Erich C.
Yelp
I wanted to do a BBQ night at home and I have not been impressed with several of the barbeque options we have near us in Oceanside (i.e. Enzo's, Felix's). They are "okay" but I don't get that "real Texas" smoke that I'm looking for. I have a Masterbuilt smoker at home that is a beast, but the process of smoking meat is a long and tedious one, especially if you're only doing it for yourself or a couple of people (parties are different!).
I heard people talking about Abbey's BBQ in a San Diego foodie group on FB, and enough people mentioned it that I took a look at their reviews. Some good ones, some not so good. But the not-so-good ones are always the whiners who never post a review until they have that one "bad" experience they must tell everyone about (like running out of napkins, etc).
Passing by Miramar one day, I ordered some food for pickup: 1lb of brisket, 1lb of pulled pork, a whole smoked chicken and smoked burnt ends. I didn't need all the accessories (bread, coleslaw, etc) and the entire order was under $100 and ended up feeding 5 people and a dog for 2-3 days. It was a lot of food!
Everything was great. Smoke flavor throughout...this was REAL Texas BBQ. Heck, it's just real BBQ in general. I love that I can see a smoke ring in the brisket clear as day and I can TASTE it too, most importantly.
They gave us ample BBQ sauce too...tangy & slightly sweet. Would have loved a spicier version. Maybe next time. And there will be a next time. This is now my official go-to barbeque joint, especially if I need to impress friends but don't have time to fire up my own smoker.
Would like to dine-in someday and enjoy the service and ambiance but it's a bit out of the way for us "northerners" (Oceanside). There seems to be an incentive program called spots, but I'm not really sure how that works. If it gets us a discount or a free appetizer, then I'll definitely be coming back more often.