The Improving State of the Pulled Pork Sandwich

The following is a guest post on Our Oakland by Dave Cambell. Besides being the Program Director of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition (ebbc.org) and an avid cyclist, he's a Georgia boy who loves a wide variety of food, none more than good Q!

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While perhaps not as close to the heart as moles and their role in honoring the dead in Mexican culture, southern barbecue is very much cherished grub and revered across a vast swath of lower Americana. I can't think of another food that is as festive or as competitive in the hearts and minds of those who enjoy it. I know cause I grew up in Georgia, ate the stuff relentlessly as a kid, still cook it myself, and have two younger brothers who are competitive barbecue aficionados. Living now in California, I yearn for the stuff. I'm no expert for sure, but I have my favorite style and I am always ready to enjoy the offerings of any local barbecue joint, as long as it's quality and as long as they serve me a pulled pork sandwich. Fortunately, I can do this in a lot more places now because the deep south's culinary gift to the world has finally arrived.

For years I considered the best barbecue restaurant to be Great American Barbecue, just across the High Street bridge in Alameda. It's a St. Louis-style barbecue joint that smokes a ton of ribs and serves pulled pork. I could chide them for using the term "artisan barbecue," which no one should ever have to do, since barbecue by definition is "artisan." That said, their sauces are familiar to west coast barbecue fans, a savory and sweet molasses–good, but the sauce can overwhelm the meat and there's a spicy, tangy richness that's missing. Same goes for Flint's BBQ in East Oakland, which is hefty and hearty, and Looney's BBQ and Everett & Jones, too. All serve saucy ribs and other good sweet and savory barbecue, but no yummy pulled pork sandwiches to remind me of home, all due to their preference for sweet over sour.

And therein lies the secret to good barbecue—vinegar, and lots of it! Deep south barbecue is pork and vinegar. If you're from Carolina, that’s about all it is. In Georgia, we are happy to add some tomatoes to the sauce, but not too much. My recipe is about 1:1 vinegar to tomato sauce, with apple juice as the sweetener, by the way. It makes for a pulled pork sandwich anyone can enjoy. However, improving upon rich southern cooking traditions should be encouraged as should experimentation, something California cooks are always ready to do.

Unfortunately, many restaurants try to do this by offering up a pulled pork sandwich as the 'special of the day.' Don't ever order one of these—I can't tell you how many times my heart's been broken. If you're not in a barbecue joint, order something else. Mind you, some places do make great barbecue pork and ribs, too, such as Chop Bar in Jack London, but theirs is not a barbecue joint and their sauce is all sweet molasses. It's good, but the experience is different. Similarly, the food truck Boffo Cart serves a wonderful, gourmet pulled pork that melts in your mouth, but it's not southern style and it's not in a sandwich. What's a lover of deep south pulled pork sandwiches to do?

Bside BBQ staff

Come to Bside BBQ. They have been around longer than I realized and do two things particularly well: smoke their meats and pair them with great beverages. Their pulled pork sandwich with the Carolina sauce is really good. Pair it with the Thelonious Belgium Ale and life don't get much better. You can take me to task cause their pulled pork would never win a barbecue competition, other than maybe the "anything goes” category, but that's only cause traditions die hard in the south. It's pork, it's vinegar, it's a sandwich, and it's fabulous. They do cheat a bit at Bside, by having gone to some fancy schmancy cooking school in Paris–Le Cordon something or other, but boy does it work. I'm split on the decor and ambiance of Bside BBQ. Its classiness is top notch, but the pristine feel can interfere with the irregular down home experience I seek while chewing on threads of pulled pork. This is no roadside barbecue joint. Still, I have nothing against fine beer, wines and spirits and I reckon there is no reason these things can't be combined with a classy barbecue experience. Whether you seek good barbecue or good drinks, I recommend this place highly.

For a slightly more authentic feel, try Smoke Berkeley. Their pulled pork sandwich has the peppery taste that most reminds me of Georgia barbecue. Maybe it's something in the crispy bits of outer pork layers. I don't know, but I like it. The kitchen is somewhat disorganized, like many a good roadside barbecue joint, but they eventually get you a full plate of food and their pies are so good that it seems like they specialize more in them than cooking meats. The place is also located right next to a car wash service, which is so southern. Overall, Smoke has a nice, simple authenticity to it. I approve.

I also want to give kudos for Smoke Berkeley serving their sandwich on an Acme Bakery bun and even bigger kudos to Bside BBQ for using Semifreddie's kaiser bun. Why don't all restaurants take advantage of the amazing bakeries we have in the East Bay? While Acme Bakery is my favorite in general, I have to say Semifreddie's does the most for a pulled pork sandwich—it nicely holds the meat together on the bun, while adding just a bit of fresh crunchiness. On this note, I also want to give props to Actual Cafe for experimenting with an arepa corn bun for its pork sandwich. It's a promising combination.

PhatMatt's BBQ on Telegraph is worth a trip, too. They'll serve you a 'North Carolina' pulled pork sandwich, but it's more like Kansas City in my opinion—good, but not vinegary enough for my taste and they tend to overdue it on the sauce. One thing I love is that PhatMatt's positions their smoker right behind the counter. You can see it right there, although you can't see the meats inside. This adds to the ambiance of the place and makes it easier to smell the wonderful aromas. You can also get a beer with your sandwich here and watch the ballgame, which is not something you could ever do at a barbecue joint in the deep South. Just ask them to put the sauce on the side, and enjoy!

mmm...cornbread

Can the pulled pork sandwiches of these local establishments be improved upon? Yeah. Smoke Berkeley could smoke their meats more and Bside still chops their pork—it's called 'pulled' for a reason, y'all. I'm still not sure the ultimate bun has been discovered for the pulled pork sandwich, but Semi's is the best so far. And none of these places dabbles in barbecue theater, which is one thing all self-respecting southern roadside barbecue joints thrive in doing. Walk into one of these, and you are overwhelmed at the sights and smells of racks and racks of meat smokin' in da smoker all right before your eyes. Pork butts, ribs, briskets, whole chickens tantalizing you long before you get to the order counter. In fact, you can smell these meats from a mile away, which is why people eat there so often. It isn't something you can experience on the streets of Oakland. So, I'm still seeking pulled pork nirvana but things are improving rapidly. Maybe I'll open up a restaurant, hmm?

My picks for each of these important pulled pork sandwich criteria:
Best sandwich overall: Bside, but Smoke Berkeley's is darn good
Best vinegar sauce: Smoke's hot vinegar sauce
Best coleslaw (gotta have this with pork): Smoke Berkeley
Best cornbread (I love cornbread): Phat Matt's
Best decor: Bside
Most authentic place: Smoke Berkeley
Best smell: Phat Matt's
(alright) Best drink selection: Bside

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I'll probably hit BSide for their BBQ braised tofu nuggets, but that's hardly the same as regular BBQ. So I was happy to have Dave do this guest post—thanks, Dave! If you're interested in doing a guest post about Oakland, let me know.

random acts of kindness by Oaklanders

Saturday night was the 10th annual Oakland Firefighters Random Acts awards dinner. It's a fundraiser, but it's also a chance to celebrate and honor some of the people who make Oakland better.

Random Acts was started by Oakland firefighters, to give back to Oakland and help with some of the things they see day in and day out while on duty, but also to give them a chance for positive experiences. They see lots of bad: accidents, fires, victims of violence. Years of that takes its toll, so engaging in Random Acts can help the process of healing by letting them experience some good.

Coach Brooks and
McClymonds players

Many of the random acts of kindness are done with individuals and other organizations in Oakland, and several of those were honored Saturday night. First was McClymonds High basketball coach Brandon "Boozy" Brooks. Not only has he led the Warriors to multiple state championship games, he's made a positive impact on his players outside of school, too. They're regularly involved in community service events, and the players say the coach is like a father to them. They may not all end up in the NBA like McClymonds' alums Bill Russell, Antonio Davis, Joe Ellis, Paul Silas, and Nate Williams, but they'll be better people for it. Coach Brooks was given the Citizen Hero award.

Mikey

Another Mack alum who's doing good is Shaheda Wright, along with her son Mikey Callahan. A few years ago, Mikey was a normal kid. Then he got sicker and sicker, and required a liver transplant to save his life. Afterwards, his mom asked him how he wanted to 'pay it forward', and he replied "feed the homeless". That first Christmas they were handing people food out of the trunk of Shaheda's car; now they're a 501(c)(3) serving food to the hungry on a regular basis. Check out the TV clips on the media page of the Mikey's Meals website. Shaheda and Mikey were given the first-ever Mom & Pop Green Community Service award.

save a life

On hand to present the award was Mom & Pop's Daughter, Sharon Green-Holder. And on hand to thank Mikey and Shaheda were the parents of the young man who died, whose liver was used to save Mikey's life. How terrible to lose a child, but how great to know they helped save other lives after death. And even better to know it saved a remarkable kid like Mikey. You can save lives, too -- be sure you're registered as an organ donor with DonateLifeCalifornia.org. It turned out the young man was a Raider's fan -- he had a Raider's tattoo that his parents didn't know about. In a nice gesture, an Oakland Raiders rep heard about the connection, and had Raider great Jim Otto sign a picture to the parents.

Pilar

The final award, the Act of Kindness award, went to the youngest OFRA award recipient ever. One of Mom Green's sayings was "it's never too late to do good." For Pilar Ortega, it's apparently never too early to start. At age 4 she was breaking open her piggy bank to send money for Peru earthquake relief. Now at the whopping age of 7, she's moved her efforts to a whole new level. After the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis in Japan, she made posters, collection banks, etc. and went to each classroom at her school (Sequoia Elementary in the Dimond district) and made a brief speech. With the help of some friends, her efforts raised over $1,150 to support relief efforts in Japan.

A pretty amazing group of Oaklanders, no? A bunch of other people were helping make the event happen and were on hand to honor the award recipients. Rita Williams of KTVU News was once again the MC. The principal of Franklin Elementary School (which has taken part in OFRA's "books and balls" program), Jeanette MacDonald was there. Andy Pumphrey, a past Citizen Hero award recipient, was there to cheer on this year's winner. (Andy saved his niece in a 2.5-story fall and was paralyzed from the chest down. Andy is now able to walk unassisted; you may have seen the KTVU segment on it that Rita Williams did a while back.) Karla Jackson, of the Ariel Outreach Mission, was there to sing a song she'd written to thank OFRA, Local 55, and the OBFFA for the support they've given her mission.

Part of the plan for Random Acts was to spread it all over the country and the world, as firefighters and other first responders face the same problems everywhere. Berkeley Firefighters Random Acts was one of the first programs based on the one here in Oakland, and were given a shout-out for their raising of $30,000 for the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation. Albuquerque Firefighters Random Acts was there. Even mayor Jean Quan and her husband were there -- check out the brief mention in her recent newsletter.

I'd also like to thank some of the many businesses that supported the event:
Linden Street Brewery (I was especially thankful for this)
Fenton's
Oakland Raiders
Oakland A's
Oakland Audio Visual Service
Oakland Zoo
Children's Fairyland
California Canoe and Kayak
East Bay Blue Print
Plus there are lots more outside Oakland, and I know I'm forgetting some (I had to make thank-you slides for all the businesses and groups that supported the event, and it was a lengthy list this year). Thank you all!

my view of the stage

showing off Oakland!

Thanks for the ideas on showing off Oakland. After figuring out when we were both available, I arranged to meet my friend D Thursday morning at West Oakland BART as he was coming over from SF.

Brown Sugar Kitchen

The first stop was Brown Sugar Kitchen for breakfast. K and I went there earlier this year and loved it. I considered Mama's Royal Cafe (worth the trip for the napkin art alone) and Mama Buzz Cafe, but settled on BSK as more unique to Oakland and because it was close to West Oakland BART. We both had the cornmeal waffles, which are served with brown sugar butter and apple cider syrup. Maybe not the healthiest breakfast ever, but hecka tasty. We took our time drinking coffee and catching up, as we hadn't seen each other in some years. As we drove around, I told him about the Cypress Structure and the Loma Prieta earthquake, and a bit about the railroads before that.

City Center

We went over to Downtown and walked around. It was foggy (no great surprise there, given the weather this summer), but there were lots of great buildings to look at and interesting things to see. By European standards, even the oldest buildings are new, but they're still interesting architecturally.

City Hall and Frank Ogawa

Cathedral Building

Oscar Grant mural

Walking towards Uptown, there were Oscar Grant posters in various store windows, and this large mural. I told D about the killing of Oscar Grant, the protests, the trial, and the impending sentencing.

Fox Theater

Oaksterdam

We walked to Uptown to admire the Fox Theater, Flora, and various other buildings. On the way back, we passed Oaksterdam and talked about the ballot measure to legalize marijuana and the futility of 'the war on drugs'. In Switzerland, apparently marijuana is not legal, but generally the police won't make an issue of a small amount. Most police, at least; like California, it depends on where you are.

Chinatown church

Old Oakland

We then walked around Chinatown, enjoying the life and activity there. Not so much the cooked ducks hanging in the window, but the hustle and bustle of people going about their lives, going to shops, to work, etc. Then it was back to Old Oakland to admire the old brick buildings.

gondola

glass and steel, anyone?

cathedral

kids playing

Lake Merritt colonnade

As we headed over to Lake Merritt, the sun finally made an appearance. D had been at a conference in San Francisco, and was dismayed to pretty much not see the sun the entire time. I told him the usual weather patterns, and while the basic pattern (foggy in San Francisco, foggy mornings and sunny afternoons in Oakland) was normal, the duration and amount of the fog was not. We walked around Lake Merritt, stopping in to check out the cathedral and bird- and people-watch as we walked around.

Tacos Sinaloa

After working up an appetite, we headed over to Tacos Sinaloa for a late lunch. Discussing favorite taco trucks can be like discussing politics or religion, but Tacos Sinaloa (well, technically the Mariscos truck) is my favorite. After lunch I drove him through San Antonio and the Fruitvale, again noting the life and energy present there.

Loard's Ice Cream

As lunch was on the small side, we stopped by Loard's for some ice cream, and to view the Mormon Temple. D said there aren't many Mormons in Europe, but there are fair number in South America where he's traveled.

Joaquin Miller Park

Despite the ice cream to cool us down, it was getting on the warm side, so we headed for the hills. We walked around Joaquin Miller Park and nearby Roberts to check out the redwoods. Proximity to various parks is a big part of why I bought our house here (and I'm glad I bought when I did). D lives near some parks, too, so he felt right at home. We stopped by the house (D reads my home improvement blog) to meet the cats, check out the improvements in person, and talk some more.

Julia Morgan designed church

We checked out the view on the way down from the hills, and went to Rockridge. All this touring and talking was thirsty-making work, so we headed to Barclay's for a pint and more talking. I was considering various options for dinner, but one pint turned into three, so we had dinner there and talked some more. After more talking, I put D on a BART train back to San Francisco, and headed home myself.

A long, tiring, fun tour of Oakland. I know I had a good time showing off Oakland -- I hope D enjoyed it at least half as much as I did. I think he did, because typical tourist things in San Francisco (e.g., Fisherman's Wharf) aren't his favorite, so a somewhat non-typical tour of Oakland was more his speed.

food: Brown Sugar Kitchen

Brown Sugar Kitchen

Today after taking K to Kaiser for an appointment, we headed off to West Oakland to try Brown Sugar Kitchen. I'd had some of their food at the open house for Central Station, but neither of us had been to the restaurant itself.

In short, the food was great. Chef/owner Tanya Holland has done something a lot of people like, because the place was packed even though it was a Tuesday at 11AM. We lucked out and got a parking place in front, and the last free table. K had the Baked Egg Tart (kinda like a meatless quiche) and I had the signature Cornmeal Waffles, which are served with brown sugar butter and apple cider syrup. Yum!

The food is prepared with "organic, local and hormone-free ingredients as much as possible". The coffee is roasted locally by Roast Coffee Company (based nearby in Emeryville). Well worth checking out next time you're out for breakfast or lunch.

Oakland: an industrial city?

Forget arguing about 'view corridors'. The real question about Oakland's future is whether it wants to be an industrial city again or not.

An article in the Wall Street Journal says the city wants West Oakland to be a 'clean-technology, manufacturing and industrial hub', but that doesn't sit well with all West Oakland residents. It would, however, be a return to some of West Oakland's historical roots, which besides the western terminus of the transcontinental railroad, had a number of less-clean industries like the Phoenix Iron Works. More recently West Oakland has seen housing being developed.

In the Oakland Tribune, this article talks about the desire to create more housing near the estuary in what's currently largely an industrial area. But Oakland City Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente is opposed to a similar proposal for the nearby Owens-Brockway Glass Containers plant.

What's the right answer? I don't know enough to know. But I would hate to see the glass recycling plant closed for more housing, as Oakland currently has enough housing even if it's not all affordable, but not enough jobs.

signs: Blue Bird Liquors

Blue Bird Liquors

In the shadow the California Hotel is Blue Bird Liquors. Why is it that so many liquor stores have classic signs? Probably because they've been around for a long time (business is always good, whether the economy is or not), dating back to the era of great signs.