San Diego Reader

• Restaurant

Coop's West Texas Barbecue

• 2625 Lemon Grove Avenue, Lemon Grove, CA 91945 | Directions
• 619-589-0478
• http://coopsbbq.com/

Coop’s is the new barbecue with the buzz. Since opening last October, it’s already garnered one major huzzah (Candice Woo in San Diego Magazine’s “best restaurants” issue for best barbecue). On Yelp, it’s incited an ongoing war between fans of Phil’s-the-Grill (aka Phil’s BBQ, which isn’t really a barbecue because it’s a no-smoking zone) and Coop’s converts. Coop may have started the controversy himself — once he registered his business on Yelp, he told me, he posted a few rave reviews under his own name (no fakery), until the site administrators made him stop.

Coop is friendly and personable enough that he may become the San Diego ambassador for Southern-style barbecue. “I understood when I opened Coop’s that Southern California is a completely different style of barbecue,” he says. “It’s basically backyard grilling, like Phil’s, and I knew I’d have some hard work ahead to make smoked barbecue popular here. I’m on a mission to be known as the best purveyor of barbeque in Southern California, and I keep learning and experimenting to try and perfect my food.”

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Hours: Tuesday–Friday 11 a.m.–7 p.m.; lunch 11 a.m.–3 p.m.; Saturday till 5 p.m.; Sunday till 4 p.m.

Prices: Meats with two small sides $13–$26; sandwiches $6–$9; pound of meat (no ribs) $12; Kit and Kaboodle (4 meats, about 2 pounds, with 2 sides) $19; sides $3–$5; desserts $4; whole pies $15.

Cuisine & Beverages: Authentic pit-smoked meats and a few sides; soft drinks only.

Pick hits: Pulled pork; Southwestern jerk chicken (especially smoked wings); beef ribs; baked beans; collard greens; sweet-potato pie; buttermilk pie. Most popular item: rib tips (not always available).

Need to know: Smoked wings and Kit and Kaboodle combo (four meats, two small sides) not shown on current printed menu or website. Tiny room; most patrons call in for takeout. Save room for pie! Three vegetarian side dishes.