Live Action Quick Tips
Did you know….
That boiling your ribs in Coke or Dr. Pepper before you grill them will do something magical to your ribs. The sugar and the carbonation will tenderize your ribs and make them extra tender and sweet.
Today’s Restaurant
Yardhouse – Santana Row, 300 Santana Row #101, San Jose, CA 95128
Average Cost
Around $15-$25 per plate depending on the dish- Unless you make Happy hour then more like $5-$10 for most appetizer dishes
Rating (1-10)
9.5
Recommended Dishes:
St. Louis Style BBQ Ribs, Rib Eye Steak, Miso Sea Bass, Firecracker Wings, Spicy Thai Chicken pizza, Edamame, BEER!!
Friday night at 8..and I just can’t be late. Got a Happy Hour date.. She will soon be my mate.. That would be so great. Great..Great..Great..Great! I can hardly wait!
It’s the end of the week people and time to relax with a beer and get my hands on some finger foods. What better way to enjoy a Friday night than with good company and saying ‘Cheers!’
One of our favorite places to go on a Friday night for Happy Hour is Yardhouse in Santana Row in San Jose, Ca.
Happy Hour runs from 3pm – 6pm M-F but if you are not there by 5pm then you could be waiting for an hour to get in. We made it by 4:45pm so Virginia and I waited until about 5:20pm to get seated.
The hardest part is just standing there and looking at how happy people are with their Alaskan frozen glasses with bubbles of luscious brew bouncing in their glasses. I can see people wiping their mouths after biting into steaks dripping with its tender succulent juices, people stretching their necks back as far as they can to pull the cheese away from their pizza with their mouths and me siting there catching a whiff of all the aromas coming from every dish.
My pocket feels a vibration. Yes! It’s time!
I grab Virginia by the hand and go to the front desk and hand them my vibrating beeper. They walk us down to our table and we sit down and prepare ourselves to order our favorite beers (Lagunitas IPA) and usual appetizer which are the Firecracker Wings and Edamame for Virginia.
Let me just say that Edamame is not my favorite dish anywhere but the way they cook and apply seasoning to this veggie is fantastic! They have small pieces of garlic, crushed red chilis and some kind of mouthwatering creation of a sauce that you just can’t get enough of. I highly recommend this as an appetizer. Not too filling but really goes good with beer and gives you a little bit of spicy sweet on the tip of your tongue.
Now let me tell you about this creation of a mad scientist; the Firecracker Wings. I have never, I mean never ever tasted wings like this. The sweet, tangy and spicy sauce they have must be patented as good as it is.
The wings aren’t fried but taste as if they have been seared on a grill. They lay them on top of a bed of shredded purple cabbage which adds to the flavor as well. Biting into those wings with an ice cold beer in hand with great company is what life is all about! That’s live action eating!
After sharing both of those dishes, we were still kind of hungry so we decided to share another meal. Key tip: Don’t get too buzzed or that bill will add up fast.
We order a full rack of ribs to share and when it came out, it was a glimpse of something spectacular. The presentation was elegant in fashion and it looks as good as it tastes. These are slow cooked pork spare ribs, spicy bbq sauce, creamed corn, bbq pinto beans and this is the finale to a great performance.
The creamed corn tastes so good you can drink it. It is not that thick so it’s almost like a thick sauce with kernels of corn in it. The BBQ pinto beans is homemade and not my favorite but they are ok. I still haven’t tasted an out of this world pinto bean dish yet so if you know somewhere to go for that then please let me know.
The ribs are tender and falling off the bone. One of the best ribs I have ever tasted. The meat is not too thick on the bone either which is important to me so you don’t have to chew a big chunk of meat in your mouth while trying to breathe.
The BBQ sauce is a sweet, tangy sauce which is one of the best BBQ sauces I have ever tasted. The way it enhances the flavor of the meat is award winning and keeps us coming back for more. If you have never tried this place then you definitely should. Unfortunately they’re only in Northern and Southern California so if you are out of state then check it out on a vacation.
Thanks for taking the time to join me on this adventure. I look forward to speaking with you next time!
Eating is an enjoyable way of life.Live it..Learn it..Love it!
Trevis Dampier Sr.
