Super Bowl XLVI (46 for those of you not fluent in Roman numerals) is Sunday, Feb. 5. If you’re one of those people who prefers to actually watch the game instead of distractedly circling the snack table looking for a fresh, unmolested-by-double-dippers bowl of salsa, I suggest you hit Starkey’s BBQ early Sunday afternoon to fill your food tank. If nachos and cold cocktail weenies won’t hold you over during the game of the year, or if a three-hour-long wait for pizza delivery doesn’t sound like fun and you need a solid lining for your gut before you empty the contents of the beer fridge into it, have a plate of Starkey’s ribs. Better yet, have two! Their homemade baked beans are excellent and the onion rings are just the kind of beer-battered delight that makes you question why you don’t fry everything. Starkey’s BBQ is located at 3231 Mission Blvd. in Mission Beach. It is owned by partners Ryan Paton and Becca Starkey. “We always wanted to have our own barbeque restaurant where we could combine our two family’s barbecue secrets,” said Paton. So, when the opportunity to purchase the old Mission Beach Burger came up, the young couple raised the capital and began the new journey of bringing homestyle barbeque to the beach. “We slow-cook our ribs and pulled pork for five to six hours and combine it with our family barbecue sauce to make some of the most tender, delectable, comforting ribs you will ever taste,” said Paton. I have to concur. I had the tri-tip sandwich on my most recent trip to Starkey’s and my fiancee had the pulled pork. One bite and I could tell she wasn’t willing to share. The best part of Starkey’s (besides the delicious food) is the fact that you don’t need to make an NFL quarterback’s salary to pay the bill! There is another little gem you should know about Starkey’s: they have incredible customer service. If you are a Pacific Beach local, you are always given happy-hour prices. That’s right! Let’s say you want ribs at 3 p.m. on a Sunday. If you just mention that you read this article, it would prove that you are a local and thus, you get Starkey’s happy-hour prices. In addition, Starkey’s has just been approved to accept Campus Cash thru the University of San Diego campus. So, if you are a USD student and living in the beach area, your food card is not only accepted at Starkey’s, but your parents are actually cool with it. Beer and wine, however, cannot be purchased with this program. You can blame your parents for that little rule. Campus Cash is only permitted for the purchase of food products (and no, wine doesn’t count as fruit and beer doesn’t count as whole grain). So if you find yourself not wanting to go to that overcrowded Super Bowl party but still want to have fun and have great food, remember your friends at Starkey’s will have the grill waiting for you. And thank you to all our featured bars featured in the Beach &?Bay Press during this NFL season. — Walter Ruskin is a member of the San Diego Community Newspaper Group’s “Ugly News Team.” Be sure to catch his videos and in-depth interviews with community movers and shakers by visiting us at www.sdnews.com.
