Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill

Last quarter, when I dragged my sister all the way to the Grove during rush hour to see an advanced screening of Match Point, only to discover that it was being played in Santa Monica (doh), I saw that there was a Wood Ranch Grill there. Whilst images of meat danced in my head, I promptly proposed a Zagat-Who trip which was enthusiastically received.

After a painfully long five week wait, we finally gathered a ravenous group to trek through Friday night traffic from Westwood to La Brea.

(oh what choices!)

For those of you who don't know (www.woodranchgrill.com), this establishment has epic tri-tip and bbq, even for those people who aren't normally that into red meat. Though they have other menu items, you will probably get the combo meal- 2, 3 or 4 bbq items with two sides. Their bbq items are glazed with their signature bbq sauce and roasted overnight, and include beef ribs, babyback ribs, bbq or fire-roasted chicken (breast or half-chicken) and the tri-tip. I would recommend the tri-tip because that is what they are famous for.

Their sides may cause a problem for the indecisive one, but otherwise are fun to choose from: mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, ranch fries, mac and cheese, corn on the cob, grilled vegetables, baked potato, baked beans, and coleslaw.

Our experience was pretty standard. Because the Grove is normally very crowded on Friday nights, we had to wait about half an hour for a 7-person table. Our food came in a timely manner (not too long but not a short wait), and we were presented with warm and fresh GARLIC BREAD ROLLS THAT MELT IN YOUR MOUTH.

(AHHH DELICIOUS GARLIC ROLLS!)


(Ravi's last moment pre-garlic roll consumption)

But our waitress gave Aiko a virgin raspberry Ranch lemonade (it was supposed to have rum) and they gave Eric the wrong meat (but he liked it, ZING!). But on the up side, they brought him his tri-tip and he got 4 meats for the price of 3. And that my friend, is beating the system.



(Top: Aiko and Cindy, a bit daunted by their entrees?; Bottom: Eric with his ranch fries, sweet potatoes and incorrect meat)


(Count 'em: all four meats)

We all ate and were merry and died of meat overload. This was all concurrent with listening to the worst EZ listening/reject pop (e.g., NSync "Bye Bye Bye"). Be prepared to drop about $30+ if you get the 2 bbq combo and a non-alcoholic drink, but they do validate for parking. Overall, it delivered what I expected it to, so it's an appropriate restaurant when you feel like having some high-quality meat. They have ample portions (my leftovers were a hearty lunch today), but this is definitely a once-in-a-while thing.

Overall: MEATASTIC.



















-k.


Wood Ranch BBQ and Grill
The Grove
189 The Grove Drive Y-80


(Aiko, Cindy and Nish- waiting for food)


(Erica and Eric- the calm before the storm)


(Cindy, Nish and Ravi with their entrees)