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View the
Big Mama's Rib Shack, Pasadena Menu
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Restaurant: Big Mama’s Rib Shack and
Soul Food
Where: 1453 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena
Phone: (626) 797-1792
Reservations: Not required
Cocktails: Beer and wine
Service: Full table service
Atmosphere: Casual
Outdoor Dining: No
Credit Cards: MC, AMEX, Visa, Debit Cards
with MC/Visa logo
Kid’s Menu: Yes
Senior Discount: No
Food to Go: Yes
Catering Menu: Yes
Price Range: $2 - $16.95, avg. $8 - $11 |
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Darren McWhorter poses with his grandmother's picture |
Corn
muffins with butter and honey start you off |
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The
Barbecue Combo |
2
pieces of Fried Chicken |
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File'
Gumbo, Jambalaya and Hush Puppies are part of the Cajun Combo |
Which
also includes Chicken and Shrimp Creole |
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Side
orders of mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, red beans |
Red
velvet cake |
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Peach
cobbler a la mode |
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DOT COM DINING
A Look At San
Gabriel Valley Restaurants by SanGabrielValleyMenus.com
Southern and Cajun Cuisine a Treat at Big Mama’s Rib Shack and Soul Food
By Bill Coburn
Born in Georgia, and later moving
to Tennessee, “Big Mama” was raised on soul food and southern cooking. As
grandson Darron McWhorter told me, “She was a small woman, but everyone
called her Big Mama.” Seventy-five years of cooking southern delights,
including restaurants in Chattanooga, Las Vegas and Pasadena is a legacy to be
proud of. Big Mama passed on a few years back, but not before passing on her
skill in the kitchen to son Dargen McWhorter, who opened the award-winning Big
Mama’s Cooking, Inc. in Las Vegas, in 1992.
Big Mama's in Las Vegas is a five
time winner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal's "Best of Las Vegas" award, as well
as a three time winner in the Las Vegas Sunset Park Rib Burnoff.
In September of 2002, McWhorter’s children, Darron, Dargetta, Mel and Leslie
opened the Pasadena location that is the subject of this review. Shortly
thereafter, they followed in the award winning tradition of their father, being
voted Pasadena Weekly’s “2003 Best Southern Restaurant.”
Big Mama’s offers true southern
cooking, from Po Boy sandwiches and Hush Puppies, to Jambalaya and File’ Gumbo
to Ham Hocks, Pig’s Feet, Catfish and Collard Greens. But they are especially
well known for their barbecue. You can find their complete menu at
www.sangabrielvalleymenus.com/bigmamas, along with a link to their website,
where you can find out more about their history, or use their online form to
inquire about catering.
From satisfying buffets to tray passed hors d’oeuvres, they can
customize menus while working with varied budgets.
Big Mama’s has an
extensive catering menu and is happy to help you with everyday meetings and
presentations. For VIP events and larger parties, they can assist you with
on-site service, staff and rentals. The Pasadena facility is also available for
rent, please call for more information.
Wonderful menus with
tailored entrées are often created just for an event.
Katie, Keelan and I stopped by the night after
Christmas to try Big Mama’s for the first time. The restaurant is spacious and
open, with a comfortable feel. It was decorated for the holidays, though the
decorations were elegant and understated, in keeping with the décor of the
restaurant. While there is a dine-in only kid’s meal available for 12 and
under, we chose not to take advantage of it, as we were pretty sure that the
food Katie and I were ordering would be sufficient for all three of us. We made
the right choice, as the portions were all of good size, and we ended up taking
lots of delicious food home.
I ordered the BBQ
combo, - 2 pork spareribs, 2 pieces of BBQ chicken, a BBQ hot link, and two
pieces of sliced pork or beef (I got the pork). It comes with two sides; I
selected mashed potatoes & gravy and macaroni & cheese. Katie ordered the Cajun
Combo, consisting of Jambalaya (smoked sausage, ham, beef & shrimp mixed
with chopped fresh vegetables simmered with rice & Cajun spices),
Gumbo (shrimp, imitation crab, smoked sausage, chicken, ham and beef
simmered in a Cajun Creole roux with a mixture of Louisiana spices, served in a
bowl over rice), and Chicken & Shrimp Creole
(smoked diced chicken and shrimp simmered in Creole sauce and poured over
rice) served with hush puppies. For the side
order with the Cajun combo, we selected red beans and rice. We also ordered a
couple pieces of fried chicken, as our waitress, Dia (who gave us wonderful
service by the way) told us that it was really good, but said it took a little
longer as it is made to order. And we knew Big Mama is quoted on the menu and
on the website as saying “Honey, if the Colonel could have fried chicken like
Big Mama, he’d have been a general,” so we kind of felt like we needed to try it
with a hook like that.
Everything was
excellent, and I highly recommend Big Mama’s. The fried chicken was the best
I’ve had (maybe the Colonel would have been promoted), the ribs were
meaty and tender, the jambalaya, gumbo and shrimp and chicken Creole, spicy and
hot. Made my head sweat, and that’s what I look for in a spicy dish. Hush
puppies were good, as were the corn muffins that started our meal, served with
butter and honey. Mashed potatoes were fluffy. I truly enjoyed everything we
tried on the menu, and as you can see, we tried a lot of different items.
But save room for
dessert: the peach cobbler and the red velvet cake were delicious, (yes we tried
dessert, too) and you can choose from apple cobbler, bread pudding, or even
sweet potato pie, if the red velvet cake or peach cobbler don’t suit your
fancy. Cobblers can be ordered a la mode, if desired.
Stop by and see the
gang at Big Mama’s Rib Shack, and be sure and let them know you read about them
in Dot Com Dining.
Bill Coburn is owner of SanGabrielValleyMenus.com, a
restaurant website featuring dozens of restaurant’s menus, as well as
downloadable coupons. He has nearly 20 years experience in the restaurant
business, and has been eating for much longer than that. |
