![\"RobertEarlsBBQ04\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/RobertEarlsBBQ04.jpg\")
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The pulled pork sandwich. <\/em>Photos by Brian Addison.<\/em><\/p>\n For BBQ lovers, it\u2019s always been about Bludso\u2019s, the staple joint just north of Long Beach in Compton. Call me sacrilegious but I reject the idea that Bludso\u2019s\u2014which sits at #54 on the Los Angeles Times<\/em>\u2019 best 101 restaurants\u2014tops North Long Beach\u2019s own small-but-mighty Robert Earl\u2019s BBQ. They\u2019re certainly neck-and-neck, but given that the Long Beach gem has yet to be discovered, perhaps Robert Earl has the leading edge.<\/p>\n Now, the Earl family has a brick-and-mortar facility approaching just over a year of operation. It sits east of his former farmers market locale, where he now offers up Texan BBQ on a level of production that wasn\u2019t possible before.<\/p>\n Beyond Robert\u2019s smiling mug and humble demeanor\u2014you’ll often find him sitting down with patrons discussing how their parents are doing or how their child is succeeding in any given endeavor\u2014beyond the well-treated Victrola where the family welcomes you to put on some Al Green, and beyond the straight-forward paper tray with red-and-white checkered paper that everything is served in, it is the meat and the talent of the man cooking the meat that makes Robert Earl\u2019s BBQ the best of the best.<\/p>\n Robert Earl’s brisket.<\/em><\/p>\n Even those who opt for the chicken will rejoice at Robert\u2019s ability to make it succulent, moist and with a skin so perfectly charred and crispy that it’s actually worth ordering again. Should one be resistant to clogged arteries, their links\u2014bites that look over-cooked yet pop with a moist spiciness that makes them spot on\u2014are one of many pork options.<\/p>\n But their beef and pork is where it\u2019s at.<\/p>\n If there’s one thing at Earl’s that will certainly make you gluttonous, it’s unquestionably the brisket. It’s the stuff of legend: beef so tender that it falls apart without much effort while causing one to slowly close their eyes in meat-fuel bliss.<\/p>\n But the heavenly delights do not stop there; next comes the pulled pork, which you are free to order in its pure nakedness on a plate or shoved between two giant slices of French bread. Either you, you’ll delight in the sweet, savory slivers that have been slow-cooked to a decadent perfection. When you’ve hit the point where your brain is telling you to please stop the eating, even the most diligent and strong-willed will feel guilty leaving anything on the plate.<\/p>\n The golden nugget.<\/em><\/p>\n Their sides do not dissappoint either. The mac\u2019n\u2019cheese\u2014Lumaconi rigati-style noodles, a hint of some sort of chile (the exact nature of which Robert\u2019s wife would not divulge) topped with a generous sprinkling of paprika\u2014is nothing short of awesome. Earl’s beans have a smokey sweetness that is countered with a hint of salt, while their greens are down-home vegetarian deliciousness.<\/p>\n Oh, and if you ever have the chance\u2014and if your stomach is not begging for mercy yet\u2014you must, absolutely must, enjoy the Southern delicacy that is the joint\u2019s Golden Nugget; a muffin of warm, homemade cornbread\u2014with a top portion that tastes like it’s been slightly soaked in honey butter\u2014that is then topped with a heaping of creamy, buttery homemade banana pudding and crunched Nilla wafers. In other words: absolute, unadulterated decadence.<\/p>\n Robert Earl’s BBQ is located at 703 E. Artesia Blvd.<\/em><\/p>\n {FG_GEOMAP [33.8747658,-118.1836768] FG_GEOMAP}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s always been about Bludso\u2019s, the staple BBQ joint just north of Long Beach in Compton. Call me sacrilegious but I reject the idea that Bludso\u2019s\u2014which sits at #54 on the Los Angeles Times<\/em>\u2019 best 101 restaurants\u2014tops North Long Beach\u2019s small-but-mighty Robert Earl\u2019s BBQ. They\u2019re certainly neck-and-neck and given that the LB gem has yet to be discovered, perhaps that gives Robert Earl a bit of a leading edge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":211,"featured_media":68281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[332,1266],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-2997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","tag-bbq","tag-long-beachs-best-kept-secrets","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/211"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2997"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=2997"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"RobertEarlsBBQ01\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/RobertEarlsBBQ01.jpg\")
After all, we are talking about Long Beach\u2019s best BBQ\u2014hands-down. Originally, this smoked art came from Robert Earl and his family at the Greener Goods farmers market, where he spread his BBQ-mastery beyond family and friends in his backyard in North LB, and began publicly smokin\u2019 and slow-cookin\u2019 once a week during the summer of 2012. A little over a year later, Earl\u2014ever the dreamer\u2014decided that he must take his talents to a broader public.<\/p>\n![\"RobertEarlsBBQ02\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/RobertEarlsBBQ02.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"RobertEarlsBBQ05\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/RobertEarlsBBQ05.jpg\")
The ribs are simply and generously seasoned with salt\u2019n\u2019pepper, charred to perfection and slathered with Earl\u2019s not-too-sweet sauce that makes it extremely difficult to not overeat.<\/p>\n![\"RobertEarlsBBQ07\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/RobertEarlsBBQ07.jpg\")
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