Barbecue joints have been sprouting up throughout San Diego County like bougainvillea. Once far and few between, they\u2019re now everywhere.<\/p>\n
The latest buzz-worthy establishment is The Pioneer in San Carlos, an impressively designed restaurant and bar spearheaded by a trio of local industry experts.<\/p>\n
What used to be McCarter\u2019s Bar & Grill on Lake Murray Boulevard was given a complete makeover for the arrival of restaurateurs Hanis Cavin of San Diego\u2019s Carnitas Snack Shack and David Cohn of Cohn Restaurant Group. Also on board is Willie\u00a0DePasquale of Moceri Produce, which supplies the kitchen with fresh fruits and vegetables.<\/p>\n Cavin is the chef with an established reputation earned from his pork-centric eateries in North Park and the Embarcadero. Here, his star staples are dry-rubbed ribs, cheddar sausage, pulled pork shoulder, brisket and split chickens, all slow-cooked in a Southern Pride smoker. Paired with rich sidekicks like short rib croquettes and pork belly corn, you best forget about your swimsuit figure until later because the food is a notch richer than what you\u2019ll find in most other barbecue houses.<\/p>\n Take the BLT, for instance. The \u201cT\u201d represents fried green tomatoes. They bring savory fried batter into the scheme while adding extra girth to the sandwich. Even if you\u2019re not a fan of these Southern-style green tomatoes, they strike a natural fit to the peppercorn bacon and garlic-bacon aioli.<\/p>\n Visiting with a friend who remembers eating at this location in the \u201980s when it was Square Pan Pizza, we settled into a booth and marveled at the artistic farmhouse-meets-warehouse design. Yes, there are multiple flat-screens hovering over the dining areas and central bar, but they blend rather seamlessly into the rustic-industrial d\u00e9cor.<\/p>\n We kicked off the lunch with a plate of rib croquettes, served three to an order. The fluffy, finely shredded rib meat are shaped into orbs the size of golf balls, coated in panko bread crumbs, and crowned with chicharons. They\u2019re set in little pools of Alabama white barbecue sauce, which basically equates to tangy aioli that performs admirably with red meat.<\/p>\n Other starters include smoked chicken wings, pulled pork flautas, and \u201cdirty fries,\u201d which feature a dramatic piling of smoky pulled pork, cheddar cheese, beans and mac n\u2019 cheese over unusual house-made french fries, which our waitress said people either love or hate.<\/p>\n The spuds, which came unadorned with our BLT, drew instant praise from us. Picture steak fries that have been put through metal rollers and then fried again. They\u2019re flat, crispy and verging toward potato chips, with just a wisp of pulp inside.<\/p>\n Our two-meat combo featured a quarter rack of dry-rubbed baby back ribs, and pork-beef cheddar sausage cut into substantial coins. Our two sides were super-fresh coleslaw coated lightly in a mayo-based dressing, and mac n\u2019 cheese in a creamy, robust sauce of American, Parmesan and cheddar cheeses.<\/p>\n The ribs were slightly dry, but with a mild smoky essence and subtly spiced crust I prefer. My friend described their flavor as \u201cway too neutral\u201d while dabbling in the three styles of house-made barbecue sauces on the table: Carolina mustard, sweet St. Louis, and semi-spicy Kansas City. Texture wise, the ribs were neither the tenderest or toughest I\u2019ve had. They fell somewhere in the middle.<\/p>\n Conversely, the sausage was incredibly juicy and soft to the bite. And much to our liking, it was spicy hot, probably from a good measure of cayenne pepper in the recipe. The embedded bits of cheddar helped smooth the burn, but just enough to keep our forks returning for more.<\/p>\n We pampered our palates afterwards with strawberry cobbler served in a cast-iron skillet. It was both sweet and tart, a perfect wrap to a hearty, smoky meal that jives to summer, but would certainly warm your bones on a mid-winter day.<\/p>\n By visiting for lunch, which was recently introduced, we dodged the dinner lines that have been commonplace since The Pioneer opened in late June. With a full beer and cocktail program in place, and a meat smoker that works around the clock, I\u2019m betting the hoopla will continue for a while.<\/p>\n![\"\u2018Q\u2019](\"https:\/\/missiontimescourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/The-Pioneer-two-meat-plate.jpg\")
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