Johnny P's - A Place for Ribs

So this time it was my turn to choose the locale and I went nostalgic. Our very own Rich Jorgensen worked at a BBQ place in Thousand Oaks called 'Porky's' in high school. He'd show up after work with their famous Onion Ring Loaf, that crazy BBQ sauce and some Potato Skins. We'd meet him out on the driveway of Brian's house and mack it all right there so we didn't have to share with the 'rest' of the party inside. Now those were some finger lickin' good times. Anyhow, Porky's sadly burned down a short time later. They re-opened in a much smaller location in Westlake soon after and renamed themselves 'Johnny Ps: A Place for Ribs.' It's been 24 years and I had yet to try it so we went last night.

It's a locals favorite, judging by the clientele. We had some classic WLV Octogenarians, the typical sports bar types and seated right next to us was my first boss (Skip Toller of Electra Craft). We elected to sit outside on the patio that overlooks bustling Westlake Blvd. It doesn't get any more hometown than that and this feature is the best thing about Johhny Ps, without a doubt. We tossed back some beers and ordered up the Full Loaf of the Onion Rings, of course.


After 30 minutes it arrived, luke warm at best and a bright-orange color to boot! The flavor was there though, just as I remembered. With that we each ordered our entrees. I went with the Beef Ribs and Baby Back combo. In hindsight I should have gone with all Beef Ribs but it's a gamble since so many places do them poorly. Here they were decent, not great, but decent enough. The Baby Backs were not, in my opinion.
I'm a bit of a snob since smoking ribs is a speciality of mine but these weren't tender and the sauce not only wasn't a good match but it was just lathered on after they were plated. It was a weak attempt on those, I was left flat.

My Baked Potato was good, I can't fault them there. Gregg's Spare Ribs were well-received, he seemed to enjoy them. I never really heard from Dan on his Tri-Tip but it didn't look spectacular.
The service was slow, the food was anywhere from weak to decently good and I felt the price was a bit much. The atmosphere of the patio can't be beat anywhere in town except maybe front row Bocaccio's (at the lake). I'd come back here for beers and appetizers anytime, and I'm sure we will.




For that alone, trying it was worthwhile. As it stands, the reigning giant for most BBQ in this town is, of course, Wood Ranch. As good as Wood Ranch is, they don't have a Pulled Pork Sandwich and that leaves me with a wandering eye...

(Additional comments by Gregg)

For the most part I agree with Scott with the exception of the onion rings. The crude orange mess was an insult to onion rings everywhere. Our server took forever to bring anything and Dan spied her several times in the kitchen on her cell phone. On the other hand, if Megan Fox has a sister, this is her. It almost balanced out the long delays in service.

Famous Dave's BBQ

Where there used to be an Applebee's at the corner of Westlake and Thousand Oaks Blvd. there is now a Famous Dave's BBQ. I had never been to or heard of Famous Dave's but anything must be better than Applebee's. I was correct, it was.

Brody and I stopped by to give it a quick once over. Our female server was almost too good. I don't know if she would have done the whole sauce show if it had just been me but Brody seemed to enjoy it. She made pig faces and smiley faces and spelled Brody's name all while giving an enthusiastic explanation of each of the 6 sauces offered. Three different plates were used for sauce artwork and then left with us for the duration. Actually, if she had done the whole show and it had been just me it would have been pretty awkward.

On Scott's recommendation I went wit the pulled pork sandwich. Our server quickly informed me that they only have a cut pork sandwich because you lose too much of the bark flavoring from the grill if they pull the meat. Ok.

The sandwich was tasty. A tiny amount of the pork might have stayed on the grill too long and needed to be removed from my mouth by hand but that didn't offset the overall experience. The baked beans have some kind of wonderful smoke flavor that I haven't tasted before and I can only hope its something real and not a trick added with flavorings. I also got a side of green beans and cole slaw. The green beans weren't worth mentioning as the serving size amounted to what woulod fit in the palm of my hand. The slaw was solid. Nothing crazy or new age, just good house made slaw with no pretention of being light or healthy.

I should mention that although I would recommend this place the portions of all food ordered was definitely on the small side. I did not leave with that Wood Ranch fullness one might expect.
Speaking of Wood Ranch, Famous Dave's does not compete on the same level but I would certainly opt for this place before going to Bandits.

The First Meeting

I'm not sure I have a full review in me but here are the pics from our first of the 'Dinner Club' series.  It's basically 3 guys, a different place each month, in keeping with the 'man food' we like to eat.  First up is the 'The Counter' just off Lindero Canyon Rd. It's a build your own burger joint and overall fairly impressive, at least the idea of it, given that it's Westlake-new.

For me, a good burger is about the meat, the texture, the taste of said patty.  Then the bun, then the toppings. While I wasn't terribly impressed by the burgers as a whole (they were decent), I thought the patty itself was won-der-ful.  The simple fact they cook it with a true pink in the middle excites me.  That's a lost art.  And it's clearly good meat they start with (heartily-portioned too).

The sweet potato fries were stand-out good,  The icy beer glasses also a nice touch.  Otherwise, I felt the mark was missed ever-so-slightly.  The recipe for success is there but I was wanting more somehow.  if it were my place, I could dial it in to win, no question.  Then again, I was a little off that day so I'll need to invoke the 'try it twice' clause before I pass final judgement.  Stella's in Newbury Park might be the best of the local burger stops having passed the 'let's just phone it in from now on' mentality of Jack's Deli of the past few visits.  Good vibes come from Jerry's Deli across the street, I've been to the valley location and it's faboo (real good).  We might need to hit that at some point.

Next month is not going to be Soup Plantation or Boulangerie, that much we know.