Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Overnight Barbeque

Place

Barbecue Pit

920 E. Plaza Boulevard, National City




The two Mormon elders stand ahead of me in line.

"Have the beef sandwich," says an older guy with them. He doesn't look Mormon, somehow -- lacks that '50s-style perfect grooming. "Then you've got to choose two sides."

He reads from a list on the wall.

"'Baked beans, coleslaw, macaroni salad, green salad, potato salad, or French fries.'"

Sounds as if this is the first time here for these boys -- 'cause they are, like, elders, but also way young. They're dressed to regulation in white-shirt-over-white-T-shirt, blue Formica nametag, black pants, spongy black shoes made for lots of street-pounding, and the little black book you know is not a Bible.

Sponsored
Sponsored

It's my first time, too. And yet there's something familiar about this place, the red-tile roof, the chocolate-brown timber, the cream brick. I'm thinking '60s modern.

It's the normally dead hour of three in the afternoon -- but, surprise! The inside's abuzz with folks chomping into meaty-looking dishes.

In line behind these oh-so-clean-cut kids, I check out the scenery. It looks like a big timber barn in here. Open rafters, knotty pine, an eight-point buck's head on one wall, set of longhorns on another, and a big desert sunset painting. One side of the place is a blur of people in blue-and-white paper bellhop hats dealing out ribs, hefting chunks of steaming beef, slicing meat from slabs.

The elders and their host order beef sandwich plates ($5.79 each with two sides and a pot of BBQ sauce). Now it's my turn.

There's a line forming behind me, so I've got to move fast. I see a couple of lunch specials on a board. Ribs, beef or pork, with two sides and a bun for $5.99. On the regular menu they have all the variations, like ham sandwich plate ($5.79), plate of beef or ham (with two sides, $8.49; large portions, $9.99), half a chicken ($8.49), chicken and ribs ($8.99), and a hot-link or chicken sandwich plate for $5.79.

If you don't want the sides, the chicken sandwich costs $3.49. Ditto the beef, ham, or link sandwiches. This stocky guy who looks like Kirk Douglas slices beef under a heat lamp. He looks up expectantly.

"Guess I'll have the pork ribs lunch special," I say.

"Only on till three," says the guy, Jerry. Damn. I'm 15 minutes late. But he says, "You can still have it at the regular price."

The printed wall-menu above him lists "ribs -- beef or pork, $6.79 & $9.49."

"And the $6.79 is the same size as the lunch special?"

"Yup."

Heck, it's only 80 centavos more. I get the pork ribs -- with baked beans and coleslaw. Jerry returns with my (nice solid china) plate loaded with three ribs, each about six inches long, plus a short extra piece, all tucked in alongside the beans, slaw, and bowl of BBQ sauce. Jerry says if I had gone for the beef I'd have gotten two ribs for this "small" order. I ask for a coffee ($1.49) as a stand-in for the breakfast I never had.

I blunder over to a table near the Mormon elders. Oops. They're saying prayers before they get started. I wait, then dig into the coleslaw, then the rich, sweet baked beans, and then the pork ribs. The end pieces are stringy, but the rest is rich-tasting, fall-off-the-bone tender. And the sauce totally suits my sweet tooth. It's rico-suave good.

"Too sweet," says Elder Andrew, when we later get to talking. "I'm from Kansas City. The meat's softer back there, and our sauce isn't so sweet."

His fellow missionary, Tyler, is from Utah. He hasn't eaten smoked beef before. "It's good. I liked it fine," he says.

Turns out that Rich, the older guy, is treating them to lunch here after they'd helped him plant a tree in his garden -- guess they'd come to proselytize. He says nothing beats this place. "I'm here three times a week. My father first brought me in when I was five, six. I'm hooked on the smell. Besides, this is healthy food." Boy. I wish Hank were here. Wonder how he'd swallow that? "And look at the crowds they get," Rich says. "Fifty years down the line." He points at a sign at the counter that says "50." "They must be doing something right."

"It was two cousins, back in 1955," Jerry says from his station behind the nearby counter. "Joe Browning and Ed Jenson started up right here. They've been going ever since." Jerry's been around almost as long. "I've been cutting meat for ten years, but I began as a busboy in 1957."

Jacob, one of the many guys in the blue-and-white paper hats, turns out to be a Jenson grandson. He says Joe and Ed have actually been going even longer than 50 years. They started in 1947 at 1413 Market Street, downtown, then came out here 8 years later. The secret to their popularity, he reckons, is that slow overnight barbecuing in the pit out back. "And using oak," he says. "We only use oak."

Aha! Oak. That's what it is. This place is father to the Barbecue Pit up in Fletcher Hills. It also burns only oak. Turns out Jacob's daddy just pulled out of running the Fletcher Hills place this year. Sold his interests in it to the Browning family. Well, at least it's still a family affair.

Back at the tables, the young elders are getting ready to leave. But Elder Andrew stops.

"Say," he says to me. "Do you have a copy of The Book of Mormon yet?"

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Haunted Trail of Balboa Park, ZZ Top, Gem Diego Show

Events October 31-November 2, 2024
Next Article

The danger of San Diego's hoarders

The $1 million Flash Comics #1
Place

Barbecue Pit

920 E. Plaza Boulevard, National City




The two Mormon elders stand ahead of me in line.

"Have the beef sandwich," says an older guy with them. He doesn't look Mormon, somehow -- lacks that '50s-style perfect grooming. "Then you've got to choose two sides."

He reads from a list on the wall.

"'Baked beans, coleslaw, macaroni salad, green salad, potato salad, or French fries.'"

Sounds as if this is the first time here for these boys -- 'cause they are, like, elders, but also way young. They're dressed to regulation in white-shirt-over-white-T-shirt, blue Formica nametag, black pants, spongy black shoes made for lots of street-pounding, and the little black book you know is not a Bible.

Sponsored
Sponsored

It's my first time, too. And yet there's something familiar about this place, the red-tile roof, the chocolate-brown timber, the cream brick. I'm thinking '60s modern.

It's the normally dead hour of three in the afternoon -- but, surprise! The inside's abuzz with folks chomping into meaty-looking dishes.

In line behind these oh-so-clean-cut kids, I check out the scenery. It looks like a big timber barn in here. Open rafters, knotty pine, an eight-point buck's head on one wall, set of longhorns on another, and a big desert sunset painting. One side of the place is a blur of people in blue-and-white paper bellhop hats dealing out ribs, hefting chunks of steaming beef, slicing meat from slabs.

The elders and their host order beef sandwich plates ($5.79 each with two sides and a pot of BBQ sauce). Now it's my turn.

There's a line forming behind me, so I've got to move fast. I see a couple of lunch specials on a board. Ribs, beef or pork, with two sides and a bun for $5.99. On the regular menu they have all the variations, like ham sandwich plate ($5.79), plate of beef or ham (with two sides, $8.49; large portions, $9.99), half a chicken ($8.49), chicken and ribs ($8.99), and a hot-link or chicken sandwich plate for $5.79.

If you don't want the sides, the chicken sandwich costs $3.49. Ditto the beef, ham, or link sandwiches. This stocky guy who looks like Kirk Douglas slices beef under a heat lamp. He looks up expectantly.

"Guess I'll have the pork ribs lunch special," I say.

"Only on till three," says the guy, Jerry. Damn. I'm 15 minutes late. But he says, "You can still have it at the regular price."

The printed wall-menu above him lists "ribs -- beef or pork, $6.79 & $9.49."

"And the $6.79 is the same size as the lunch special?"

"Yup."

Heck, it's only 80 centavos more. I get the pork ribs -- with baked beans and coleslaw. Jerry returns with my (nice solid china) plate loaded with three ribs, each about six inches long, plus a short extra piece, all tucked in alongside the beans, slaw, and bowl of BBQ sauce. Jerry says if I had gone for the beef I'd have gotten two ribs for this "small" order. I ask for a coffee ($1.49) as a stand-in for the breakfast I never had.

I blunder over to a table near the Mormon elders. Oops. They're saying prayers before they get started. I wait, then dig into the coleslaw, then the rich, sweet baked beans, and then the pork ribs. The end pieces are stringy, but the rest is rich-tasting, fall-off-the-bone tender. And the sauce totally suits my sweet tooth. It's rico-suave good.

"Too sweet," says Elder Andrew, when we later get to talking. "I'm from Kansas City. The meat's softer back there, and our sauce isn't so sweet."

His fellow missionary, Tyler, is from Utah. He hasn't eaten smoked beef before. "It's good. I liked it fine," he says.

Turns out that Rich, the older guy, is treating them to lunch here after they'd helped him plant a tree in his garden -- guess they'd come to proselytize. He says nothing beats this place. "I'm here three times a week. My father first brought me in when I was five, six. I'm hooked on the smell. Besides, this is healthy food." Boy. I wish Hank were here. Wonder how he'd swallow that? "And look at the crowds they get," Rich says. "Fifty years down the line." He points at a sign at the counter that says "50." "They must be doing something right."

"It was two cousins, back in 1955," Jerry says from his station behind the nearby counter. "Joe Browning and Ed Jenson started up right here. They've been going ever since." Jerry's been around almost as long. "I've been cutting meat for ten years, but I began as a busboy in 1957."

Jacob, one of the many guys in the blue-and-white paper hats, turns out to be a Jenson grandson. He says Joe and Ed have actually been going even longer than 50 years. They started in 1947 at 1413 Market Street, downtown, then came out here 8 years later. The secret to their popularity, he reckons, is that slow overnight barbecuing in the pit out back. "And using oak," he says. "We only use oak."

Aha! Oak. That's what it is. This place is father to the Barbecue Pit up in Fletcher Hills. It also burns only oak. Turns out Jacob's daddy just pulled out of running the Fletcher Hills place this year. Sold his interests in it to the Browning family. Well, at least it's still a family affair.

Back at the tables, the young elders are getting ready to leave. But Elder Andrew stops.

"Say," he says to me. "Do you have a copy of The Book of Mormon yet?"

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Big swordfish, big marlin, and big money

Trout opener at Santee Lakes
Next Article

Extended family dynamics

Many of our neighbors live in the house they grew up in
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader