Best Lil Porkhouse - San Rafael

Yummy level 1000!!!! Customer service was great. Super friendly guy at the front whom helped me with my order. Food was out of this world. My sides were Mac and cheese, beans, fried okra, corn, and OMG.... fried pickles. The fried pickle won my heart 10x over. But yes the BBQ... was delicious. They offer all the sauces at table side. Must try.

I was so excited back when BLP BBQ opened up in our neighborhood. But it seems like they have just stopped trying. The food is good, I guess, not great, when we sit in their little dining room and eat it right after they heat it up, but that's the best I can say. Mostly it tastes like leftovers. I'm finding out that their BBQing and smoking is done someplace else (of course, because this place is so small...I guess I should have figured that out before now! , so this is just a reheating place. And many of these things don't hold up well to re-heating. This time I ordered a large Remington, which is a bunch of food, lemme tell you! (and NOT cheap, either! We were having friends over on a rainy day and I didn't want to fire up my grill or smoker, so I ordered from BLP, knowing that I would have to gently warm it at home. But before I could do that I saw that the brisket was so dry that it would need moisture badly. The pulled pork was bland, and the b-b-q sauce sides were sparingly offered, so I had to use some of my own homemade to give it some character. The sides, in my case burnt okra and potatoes, do not hold up well as take out. The Baby Back ribs held up ok, because of their high fat content. So, I wish I had just ordered a couple racks of them and left it at that. We were disappointed, for sure, but I am not interested in seeing BLP BBQ lose their audience, I just wish they had a location near here where they could do some smoking, and offer freshly Q'ed meats on site. In the meantime I'm in the market for another, better BBQ place.

RIP Ken Flach who brought great BBQ to Marin before he died in March 2018. [hidden link] I know his daughter used to work at the San Rafael location. I guess after his death, they couldn 't keep it going. Thanks for the memories... Since Sammy Hagar was said to be a financial backer, I 'm going to cross my fingers that maybe they can bring back the tasty recipes. I wish I had a handy picture of the food. This funny sign always made me laugh when I came in... Vegetarian An Old Indian Word for Bad Hunter

I really want to give Best Lil' Porkhouse the full five star treatment. This small and quaint barbecue joint seems out of place in San Rafael, sort of on the way leaving downtown in a small strip mall. I had to circle a few times to find it and some parking. You order the food in one storefront with a separate dining room around the corner, although the staff will bring you the food directly. The Porkhouse has a counter service front with an extensive menu of locally-sourced organic meat. This is rare in the barbecue industry and deserves a great deal of credit. I ordered spare ribs with brisket, fries with baked beans, and cornbread. The ribs were very good with a great meaty texture without falling apart completely, although they were somewhat cool when they arrived. The brisket was served sliced thin without completely falling apart with a great taste and texture. The meat had a rub and was served sauced. The sides were very good. The cornbread muffin was perfect with a nice slightly-sweet taste and pieces of corn inside. The fries were cooked well and served seasoned. The baked beans were excellent with good flavor and chunks of crispy bacon and vegetables. Porkhouse supplies several sauces at each table with real flatware and wet naps in bulk. I really love barbecue and the use of local and organic meats. The Best Lil' Porkhouse is doing a great job of promoting this cuisine even in Marin county. They are probably best set up for take out, but the funky dining room is good for a quick meal. Consistency is always an issue for barbecue due to the nature of the meat and time of day, so it is had to punish a place for temperature issues. It is nearly impossible to quickly reheat barbecue without affecting the overall taste, so I will have to try again earlier in the day.

Seriously am in love with this place. I was really skeptical because it's deep in Marin county cmon! I expected better in Oakland or in Vallejo (tried most of the soul food spots) but this was a pleasant surprise!! Take me back! I ordered the brisket and ribs, sweet potato tots, mashed potatoes, Mac and cheese...corn bread. All were delicious. Oh and the onion rings were out of this world. I really can't wait to go back. Not gonna say much about the staff. Tired, dark humored, laid back (sweat pants for I don't care mode) but honest on what to order and asked if the food was ok while I sat in the dining room. Oh the dining room is really cool too. I like the option. It has wipes, utensils, sauces...ask for lucifer I guess..and don't worry the paranoid schizophrenic won't bother you outside. Unfortunately there's only one non-15 min parking spot...and I took it!