Valley Farm BBQ

Delicious pulled pork sandwiches! Sweet and delicious sauce. Ribs are great too.

I am not a BBQ expert, but FINALLY there is consistent good BBQ close by. Can’t get enough of their potato salad. So much good stuff being cranked out of this little place. It’s all great!

I have been here about a dozen times. I have to say the pulled pork is the best in town. And the beef melts in your mouth. The beans have meat in them. Yum! The only problem is they close kinda early. 7 I believe. Poor Phil’s BBQ. I used to like eating there. :)

I don’t usually leave reviews, mostly because I’m lazy. However, I feel the need to share my new found love of this place.
I also don’t claim to be a BBQ expert, but you don’t have to be some sweaty dude who likes to rub down his meat before sticking it in smokey dry sauna to know when said meat is nummy.
And this meat? Super duper extra lots nummy.
I ordered half a chicken and a Sampler Plate. The nice gentleman at the window looked at me like I was crazy, but that’s because this order turned out to be enough food for a family of four.
Mostly not kidding.
The portions are huge, and the food is delicious. Not always something found together.
½ chicken:
The chicken was seasoned and jucy, with crunchy perfectly browned skin. It was flavorful, even without the sauce (which is also tasty).
Sampler Plate:
This plate comes with tri-​tip, ribs, a pulled pork slider, one side, and chips. I passed on the chips.
It is a rediculous amount of delicious, quality food. Probably enough for two people or one really hungry dude.
The tri-​tip was pink in the middle and tender. It was also perfectly seasoned. I ate the whole serving without the sauce, because it was nummy all on its own. To be honest, it was probably the best thing I’ve eaten in years. It was good. Crazy good.
The ribs had a good crust, while still being super tender. They were also seasoned well and were great with or without the sauce.
The pulled pork slider came unsauced, which is awesome. This way you can get a real sense of how good the pork is. It was tasty. Really, really tasty.
For the side, I ordered their potato salad, which is a nicely traditional mayo+mustard based salad. Not my mom’s, but almost just as good. This is high praise. It also came with little pieces trip tip mixed in, which sounds like it could be weird, but is definitely not.
Lastly, I ordered an additional side of Ranchero beans. These also came with meat mixed in. Lots of tender pulled pork.
Obviously, I’ll have leftovers, but being bbq, that just means it will be even better tomorrow (which it is, I promise).
So to sum up my small essay: This spot has really nummy food and huge portions at more than decent prices. 5 stars.

Just love their BBQ. The pulled pork is awesome and I always get the Mac and cheese and beans as a side. The beans are usually really good although last time they were a little too mashed for me. Also if you have time to check out the store too. It’s pretty cool

I travel all over and my favorite thing is finding great smoked food. when in San diego out of all the bbq/​smoke places it safe to say that this place is the best you can find there. If you live great smoked food this is it.

This place will give you mouthgasms! Everything was excellent, the ribs, the chicken with the yellow sauce will send you to the moon. Absolutely the best potato salad (made by Katrina) I’ve ever had at a Barbecue place. I’ve eaten barbecue all over America and I just found a slice of heaven here in San Diego.

Great treasure to find in this part of town. Will definitely come back for more. The pulled pork sandwich was stuffed! I couldn’t even eat the whole thing. I got the sampler’s platter with a little bit of everything which was perfect for my first visit here. I ate off of it for 3 days. :) awesome stuff! As one of the previous reviewer’s said, «Follow the firemen, they know where the good bbq is.»

This place rocks!!! The fire dept is always picking up dinner here so you know it’s good!!! Never had a bad experience here, maybe a bit of a wait but well worth it and we frequent this spot whenever in the area. Great ribs and excellent tri tip and pork. You can’t go wrong, oh and the beans!!! They have rib and tri tip pieces in them!

The stand is in the southwest corner of the Valley Farm Grocery lot. A modest looking shack, they surprisingly take both cash and plastic. The protein all comes from the store, a well renowned butcher. I have only ordered the tri tip sandwich (tri tip is my usual go to if you’ve read some of my reviews) but I can honestly say its my favorite I’ve had through many restaurants and several states, and it alone is enough. Tender and lean, a honest piece of beef. Steakhouse quality. One star off because the sides have a store deli feel.
Give it a whirl, lemme know what you think.

the cashier was very friendly and allowed me to try some samples. the tri-​tip was fantabulous. good price, great taste… perfect. i tried the pulled pork. i have never been a big fan of pulled pork. i prefer smoked, chopped pork. i WILL DEFINATLY EAT HERE AGAIN. tri-​tip is great. i am going back to try some of their other food. good place good food.

All I’ve tried here is their cook it yourself imperial valley carne asada and it’s really good! Yes it’s pricey but in this case you get what you pay for.

I am a Native Texan. and if you know Texans, we mean business about our BBQ. Moving out here 3.5 years ago with my husband I’ve been to some of the other «BBQ» places around SD even one that claims to have «west Texas bbq”(yea it was good but not really west texas style…) and this place BY FAR surpasses them! I only wish the also served sausage too instead of generic hot links, other than that the food is great! I am pregnant and nothing else seems to sound good to me except this place’s BBQ, potato salad & baked beans. as a matter of fact, I’m on my way now!

I am not given to hyperbole in reviews. Seems like everyone who does a Unilocal review is either eating at the best or the worst restaurant ever. Every server is «awesome» or has the likability of Sharon Stone’s character in «Casino.»
But I am being totally honest when I say that this food made me nauseous, and not because it had gone bad or anything, simply because it tasted terrible. I had the pulled pork sandwich. Pulled pork needs a more acidic/​vinegary BBQ sauce, if it needs anything at all. The sauce this sandwich was DRENCHED in was so sickly sweet I took 2 bites and threw the rest away, then spent the next few minutes hovering in that place where you’re deciding whether throwing up would be more unpleasant or relief. Though the taste was a big issue, the pork also didn’t have good texture — it was too chewy and tough.
Valley Farm has a great butcher counter, which is the reason to go there — and all the more surprising that the BBQ was so bad. If you’re here, you need to buy meet and go home and smoke it yourself. Barring that, just remember you’re not far from Coop’s, and you’re not far from Cali Comfort, both of which have it all over this stand.

I’ve been going to Valley Farms since 1995. I mostly go for its specialty meats and beers. And in recent years I pass Valley Farms BBQ stand daily. Ive driven by the pits, and have smelled the perfume of the pit as it curdles toward the sky, and yet — I have never stopped to sample the glistening décolletage that is perfectly smoked meat — until yesterday.
Lets keep this short. BBQ Tri Tip Sandwich $ 8.99. GET IT. About as juicy as BBQ gets — pinch this stuff and it drips with juice. Large portion, nice soft roll. Perfect smoke ring (smoke as a seasoning — not an ingredient) and the BBQ sauce is made from scratch — rich/​sweet/​tangy/​hint of spice. Perfect.
Got my sandwich in 5 mins flat — they cut the meat to order and on the bias. Super friendly girl behind the counter helped further the great experience.
I know what your thinking — «That place looks jenky, its next to 3 Gas stations in the middle of an intersection.» Don’t make the mistake that I made, try it, you wont be disappointed.

By far… Greatest BBQ in SD. Other places may be more popular, but that is because they have never been here. Moving from the South I think I have had good and bad bbq… This is great! Please go and enjoy, you deserve it!

I’m afraid to write this review for the simple fact that I don’t want anyone to find out about my new fav bbq joint. It may not be a fancy restaurant but this place serves up huge and delicious portions of perfectly smoked meat.
You cant help but be drawn in by the smokers working their magic next to the BBQ stand. I have tried their chicken and tri tip along with beans and potato salad. The meat is melt in your mouth tender while their sides are hearty and filling. Speaking of filling, I ALWAYS have leftovers from this place. I can never finish one of their meals in one sitting. This place is right down the road from two other very well known bbq places and it is hands down m ty favorite among the three. Nothing fancy, good ol bbq, hold the bling.

**Warning: pictures may cause uncontrollable salivating**
I’ve driven by this place located in the parking lot of the Valley Farm Market in Spring Valley on the corner of Campo Rd. and Bancroft. Every time I drove by, the smell of the smoking white oak would draw me closer and closer until today. Today I stopped to have some real BBQ. After asking a few question regarding their smoking process, I decided to have the pulled pork sandwich combo on a yellow egg bun. Although, the smoked tri-​tip, beef ribs, and pork ribs sure looked great as well, but I will save those for another day. The sandwich came with two sides, and I choose the cole slaw and BBQ beans. The sandwich was huge and only cost $ 5.99 plus tax. (
)
When the sandwich first came out, it was love at first sight. Not only was it large, but it was loaded with pulled pork. I added some of their exquisite house made spicy BBQ sauce. (
). Then I pilled on some of their cool and slightly sour cole slaw and bang! I had a master piece of a sandwich. (
) The pulled pork was tender and smokey. The white oak definitely did its job. The chopped onions I added, added a nice texture and the cole slaw, contributed to a nice balance between the spicy bbq sauce and smokey pork. The egg bun was good, but it was not as moist as it could of been. Perhaps if the buns were warmed before serving, the steam would add some moisture. Just a minor set back, but overall a great pulled pork sandwich.
The baked bbq beans were great. To contribute to their guilty pleasure, the beans came with shredded pork. (
) They were full of smokey flavor with a slight kick at the end. The cole slaw, as I said earlier, I put in the sandwich. However, I left a little on the side to eat by itself and it was quite good. They also have potato salad for a side.
The place resembles a small shack with smokers and grills about doing there magic. When you walk up to the place, you will be engulfed with the aromatic smoke of the white oak. I have to admit, that the place is not much to look at, but the aroma of smoking meats quickly make that insignificant. They are only open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 am to 8 pm.
Today, it was all about the BBQ pulled pork. Sorry little piggy…