Frank H.
Yelp
I have been going to E&J's since the early 1980s when they stayed open until three and you could get a three-way combo for (I believe) $7.50. Many a drunken-stoned night ended with a plate of beef, ribs, and links on a paper plate with the sauce and potato salad and the white bread all kind of melding together. Damn it hit the spot!
They already had started their collection of bumper stickers and the attitude of the very large people serving was notoriously variable which represented its own challenge. We also had a game that consisted of seeing if you could avoid flinching while one such large person chopped the ribs with great resounding blows of the cleaver. The clientele was a mix of local folks of every age and of course the stoner-munchy crow of which we were a part. It was either here or Flints up on Shattuck and Alcatraz (we generally prefered E&J's, though this was an ongoing debate--particularly since Flint's tended to be more generous with they portions). Flints on Shattuck shut down in the late eighties or or early nineties, largely because (I believe) the neighbors (understandably) couldn't deal with smoke and grease a BBQ joint inevitably produces (if it's any good) in endless quantities.
Anyway, this review is necessarily marked by that nostalgia and the fact that I think E&J's links are still among the best I've ever had. The rest--brisket, ribs etc is so-so, though the sauce definitely does everything a favor (Texas BBQ fans, I know, I know). Anyway, like I said, this gets four stars for just still being there and for turning out the same food they turned out over forty years ago when I was in college. Now I will say one thing, and I suspect that this is largely simply due to the fact that this place is holding down a space in one of the most expensive real-estate markets in the country: the fact that a two-way combo has now gone up to forty bucks (I believe it was $25 before Covid) means that it's no longer stoner-street food but a decided luxury that is kind of hard to justify given the quality, quantity (definitely not what it used to be) and the location--University and San Pablo isn't exactly downtown Berkeley. Anyway, I had mixed feelings about all of this when I went back and forked out that much money...but sitting in my car and scarfing it down, it brought back some powerful memories that earn it an extra star. An admitted moment of bias and critical weakness.