Robin's Woodfire Barbecue, Pasadena

Dinner for two, food only: $18-$33

Setting: As if the contents of a large and well-stocked antique mall have been nailed to the walls

Service: Friendly and customer-oriented

Best Dishes: Baby back ribs, tri-tip, blue cheese-pecan cole slaw, fried onion rings

It’s a daunting task to single out the best barbecue in the Valleys. I gave more than a passing thought to the melt-in-your-mouth baby backs at El Paso Barbeque Co. in Tarzana. I mused fondly about the Carolina pulled pork at the original Zeke’s Smokehouse in Montrose. I considered a visit to the doctor--Dr. Hogly Wogly’s Tyler Texas B-B-Q in Van Nuys, for fork-tender beef brisket. I even mulled over the succulent tri-tip that’s cooked about once a month outside the Hows Markets in Pasadena and Granada Hills (other locations in Torrance and Malibu).

But for the best all-around barbecue joint, my vote goes to Robin’s Wood Fire BBQ & Grill, near Hastings Ranch on Pasadena’s east side. Get out of your car in the parking lot and you’re hit with a faceful of smoky-sweet barbecue aroma, always a good sign. Robin’s uses only oak and hickory logs and mesquite coal to smoke the meats, finishing them off on a wood-fired grill, which gives a nice charred crust. The quality of the BBQ at Robin’s is high across the board, from the succulent baby backs, to the smoky spareribs, the tri-tip, the chicken and the hot links. (I’m not a fan of beef ribs other than short ribs, so I can’t recommend them.) Portions are massive and a pretty good value. I order my BBQ “dry”—without sauce--and add one of Robin’s four different sauces to taste at the table.

If you want to try everything, get the Garbage Can Combo, served in, you guessed it, an actual metal lid. For those interested in too much of a good thing, Robin’s runs all-you-can-eat nights; on Tuesdays for $18.95 they’ll bring spare ribs until you cry “uncle.”

The side dishes, often perfunctory in BBQ joints, are notably tasty. Most onion rings taste like fried batter; at Robin’s the onion rings, thinly coated with a crisp beer batter, taste like sweet onion. The signature cole slaw, daringly flavored with blue cheese and pecans, is piquant and goes deliciously with the barbecue. The BBQ beans, full of meat, are almost a meal in themselves.

I’ve heard that desserts are good here. Someday I might have room after dinner at Robin’s to try one or two, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Note: This review appeared in the September, 2005 issue of Westways.

Robin’s Wood Fire BBQ & Grill Robin’s Wood
395 N. Rosemead Blvd.
Pasadena; (626) 351-8885