This no-frills BBQ joint serves up fall-off-the-bone ribs, juicy brisket, and hearty sides in a laid-back setting, perfect for a satisfying feast.
"The motto at Big Antz BBQ is “slower is better,” which means ribs, brisket, and hot links are prepared with the dedication it takes to get through a three-hour movie. Originally founded by Papa Hypolite in 1987, Big Antz lives on through his son, Big Ant, in Glassell Park and more recently, Koreatown. There are six-ounce brisket plates, baby back ribs smothered in house-made sauce, Louisiana hot links, and 10-hour-smoked pulled pork." - kat hong
"The motto at Big Ant's BBQ is “slower is better,” which means ribs, brisket, and hot links are prepared with the dedication it takes to get through a three-hour movie. On the menu are six-ounce brisket plates, baby back ribs smothered in sweet housemade barbecue sauce, 10-hour-smoked pulled pork, plus something called pork candy: smoked and glazed pork belly chunks that are sticky and tender. The best move here is to build a platter with a little bit of everything, including sides like cornbread, baked beans, coleslaw, and collard greens." - Kat Hong
"Big Ant’s BBQ satisfies LA’s barbecue cravings with a menu full of meats and composed dishes." - Cathy Chaplin
"The best BBQ is built on four pillars of flavor: Smoke, spice, fat, and salt. But these tastes are traditionally all about oomph , meaning there’s not a lot of room for nuance. Or so I thought, until I tried the home-barbecued sets from Neighborhood BBQ, a new pop-up born straight from a pandemic-related closure. Neighborhood serves a weekly feast to-go from different pick-up points in East LA - each set involves a main protein, like a whole-smoked chicken, baby back ribs, or a beef rib big enough to have come from a brontosaurus, plus all the fixings. The mains change each week, but that dinosaur - er, beef - rib is among the best things I’ve eaten this year. It’s impressive enough based on size alone, and nicely charred, but it’s the subtle flourishes that make it a true standout. It’s so precisely cooked that tiny pools of rendered fat melt out with each cut, and complemented by a cherry and smoked tomato BBQ sauce that adds a bite of vinegar and a note of sweetness, making the velvety beef pop with nuanced flavor. There’s just as much subtlety in those sides, which are highlighted by mac & cheese shells that involve Velveeta and truffles, a genius and genuinely deadly combination. The brown butter cornbread adds some more sweetness to the meal, while the herb-heavy little gems salad with creamy green goddess dressing offsets a bit of all the heaviness in the feast - and let’s be honest, you’re going to need at least one vegetable in a meal like this. There’s even a rotating selection of bottled tropical cocktails that are on par with some of the best tiki-style bars in the city. The man behind the meats is Erik Piedrahita, the former executive sous chef at Bon Temps, a tremendous French restaurant (and one of our ) that closed earlier this year due to COVID-19. Shortly after Bon Temps closed, he built out a full backyard barbecue set-up to smoke and grill these meats over oak wood, and started , with weekly pick-up from different spots in East LA. Which isn’t a bad thing, since you’re going to want to rip the tin foil covers off these dishes and dive in way before you make it home. So it’s a great opportunity to turn this into a picnic - bring a couple of your closest quarantine buddies and a blanket you don’t mind getting some grease stains on. This BBQ might be a little more nuanced than most, but it’s still BBQ... eating it outside is practically a prerequisite." - Brett Keating
Eric Aten
Crystal
Jose Guerrero
Francis Batungbacal
Danielle V
Dave B
Quantel Floyd
Park Jenny
Faye A.
Lsue W.
Lakita H.
Emily J.
Parker G.
Brandon A.
Hunger E.
Fork T.
Zandra A.
Charles D.
Angel B.
Norge Y.
Gilbert R.
Dianna A.
Marcina A.
Teddy S.
Jenna N.
Nate D.
Jane C.
Derrick K.
Cindy S.
Sherie L.
Jason R.
Lisa B.
Rick M.
Moe H.
Sultan B.
jeremy p.
Sandra H.
Sarah B.
Mesmera D.
Myrna F.
Joshua B.
Hae K.
2 t.
Henry K.
F E.
James R.
Ricardo P.
Doc H.
Vivian O.
Leo Y.
James G.
Evan T.
Jeff B.
Iron S.
Laura D.
Kristina R.
Monsee W.