Who knew that California BBQ could be so good?

After my grandson’s performance as King Triton in The Little Mermaid, we headed south to San Jan Capistrano to meet some friends for a BBQ at Heritage. (He, by the way, killed it!) The line to order reminded me of the line in Austin outside Franklin BBQ, although not nearly as long.

People do wait for good BBQ.

Heritage opened in Orange County in the summer of 2020, the first BBQ place to get approval to use the 1,000-gallon Texas-style offset barrel smokers, where food smokes in a long horizontal chamber while charcoal and smoke wood burn in a firebox attached to one side.

I sampled their flavorful smoked duroc pork ribs ($32/pound) with the meat that fell off the bone and their hearty portion of coleslaw. I’d highly recommend that and their brisket beans ($14/pound), which I sampled from my friend’s portion. My grandson indulged in their over-stuffed brisket sandwich ($18) with pickles, cole slaw and onions on a brioche bun.

I highly recommend a visit. And be aware that, like other BBQ places, they close early if they run out.

Heritage BBQ
31721 Camino Capistrano
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
heritagecraftbbq.com/