A few weeks ago Cobe and I checked out Island Soul and I was all excited to have their ribs but they tasted like they’d been cooked with fake smoke. I almost gave up right then. I’ll make my own damn ribs.

But truth be told, we don’t have a smoker nor an apple tree. So today I stumble out all post-call and exhausted at like 8 o’clock just hoping that this tiny little place I keep driving by on ambaum blvd. is open.

And lo and behold it is. Just a little sign that looks like it’s made out of an old tree, “Berry’s BBQ.” Only two people in the place when I arrive, and one of them is Berry. He is the real deal, Arkansas through and through. Wishing we had a bit more of the hot weather that is so sparse in these Seattle summers.

I order me up some ribs and take my leave. Wish I could stay and drink a few beers, watch the game. The whole drive home I am smelling those ribs. Just a faint smoky sweetness.

I pull them out of the pack when I get home to find like half a pig. And they are amazing. Definitely the saucey kind of ribs, but a perfect sauce: not too sweet, not too hot. But it’s the meat that makes them so good. It is perfectly cooked, faintly smokey with an apple sweetness, and just falling off the bone.

The cornbread I throw right in the trash (it’s from a mix) and the potato salad too. The beans are nice, definitely some pork has found its way in there.

But goddamn those ribs. They have pork sandwiches too. And brisket.

Check it out. And say hello to Berry.

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Berry’s BBQ
11614 Ambaum Blvd
Burien, WA
206-444-5141
www.berrysbbq.com

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I think I’ve found the place.

First a warning…I have only been here once. But it was so good I have to tell you about it.

It looks like an old Taco Bell which is nice because the inside is so familiar. Much less intimidating than a taco truck. It has windows on three sides and the old Taco Bell booths. The guy at the cash register looks like somebody’s old uncle. He smiles at you when you walk in, “Que quieres?”

There wasn’t a gringo in the place the day I went. An older lady walked by me to hang a “recamara para alquilar” sign on the already full bulletin board, chatting to the families as she went. The 3 year old next to me kept chanting: “sopa, mama, quiero sopa!”

I ordered in my paltry spanish and the cash register man seemed to put up with me, but he also spoke some english. And he’s just so nice it’s hard to be intimidated. The menu is extensive, everything from birria (goat) stew to 6 kinds of tacos, gorditos, churros, and even a “parillada”–a grilled meat extravaganza for two. And they serve beer.

As this was just a test run and I was running off to a game later that evening, I went with tacos de carne asada, tamales de puerco and a side of guacamole. When I got home and unwrapped it all I first encountered a creamy green sauce, but it was too smooth to be guac. Creamy and spicy, like someone had mixed sourcream with roasted jalapenos and maybe added a hint of lime. It was fantastic. Their red salsa is more of a dried red pepper sauce, very sharp with vinegar. The guacamole turned out to be like a fresh salsa with chopped tomatoes and onions accompanied by thick pieces of avocado.

I swear those tacos were homemade, so soft and pliant. The meat is cut so fine it’s hard to describe it as flavorful, but all I know is I couldn’t stop eating. There was a bit of pickled onion, some cilantro, radish. It all blended well. The tamales tasted like the best comfort food, the filling warm and the pork perfectly cooked, tender and slightly sweet.

The most amazing thing is that the next day when Cobe found the extra tamale in the fridge (because they were a lot bigger than I thought) he ate it. Cobe never eats leftovers. And he loved it, even though he had smothered the thing with the spicy green sauce.

Maybe if this cool weather stays I’ll have to head back for some champurrado with churros. Or I’ll convince Cobe to split the parillada.

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Taqueria La Estacion
14820 Ambaum Blvd SW
Burien, WA 98166

(206) 439-3944

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