Wood Ranch BBQ and Grill

El Paseo Plaza
22352 El Paseo
Rancho Santa Margarita

If you're ever unsure if a place serves up real BBQ, do what we did and call the place. "Hello. Yeah, we're really hungry for some good BBQ. Do you smoke the meat there? Answer: Yes, we have a two step process where we smoke the meat for hours overnight, then grill it before we serve it." Thanks, that's what we needed to know. Magic Box, take us there, Now!

Little did we know that this place was a real road trek from where were had called from. We headed north, through a valley of trailer parks, then up and over a couple of mountain ranges, clung to the single lane that was still in place since the other side crumbled into the wash below, up over another hill with sweeping views and multi-million dollar homes, then into some utopian suburban neighborhood filled with well-preened, well-to-do's with seemingly matching bleach-blond coiffures. Where the heck is this place! Finally, we found it, after about an hour and a half trek. This better be good!

The interior of this restaurant is of a modern architectural style with a combination of exposed wood, rock, and metallic surfaces. Although the service staff here are all dressed head to toe in black, slacks and collar shirts with ties. Is this really BBQ? As Good Bro #1 and I talk about our trek through the social-economic cross section of America to get here, our server appears. "Welcome to Wood Ranch. Can I start you off with something to drink?" I say, I'll have an ice tea. Unexpectedly, I got another question from our server, "Regular or passion?" Uh, what? I'll just stick with the regular, thanks. It was a bit noisy in the restaurant at the time, but did he say passion? Oh well. We've ordered up some thin fried onion strings, and a combination plate with beef ribs, pork ribs, and tri-tip with beans and coleslaw on the side.

Let the grading begin. The onion strings here were excellent. They were sliced very thin, were crispy, and not very oily. We would later find that the onion strings would reheat well and would be perfect to use for a good ol' fashioned green bean casserole. The ribs were tasty, with hints of spiciness, and not overcooked, but we both had a problem with the smothering sauce. Although I thought the sauce was pretty tasty, there was just too much of it coating the ribs - an unsettling common form of malpractice amongst the barbecue greats. The coleslaw was fresh and crunchy with peanuts and a tangy taste. The beans were also pretty good. The best on the dish was definitely the tri-tip. This was hands down the best tri-tip I have ever had with a nice smoky aroma and very tender. The Good Bros like cornbread, but we didn't see that option on the menu. : (

We left here with some leftovers in a bag that seemed worthy of treasures from Fashion Valley Mall and felt happy that the long trek here was at least worth it. Maybe we'll see a Wood Ranch open up in San Diego territory sometime. Time to drive home.

B+