menuplease

The first time Femme de Joie dined at Brick's, back when it was on Placer Street (in the tiny building now occupied by the wildly popular Wilda's), she was underwhelmed. She and Amico del Signore ordered sandwiches (the exact contents now forgotten) which arrived slathered in a sweet red barbecue sauce that completely obliterated any smoke or grill taste. It could have been terry-cloth in those rolls; we wouldn't have been able to tell. Privately we vowed to never return.

But years went by. Brick's prospered and moved to a bigger location. The disappointing pain of those first sauce sandwiches eased. And eventually Brick's was given a second chance to redeem themselves. Breakfast seemed like a good place to start, so one Saturday morning we hied ourselves to Eureka Way to try it out.

If there is a Redding restaurant with a more poorly designed parking lot than Brick's, M. de Joie would be afraid to attempt parking in there. It isn't Brick's fault;' this lot has been like this for a number of years. It's as though the inventor of the Tilt-a-Whirl decided to transfer the concept of an amusement park ride to paving.

There have been several restaurants in this spot. If memory serves, there was the Donut Wheel, the ill-fated Avocado's, La Gondola (sorely missed), and possibly a couple of others. The current interior arrangement isn't fancy - wooden tables and chairs, a small beer bar in the back, a salad bar.

Tri-tip and eggs, $9.89.

Tri-tip is one of those cuts of meat that everyone professes to love, but is nearly always dessicated and rendered flavorless by well-meaning cooks. This, however, was luscious and tender, with smoke rings around the edges. House-made hash browns were similarly well-executed - crunchy exterior and creamy interior.

Chicken-fried steak and eggs, $10.89

We debated whether this chicken-fried steak was better than the one served at Dry Creek Station. While we didn't come to a definitive conclusion, we agreed it was equal. The steak still had some pinkness in the center and was quite juicy - a rarity for CFS. M. de Joie has never cared much for country potatoes/home fries in restaurants because they always seem to have an off taste, but these were delicious, crisp without being burned, and without that old-oil taste.

Grits, $2.89

Is there another place in Shasta County serving grits? They aren't everyone's cup of tea, but it's worth ordering a small cupful and trying them with butter, a squeeze of honey, or using them to mop up egg yolk. These were al dente, as Joe Pesci prefers.

Southwest chicken Reuben, $7.99

Brick's serves an interesting variation on the standard Reuben, substituting smoked shredded chicken for corned beef. It made for a messy, drippy, and delectable sandwich, the smoky chicken holding its own with the other ingredients. The swirled rye bread didn't hold up so well and finally collapsed.

Hot link sandwich, $7.99

Femme de Joie does enjoy food that's fiery enough to make her reach for the Tums. The hot link sandwich at Brick's did just that, but it was worth it. A combination of sliced Andouille and Louisiana hot links, this might be a bit too spicy for some people. It is hot, as the name implies, and a bit on the greasy side, but the piquant seasonings make this more than just one-note hot.

Both sandwiches came with waffle-cut fries, which added support to M. de Joie's theory that any French fried potatoes which are sliced in fancy shapes will always be inferior to fries sliced in the usual wedges or finger strips.

Spicy mac and cheese, $2.99

We both liked the creamy shell mac and cheese - not overcooked or dry, it did have a little heat but wasn't so hot that the kids would reject it out of hand.

Coleslaw, $1.59

One the other hand, M. de Joie wasn't crazy about the coleslaw, which was less than crunchy. With a non-sweet mustardy dressing, it would have been better served on a sandwich as a relish rather than as a side dish.

Overall, Femme de Joie likes Brick's and is glad she gave them a second and third chance. The atmosphere is casual and service is friendly, if a little on the slow side at times. And they get huge Brownie points for serving Guinness and Newcastle Brown Ale on tap. It's a good locally owned and operated place on Redding's West Side, an area that could use some more decent restaurants. Rather than stop at that chain burger hatchery across the street, give Brick's a try (they serve burgers too).

Brick's Smokehouse BBQ & Grill, 1970 Eureka Way, Redding, CA 96001. 530-245-9158. Fax 530-245-9163. Open Monday-Friday, 10 AM - 11 PM; Saturday & Sunday open 6 AM for breakfast. Beer and wine. Vegetarian options. Cash, cards; no checks. On-site parking lot from hell or park on the street. Website at http://bricksbbq.com/index.php/home

On a hot July day Femme de Joie and Amice del Signore took Highway 99 toward Chico, blithely ignoring the "expect 20 minute delays" signs. After what seemed like two weeks in a hot oven, they popped up in Los Molinos - irritable, sweaty, and hungry. It was 1:00 pm and Chico was still at least an hour away; realizing that Celestino's Pizza for lunch wasn't an option anytime soon, they decided to take a chance on the offerings available.

Los Molinos has never been known for being a hotbed of nouvelle cuisine, or any kind of cuisine for that matter, but they were willing to down a gut bomb to fuel the rest of the trip. A bright red building with a sign out front advertising barbecue seemed the most likely prospect, and indeed the smell of wood smoked beef drew them into Roxie's Deli & BBQ. There were the usual deli sandwiches offered, but the counterman recommended the special tri-tip sandwich. He knew what he was talking about.

Roxie's Tri Tip Sandwich ($6.99)

Roxie's owner made our sandwiches – loads of smoked thin-sliced tri-tip on large Dutch crunch rolls, piled with our choice of condiments - $6.99 for a sandwich made in heaven. The outer edges of the beef were crisp, near-burnt lacy shards of barbecue goodness, smoke flavor permeating the entire piece of beef. True barbecue taste shone through the sauce and condiments. Good God, how fine those sandwiches were. We still dream about them.

We spoke with the owner a bit. His ambition is to open a 50-seat restaurant in Redding. We assured him with this kind of food, he'd have no problem packing in the customers.

On the return to Redding, Femme de Joie still hungered for barbecue, so she gave Fatboy's a try, first checking out the location next to Need to Speed. It's an industrial interior with red walls, a black-and-white checked floor, and the door open to the racetrack. On a weekday at noon, Femme de Joie pretty much had the place all to herself, which was a distressing sign. She ordered pulled pork – a Fatboy bun, served on a Kaiser roll, $6.49, as well as a trip through the salad bar ($2.00).

Fatboy's Salad Bar ($2.00)

The salad bar was bagged spring mix that wasn't quite fresh. Most of the toppings -beets, carrots, beans - were from water-pack cans or pre-shredded. Dressings were industrially-produced including a viscous glue-thick honey-raspberry. The Italian dressing was the least scary; it was watery and flavorless.

Fatboy's Pulled Pork ($6.49)

Unfortunately, the salad bar was not the low point. The pulled pork had been pot-roasted with no seasoning or flavoring except perhaps a minute pinch of salt. It simply had no taste at all and was on the dry side. It was like eating damp drywall on a Kaiser roll. Barbecue sauce was brought to the table in a squeeze bottle, but it only gave the drywall a sweet fake-hickory taste. After eating half the sandwich, M. de Joie had to make a decision. She surely did not want to eat any more and she knew Amico del Signore wasn't going to like that sandwich any more than she did. Neither of them has a dog that would be happy to eat it. The other half of the sandwich went in the trash.

But how could this be? The location on Twin View was successful enough to open this satellite shop. Maybe, she thought, the tri-tip will be better.

Fatboy's Tri Tip Sandwich (Market Street)

So on her next visit, Femme de Joie ordered the tri-tip bun. She was offered choice of toppings - lettuce tomato, pickles, onions, cheese (80 cents)- why was this option not offered for the pulled pork? The tri-tip was cooked medium by some method - steaming, perhaps? - that added no taste. Sliced very thinly, there was about 2 or 3 ounces on the bun plus toppings. It was better than the pork but not any better than a deli roast beef sandwich. A side of potato salad, made with red-skinned new potatoes, was house-made and adequate but nothing really stood out about it.

Well, M. de Joie thought, maybe it's the location. She made a trek up to the Fatboy's on Twin View Boulevard, the old Midway Inn. Walk in, order at the counter, they give you a number; take a seat and they'll bring out your food. There is a salad bar but also an extensive condiments bar with all kinds of spreads and garnishes.

Fatboy's Tri-Tip Sandwich (Twin View)

Once more she gave the tri-tip bun a try to see if it was any better - asking first if it was barbecued there and receiving an affirmative answer. It was modestly more smoky, but the medium-rareness indicated it was not barbecued for very long. Topped off with sauces and condiments it was tasty but not really outstanding and not worthy of the name barbecue. Crunchy coleslaw with tart vinegary dressing, however, was really quite good.

Fatboy's Chicken Pesto Sandwich

On her final visit to the Twin View Fatboy's, Femme de Joie ordered the chicken pesto sandwich with a side of house-made baked beans. A Dutch crunch roll was filled with sliced grilled chicken breast, then slathered with pesto. To be fair, Femme de Joie finds chicken breasts to be the least tasty part of the bird: bland, dry, usually overcooked. In fuller fairness, though, this chicken was dry, bland, and overcooked. Adding some sauce and condiments helped, but not a lot.The second half of this sandwich was discarded like the pulled pork. A brown-sugary sauce made the baked beans stand out.

Apparently Fatboy's fans see something in the food that Femme de Joie does not. You do get an appropriate amount of food for the money, service is friendly and fast, and the restaurants are clean. But the next time you get a craving for barbecue, head down Highway 99 to Los Molinos for Roxie's special of the day.

NOTE: Since this was published in A News Cafe, the downtown location of Fatboy's has closed.

Roxie's Deli & BBQ, 7810 Highway 99, Los Molinos, CA 96055. 530-384-1455. Open every day. Cards, no checks. Limited parking in front or around on the side.

Fatboy's Rotisserie and Sandwiches, 829 Twin View Boulevard, Redding, CA 530-244-7754, also 1501 Market Street (in the Promenade), 530-247-1676. Twin View open daily for lunch and dinner; Market Street open for lunch. Cards, no checks. Twin View location has a parking lot; Market location has Mall parking. www.fatboysredding.com

Long ago, when Femme de Joie was a young and innocent child at Shasta College, an older-but-wiser man said to her, “Man, the burgers at Damburger are just like the burgers they had back in the ’30s. They’re salty and greasy and crispy.” There was a certain lascivious tone to his words salty and greasy and crispy.. He paused for reflection, then continued sadly, “But then just when you’re about to bite into one, some old fart at the end of the counter lights up a cigarette and blows smoke in your face.” It took Femme de Joie a few years to realize the older-but-wiser man was born in 1945, so how would he know what burgers were like in the ’30s? He did have a point about the smoke, though; that stuck with M. de Joie for years and kept her out of Damburger until she realized no one was likely to light up in there any more.

If you never get into downtown Redding except for the rodeo parade or to pay a traffic fine at the courthouse, you might not even know about the existence of Damburger in its modest little spot on Placer Street. The bright blue awning might be your only clue that this humble little cinder-block building really is a living, breathing relic from Redding’s past.
.

.
There are a few tables with umbrellas outside on the patio; inside are tables as well as counter seating. Sit down anywhere, inside or out, and someone will come take your order, or order at the takeout window. The menu is modest; it won’t take you long to decide. This place hasn’t diversified with French dips and fishwiches and taco salads: it’s burgers, dogs, chips, and fries.
.

.
Double Dam cheeseburger, $5.65, small fries, $2, with fry sauce, .25 (Damburger is one of the only places M. de Joie has come across that charges extra for fry sauce). What’s different about a Damburger is that the burger is cooked until it’s actually crisp and crunchy on the exterior and thoroughly well-done throughout. This can’t be done with frozen patties: too much moisture will keep the meat from browning properly. These fries were perfect: golden, crisp, cooked all the way through.

On Femme de Joie’s next visit, she went inside to order and got to watch the line cooks at work. One cook mans the grill, cooking thin patties and pressing them down to extract all moisture - a practice that makes M. de Joie cringe a little. Burgers are passed off to another employee who preps each bun individually, checking the order tag for no onions or extra ketchup. Finally, a third person bags the burgers, adds fries or chips and a drink, and brings it to the customer. There was no frenetic hurry and no buzzers going off to tell when things were ready, unlike in chain fast-food restaurants. It takes practice to do this right.

The Helen Burger is a thicker patty (1/3 pound) and it’s cooked less well-done than the standard Damburger. That means it doesn’t get the crunchy exterior; without that, it’s perfectly tasty but there’s nothing much to distinguish the Helen from a decent burger at any other independently-owned drive-in.
.

.
Double Dam Dog, $3.75. It’s two hot dogs split in half, grilled, and slapped on a hamburger bun with cheese and trimmings, like if your dad was grilling hot dogs and ran out of hot dog buns. It wasn’t bad, but there was nothing really special about it that would entice M. de Joie to have another one. Like Gertrude Stein said about Oakland, there’s no there, there.

Interestingly, vegetarians and even vegans are served at Damburger: you can get a Garden Burger (vegetarian) or a Boca or chipotle-black-bean vegan burger. However, since they’d be cooked on the same grill with the beef burgers, individuals will have to decide for themselves if that cancels out the vegetarian aspect.

About that institution stuff. It’s one of M. de Joie’s many pet peeves to hear the phrase “a Redding institution since 19–” thrown around loosely, usually on radio commercials. Merriam-Webster defines institution as … “a significant practice, relationship, or organization in a society or culture … something or someone firmly associated with a place or thing …. an established organization or corporation…” Saying Barney’s Drive-Thru Coffee, Duck Calls & Glass Packs, a Redding institution since 2003 doesn’t make it so. Damburger is doing something right: they’ve been around since 1938 (to the best of Femme de Joie’s knowledge, only Lim’s Café outdates it for being the longest running area restaurant). Give this institution a try.

Damburger, 1320 Placer Street (between Market and Pine), Redding, 530-241-0136. Open Monday-Friday, 9 AM - 5 PM, Saturday 10 AM - 3 PM, Sunday 11 AM - 3 PM. Street parking only. Cash, cards. No alcohol. Vegetarian and vegan options.

Amico del Signore recently went to Safeway (the one at Pine and Cypress) looking for T-bone steaks to grill. The young man behind the counter apologized but they'd had a run on them - folks stocking up for Labor Day - and they were fresh out. He recommended 7-bone roast as a substitute. A. del Signore was skeptical.

"But isn't that what you use for pot roast? Will it be tender?"

"Trust me," said the butcher, "you barbecue that and see if it isn't tender." He did. It was.

The how-tos:
Sprinkle 7-bone roast on one side with Montreal Seasoning (McCormick makes this, or better yet, buy it in bulk from Winco) and plop it on a medium-hot grill. 7-bone roast is heavily marbled with fat so it will flare up like crazy; have a squirt bottle at hand. Do not close the lid.

Keep an eye on it, putting out flames as necessary. Maybe add a few ears of corn in the husk to the grill, or some planks of zucchini. After about ten minutes, flip the roast. Spread with about three tablespoons of Trader Joe's Kansas City Barbecue Sauce. Keep the squirt bottle handy.

Either use an instant-read thermometer to see when it's done to your liking, or use the touch test: squeeze the thin pad of flesh between your thumb and index finger. That is how meat will feel when it's rare - soft and springy. Now press your thumb and middle finger together. Press on the fleshy part below your thumb - there's some give and it's slightly springy. This is the same feel as a medium steak. Femme de Joie regards people who want meat cremated as philistines.

Move the 7-bone roast to a platter and cover tightly with foil (shiny side down to keep heat in) and let sit ten minutes or so, then slice and serve. Cooked with care on a grill, 7-bone roast is very tender, extremely flavorful, and bargain priced: at $2.99/pound it cost just over $9.00. (Watch the ads - it can often be had for less.) Two people sat down to two dinners and one breakfast out of that one cut.

Try it. Impress your friends with your grilling technique without having to take out a loan.

- Femme de Joie

Profile

menuplease

April 2017

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30

Syndicate

Page Summary

Brick’s Brings Barbecue to Redding
A Tale of 2 BBQs
DAMBURGER REALLY IS A REDDING INSTITUTION
BARBECUING ON A BUDGET

Style Credit

Style: Neutral Good for Practicality by timeasmymeasure

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page generated Jun. 5th, 2026 11:24 pm

Where to Eat in Redding and Shasta County, California

Entries tagged with grilling

Brick’s Brings Barbecue to Redding

A Tale of 2 BBQs

DAMBURGER REALLY IS A REDDING INSTITUTION

BARBECUING ON A BUDGET