I showed up 30 minutes before the Boomtown Brewery taproom opened. Not to tour the brewery or because traffic was lighter than expected.
No, I was there to talk to Dustin Bartz of Bartz BBQ. And, yes, to taste the BBQ too.
You may have seen them set-up outside many local breweries such as Santa Monica Brew Works, El Segundo, Strand, Absolution and L.A. Ale Works
Dustin started serving up his Texas style BBQ at Absolution last 4th of July and has not slowed down since then. He catered the 7th anniversary for Strand and that was the need for his new rotating smoker came around. It has five racks and forty feet of cooking space and is his third and largest cooker in four years since embarking on his BBQ work.
The end product is great especially paired with the Cosmic Charlie Hoppy Brown. The Burnt Ends and pork worked well with the sauce (not a typical Texas thing) and the creamed corn and Mac n Cheese were awesome. And that is only the tip of the menu iceberg.
Bartz will be at Boomtown on Sundays throughout the summer.
