Goodbones of El Cajon (formerly Geno's BBQ)
We'd eaten at Geno's maybe half a dozen times in our almost 6 years here and heard there were new owners recently but finally made it over there last night, the night before Thanksgiving.
There's a few items left from Geno's, such as the signs, the old menu board, a little of Geno's sauce, an old surfboard, some rattan, a surfing mural and maybe a dozen miniature "Woodies" but the food is vastly different.
To start with, they now smoke their meats with hickory, the way it should be (I like other woods, even mesquite, but hickory is it), and unlike Geno, who didn't smoke it at all. Geno was all about his sauces, which he had attempted to mass market and called his smokeless meats "West Coast Barbecue".
And I have to admit that I like their new sauce more than the Geno's variations. For one thing, it's almost perfectly spiced instead of offering 3 different heat ranges.
As I'm not the eater I used to be, the Boy and I split the 5 pork rib dinner with 3 side orders and 2 sodas for a little over $17 total. These weren't baby back ribs (which I eat almost exclusively) and even though I had a couple of them and the Boy had 2 as well, they were meaty enough that the wife had the leftovers when she got out of class last night.
We had wanted corn on the cob as one of our sides but they were out by the time we got there so we had corn bread instead. The other 2 sides were their slaw and beans.
The beans were almost chili flavored, the corn bread was too sweet for us (we're corn bread bakers ourselves) but the slaw was servicable, almost a compliment as we're very particular about our slaw.
We both agreed we'd go back again.
I want to sample the pulled pork and talk to the owners.
I think they'd do themselves a favor by eliminating the remnants of Geno's reign as most Q joints are rather plain inside and concentrate on upgrading their menu boards and the menu itself.
Geno's used to offer buffalo burgers and other distractions and I think a good rib joint should stick to their strong points instead of trying to appeal to everyone and pleasing no one...
See the web site here (it appears they may still be related to Geno's): http://www.goodbonesbbq.com/
Update: 3 December 2008
The Boy and I made a second visit last night and split the shredded pork sandwich, with slaw and beans again. It's a great sandwich with very little difference between it and Geno's version (Geno toasted the bun).
With a couple of sodas, our total was $10.05.
And we talked to one of the owners who tells us that Geno sold it a couple of years ago now (our best guess is that new signage is way too expensive, which would also explain why Geno's name is still on the web site). She also advised us to check out the beef brisket, which we will do on our next visit...
Update II: 10 December 2008
We tried the beef brisket last night (split an order) and it was good but it wasn't what we expected.
In most places (and when we make it at home), Texas style beef brisket is a slab of smoked, sliced beef with au jus, but here, it's shredded and served like a pulled pork sandwich with light BBQ sauce. Good brisket needs no sauce and I'd be interested in having it done that way on our next visit.
I also had an ear of corn on the cob with my meal and it wasn't a frozen, boiled cobbette and I'll order it again (they were out the last time I asked for it). Our total was just over $13 with 2 sodas and beans for the Boy.
