California Grillin'
Mr. Cecil's makes fine BBQ for the way we eat here
By Richard Foss
Two types of serious restaurant fans should never share a table. One goes to restaurants mainly to get food that is too complicated or labor-intensive to do at home. The other is the serious amateur chef, always looking for ideas and recipes to steal. When two such people are at the table, conversations about food tend to dissolve into mutual incomprehension, and it's best to change the subject to something safer, like politics or religion.
The ribs at Mr. Cecil's California Ribs are the type a home cook could definitely aspire to making. Unlike the Texas-style stuff that's smoked for up to 12 hours, Mr. Cecil's can be made on a backyard barbecue. You probably won't make them as well, because the people at Mr. Cecil's have been practicing for a long time, but it's a target you can aim for. Rather than the deep smokiness you'll find at places like Dr. Hogly Wogly's Tyler Texas BBQ (a few miles north of Mr. Cecil's), the taste is of the grill rather than the smoker. The ribs aren't sauced at all, but two sauces are provided - a good, sweetly tangy one that isn't hot, and a "Cajun" one that isn't much hotter but is still good. The menu urges you to try the ribs without sauce first, which is a good idea. A third of a rack costs $7.95, a half rack $13.95, and a huge full rack $18.95.
While most people order ribs, there are other options, like the smoked tri-tip ($17.95). This steak is first smoked and then grilled, and it's carnivore heaven if you like the taste of slightly smoky beef. Pair it with a glass of Fat Bastard Shiraz from the mysteriously all-French wine list, and you have a marvelous meal.
That wine list has some interesting items, but when I asked my otherwise helpful server about one, she told me that neither she nor anybody else had tried most of the wines. A staff-education day would seem to be in order. True, most people probably order beer with their barbecue, but a good Zinfandel or Cabernet is a far better companion to the flavor.
The sides are well above rib-joint standard, which isn't surprising at a place with cloth napkins, mood lighting, valet parking, and other fancy trappings. Instead of the usual puffy bread and beans, most dishes include your choice of cole slaw, hushpuppies, roasted corn, baked potato, and, uh, beans, of course. The hushpuppies are too refined for me - I like the coarse, almost crunchy ones, while these are fluffy and fine. The corn on the cob is the standout, grilled precisely so the kernels are sweet and tender. The beans were pretty good, with a big taste of bacon.
Salads are extra, and here the experience is mixed. The very good Caesar ($3.95) had a rich, garlicky dressing, but the Annie's Salad of cucumber, tomato, and red onion ($3.75) was so vinegar-saturated it was inedible. The server explained that the salad is made in the afternoon and gets more vinegary as it sits. I was dining at 7:30, and it was more a plate of pickles than a salad, so I can only imagine what it was like by 9. When I expressed my displeasure, she offered to remove it from the bill. Instead, I traded it for dessert, an excellent slice of flourless chocolate mousse cake.
Mr. Cecil's is more Californian than traditional, with a variety of salads and veggie kebabs that would be alien in your typical Southern roadhouse. It's barbecue for the way we eat here, and, measured on its own merits rather than adherence to old ways, it's very successful.Published: 10/09/2003
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