While continuing our trip to Santa Monica, we met up with some local friends in Marina del Rey. There we dined at the interesting Tony P's Dockside Grill. Far and away the best thing about this place is the location and its view. Being right on the water and overlooking the marina and the boats has its advantages and the large covered patio is certainly the choice spot here. It was a great spot to meet and catch up with friends.
The first thing that I noticed about this place was their fantastic drink selection. A large selection of great local California beers like Lost Coast and some of my east coast favorites like Allagash and Ommegang. I really enjoyed the beer menu layout too, its little details like that that really make a place stand out. I could easily see a place like this a gathering place for my friends and I if we lived locally.
Being the east coaster that I am, plus going to college in Fredericksburg with the amazingly delicious Virginia BBQ, I decided to see what passes for a pulled-pork sandwich out west. The menu says its smoked for 12 hours, hand pulled, and then simmered in their BBQ sauce. Most of the reason why I got it is because it also came with smoked baked beans w/ onions and jalapenos, plus coleslaw and hush puppies. Lots going on here.
All said and done, I give this a "not bad." Nothing about any of the elements really blew my skirt up. I'm sure this is perfectly fine BBQ out here, probably better than most. I guess I may have set myself up for failure because I'm instantly comparing it to the good stuff back home. This had a thicker sauce, much smokier than I'm used to. Not bad, just different - although as a rule of thumb I tend to find "smokiness" as a flavor net negative as I think it is overrated and overused in BBQ in general. But again I didn't find this bad The beans were tasty, and the coleslaw was good too. The hush puppies were denser than I'm used to, and had more junk thrown into the batter. The southern standard is plain or sometimes with onions. These had onions, peppers (possibly more jalapenos but of that I am not certain), and corn. Definitely a more "southwestern" flare to BBQ that I'm not used to. Even now days after the actual meal, I'm not sure if the majority of my opinion was formed because "this is different from what I was expecting" rather than "this isn't really great" or "another person would probably really like this."
Normally I'm pretty keen on regional variations of things I like, precisely because of that mutual starting point. I am a huge fan of fusion cuisine, and southern cooking is still new enough to me that I am still exploring its depths both in restaurants and in my own kitchen. I guess I'm still struggling for an explanation why this wasn't a meal that I loved.
That said, I would come back to Tony P's myself to try other things on the menu that caught my eye and I was deciding between - like the spicy thai chicken salad and the center-cut choice pork chops with chunky homemade apple sauce (I LOVE apple sauce and pork together!). Not only would I return, I would also recommend this place to friends. I'm glad our local friends suggested it.
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