We had dinner at the Famous Dave’s location in Rancho Cucamonga on Wednesday, July 20, 2011. We had first heard of them back in the fall of 2010 when we were looking for places to eat near Oak Glen. Famous Dave’s was one of the places in Redlands mentioned in Inland Empire magazine along with Eureka Burger, where we chose to eat back then (see earlier review). But Famous Dave’s still made a big impression on us. Their menu had a large selection of delicious choices, though most seemed like they would be too much food after spending a day sampling apples in Oak Glen. There was also the funny video of Famous Dave riding in the classic car with the dancing pigs to a soundtrack of festive blues music. Many months later in May 2011 we saw Famous Dave on the show Best in Smoke that was showing on TVs at Tropical Mexico restaurant (see earlier review). We knew we had to try Famous Dave’s at some point and finally planned for a dinner there on July 20, 2011.
During our planning we learned from the website www.famousdaves.com that there was a Famous Dave’s location in Rancho Cucamonga that would be a much shorter drive. The website listed four locations in the L.A./Sanbag area: Redlands, Rancho Cucamonga, Orange, and Long Beach. Dave likes to locate his restaurants where the “real” people live. We looked at the menu online again and saw the new Citrus Grill section of choices that each had 600 calories or less. They also had a link to food allergen information that indicated which choices had dairy in them. Unfortunately, all the choices in the Citrus Grill section had dairy. But I was able to find some possibilities in other sections.
On Wednesday, July 20 we drove east on the 10. Famous Dave’s was located on the southern border of Rancho Cucamonga with Ontario. We exited at Milliken Ave. and turned left to go north. The traffic on the 10 wasn’t too bad and we arrived in Ontario before 4:30. We decided to spend some time at Ontario Mills, a huge indoor mall consisting of discount outlet stores. It was crowded at Ontario Mills, possibly because it was so hot that day in the high 90s. We left Ontario Mills at around 5:00 p.m., got back onto Milliken Avenue and drove north to Fourth Street where we turned right. We knew Famous Dave’s was on the left and we spotted it about a block or two east of Milliken. We had to make a U-turn at the next light, turn right into a small side road with many cars parked along the curb and left into the small parking lot for Famous Dave’s. There were cars parked there, but it wasn’t full, yet.
Famous Dave’s seemed to be located in a large block with several buildings without signs. They looked like apartments or maybe hotels. There were other restaurants nearby: Chipotle to the west and BJ’s to the east. Famous Dave’s was in a medium-sized one-story building. The parking spaces closest all seemed to be for to-go orders. We parked and walked to the south end of the building to enter through the main entrance. The hostess desk was right inside past a small waiting area. There wasn’t anyone waiting there at 5:19 p.m. when we entered. On the desk we saw some business cards for the managers and senior staff of this location. They all had the word “Famous” before their names. The hostess took us to a slightly elevated booth in the back next to the corner booth. The room also had picnic tables and other floor seating. The place was very festively decorated with BBQ-related pictures and signs on the walls such as one in lighted red letters that said “Eat Like a Pig.” Another vintage sign was for Postum that looked like an alternative drink for coffee. The slogan for it was “A cup in time saves nine.” Over the speakers they played festive instrumental blues music. We had read on Famous Dave’s website that the music played in the restaurants was specially picked from Dave’s own collection of 3,000 CDs. The restaurant was around half full at this early dinner hour. That would soon change.
On our table were large full-color menus that mostly matched the ones we had seen online. One difference was they had an insert for limited-time Hawaiian barbecue items such as Huli Buli chicken. The regular menu had sections for appetizers, chicken wings, side dishes, St. Louis-style ribs, BBQ classics, feasts for groups of 2-6, combos, the Citrus Grill, Dave’s Famous Burgers, sandwiches, salads & soups, desserts, and lunch/early-bird specials. Many choices looked good to us such as the BBQ Buddies mini-sandwiches. Unfortunately I couldn’t have the Drunkin’ Apples side dish because, according to the allergen information online, they had dairy. We placed our orders after the server brought us our drinks. My wife got the mixed berry lemonade that she enjoyed throughout the meal.
The server returned to present all the different barbecue sauces. There were five of them on our table in a caddy that also included a squeeze bottle of ketchup. The server first presented the Rich and Sassy sauce and wrote an “R” at the top of an empty plate. She wrote an “S” with the Sweet and Zesty sauce, a “D” with the fiery Devil’s Spit sauce and a “T” with the Texas Pit sauce. The last sauce that she presented was the Georgia Mustard, a vinaigrette-based sauce that she poured between the R and the S. She gave us some fresh-made potato chips to try with the sauces. I couldn’t have the Rich and Sassy because the allergen information online said that it had dairy. I tried all the others. The Devil’s Spit had some spice but it was a manageable amount. The Sweet and Zesty sauce was quite sweet. I liked the Georgia Mustard the best. In addition to the caddy of sauces at our table there was also a paper towel rack mounted on the wall above it.
They brought our food orders fairly quickly. My wife got the Dave’s Naked Ribs from the Citrus Grill section of the menu. Her order consisted of four St. Louis-style ribs barbecued without sauce (a.k.a. Naked), two pieces of grilled spiced pineapple, and some fresh steamed broccoli. She also got the Wilbur Beans side dish. She enjoyed the ribs and especially the Wilbur Beans. Later she let me have one of the pieces of spiced grilled pineapple for dessert. It was good and spicy. My order wasn’t as healthy as my wife’s, but I still enjoyed it very much. I got the rib tips appetizer. They came in a basket on a bed of Famous Fries. The famous fries are skin-on potato wedges. I also got creamy coleslaw on the side. The latter was tangy and crunchy. The Famous Fries were crispy and still very warm. But the best part of my meal was the rib tips. They were cooked just right with great hickory smoke flavor. I ordered them naked (a.k.a. without sauce) and they were still delicious. I had some of them with some Georgia Mustard from the caddy. They were crispy on the outside, not chewy at all on the inside, and had much more meat than bone. Having them brought to mind the barbecue restaurant called The Pig on La Brea Avenue where we had eaten ten years before. They also served rib tips. At Famous Dave’s the rib tips come either as an appetizer or entrée with the latter consisting of an entire pound. I couldn’t stop eating them.
As we ate dinner the restaurant filled up. A family at a picnic table near us got the All-American BBQ feast that came on an upside-down metal trashcan lid. They put it on a special wooden stand. Some patrons asked about Happy Hour and the servers told them you could only get that in the bar and pay with cash. I thought I overheard the servers or maybe some patrons changing “Geese” or maybe “keys” a couple of times. (Later, when we went to Famous Dave's in Redlands on August 20, 2011, I figured out that they were saying "feast" while serving a BBQ feast.)
For dessert my wife ordered a Sweet Dixie Mini of Dave’s Famous Bread Pudding. It came in a small sundae glass. After she finished we paid our check and walked back to the entrance. On the way we looked at some of the many BBQ trophies on display. There was also a cute pig mailbox for leaving comments and suggestions. We left one saying that he (Dave) was Best in Smoke. After almost getting lost we found the entrance where there were now many people waiting. Outside we saw a sign for the Happy Hour specials that included a BBQ Buddy sandwich, for, I think, $1.99. The parking lot was now full and there was no space along the curb, just cars. We drove home knowing we would return to Famous Dave’s.
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