Phil's BBQ had been on our minds all weekend, considering it was sandwiched just minutes between our hotel and the tennis center. We were half serious about going here after our dinner at Buona Forchetta to maximize our eating experience with the short time we had in San Diego. Fortunately, sensibility trumped gluttony and we instead drank beers, got some take out Mexican, and ate Haagen Dazs ice cream bars (finally got my ice cream fix!) in our PJs back at the hotel. Ooook maybe we were still being gluttons. Frankly, I had never heard of Phil's which is odd considering it has over 8,000 reviews on Yelp! It's probably not a place that has popped up on my radar considering I don't do finger-lickin' good foods like ribs. Please contain your bug eyes, dear readers. BBQ just does not contribute to the high fiber diet my body requires if-ya-know-what-I-meeeeeeaaan.
We finally had our chance to grub after our grueling matches in the morning where I pulled my quad and my groin. But it was all worth it to be able to call ourselves SECtional champions! Our slanty eyes beamed with delightful triumph as we claimed our victory cups (literally cups for drinking, not like a trophy cup...*womp womp*), while our Amazonian opponents trudged home as losers. It was 3pm by the time we called it a day. I figured the line at Phil's would have died down by that odd hour, but Potty Pie and Personal Assistant begged to differ. Holy smokes, they weren't lying! It was at least a 45 minute line. WTF man, it's just ribs! LUCKILY Potty Pie had the inside scoop and knew a way to bypass that line. I'm sworn to secrecy, but we were so damn happy to not have to wait in that line. It was already bad enough we were eating lunch at 3pm, but make it 4pm and we woulda had some hangry birds going cuckoo again...
Beefy Rib
Sweet Baked Beans
While I usually like to save the best for last, I'm too lazy to change the order of the pictures at this time. So I'll start with a big YUM-O! I think the baby back ribs are the crowd favorite, but damn, I was all for the beef ribs, which were so meaty, moist, fatty, tender. The most I could do was 1 1/2 ribs, but I think Personal Assistant threw down at least 2 if not 3. Antisocial Background Guy couldn't muster up the strength to conquer as many ribs. What a disappointment. The baked beans were just meh.
We finally had our chance to grub after our grueling matches in the morning where I pulled my quad and my groin. But it was all worth it to be able to call ourselves SECtional champions! Our slanty eyes beamed with delightful triumph as we claimed our victory cups (literally cups for drinking, not like a trophy cup...*womp womp*), while our Amazonian opponents trudged home as losers. It was 3pm by the time we called it a day. I figured the line at Phil's would have died down by that odd hour, but Potty Pie and Personal Assistant begged to differ. Holy smokes, they weren't lying! It was at least a 45 minute line. WTF man, it's just ribs! LUCKILY Potty Pie had the inside scoop and knew a way to bypass that line. I'm sworn to secrecy, but we were so damn happy to not have to wait in that line. It was already bad enough we were eating lunch at 3pm, but make it 4pm and we woulda had some hangry birds going cuckoo again...
Beefy Rib
Sweet Baked Beans
While I usually like to save the best for last, I'm too lazy to change the order of the pictures at this time. So I'll start with a big YUM-O! I think the baby back ribs are the crowd favorite, but damn, I was all for the beef ribs, which were so meaty, moist, fatty, tender. The most I could do was 1 1/2 ribs, but I think Personal Assistant threw down at least 2 if not 3. Antisocial Background Guy couldn't muster up the strength to conquer as many ribs. What a disappointment. The baked beans were just meh.
BBQ Chicken
Ping Pong doesn't eat beef or pork, so it was this sad little chicken for her. Frankly, I'm not even certain Phil's is really her cup of tea, food or scene-wise. She was a happy camper nonetheless, probably still high off our victory. She was the one who pointed out to me our opponents were just men in skirts. As a girl, it always feels good to kick a guy's ass!
Sausage Link
The baby back ribs were quite the contrast from the beef ribs. These were smaller, drier, less juicy and fatty. Everyone seemed to really like them though. Flavor wise, it was spot on and didn't need much sauce. I am glad we ordered the sauce on the side. I think Pink LuLu, Shorty Mak Daddy, and I consumed most of the sausage link. I cannot resist salty, cured, processed meats! The corn was a refreshing and necessary side order to balance out all the junk. Sweet and crunch, just the way nature intended.
Colossal Onion Rings
Colossal is an apt descriptor for these mutant sized rings. We all know onion rings are really just batter around a sliver of something that once was a vegetable. The batter here is heavy, but still maintains a great crunch. It's definitely a must get out of the sides. I think I could only eat 2 or 3 though.
Fresh Cut Fries
I like my fries to have a more golden artificial crunch to them. These were just too naked and natural.
Potato Salad
Not too memorable.
This, on the other hand, was quite memorable...
Take note of our tall blue victory cups. Runner ups went home with the short glasses. Mama Cracks-that-Whip, as captain of our team, went home with the victory sign. It's probably already collecting dust on top of her pile of previously won signs. She don't need tangible rewards. She just needs glory and bragging rights to maintain that victor's ego.
Take note of our tall blue victory cups. Runner ups went home with the short glasses. Mama Cracks-that-Whip, as captain of our team, went home with the victory sign. It's probably already collecting dust on top of her pile of previously won signs. She don't need tangible rewards. She just needs glory and bragging rights to maintain that victor's ego.
Sorry to bore the foodies with the tennis digression. So Phil's really hit the spot. Wait was short. Food was great. Company was bomb. I couldn't have imagined a better way to celebrate our win. The sides were mostly just average but you have to eat something with your meat right? I sorta wished for some cornbread or biscuits, but maybe thats not the style BBQ at Phil's? I don't fully understand all the different styles of BBQ and what distinguishes Texas from Kansas from Louisianna style bbq. In the end, good bbq is good bbq and that's what you'll find here. Pilipina Pow, Mama Cracks-that-Whip, Shorty Mak Daddy, and Pink LuLu all got extra orders of ribs to take home to their men. Not only are they great tennis players, but they are such thoughtful ladies too! If you can wait in line for an hour, go for the beef ribs and get the sauce on the side!
10 - You NEED to eat here (if you're a fan of BBQ)
9 - Awesome!
8 - Very good
7 - Good
7 - Good
6 - OK
5 - Average
4 - Not bad
4 - Not bad
3 - Not good
2 - Terrible
1 - Do NOT go here
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