Daddy O's Smokehouse — Restaurant in Rancho Cordova

I'm a sucker for southern bbq and that's a really tough find here in California. Traditional southern bbq, like the food they serve here, is insanely time consuming and takes a serious amount of experience to accomplish. It's actually one of the more fascinating cuisine options because it's so simple, but so easy to screw it up if you don't have the patience and experience of a live wood fire.

Now, I didn't see the smoker til we headed to the car and algae already devoured our dinner. If you're not familiar with smoking meats, this smoker is the exact opposite of your fancy pants pellet smoker. This massive smoker requires a pit master and every detail is mastered by hand and by eye. It's absolutely amazing how they can toss a slab of ribs and brisket in a smoker and let it work its magic. I'm obsessed with this place and I want to learn how to cook like this.

Food:

2 meat 2 sides and 2 rolls

Brisket - deeply mahogany exterior with the fatty side rendered to perfection and seasoned exceptionally well. Simply salt and pepper I think. Tender, juicy, fatty, moist perfection. Burnt ends too and it was delicious.

Pork ribs - absolutely delicious and perfectly seasoned. Fall apart as you take a bite and flavor explosion. No need for sauce but I tried it because I always want to taste flavors and combos. Really well done and super flavorful.

Collard greens - not exactly the favorite of west coast peeps but I love collards. I love the simple and soulful preparation of greens and the texture and salty flavors are fantastic. Collard greens are an absolute staple of Southern cooking and this version was excellent. I love the flavor profile of collards they have been cooked properly.

Beans - really flavorful and the right level of sweetness to offset the fatty goodness of bbq meat. Really good.

Slaw - meh, it was okay. I'm not a big fan of slaw but I wanted something cold and this is decent. Nobody comes to a BBQ shop for slaw, so no big deal.

This is my new go to BBQ shop and I cannot wait to go back for more and try the Mac n cheese and tri tip and chicken and sausage. I am super impressed with this shop and I have mad respect for the staff, who clearly put in the effort to accomplish authentic and genuine...

This has to be, HANDS DOWN, the most surprising great local spot I’ve gone to. We went to a wine festival & while there the wife showed me a menu from one of the booths. I said, “I want briskets. & we need to feed the kids. We’re going there” pulling up to the spot, we saw a teen sweeping (whom btw I couldn’t help but look over her book laying on the counter. She’s an amazing artist & a young gent sitting down doing his homework. I even told my wife, these are good people. Look at lil man dressed up. And the teen sweeping, learning responsibilities. You want this in a local business, a family oriented folks teaching their kids how to be human beings with responsibilities.

We walked in met by, I’m assuming Daddy O himself. We tried to order some brisket but they ran out. So, we went for some Tri-Tip, Pork ribs and collard greens & potato salad on the side While waiting for our order the wife saw that there’s also Ox Tail on the menu, so we ordered that along with bbq beans & soul slaw. Upon getting home, gathered up the kids. One, the 10yr old, isn’t very open to trying things. She took a rib and tri-tip but was hesitant on the other stuff. Now, she’s now into veggies, especially collard greens. She said “this…IT’S GOOD!” My teen was not speaking at all. She was busy gettin down with her plate. The wife took a scoop out of each and just kept saying “OMG…OMG”. I had to get mine in for sure. All it took was a bit of the ribs and a bit of the ox tail. I immediately had to call Daddy O’s (and, I never do this sh8…EVER) to let the man know what tf just happened in this household hahaha. It’s not just one part of the meal. It’s ALL OF IT. Nothing was short for us. And, I mentioned the family and the kids because to me that’s every part of how we judge the local business. Are they good people? How’s the atmosphere? What about service? What is it about the food that is good? We will definitely be back…the brisket is waiting for us, we...

This has to be, HANDS DOWN, the most surprising great local spot I’ve gone to. We went to a wine festival & while there the wife showed me a menu from one of the booths. I said, “I want briskets. & we need to feed the kids. We’re going there” pulling up to the spot, we saw a teen sweeping (whom btw I couldn’t help but look over her book laying on the counter. She’s an amazing artist & a young gent sitting down doing his homework. I even told my wife, these are good people. Look at lil man dressed up. And the teen sweeping, learning responsibilities. You want this in a local business, a family oriented folks teaching their kids how to be human beings with responsibilities.

We walked in met by, I’m assuming Daddy O himself. We tried to order some brisket but they ran out. So, we went for some Tri-Tip, Pork ribs and collard greens & potato salad on the side While waiting for our order the wife saw that there’s also Ox Tail on the menu, so we ordered that along with bbq beans & soul slaw. Upon getting home, gathered up the kids. One, the 10yr old, isn’t very open to trying things. She took a rib and tri-tip but was hesitant on the other stuff. Now, she’s now into veggies, especially collard greens. She said “this…IT’S GOOD!” My teen was not speaking at all. She was busy gettin down with her plate. The wife took a scoop out of each and just kept saying “OMG…OMG”. I had to get mine in for sure. All it took was a bit of the ribs and a bit of the ox tail. I immediately had to call Daddy O’s (and, I never do this sh8…EVER) to let the man know what tf just happened in this household hahaha. It’s not just one part of the meal. It’s ALL OF IT. Nothing was short for us. And, I mentioned the family and the kids because to me that’s every part of how we judge the local business. Are they good people? How’s the atmosphere? What about service? What is it about the food that is good? We will definitely be back…the brisket is waiting for us, we...