Phil's BBQ — Restaurant in San Diego

Two words... BIG JOHN.

This should be called Big Johns BBQ. I've only been to Phil's one other time. My family and I go to Comic-Con every year and as of last year it's a new tradition that we stop at Phil's BBQ for dinner.

My initial experience last year was overwhelming, I had 3 kids with me under the age of 10 and the waiting process at Phil's isn't like a traditional restaurant. You wait in line until you get to the counter where you order your food, then look for a table to sit at while waiting for your number to be called. Phil's is popular for their delicious bbq so as you can imagine the line gets pretty long!

This time we waited in line for about 30 minutes, but it was so packed that after we ordered our food we saw there was no place to sit for our party of 5. I walked around the restaurant several time and saw no tables opening up. Big John immediately spotted me and walked over to ask if he could help in any way. I told him I was looking for a table for my family, he told me to keep an eye on him and as soon as one opened up he would flag me over. Within 5 minutes we were being whisked away to a table before our food was even ready. I was so thankful to Big John because the place was packed and we had been walking ALL DAY, I just wanted to sit down and enjoy my rib dinner.

This wouldn't have happened without Big John providing attentive service. He didn't just do this for our family. There was another family that came to celebrate a birthday. Big John went to EVERY SINGLE table and asked if we would all help him sing happy birthday to the birthday guy. A minute later every person in the restaurant was clapping and singing happy birthday and it was the best restaurant birthday celebration I have ever seen!

My experience this time in reference to the service was much better, the food is always good! The only thing that had changed is that Big John now works here, he changes the whole energy and he deserves a promotion.

Thank you Phil's BBQ, especially...

Airport location is open from 5am to 10pm daily. (Several submissions to Google maps over several months to correct business hours and address have been rejected for unknown reasons.) Find Phil's at Gate 45 in SAN Terminal 2.

Breakfast burrito ready in about 5 minutes ordered at 5:09am on a Saturday with only one person in line. Hefty and filing. Just over $17 with tax. (Probably the fastest meal option from what I have observed.)

Broham pulled pork sandwich ready in less than 5 min with a light crowd at 10a on a Sunday. Perfect for a pre-flight meal. Plenty of seating in a spacious dining area. Tasty food and friendly service. $18 for the sandwich and one side before taxes.

Another visit included an El Toro Tri-Tip Sandwich, ready in 10 minutes with no line for ordering (mid Sunday morning). Also excellent and satisfying. $20 and change with one side, cup of water and tax.

BBQ Burger (sauce on the side) ready in 10 minutes on a Friday night at 8:50pm. Tasty beef patties that were juicy and a little crumbly with a nice smoky flavor. (No sponge meat here, thank you!) I usually tear my burgers into bite-sized pieces as I eat (big beard) and it is always nice to see a juicy glaze puddle on the edges of the patties as I pinch off each piece. Kudos to Phil's on that. Coleslaw was fresh, hearty, and crisp. Nice. More of a creamy variety than tangy. Just shy of $20 with tax.

Sausage sandwich ready in 12 minutes starting at 5:25a on a Thursday with no line to order.

All were satisfying. I'll keep...

We grabbed a bite here at Phil's since we had time to kill before our flight home. We ordered a baby back rib tickler and a chicken breast sandwich.

The tickler came with three bones, cornbread, fries, coleslaw, and two large onion rings. I personally find coleslaw to be a form of punishment, so I was grateful when the cashier gave me the option of substituting for more fries, cornbread, or onion rings. The chicken came with two sides. The pricing was a bit higher than what was listed at their standalone restaurant, but that's to be expected at the airport. The chicken sandwiches take 15 minutes to prepare, so that's something to keep in mind if you're in a rush at the airport. We were given an electronic buzzer to alert us when our order was ready.

Time flew while we people watched in the airport so it seemed our food was ready in no time. The portion sizes were huge, and were way more than I could ever consume before getting on a flight. We both enjoyed the flavor of the meats, but the sides were lackluster. The fries had little to no seasoning and we threw the baked beans away after each taking one bite. The line was long and the restaurant seemed popular so we had high hopes but we ended up with just a...