TVCI BBQ Tour 2020
Food has always been one of our favorite things at Tim Valine Construction Inc. From family nights in the kitchen to cook-off contests in San Diego, we’ve come a long way, and now we share our joy of food with colleagues and friends.
Every year TVCI puts on a culinary excursion across San Diego. This year we decided to make barbecue our focus, following our infamous Taco Tour of 2019. Before the tour date, we scoured San Diego for the best barbecue and taste-tested what each establishment is most known for. Our stops included Grand Ole BBQ in Flinn Springs, Cali Comfort BBQ, Corbin’s Q, and Bowlegged BBQ.
Our day started at Longhorn Bar & Grill, and we boarded a large tour bus to take us to our first stop – Grand Ole BBQ in Flinn Springs. Our original plans included eating at the neighboring county park; however, we lucked out and snagged a spot on the patio and were able to enjoy live music with the delicious food. We ordered hot links, chili, and plenty of BBQ pork ribs. Everything was outstanding, and for some the chili with a kick, moved up to the top dish at Grand Ole. A majority of the group had not dined here before, so it was a pleasant first-time experience for the first-timers. This is definitely somewhere we will return with our family and friends to enjoy some live music and BBQ on a Sunday afternoon.
The next stop was Cali Comfort BBQ. This is a regular BBQ spot that we rotate here at TVCI. When we were able to include it on our tour, they were ecstatic. We filed one-by-one off the bus, grabbed a cocktail, and we’re ushered into a private room near the entrance where Steven Swiderski was set up for a demo. It added to the whole experience that he was prepping the ribs in front of us and teaching us about their style of cooking. Our order included pork ribs, beef tips, beans, and mac and cheese. Cali Comfort has two types of BBQ sauce, both equally tasty and can appeal to anyone’s taste buds. The sauce, the food – let’s just say there wasn’t too much to take home as leftovers when we were done eating. If you haven’t been here, we highly recommend it and also suggest the wings; they are as good as you will find in this town.
By this time, the group is getting full even though we’ve attempted to pace ourselves. We arrived at Corbin’s Q around 2 p.m. and had a private area on the patio. Now when we say these beef ribs were big, we mean it. It seemed like the beef ribs, tri-tip, and sweet potato tater tots were bottomless. The beef ribs were an excellent addition to our day because most of our stops included pork ribs. This tri-tip was also the lone ranger throughout the day and went home with a lot of people to make some delicious tri-tip sandwiches. If you’re in the college area and looking for some barbecue, this is your spot. Don’t skip out on experiencing one of their beefs. They have an exceedingly thoughtful craft beer selection.
Last but not least, and our favorite stop of the day was Bowlegged BBQ. This family-run restaurants went above and beyond to accommodate us and made us feel right at home. They were warm, friendly, and their food was sublime. We ordered pork ribs, beef tips, brisket, cornbread, dirty rice, and mac and cheese. However, we were lucky enough to also try their Black eyed beans, collard greens, and sweet potato pie. We felt like we were in a friend’s backyard having a barbecue, that is how hospitable they were at Bowlegged. We not only got to know the team working but also the other patrons who were there to celebrate a birthday, so we joined in on the fun. You can tell there is immense love put into this food and the venue. Wrapping up our tour at Bowlegged was the cherry on top to our day, and as everyone boarded the bus, they agreed that they can’t wait to return.
This year, we asked our tour guests to donate to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. this is something that we support every year at the San Diego Defense Lawyers golf tournament. In total, we raised $1,150 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
There is something about food that brings people together. In my life, I’ve learned to appreciate great food as well as how to make it. We look forward to our culinary experiences each year and hope that many of you can attend our next one.
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