brought me here for dinner. I was blown away by the food then. Today I was in town for a private party. The hotel I was staying at was, coincidently, a very short walk away. Would I be able to make a return visit?

At the anniversary party I had a full dinner, including two steaks. After all that, you’d think I’d be full and not even thinking about having another meal. But Everett and Jones kept calling to me. Years ago I vowed to myself never to miss an opportunity that I might later regret not taking advantage of. With that vow in mind, I went back to Everett and Jones with my cousin.

You’ll find Everett and Jones about a block or so up from Jack London Square on the corner of Broadway and 2^nd Street. Other locations are Berkeley and Hayward. The Oakland restaurant features two clubs inside: Q’s Lounge and Dotha’s Juke Joint. Q’s Lounge features, according to their site jazz, neo-soul, and contemporary artists. Dotha’s is actually a small stage on the bay side of the eatery that features blues. There are tables so you can eat while you enjoy some good live music.

The inside of the restaurant is actually very spacious and is much larger than you’d expect judging from the exterior of the building. On the corner of the building you’ll find a plaque denoting the area as the birthplace of Oakland. Once you enter from the Broadway entrance, you’ll see seating areas on both sides of you with the blues stage to your far right. The smoker is straight back, surrounded by display counters and a refrigerated counter. There’s a full bar available for those who wish to imbibe.

Everett and Jones uses oak wood in their smoker. That probably has a lot to do with the excellent taste of their meats. Seems the public agrees; Oakland Tribune readers voted Everett and Jones the “Bay Area’s best ribs”.

Since we arrived about an hour before closing, there weren’t a lot of people left so we were seated immediately. Our waitress arrived shortly after. She was very friendly and even volunteered to take our picture. In combo mode, I decided to get the three-way combo with ribs, links, and chicken ($21.40). They also have brisket available. The four-way combo will get you all four of their meats.

You have a choice of three sauces; hot, medium, or mild. Last time, I ordered a meal with the hot sauce. Let me warn you about their hot sauce: They’ll tell you up front that it’s hot. Just how hot? It registered about a 9 on my heat scale; hot enough to get my nose running and eyes watering. Noticing my reaction to the spiciness of the sauce, my cousin remarked, “how can you taste anything if it’s that hot?” Yet through all that, I really could taste the flavor of the meat beneath. Remembering last time and knowing that I’d be going to sleep soon, I asked if they could mix the hot and medium sauces. They weren’t able to mix them but what they did do was put the medium sauce on the meat and give me a bowl of the hot sauce on the side.

Combos come with cornbread muffins or whole wheat bread, plus two sides. I chose cornbread this time. For the sides I went with “Mom’s fresh homemade greens”, and baked beans. Tonight’s beverage was iced tea. Like I always say, if the iced tea (or lemonade) comes in a Mason jar, you know the food is gonna be good.

My cousin and I were having a good conversation as we always do so I didn’t notice fast or slow the turnaround was to get our meal.

Starting with the sides, the greens turned out to be collards with some cabbage added. They were firm, not soggy like some places. It was pretty good but… No secret ingredients that I could discern or lack of essentials. They just didn’t quite stand out. Keep in mind that coming from a family where just about everyone knows how to cook greens and cook them well, I have a high standard when it comes to greens.

On the other hand, the baked beans were outstanding! Because of the sauce they were in, I couldn’t tell what else they put in the beans but it tasted like bits of brisket. I really liked the fact that they were hearty and not runny. Addictive! I could have made a meal off just these beans alone.

On to the beef link sausage. I haven’t had beef sausage but a few times so seeing it on the menu sealed the deal for me. Everett and Jones apparently makes theirs fresh daily right there in their kitchen. It is served sliced on a diagonal. It held together well. Very lean with a nice, beefy flavor. I liked the spices they used. I took half of it home. Good thing because it made a heck of a good sandwich the next day.

As you know from reading this blog, bbq chicken is a take-it-or-leave-it proposition for me. Lately I’ve been on a roll with good bbq chicken. Everett and Jones’ chicken is really good. Even without the sauce, it was good. You could tell the bird had spent some time in a smoker and came out with a mild, smoky flavor. Another plus was that it wasn’t dried out. 

Now for the ribs. Remember I said earlier the Everett and Jones was voted best ribs in the Bay Area? Now I haven’t visited a lot of rib joints in the Bay Area, but after this meal I see no reason to doubt the choice of the Trib’s readers. These ribs were delicious! Very meaty and stood up well to the sauce. Even though the meat is nearly swimming in sauce, the sauce didn’t drown the taste of the ribs. Like the chicken, you can taste that nice, smoky flavor courtesy of the oak wood-fired smoker. Just some doggone good ribs. I took some of them home, too.

Dessert? It’s on the menu but between this dinner and the one I had just a few hours earlier, there was no way I was going to have any room for anything else. But if you have room left, they have sweet potato pie, pecan pie, chocolate, Sock-It-To-Me, and caramel cakes.

You know the feeling you get when you have been looking forward to a great meal and it meets every bit of your expectations? That was this dinner.

Following the meal, take a stroll down to Jack London Square. You may need to walk off some of that delicious food you just ate.

Everett and Jones Barbeque – 5 forks. Very highly recommended. If you like the sauce, you can buy some online for enjoyment at home.