Big Al’s Bbq

This has got to be the worst bbq place ever. There is no way their chicken breast is smoked. It had zero flavor and was soooo dry. The potato salad was definitely from a box from Walmart. The blond server also seemed like she hated her job. Sticking to lucilles in Lincoln and wild hogz in placerville, worth the extra drive. I would even eat dickies over this place.

I love this place. And the owner is awesome. He’s older and a nice guy and he is very genuine and caring. My first time meeting him personally he shook my hand and asked me my name and what I did. The food is awesome. I always get the pulled pork sandwich and use sweet hickory bbq sauce. I’m a local and always support local and small businesses.

Delicious food. Brisket has great flavor. Cornbread is moist and to die for. Ribs fall right off the bone, and are quite messy. Service is very quick and the ambiance is very casual. Our food was served to us in under 10 minutes. The place is very small and the biggest table inside sits 6. There is outdoor seating, but there were many pesky flies and yellow jackets, so we moved inside. Overall great

To put in in a word: EXCELLENT. We’ve had real BBQ in Texas, Louisiana, and elsewhere, and have never enjoyed it this much! Skip the sauces and just focus on the meat, it doesn’t need added flavor! Thank you Big Al!

Wow. This place is hands down the worst BBQ we’ve ever eaten. We drive through Sheldon often and have often talked about stopping at Big Al’s. Today we did stop and are still regretting our decision. Our son ordered the brisket sandwich with a side of potato salad, our daughter ordered a pile pulled pork with the ranch beans, my husband ordered the pulled pork sandwich and I ordered ¼ plate with pulled pork and green salad and potato salad.
The green salad was the best part because, really, you can’t mess that up. All of the meat tasted like it was cooked in a crock pot. There was no «bark», which is characteristic of real smoked BBQ. There was no smoke ring, which again, is characteristic of smoked meats. The brisket was dripping in fat, which tells me they have no idea what they’re doing. There is a portion of an untrimmed brisket called «the point». This is an entire end of the brisket which is covered in fat. You can either cook with it on or remove it prior to cooking. Either way, it NEEDS to be removed. As for the flavor of the meats? There was none except for the weird «crock pot» flavor. No smoke flavor. No seasoning. Nothing.
The sides were likely store bought which is a disappointment because mom and pop shops such as Big Al’s usually take pride in their food. There was no pride in anything they did except for the décor. The décor was nice.

Don’t go here. I should end the review there, but I will elaborate for those that need details. So my girl and I are bored at home, started talking about getting food somewhere. Dickys bbq came up, then I said something about any other bbq places that might be better. Boy did I screw us…
So we pull in and I notice the smoker in front is cobwebby and cold. Thinking they may bbq at night for the next day, i shrug it off. I now think they bbq on Sunday for the week. We went on saturday. The flies inside are crazy persistent, and all the horse silhouettes have big dongs hanging down.
The food. My pregnant sweety and I ordered the Cowboy and cowgirl platter with 3 meats. Brisket, tri — tip and ribs, sides were beans and potato salad.
Brisket was dry and stringy. Was the best of the three.
The tri tip was like an old shoe. Dry hard and gross.
The ribs tasted like there was no seasoning, and marrow.
Reheated leftover is the flavor of the food. And on top of that mess, there is no idiot in the world that can’t tell you don’t make either of the sides. All the potatoes perfectly cut into Perfect little bricks. Raley’s. Beans. Raley’s .
I find it really hard to accept that this is a legit bbq place. More believeable to me would be a front for money laundering. That at least I could respect. This place is a bad eating establishment joke.
If the owner reads this, please hire a bbq consultant to come out and show you how to run a smoker, where to contract good meat and how to market your business enough to be profitable. There isn’t a lot of bbq options and this one could work if some poor sap there knew how to cook.

This place was good. It could have been better if the meat would have been hot but it was slightly warm almost cold. The ribs had a great flavor but hte pulled pork and brisket tasted almost exactly the same.

First time visit here… very picky about our barbecue. The 3 sauces on the table were fantastic. Potato salad and coleslaw as you would have expected, the tri-​tip nothing to write home about, the brisket, good but the ribs were the best part, terrific! The restaurant atmosphere was very good nice décor, friendly staff. Come for the atmosphere, Stay for the ribs.

First time visit. 5.0 for the food. 3.0 for the service. Great Value. 5.0 on price.
The food and décor was awesome and the outside patio is very comfortable. We got the 4 meat platter (tri-​tip, pulled pork, brisket, and pork ribs) plus sides (Onion rings, fried Okra, and sweet potato fries)
Everything was delicious and plentiful.
The rub on the ribs was very tasty and flavorful. We are very pleased with the food and this was from the back up cook. Apparently, the regular cook was off due to a heart attack– I do hope he pulls through.
The service, 4 teenage kids, – enough said. Training or replacing them would be make this a perfect place.
The owner served us and was very friendly and a real pleasure to talk with. He is worth the visit.
We will go back for the food-​but get it take out. Luckily we live close by.
$ 32.00 out the door with drinks, tax and tip. A really good value.
Best place I found in CAlifornia.

I stopped by Big Al’s after reading about them on Unilocal and seeing their solid reviews. So my hopes were high when we arrived even though the smoker was cold. From the inside, this place looked like it should serve excellent food. I’d even be willing to bet that at one point they did. I ordered the brisket and ribs combo with a side of fried okra. More on that in a second.
Looking at the pride in the décor, the family photos that are posted throughout, I could imagine people came from far and wide to sample Big Al’s BBQ. But something happened. Did Big Al himself retire and leave cooking duties to someone else? Did that person decide that they needed to make cuts to keep the place afloat? Things happen, sure, but here’s the thing. Although the BBQ wasn’t great, you can tell that it used to be. There is but a singular problem that if rectified, I believe, could restore Big Al’s to former greatness.
The meat is cooked but then, for reasons I can only guess, it’s drowned in some kind of fatty fluid until ready to serve. I’m guessing the fluid starts with a base of beef stock, and then the accrual of melted fats and seasonings from previous inhabitants add to the final result. Although the meat is moist, that drowning gives the meat a particular flavor that for me, is unpleasant. It’s kind of like when you leave cooked meat in the fridge sitting in its own juices for a couple of days, the fat takes on a slightly acrid flavor. Anyone who’s ever microwaved 4 day old meat knows what i’m talking about.
Once served, the meat is sprinkled with some seasoning. Here’s the thing, I should have kept driving when I didn’t see the smoker fired up. WHEN am I going to learn this basic lesson? BBQ is best served hot. Not hours later, and certainly not held in some kind of liquid for who knows how long. My only excuse was that I drove about a few miles off the freeway on a 2 lane road specifically to visit this place. Anyway Big Al’s, I wanted to be able to give you the 4 – 5 stars I was hoping (more importantly I was looking forward to excellent BBQ). But not for what you served. Your décor is fantastic. Your BBQ. well, lose the pool of fat juice and come back to ol’ fashioned smoked BBQ.

There isn’t a big menu selection which can be good for some people and not so good for others. I am more partial to bigger menus.
I ordered the Tri Tip and my husband ordered the ribs. Both were ok but I wouldn’t say it was delicious compared to other BBQ places likes Sandra Dees.
I also wouldn’t go as far as saying the food was horrible. It was simply just ok.
The service was good. Staffs were friendly. A couple of time our waitress came to refilled our waters and ask if we were doing okay.

This place has great food and is inexpensive! Just passing through and tried the place by utilizing Unilocal.Its 5 miles off the highway but well worth it.

Best Bbq I have had in a long time!!!
You can’t go wrong here!!! Everything is great.

Big Al’s has great customer service. The dining area is not the biggest, but that can be easily fixed by eating outside or taking it to go.
Some items are better than others, but you will find something you like. For the rural area its located in, it is a quick and easy fix.

Yesterday I was in the mood for all American BBQ and found this place on Unilocal.It was a bit of a drive and kind of in the middle of nowhere which elevated my expectations as did the large indirect smoker outside but was not being used. We ordered a larger selection of meats. St. Louis ribs, Tri-​tip, and brisket as well as the chili. The fact that it came out so fast was not a good sign and it only got worse. ALL the meat looked and tasted like over-​cooked leftovers truly inedible that just fell apart. Dry, over-​cooked and under-​seasoned such that it was essentially flavorless. I asked for the ribs dry i.e., without sauce which is how they say it is served so I was expecting a good dry rub if not a wet one. It tasted as if it had neither. How that food as allowed to leave the kitchen and be served The ribs are best compared to Lincoln logs and probably taste similar. I know Santa Maria well and that means Tri-​tip. What I got here was a ¼ inch thick severely overcooked slices that I thought was the brisket. No bark was served with the brisket but it wouldn’t have mattered. The chili was ¾ beans with ¼ mix of bacon and beef. Why it’s «famous» beats me… it should be famously avoided.
My plate looked basically untouched and I planned on paying and leaving without saying anything. However, there was a person going around to the tables (three other tables had guests) asking the guest how the food was. So I told how bad my food was and showed him my untouched plate. He said «sorry to hear that» That’s it! If you work in a restaurant and ask the guests how the food is a real restaurant should be prepared to try and make the customer happy. Offer me another plate… offer me a dessert something!!! I truly believe I was served food from earlier in the week. I would never return as I’ve had good left over BBQ and this was not that. Looks like me a Christy M had the same experience… Not worth the drive, gas, time or money.

A cute hole-​in-​the-​wall barbecue restaurant. Been here once before a while back. Craving barbecue today so decided to try it again.
They do a brisk take-​out business. Several tables inside and a patio area outside. Very friendly and helpful employees.
I ordered the two item plate for $ 14.99. Had pork ribs and beef brisket. My choice of sides were french fries and Fernando’s chili. The side of chili was one dollar extra. Large portions.
The fries were hot and fresh. The chili was hot. The ribs were fall off the bone and good. The brisket was dry. Slathered everything with sweet barbecue sauce. I enjoyed the sauce. Had just the right amount of heat to it.
Total bill was just south of $ 20. That included the drink and the extra dollar for the chili.
I will return…

Me giving a low rating to a BBQ joint is like a kid giving a low rating to a toy-​candy-​and-​puppy store. It’s rare.
I like that they offer easy take out options. The guys who work there are super cool and friendly. But the food just isn’t good. For the price, you’d be expecting really awesome BBQ. But is was fatty, tough, and lacked that tingly awesome feeling you get when you bite into great BBQ! Maybe I caught it on a bad night, so I might give it another shot!

Im kind of a BBQ snob. It’s really, really hard to find a good BBQ place! Usually its tiny potions of great BBQ, or its huge potions of tough flavorless meat. We came here after wine tasting all day, so maybe my review is a little biased since I drank a few more glasses than I should have, but they deserve 4 stars.
Price — I recall it being less than $ 10 per person with sides. They have a weekday special for $ 5 pulled pork sandwich which I’d have to try if I was in the area.
Portion — Plenty to go around — ½ the people in our group couldnt finish their sandwich
Quality — Good! I had the brisket which was very tender and had great flavor. The tri tip was excellent also — very tender! The bread on the sandwich is awesome and yummy.
Also, they have 4 flavors of BBQ sauce which are all very good (I didnt care for the spicy one though, even though I love spicy sauce).

I first noticed the smell as I was on my way to Fair Oaks for a vet appointment. On the way back I noticed they had a large deck area for seating. Since I had my dog with me I thought I was going to have to go to a drive through for lunch. Instead, I tied my dog up outside and popped my head in and asked if I would be ok if I ate on the patio with my dog, which was no problem at all.
The owner Al came outside and greeted us. He was quite taken by my dog (most people are since he is 175 pounds of fluffy fur). He had the waiter bring Sam Tri-​Tip, ribs, and water. Lets just say my dog felt like a king.
I ordered the ribs with fries and onion rings and everything was excellent! The ribs actually had meat on them and they were a fantastic smokey flavor. Both the fries and onion rings were excellent as well. I ordered a full rack expecting to share half with my dog but since AL took care of Sam I was able to bring half home to the hubby.
We look forward to visiting the next time we are in the area!

Big Al’s is located along beautiful downtown Sheldon’s famous restaurant row. Sheldon is located way off the beaten grid, out where they still have things like open space and farm land. The inside of Big Al’s is decorated with branding irons, chaps, and other western themed paraphernalia including pictures of Roy Roger and Dale Evans. The music as you might guess is both country and western.
The staff was very friendly. I was promptly seated, my order was taken and my food came in a reasonable amount of time. During my lunch I had at least three people check on me to see if everything was all right. Even Big Al’s wife checked on me.
I ordered the pulled pork sandwich with beans from the lunch menu for the amazing price of $ 4.99. Let me repeat that. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich which was loaded with really moist, smoky, delicious pulled pork and some beans that had just a little sweetness to them for the more than reasonable price of $ 4.99.
You do not have to worry about them overloading your sandwich with tons of soupy, sticky, gooey barbecue sauce that gets the bun soggy before it even gets to your table. Instead they provide you with three choices of barbecue sauce and let you decide how much barbecue sauce you want.
The Wizard says; «saddle up and come on down».