Chop Daddy’s Culver City – Returns to the BBQ Game

Chop Daddy’s Culver City Review

Culver City returns to the BBQ game with the addition of the recently opened Chop Daddy’s (their first location is in Venice) in the old Santa Maria BBQ spot.

This local was thrilled to have some more meat in the hood. We went in on a muggy Sunday evening and were warmly greeted by Patrick. He immediately had us sit down and brought over samples of his homemade Hard Lemonade – which had a hint of vanilla, a hint of carbonation, and the fresh lemony goodness made it go down smoothly. This could be trouble, as you can’t even taste the alcohol! We sat back in our leather booths (note: this location also has delivery) and then we noticed the best part of Chop Daddy’s décor. This Gen-Xers were treated to an endless loop of 80s music complete with the videos to accompany the songs on big screen TVs. I could’ve sat there all night and watched Paula Abdul, Duran Duran, Toto and Motley Crue. But I digress…

We started with a trio of fried goodness! First off, the Little Porky’s – which are heavenly balls (yes, I said ‘heavenly balls’) of pulled pork & little chunks of potato held together by a mac & cheese sauce – served with a creamy BBQ ranch dip. I could have devoured the whole portion, but had to save some room for the delicious fried pickles. They were crispy, not greasy and had just that kick of salty bite that tastes so good either bare or dipped in the cool accompanying sauce. We also splurged on poutine tots – not quite like my Canadian fave of cheese curds & gravy – but yummy nonetheless as they coated their specialty tots with a peppery brown gravy and shredded cheese. These you eat with a fork. Next time, I’ll definitely try the Super Tot’s – which is the Chop Daddy version of chili fries.

Stuffed from our ball & tot appetizers, we had barely enough room for the main event. But we hammered through. The Belly Up is Chop Daddy’s signature sandwich and a recent Zagat Top 10 Best New Sandwich winner. It did not disappoint, with a huge hunk of BBQ-ed pork belly coated in a crispy and tangy homemade coleslaw served on a brioche bun. It had a bit of an Asian flavor to us and the coleslaw cut the big ol’ hunk of meat nicely.

Then we moved onto the Pig Out sampler platter – a name which seemed very apropos at this point. We all agreed, the baked beans were exceptional, with little pork pieces mixed in and just the right amount of sweet and then just enough heat at the end. The pulled pork had a lot of flavor and the pulled chicken was a little spicy (worth mentioning, I think black pepper is spicy, so take that all with a grain of salt – or a salty fried pickle bite!). The ribs were quite good, tender and coated in Chop Daddy’s BBQ sauce which I might need to put on everything. By the way, every Chop Daddy entrée is served with a mini fresh-baked buttery chocolate chip cookie. Yum.

There were a ton of sandwiches I would have loved to have tried, but my stomach said “ no more.” The Tip – which features their 12-hour smoked brisket & the Qubano – their take on a Cuban sandwich, most notably. We did however save room for dessert (come on!) and finished up with their chocolate bread pudding bites, which were hot chocolately goodness – crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, coated with a caramel sauce & a dollop of whipped cream on the side.

I’d definitely say go to Chop Daddy’s – kick back with some balls and some tots and some bites and some ‘Que – and watch Bryan Adams and The Police take it home all night long.