Barbecue is good for us.

Lilly’s BBQ
705 Divisadero St
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415) 440-7427
Hours: Mon-Thu 11am-10pm; Fri-Sat 11am-12am; Sun 11am-8pm

The Nutshell

Lilly’s makes a darn good rib – meaty and tender, but with inconsistent smokiness. Their sauce is high quality, though a little thin for our tastes. The sides are very good. It’s also a great value, but plan to do take-out. Some websites say they have seating, but there’s really only about two tables shoved to the side in a waiting area.

The Spot

We heard that Lilly’s, at the corner of Divisadero and 7th, made some of the best BBQ in San Francisco, so as part of my birthday celebration this past weekend we went over there after a few hours of drinking bourbon and other fancy concotions at Bourbon & Branch (which I highly recommend, but go early). Driving down Divisadero we knew we were close, and I knew we were in for some good BBQ because I could smell the smoke a block away. Extra bonus for Lilly’s: they’ve got their own parking lot.

We intended to stay and eat, but there’s really only a few tables there, and they were full of people watching the de la Hoya / Merryweather fight, so we took our food to go. The employees were nice enough, helped us choose the right amount of food, which turned out to be the perfect amount.

The Ribs

We had ribs. Specifically 1.5 slabs for 5 people. The ribs were meaty, medium tender, not too fatty. There was some disagreement about the smoke flavor – Andrew thought they were ‘some of the smokiest ribs he’s had’, but I didn’t think they had particularly good smoke. This leads us to one of the only knock’s on Lilly’s – inconsistency. Some of my ribs were tough, some were bland, some were all bone. Others, though, were wonderfully tender and meaty with a wonderful pink smoke-ring.

We had the ‘medium’ sauce, which had a nice flavor and a good amount of spice. I noticed that medium was accomplished by splashing the ribs with half mild and half spicy – it worked out though. The reddish sauce was a little too thin for my tastes, but we can’t really knock ‘em for that – to each their own on sauce.

The Sides

The sides at Lilly’s were a pleasant surprise. Their baked beans were nice and sweet with brown sugar and molassas. Just my style, though honestly not better than a number of canned varieties (maybe they were canned?). Their potato salad had a nice balance of mustard, onion, and pickle relish. It was almost smooth, though, like mashed potatoes. The slaw was nicely seasoned, which I’ve founded to be a rarity around here.

So…

Lilly’s is good. Very good ribs, if inconsistent. Good sides. It’s cheap – 5 of us ate very well for about $35. I’m not sure if I’d say they’re the best BBQ in San Francisco though. I’ve certainly had better ribs in the East Bay. Andrew and I agreed that Flint’s ribs are meatier, more consistent, and with better sauce. KC BBQ’s ribs are also superior in my mind.

But I’d go back for sure if I was in the neighborhood. I want to try the brisket (which they were out of) and the chicken, which looked pretty darn good.

(Andrew took some nice pics with my camera, but unfortunately I’d accidentally turned off the auto-focus, so they turned out all blurry. No pork porn this time…)

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Yesterday I stumbled upon the usually reliable Barefoot Contessa (a.k.a. Ina Garten) making ribs. Thankfully my Tivo allowed me to skip through most of the travesty that was her sauce/marinade and grilling technique. I’m just not for the BBQ sauces with Asian flavors. But I guess I can’t be surprised considering she’s making ribs for the ever-so-authentic BBQ fans out there in the Hamptons. Apparently, without grated lime and ginger, it’s just not a sauce. (Remember when everything haute was Asian-fusion? Like, in 1997?)

Ina did get one thing right, though. She didn’t use Babyback ribs, but decided on ‘Country’ or ‘Country-style’ ribs. I like her direction, but I’m not a fan of Country-style. Hers looked almost exactly like spare ribs, but the Country-style ribs I can get are more like thin-cut pork with some bone in there somewhere. Usually it doesn’t go all the way through, and so you’re not getting the flavor benefits that you otherwise would. My advice: avoid Country-style in favor of spare ribs or ‘Gourmet’ babybacks.

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Once again, Judd’s pimped-out Weber grill delivers some delicious BBQ. This time, he smoked some pork ribs and whipped up a tasty Kansas City-style sauce:

He packed them less densely than last time, when we learned that too many ribs plus too little room for air to circulate equals raw pork, even after six to eight hours over hickory chips. This time, they came out nice and flavorful, though they could have been a bit more tender. These certainly weren’t tough, but the meat wasn’t falling off the bone, either.

Want to know whether your ribs were smoked, as they should be, or boiled, as some cooks do to save time at the expense of flavor? Look for the telltale pink edging along the outside of the meat. Smoking creates it; boiling doesn’t. You can see it on Judd’s ribs here:

Want to know more about smoking meat? Check out this Lexington Collection guide; it focuses on pork shoulders rather than ribs, but the principles are the same. If you’ve got a grill, you can smoke meat at home with some hickory chips and a little patience (and maybe some inexpensive grill modifications like Judd’s). The hardcore among you might consider commercial or homegrown dedicated smoking devices, but those aren’t necessary unless you’re serving a large crowd. You can smoke some delicious pig without a lot of investment. In summary:

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It’s been a long time since I’ve done any smokin’, but I’ll get my fill tomorrow. I’m going to smoke up some ribs for a few friends, and I thought I’d write about it. First:

The Meat

I went to Ver Brugge looking for spare ribs, but unfortunately they didn’t have any. Spare ribs come from further down on the rib and they’re thicker and meatier. I think the flavor and texture are far superior to the more common (thanks to Chilis) babyback ribs. I think some people prefer the tougher and less meaty babyback’s because they say the flavor is more delicate and good. I disagree. But then again, I’ll take a flank steak over a fliet mignon most days too, so maybe that says something. The butcher offered to cut me some country style ribs, but I don’t like them. They’re basically pork loin with some bone in – not the right thing for smoking. I ended up with some nice looking ‘Gourmet’ babybacks, which are thicker and meatier. We’ll see how they do.

The Rub

Any smoked pork deserves a night in the fridge with a rub. I just put ‘em on a half sheet pan and sprinkle generously. Don’t forget the sides. Even the bone side gets a light dusting so that it’ll caramelize up nice on the grill. I use a simple 4-1-1 dry rub as follows:

• 4 parts brown sugar
• 1+ part salt
• 1+ part spices

My spice mixture tends to include the following: black pepper, cumin, clove, garlic powder, onion powder, light cayenne, heavy paprika, especially if you can get that awesome Spanish smoked paprika.

The smoker

I smoke in a good ‘ol Weber kettle grill. The basic setup is simple. Take either a disposable aluminum pan or cover a baking pan in tin foil, put it in the center of the bottom coal section of the grill. Fill it halfway with water. Pile a handful of coals, not many, on either side. When you put the cooking grating on, make sure you align the larger holes on the sides with the two piles so you can slip in more coals as necessary during smoking.

That’s it. I try to keep the temp down below 250, but it’s not a problem if it gets a little hot at first. I think it’s good to caramelize the rub, seal in the juices. But then let the heat get nice and low. I regulate with spritzers of water and the two airflow controls.

I’ve also made one modification to my grill that I’m very proud of. I’ve fashioned a height extension out of a 4″ stovepipe so the body of the grill has more height. This is essential for circulation. I keep meaning to post some pictures and a how-to so you can make your own. Weber sells a similar thing that will extend the height of the grill by about 8-10″, but it costs something like $60. Do it my way, you’ll pay $6. Keep your eyes peeled for the tutorial.

One of the side benefits of the height extension is that you can cook even big slabs of ribs upright in a rib rack. Just don’t crowd them in – I did this once and ended up with some ribs cooked perfectly, others almost raw.

The Results?

Check back tomorrow.

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