After following u/GamerExecChef on here for a minute, I had wanted to order one of his sandwiches but the past few weeks, there were always scheduling problems preventing me from going to his weekly pick-up spots/stands. However, I didn't have anything today (thank you Labor Day) and when I saw that he was setting up in Venice, I figured "well, I know my wife would like to see her sister in Culver City so…" off we went.
Just to be consistent with my other posts, here's my usual review spiel and look: I know this is a labor of love by someone testing stuff out — which I think is awesome! — vs. evaluating a new sandwich at, say, Langer's. My review is calibrated appropriately (I hope).
Big Beautiful BBQ (IG: Big_Beautiful_BBQ ) is a pop-up stand started by u/GamerExecChef (not to be confused with u/mangled_j who also offers homemade bread and sandwiches to folks on this sub).
BBBBQ's locations change depending on the week but on this particular day, he and a friend (IG: jaevdevelopment) set up stands on the corner of Westminster Dog Park in Venice. Parking around there, especially on a weekend/holiday, was unsurprisingly non-existant but in this case, my wife dropped me off.
Lately, BBBBQ has been selling what a "Los Angeles cheesesteak": chunks of short rib, cheddar cheese, chopped peppers and onions, all on hand-baked rolls, plus a side of jus for dipping. I picked up one for $10. His friend was selling homemade gluten-free/vegan brownies so I picked up the "olive oil, double chocolate" brownie for $4.
On the plus side:
- The short rib had a nice hint of smokiness and overall, everything was well-seasoned.
- It uses thick slices of cheddar — which I prefer over American cheese — that are chopped up on the griddle and integrated with the other ingredients.
- The portion size is solid. The bread is half the length of a standard 10-12" roll and I was tempted to get two but was warned "they're more filling than they may appear" and he wasn't wrong. When packed in with the short rib and ingredients, a single sandwich is hefty. At $10, it's a solid value.
On the other hand:
- I'm not a cheesesteak purist/pedant so just because this doesn't use rib eye or American cheese or wiz…I really don't care. But if I have one expectation of something called a cheesesteak, it's that it'll be a soft bite the whole way through. In this case, the bread was more dense than I anticipated and because it's made from chunks of short rib rather than thinly sliced steak, the beef also requires more of a bite to get through it. To be clear, we're not talking anywhere near to Bay City's "you might break a tooth" hard rolls. But it wasn't a soft bite.
- The short rib was slightly dry.
As for the jus, it neither added nor detracted from the experience.
Overall, I'd rate this a 7/10. I really feel like the bread — which I know is homemade, so I'm sorry! — was key here. If it were a softer roll, I likely would have enjoyed it more.
As for the brownie: I appreciate that it was gluten-free as that way, my wife could share it. But as someone who's decently adept at GF baking, she wasn't a fan. She thought it had a "fruity sweetness" (possibly from the olive oil?) that was cloying and that the texture was more gummy than gooey. She took a couple of bites and handed it back. I liked it better than she did but I agreed that the texture and flavors weren't quite there. Plus points for value as well (this would have been 2x as much at some specialty bakery). 6/10.
Bottomline: I love pop-ups like this and I hope BBBBQ continues to do their thing and as I know this all a work in progress, I'd definitely be down to try their future dishes (maybe not in Venice again but Los Feliz? Sure).
by soulsides
Dining and Cooking