If this is the same Abbey’s as the one on CMB, I stopped going last year after a poor experience.
I realize that it isn’t San Diego, but during my little stint up in the Bay Area this past summer and fall, I often visited this small chain of Texas Q places (Aptos BBQ in Aptos, and recently South Winchester BBQ in San Jose. Very good and better than anything I had tried in San Diego before that; I think I’ll need to visit Grand Ole BBQ y Asado to compare.
They have very similar names, but the one on CMB does not have “Texas” in its name. I suspect that at one time they were related, but they are separate entities now. I probably should try that one on Miramar just for completeness, but every damned time I drive out there I end up at Supernatural Sandwiches, or NY On Rye if I’m in a pastrami/reuben mood.
Does NY on Rye have hand sliced meats at their brick and mortar location? They had told me they couldn’t manage it in the truck but having it sliced so thin really took away from the experience for me.
I have been to the Miramar location.
LOL
It’s what Fakey doesn’t say that says the most. I definitely won’t put it on my priority list.
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My thoughts exactly. His silence speaks volumes 
Good advice. I totally agree
It’s just as good or maybe a little better than Phils. I have a friend who worked nearby and we’d meet for lunch there- he’s fond of it.
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LOL.
At Phil’s I get tender juicy meats, with very little smoke and too much sauce. At Abby’s I get smokey dry leather. I have been numerous times when I worked nearby, and finally gave up. I’m
Still haven’t made it to our newest BBQ joints (Grand Ol’ BBQ, Smok’d, or Bugsy’s). I had only been to Phil’s on one previous occasion (got the pulled pork sammich) and thought it was just OK. So last night the wife and I decided to hit up the new Phil’s BBQ location in Rancho Bernardo since it was getting so much attention. Got there early (before 6 pm), but even so it was hard to find parking and line was already out the door.
Still, the line moved fairly quickly, plus the greeting and service were extraordinarily friendly. We ordered babybacks, chicken, baked beans, coleslaw, and a baked potato with all the fixins. The baked beans were fine, but nothing special and had no flavors of smoke or porky goodness. I’d say we ate less than half of them. The coleslaw may have been the best thing on our plates and it was pretty ordinary. The baked potato had a very weird (unpleasant) consistency and was not very good. Wife believes it was precooked and then reheated in the microwave, and I tend to agree. One of the worst baked potatoes we’ve ever had and we left more than half of it behind. Bad sign when you can’t even do a darned baked potato right. No BBQ smokey goodness on either the chicken or the ribs and no tell tale smoke ring. Meats were tender but had a weird consistency and texture. If I had to put money on it, I would bet big that both chicken and ribs are boiled first. We were both very underwhelmed and to be truthful, pretty disappointed in our meal based on all the hype. Their BBQ sauce (served on the side) was pretty good though. Probably the tastiest part of the meal, but still not so great that I would purchase any on its own.
We did have a very nice gentlemen check on us several times during the meal, but I didn’t have the heart to tell him their BBQ wasn’t very good and wasn’t real BBQ. As we were washing up and leaving I had a chance to speak with this same gentlemen again. He confirmed to me that every thing was pre-cooked and then reheated on a wood fired grill and nothing except the pulled pork is ever smoked. I asked him what wood was used for the grills (because we got very little smokey flavor and it was hard to tell), and he replied Hickory, yet the sign outside says Mesquite, but who knows?
We left pretty disappointed and actually hungry since so much just wasn’t worth eating and thus we probably won’t be returning. Discussing our experience afterwards we both agreed how much better Brett’s BBQ is in 4S and Encinitas. Since it was on our way home, the wife actually requested that we stop at Brett’s briefly to directly compare the BBQ, since Phil’s experience was still fresh in our minds. Brett’s was, despite being just a couple miles from line out the door Phil’s, virtually empty, with just two othe parties there. We ordered Brett’s baby back ribs, with sides of Mac-n-cheese and corn pudding. With a real smoker on site and in viewm, fired up 24/7. . .oh what a difference real BBQ makes! The ribs had the tell tale smoke ring and were very tender while still being toothsome. Several orders of magnitude better than what we had just consumed! They looked better, tasted better, and had way better flavor and texture than what we had just eaten at Phil’s. We also got an order of Brett"s bread pudding with caramel bourbon sauce and home made whipped cream . . . oh so good
You are so right on those comments. The staff at Phil’s is great, very nice and helpful, but the food… We have only been to the one out in San Marcos. We sat in the bar, and there they will take your order and bring it to you so you don’t have to stand in line. I found the pulled pork sandwich to be about the only thing worthwhile to eat. Though actually the fries were pretty good. The food got better with a couple of beers. Brett’s is so much better though I have only been to the Encinitas location. It never really seems that busy, and I really don’t know why they aren’t packing them in like Phil’s. I guess it’s hype. I usually get the brisket at Brett’s, the SO gets the ribs, always tasty.
The last time I went to Phil’s was years ago, and I don’t recall what I had. Before that last time I’d tried various menu options and all were plain dull meat with (ok, decent) sauce.
Then, happily, I learned about Coops in Lemon Grove (thanks, FN), and discovered the only good low/slow BBQ in the area. Now, with Grand 'Ole BBQ, though, it’s a no-brainer. That’s the only place I would choose for BBQ.
Phil’s, well, to put it politely, is very low on the totem pole, BBQ-wise. IMO, of course.
Phil’s is what it is, but the fact that it has so many steadfast groupies and still ends up on top of a lot of the “Best BBQ” polls is an indication of how unsophisticated the dining hoi polloi in San Diego can be.
Sort of like Olive Garden winning best Italian, Cheesecake Factory best desserts, etc.
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You are so right about Smitty’s, but did you try the smoked prime rib. OMG! Given that it is not readily accessible, I’ve been thrilled to have GOB within walking distance. However, last few times I’ve been by at lunch, no brisket until dinner time. Tri-tip and pulled pork are both very tasty, though!