Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace – Pioneertown, CA

Name: Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace
Address: 53688 Pioneertown Rd, Pioneertown, CA 92268
Order: Tri-tip and half rack of baby back ribs, red rice, pinto beans (link to menu)
Pricing: $$$

Monk: Last month, Mrs. Monk and I found ourselves in southern California spending time in Temecula Wine Country and Palm Springs for our 10th wedding anniversary. This being a big anniversary, my gift to her was going to be not forcing her to go to a barbecue restaurant. I’m kind of a romantic that way.

After spending a few nights in Temecula’s wonderful wineries, we set off to spend a day hiking in Joshua Tree National Park. Looking for a lunch spot nearby, we were recommended Pappy & Harriet’s in Pioneertown by my cousin who lives in the area. I do want to make it clear that I only asked my cousin for a food recommendation and she was the one who brought up barbecue. So I still (technically) kept my promise. Thankfully, Mrs. Monk obliged and we set our GPS coordinates to Pioneertown. She’s a keeper, that one.

Pioneertown has an interesting history since its inception in 1946 as a living old western movie set, with Roy Rogers and Gene Autry being some of they initial investors. During normal times, Pappy & Harriet’s is a live music and dance hall that since its opening in 1982 has hosted the likes of Victoria Williams and Robert Plant to nowadays more indie rock bands such as Vampire Weekend or Jenny Lewis. The original owners sold it in 2003 and it was then taken over by two New Yorkers who seem to have largely kept the original vibe while making it sightly more hipster.

In addition to the live music, P&H also grills their meats over mesquite wood in a Santa Maria-style wood-fired grill. I focused in on the tri-tip and the baby back ribs on the menu, but there was no combo plate listed. Thankfully, the waitress helpfully let me know that it could be done for a price, of course. The tri-tip came cooked medium with a slight pink on the inside for the middle slices but was a little cool to the touch by the time in arrived. It had good flavor, though I could have used a little more pepper. It also came with a ramekin of thin barbecue sauce for dipping.

The ribs were sauced with a savory-and-not-too-sweet sauce but were well cooked. I should note here that neither meat was overly smoky with mesquite smoke, a concern of mine going in.

The sides of rice and beans were bland and a little forgettable but the chili fries we ordered as our appetizer hit the spot after our morning hike.

Pappy & Harriet’s is a fun spot in a cool setting in a historic town. The weather was nice enough (if a bit chilly in the shade) to sit outside and enjoy the food with mesquite smoke wafting in the air. And the food isn’t too bad, either (if not a bit pricey). It was well worth our trip into Pioneertown.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 5 hogs
Tri-tip – 3 hogs
Ribs – 3.5 hogs
Sides – 2.5 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs

Linkdown: 2/19/20

The Takeout explores Santa Maria-style barbecue and the history of tri-tip in their latest “Acquired Tastes” column

John Tanner’s Barbecue Blog reviewed a few barbecue restaurants recently: he found great brisket at 2Fifty Texas BBQ in Riverdale Park, MD, good ribs (but not much else) at Williamson Bros. Bar-B-Q in Douglasville, GA, and left The Original Leo and Susie’s Green Top Barbecue in Dora, AL disappointed

The evolution of the Texas beef rib from J.C. Reid (paywall)

Aaron Franklin’s latest venture isn’t about barbecue

Feges BBQ is opening a second location in the Houston area

Meanwhile, Ronnie Killen is opening another barbecue joint in The Woodlands area of Houston

Grape jelly in barbecue sauce? Apparently so in some regions of Georgia

This short list of eight black-owned barbecue joints in Houston includes Gatlin’s BBQ and Ray’s BBQ Shack

Interesting story, on a potential origin of hush puppies, but according to historian Adrian Miller its 50/50 whether or not its actually true

Legalize Barbecue

Friday Find: Santa Maria BBQ: Why Garlic Rubs & Red Oak Make Great Flavor

Santa Maria barbecue is not considered one of the four major styles of barbecue in the US, but it has its proponents. Zagat takes a deeper look.

The sight of grilling over an open flame and scent of red oak has made Santa Maria-stye barbecue a favorite for road trips. But what is it about beef tri-tips and garlic rubs that’s helped this alternative style of barbecue thrive? Zagat visited a selection of three Santa Maria area barbecue spots to hear from the men and women responsible for continuing the legacy of this west coast tradition.

Photo Gallery: Rough Draft Brewing Beer Dinner at Midwood Smokehouse Park Road

IMG_1057 (2)This past Wednesday night, I was invited by Sarah from Midwood Smokehouse (shouts to Sarah!) to a beer dinner featuring some California-inspired dishes which incorporated smoke in various ways paired with four beers from Rough Draft Brewing Company out of San Diego. I hadn’t previously had the pleasure of trying any beers from Rough Draft and the courses for this dinner were different from the usual barbecue beer dinner fare, so this would be a night of new experiences for me. Here’s the highlights:

Appetizers: Rock Shrimp Tostada, Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos, Jalapeno-Jack Cornbread paired with Weekday Session IPA

Now this was a great start to the dinner. My first bite of the evening was a good one – the crunch of the freshly fried corn tostada contrasted well with the acidity of the rock shrimp and ceviche. I had two of these. The bacon-wrapped jalapeno is a normal offering on the menu but this version featured a “queso Chihuahua”. Lastly, the cornbread topped with pulled pork and pico was good but ranked third in my passed app hierarchy (patent pending). The Weekday Session IPA was a smart move to not come out of the gate too hot.

First Course: San Diego Pier Taco paired with Grapefruit Weekday IPA
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A southern California classic – the fish taco. The grouper was fried in a beer batter made with the Grapefruit Weekday IPA mixed with ground corn into a maseca but was still light enough for a first course. The Grapefruit Weekday IPA is made from the same recipe as the session IPA but as the name implies, is infused with grapefruit. This tied in nicely with the grapefruit-avocado crema that topped the taco and the smoke in the dish came from the smoked tomato salsa. I could have had at least 2 more of these, but thankfully they didn’t allow that because I would have been too full for…

Second Course: Ancho Rubbed Tri-tip paired with Hop Therapy Double IPA
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My first taste of tri-tip. I don’t know this preparation compares to classic Santa Maria tri-tip (Midwood smoked over hickory as they do with all meats), but I do know that I really liked it and in particular the ancho rub. Midwood Smokehouse has previously featured it as a Barbecue Month special in years past and if its on the menu next May I may have to make a special trip out. As good as the tri-tip was, the sweet potato tamale was every bit its equal. Made from sweet potatoes from a Barbee Farms out of Concord, the use of sweet potato in a classic tamale presentation blew my mind. This course paired with the Hop Therapy Double IPA which was a more malt-forward double clocking in at 9%. Thankfully, they weren’t serving more than about a half pour because this guy was dangerously drinkable and I could see it sneaking up on me.

Third Course: Key Lime Rye Cake paired with Sea State Blackberry Rye Ale
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FS Food Group (the restaurant group owned by Frank Scibelli that owns Midwood Smokehouse among other concepts) recently hired a full-time pastry chef and while I unfortunately can’t recall her name, this rye cake with smoked blackberry sauce was her topper to the dinner. It paired nicely with the Sea State Blackberry Rye Ale.