Fireman's BBQ - Knott's Berry Farm

Located in the Ghost Town area of Knott's Berry Farm is this little place called Fireman's BBQ. It claims it's the best BBQ in town, but remember were in a replica of an old ghost town, in a theme park. With that in mind, I think the line should read "We're the only BBQ place in town. Take it or leave it!" Having not eaten all day, the clock counting down minutes to 5:00pm, and our stomachs screaming to feed them, the Good Bros took on the challenge.

I think you could get on the most popular ride in the park quicker than you could order and get your food at this place. If I keel over from starvation, are they gonna make my skeleton part of the Ghost Town attraction? Don't get me wrong. I like the look of the Ghost Town at Knott's, (a lot of the props used seem to be authentic) but I want to go home at the end of the day.

By the time we finally got our food, just about anything edible would have looked good to us at that point. Looking back, I regret not following Good Bro #1 in getting the Jr. Fireman's meal here. I didn't think the kid's meal that included teddy bear cookies would hold me over for the rest of the day. Instead, I ordered up a BBQ chicken and ribs combo meal. Bad choice. The meat on both the ribs and the chicken were like leather, and the BBQ sauce was like a mixture of 5 parts oil to 1 part solids. If you're starting to feel sick, imagine how I felt, especially after spinning my stomach around on rides like GhostRider and the Silver Bullet. Good Bro #1 decided to go with some fresh roasted corn at a different vendor to complement his junior meal. The corn roaster was an interesting contraption, it resembled a big steel box with a ferris wheel inside to hold the corn. The baked potato that came with my chicken/rib combo meal was probably the only thing I should have eaten. Good Bro #1 rated the corn as the most pleasing part of the meal, followed by the bear cookies, Doritos, berry juice and then the chicken.

We were both rather parched and the thought of getting fresh squeezed lemonade to complement the meal was the perfect thought. Approaching the window with glee gave way to disappointment when the cashier said that they had run out of lemons. "Run out of lemons?" How could a lemonade stand at a theme park run out of lemons? Aren't theme Parks all about excess? So, we had to concede defeat and just try Knott's Famous Berry Juice. This Famous Juice was basically Kool-Aid. The kind of juice that would probably leave you with a joker smile if you didn't drink it through a straw.

Experience and common sense should tell us that you're not going to get "good" food at a theme park, but shouldn't it at least be somewhat edible? When at Knott's Berry Farm, enjoy the rides and the cool features of the Ghost Town attraction , but please, try to hold off on eating until you get out of the park. Head on over to Lucille's Smokehouse, just minutes down the road for some good stuff. Full review on Lucille's coming up.

D-

Geno's West Coast BBQ

291 W. Main Street
El Cajon

Hmmm. Getting hungry for some barbeque again. Let's try that place over there called "Geno's" that looks like an old Taco Bell restaurant. Might be good.

Actually, I didn't just stroll into Geno's on a whim, but I was hungry. I've heard that this place is pretty good, so in we go. Actually Good Bro #1 beat me to it. He visited here earlier in the day and saved some corn bread for us to analyze back at the cave. I'm gonna have to keep watch on Good Bro #1 trying to get a head start on a review. Man, he's on the BBQ fast track!

I'm sure they don't have a dress code at Geno's, but I think you might feel a little out place if you're not in beachwear. The look here is definitely Pacific Island, maybe Hawaiian? The poor panda bears at the zoo must have been on low food rations for a few days after Geno used up all the bamboo in the county to decorate the restaurant. Hey, don't forget the tiki torches and the artwork on the walls to remind you of your last trip to Hawaii. OK, come on, you're really in El Cajon, see the green cafeteria chairs and the tables. See the little sign on the wall that encourages patience to get your food? OK, let's order.

Whoa! Hey wait a minute. I don't see anything on the menu that looks familiar. That's because most of the food items have been given a name. Kind of cool, but that means you can't just grunt, "gimme pulled pork". No, that one is called the "Wipe Out". "Gimme ribs". Oh, you mean one of the "Shortboards". There are others too like Rip Curl= hot dog, Hang Ten= BLT. For all the "I'm tired of burgers", people out there, rejoice because you can get the "Un-Burger" here. It's a tri-tip sandwich.

So I went with the Wipe Out and a combo rib, chicken dinner with two sides (coleslaw and cornbread). The Wipe Out, pulled pork sandwich with slaw on top, was right up the barrel. I had to give up after eating part of the chicken and ribs though. Not sure if I was just full, they didn't impress me all that much, or I got tired of the soy flavored BBQ sauce. The three sauces are all the same here, only they vary in heat factor. I wouldn't call them teriyaki sauce because to me teriyaki has a more fruity taste. This one has a more sweet molasis and soy sauce flavor. I have to say, the best part of the meal were the side dishes. The block of corn bread was large, had good texture, grilled on both sides, and tasted good. The coleslaw was just the right texture and flavor for me. The garlic bread strips were also good stuff. I smelled them even before I pulled them out of the bag.

Good thing I got in here right before they locked down the place. If you want to drop by to pickup some food, get here before 8:00pm because that's when the doors close and lock for the day. We found that out the hard way last week when we got there at 8:15pm. I'll be back for another Wipe Out and some cornbread. See you there.

C+