AJ’s Tex-Mex Barbecue — Restaurant in Los Angeles

AJ's Tex-Mex Barbeque. The name is a bit long, but so is the flavor of the food they serve. For a medium-sized restaurant, it's all kitchen. You can sit outside if you want, but it's a south facing place, so you are liable to get burnt yourself (see pictures). Thank God for Pat's on Laurel next door.

AJ's will deliver next door, and the Pat's on Laurel will welcome lunch goers, provided they buy their drinks from the bar. It's not a hard rule, but it's polite.

Back to the food. AJ's BBQ is only very fine. It's not perfect, but that's the problem with all BBQ restaurants. BBQ is meant to be eaten fresh out of the smoker, not just hot when you come in. Hot doesn't mean fresh, and my Mexican breakfast burrito was indeed hot, but the brisket inside, while tasty, wasn't fresh. I spent basic training in Missouri, trained in Texas, and lived in Kansas City, Little Rock, and Memphis. I know fresh BBQ. This was only 4 out of 5 stars. Too bad. We need a perfect BBQ joint in Valley Village, like the spectacular 'Bear Pit' in Mission Hills. That place has (sorry to my good BBQ loving friends) the best darned BBQ anywhere in the world. I salivate just thinking about it. You'd have never guessed that Los Angeles is the BBQ capital of the world.

For those without my experience, AJ's BBQ will do very nicely. The brisket and pulled pork are tender, the pickled everything is fantastic, and the sides are groovy. Two and a...

Ordered a 4 meat combo on first visit, first issue was they would not let us get two orders of brisket? Never seen this before. Thankfully for us though the brisket was gross. Never gave the option for lean or fatty brisket they just give you the fatty version. Collard greens were made with tomato based broth which was unexpected and odd. Pulled pork was the only good part to that meal, so good it was the only thing I would order again in the future (Note their pulled pork was pulled and moist and lean, absolutely delicious). Today I was craving their pulled pork and ordered a half pound of it. Not only was It completely different pulled pork than before but it was now shredded And full of fat. It was also now tossed in their vinegar based North Carolina style sauce. This was a complete Let down and waste of my $. Could not even eat half of it before getting a head ache and having to throw it out. The inconsistency is misleading and to top it off I clicked “add utensils” as well as wrote a memo again asking for utensils and at pick up no utensils were added. Had to go back in and ask. The people are friendly but the inconsistency and quality...

Worst experience I’ve ever had with barbecue. I ordered the $38 dinner with brisket and tri-tip and two sides (steak fries and Mac n cheese) on Ubereats tonight. With tax and tip it came to $49. It arrived with massive fries heaped on top of just four half slices of tri tip and six small charred pieces of brisket - I called the store and they told me to drive there and they would remake it. But when I got there, one of the guys met me at the door with an extreme attitude and told me that what I got is less meat because it’s UberEats(?) And then told me that “barbecue is expensive” as he walked around the restaurant in an angry huff. The guy who made the food offered to re-make it— but that other guy was still acting pissed off. So I told them to just keep it! And I left. I’m a Texan- born and raised and this food and service was despicable. They shouldn’t offer UberEats if they are going to do a half-ass job and then talk to...