2/1/2007 - Best New Restaurants By Kira O'Donnell with the Sacramento Magazine
Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que
Blue Oaks Town Center, 6628 Rocklin Blvd., Rocklin; (916) 780-7427
lucillesbbq.com
I had to giggle when I spied Lucille's from Lonetree Boulevard in Rocklin. Situated in front of a shopping center designed with the muted earth-toned Southwestern architecture seen all around the region, Lucille's springs impudently out of the ground like the irreverent faux roadhouse that it is, its multilevel, shiny aluminum roof winking mischievously at its staid neighbors.
If you're into barbecue, Lucille's may well be your nirvana. They're not fooling around when it comes to meat --you can choose from three styles of barbecued ribs (pork baby back, St. Louis pork spareribs and barbecued beef ribs), as well as smoked barbecued half chickens, beef brisket with a savory mop sauce and smoked Angus tri-tip.
All barbecue dishes come with poofy housemade biscuits and a choice of two sides, (There are 12 to choose from, including Southern sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, shoestring fries and roasted sweet corn.) Don't miss the dense, addictive garlic mashed potatoes or the mildly sweet barbecue beans--a perfect dip for the biscuits. The cheese grits, bumpy and creamy, were surprisingly assertive, punctuated with bits of red bell pepper and green onion. The ribs glistened a deep mahogany and were so suffused with sauce that they had an almost candied character. Tender yet chewy, they were a messy and sumptuous indulgence.
The jambalaya was packed with hunks of smoked chicken, hot link sausage and black tiger shrimp. Spicy, complex and deeply satisfying, this is an excellent and hearty dish for a chilly winter day. Other house specialties include pan-blackened catfish, Southern fried chicken and New Orleans gumbo. There's also an attractive and interesting list of salads (including South of Texas pork salad) and some fun-sounding appetizers, such as fried green tomatoes with roasted red pepper cream and buttermilk-battered onion straws.