New rib joint gives Roma’s a run

Mary Furr

Just three blocks up from Pacific Coast Highway on Main Street in

Huntington Beach is MO’s BBQ, with sidewalk tables in front of a

double storefront that’s attracting hungry diners like lemmings to

the sea.

Opened just three weeks ago, it has ribs that have been smoked

overnight in hickory-stoked ovens and then smeared with thick

barbecue sauce with the zesty touch of vinegar and lemon. It’s just

the place Huntington Beach was waiting for -- there was a line

outside the door last week.

Owned by two buddies from San Luis Obispo, Les Draper and Larry

“Mo” Kowalski, who always talked of owning their own restaurant, MO’s

serves everything barbecue -- from ribs to shredded pork in

sandwiches to plate combinations.

The BBQ Sampler ($15.95), suggested to us by Draper, is one to

share, with three really meaty ribs, a huge pile of shredded pork, a

chicken thigh and leg with a medium side of rough-cut white and

purple slaw, super barbecued beans and a sweet corn muffin. The long,

slender, St. Louis-style ribs are cut especially for MO’s. The pair

traveled all over the South collecting recipes and sampling meats. In

South Carolina, they found that only pork is cooked over hickory, and

in North Carolina, the meat is chopped or shredded and the sauce

contains vinegar and the essential tomato base.

The chicken legs and thighs are un-sauced with char marks,

“falling off the bone” tender and juicy. Though the crumbly corn

muffin has a slightly sweet “Southern” flavor, it adds to the sampler

and complements the meat.

The menu abounds with Southern-style specialties, more than a

dozen sandwiches with Virginia BBQ pork ($5.95), Louisiana-style hot

links ($5.95) with grilled onions and peppers on a French roll, a BBQ

Garden Burger, a tasty vegetarian patty with sauce on a sesame bun

and even fried green tomatoes.

The walls of MO’s are covered with photos of street signs and

restaurants like the Rendezvous, a famous downstairs cafe in Memphis

taken by the owners as they ate their way through the South.

Draper and Kowalski bring a new meaning to “South” in Southern

California, winning first place nine years straight in the SLO Rib

Cook Off.

Watch out Tony Roma’s, here comes MO’s.

* MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have

comments or suggestions, call (562) 493-5062 or e-mail

hbindy@latimes.com