Belle Belle Cues

New to Chinatown, Belle Belle’s Cue serves authentic Texas style BBQ in the neighborhood of Los Angeles, taking no shortcuts, and using only the finest ingredients. The meats are cooked with Woodfire for an unforgettable taste. Owner Justin Mi is committed to bringing simple, high-quality BBQ with the traditional down-south fixings to the Los Angeles community.

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One of my best friends, Ben Azarraga, joins me for lunch. He makes a great napkin passer for those finger lickin ribs. This photo is not yet to be approved by him, but I'm sure he would appreciate it anyways ;)

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With 5 different house sauces to choose from, my favorite was the Habanero BBQ sauce. If you are a lover of spicy foods, this was definitely tolerable. If you are Ben who cannot eat much spicy foods, do skip (sorry Ben for saying it wasn't spicy haha). His favorite was the honey bbq.

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Spare Ribs - $10 Per 1/2 Lb

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Brisket - $12 Per 1/2 Lb

Pulled Pork - $10 Per 1/2 Lb

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I've never had brisket or BBQ like this in Los Angeles before. I enjoyed the simple smoked flavors without the heavy sauces that normally overpowers the meat. I would love to give this another try again. I recommend coming in a larger group, preferably meat eaters, so you are able to try a little bit of everything. My favorite sides were the pineapple coleslaw & creamed corn.

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Pecan PIe - $4

Wednesday Thru Sunday

11AM to 4PM (or Sold Out)

701 W Cesar E Chavez Ave Los Angeles, CA 90012

323.897.9227 - info@bellebellescue.com

Happy Hour at Roy's Restaurant - Pasadena

I know a lot of people that like to go straight home after work. I believe the best coworkers are the ones you can consider your friend, and one you are willing to spend time with even after 9 hours of being together. But nothing unites us more than Happy Hour. Eyes light up. Chatters are spread and next thing you know, it's as if we were channeling each other throughout the agent with telepathic communication.

There's a lot of restaurants that serve happy hour near our office. We have a few that are walking distance. Roy's was brought up a few times so after having a glance at their menu, it was finalized. In no time 5 o'clock hit and we were out the door. Maybe a few of us took a short lunch to get the happy started early.

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They have $7 cocktails/wine/sake, to $5 well drinks, to $3 selected drafts.

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These French Fries were a BIG hit. After the first order, there were multiple to follow. The fries were coated with Parmesan, Togarashi, Parsley, Sea Salt and a Housemade Mango sauce. Portions were great for $5 and perfect with drinks.

All other Happy Hours bites were $7. Some things we ordered showed above are Crispy Chicken Spring Rolls served on top of a Citrus Black Bean Dragon Sauce, Szechuan Spiced Pork Ribs Smoked and Glazed in Roy's Original Mongolian Sauce, Lobster Potstickers served on a Spicy Togarashi Miso Butter Sauce, and Tempura-Crusted Ahi Roll with Spicy Togarashi Miso Butter Sauce. Some other items the table ordered were their Kalua Pork Sliders Crispy Onions – Lilikoi Slaw.

Happy Hour starts at 4 and ends at 7. We already planned our next venture next week!

Check it out yourself. Any happy hour recommendations in Pasadena are always welcomed.

Wood Ranch - Burbank

I attended a media event for Wood Ranch the past week at their newest location in Burbank. If you are familiar with this area, it is where the old Elephant Bar used to be. Shocking to see that they closed, but having Wood Ranch in the area made more sense. The location will officially open for dinner at 4 p.m. on Monday, June 13 and for lunch on Wednesday, June 22. So get ready to mark your calendars.

110 N. 1st Street Burbank CA 91502

Here are a glimpse of the food items we had that evening:

You have your fresh guacamole, salsa and chips. Killer wings (both buffalo and fiery). Their famous shredded onions which you can literally put on everything. There's absolutely no way your hands will be clean after this round.

Old Fashioned

We had a few salads to try. From their sides, a mountain of original peanut coleslaw. Their Tuscan Kale Salad composed of watermelon radishes, chives, carrots, green beans, cauliflower, golden raisins, toasted pumpkin seeds, shaved Parmesan, and tossed with a balsamic vinaigrette. Natalie's Salad - mixed greens, candied pecans, avocado, Gorgonzola crumbles, cucumber, balsamic vinaigrette. And their BBQ chopped salad with your choice of chicken or tri tip - Mixed greens, corn, black beans, Tillamook® Monterey jack, tortilla strips, tomato, carrots, scallions, cilantro, ranch, and Original BBQ sauce. Which one would you get? I liked the chopped salad because I'm a meat salad type of girl.

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St. Louis Ribs

St. Louis Ribs are sweet & spicy, dry-rubbed & smoked. Served with a side of Original or chipotle-cherry BBQ sauce. I loved these ribs the most. I'm a huge fan of dry rubs and these were definitely fall off the bone tender.

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All American Baby Back Ribs

These were center cut and hand trimmed, served with the original BBQ sauce. Sweet and tangy. These were also fall off the bone. You can see it by the shreds.

Wood Ranch Tri Tip and Fire Roasted Chicken.

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They had some premium sides like grilled asparagus. Also signature sides like sweet potato mash, and Mac & Cheese.

At the Burbank location, there are a few exclusive items you'll find here, and only here.

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The Ultimate BBQ Sandwich. A stack of Carolina Pulled Pork w. Carolina Slaw, Double RRanch® Brisket topped with Tillamook Swiss®, wood-grilled premium kielbasa (spicy smoky sausage), charred jalapeño, Famous Shredded Onions on a freshly baked brioche bun. Choose any barbecue sauce on the side. Good luck taking a bite of this. I had no problem... but a warning in case your jaw gets stuck.

Manny's Crispy Chicken Sandwich

Premium, juicy chicken thigh, brined overnight in buttermilk and spices, then coated with their specially-seasoned mix.Fried to order and topped with their Peanut-Cilantro Slaw on a freshly baked brioche bun. A large sandwich. Crispy and delicious. Good luck headed towards the gym after.

Bar Area Special during Happy hour, Momday-Friday 3-6pm. These are their Smoked Pulled Pork Nachos. For $6, this is definitely a steal. Carolina Pulled Pork, Tillamook Monterey jack® and cheddar cheeses, black beans, chopped jalapeño, salsa, house-made guacamole and sour cream.

Save room for dessert:

Graham Cracker crust cheesecake with raspberry sauce and their Oreo Cookie crunch - Vanilla bean ice cream rolled by hand in ground.

Make sure you check them out!

110 N. 1st Street Burbank CA 91502