The Pig

July 2007

Los Angeles, CA – Several southland critics and L.A. CitySearch rate “The Pig” as having L.A.’s best barbecue. Is it really L.A.’s best? Let’s find out.

The Pig has been on my list of places to visit for 6 six years, ever since I first read about it in a write-up of top L.A. barbecue restaurants. I happened to be in the Hollywood area near La Brea yesterday so I figured now is as good a time as any. Besides, the traffic will die down while I’m eating. Despite the heavy traffic, parking was surprisingly easy to find.

Upon opening the screen door and walking into this hole-in-the-wall eatery, you are immediately transported to back one of those southern joints you see in movies. License plates from states across the nation, photos of celebrities hung on the wall behind the stairs. Even Elvis’ picture is there. And the counter seats facing the window have nameplates. Looked like a real enough barbecue joint.

I was the only patron there. (A group of four came in later as I was just about finished with my meal.) As I walked in, the guy behind the counter handed me a menu. I sat down, reviewed the choices, and decided on the sampler. Oddly enough – and perhaps befitting the area – it was called Comborama. It included 4 Memphis-style dry-rub ribs, 4 St. Louis style ribs, and New Orleans-style chicken wings. For the sides I chose bbq beans and potato salad, and a Fanta orange soda to wash it all down.

Since I was the only diner there, the staff put on a soccer, er, futbal match on the television. Uruguay was playing Brazil. I moved over one table so I could see better. They saw this and kindly angled the set toward me. It must have been a tie game because they were in the middle of the penalty kicks. The announcer had his own unique way of acknowledging goals, just as most good soccer announcers do; gollll, golllll, gollll, gollll, gollll, gollll, gollll. Always seven times. Brazil won when the goalie blocked the 3rd kick by Uruguay. Back to the food.

The meal arrived. I was pleasantly surprised to see the plate was full. The chicken wings were big and looked like they came off a real chicken as opposed to a Cornish game hen. I started to doubt whether I’d be able to finish it all.

So I’m sitting there, eating my dinner, watching the soccer match on TV (this is a barbecue joint, right?), grooving to the music coming from the speakers, tripping on the complete irony of a Black man eating pork in a barbecue joint called The Pig, that sits in the middle of an orthodox Jewish area with orthodox Jewish people walking by wearing the full orthodox Jewish regalia (yarmulke, peyos, tallit, the whole nine), being served Memphis-style barbecue by Latinos, that was cooked by Latinos. Only in California. Then I bit into a cold rib. (Cue needle being dragged across a vinyl record.) I chalked that up to the fact it was the outermost rib and I was sitting close to the fan. The rest of the ribs were warmer.

How was the food? First, the beans. Excellent! Hearty. Full of flavor. Little bits of meat. Best of all, not runny. The potato salad was good, too. Lots of big chunks of red potatoes with the skin still on. Now on to the wings. Spicy, not greasy. Good marks there, but they were kind of on the dry side. Still, plenty of meat for a wing. The St. Louis ribs were also on the dry side. But the smoky, sweet sauce helped redeem them. Last up were the Memphis ribs. These were more tender, not as dry as the other meats. The Pig has four different types of sauces on the table; spicy mustard, vinegar-based, mild, and spicy hot. I tried all of them except the spicy mustard on the Memphis ribs and found the spicy hot sauce hit the spot. I lost count of how many napkins I went through.

The verdict: L.A.’s best barbecue? I don’t think so. Even if the ribs had been at their tender best I wouldn’t give it the high marks the critics did. Makes me wonder where they’ve been eating. Honestly, The Pig wouldn’t even make it to my top 10 list. The staff was very friendly, though. Would I go back? If I lived in the neighborhood, maybe. But since it’s out of the way, most likely not.

The Pig: 3 out of 5 forks. Good, but overrated and slightly over-priced

Update – The Pig closed down early in 2008.