Champs was packed when I ate there yesterday for lunch. From the amount of business they had, they must be a...

Champs was packed when I ate there yesterday for lunch. From the amount of business they had, they must be a big success! But, I don't understand why.

My litmus test for any BBQ joint is their pork ribs, and Champs left me wanting. I'm not saying their ribs are bad, they're just not great. My ribs were tough, even a little jerky-like and their sauce was, again, good but not great. But, because their pork ribs are better than average for Bakersfield, I gave them four stars, but this was only because the competition in Bakersfield is so weak.

Wanting to be fair, I sampled the sides that came with my friends plate (beans) and they were spicy and good, so there may be hope for Champs in other areas. I'll have to give them another try some day when I'm in the area, but I won't go out of my way to eat there based on this experience.

My recommendation if you're looking for great pork ribs is Famous Dave's. Sorry Champ.

 

Champs owners Tim and Carrie Champness started in the catering business and later opened the restaurant in conjunction with their thriving catering facility.The aroma of tasty barbecue gets your...

Champs owners Tim and Carrie Champness started in the catering business and later opened the restaurant in conjunction with their thriving catering facility.The aroma of tasty barbecue gets your attention immediately getting out of your car since their smoker is outside in the back.  I can’t imagine working in the area with all those aromas in the air; I would be hungry all the time. I had the Champs BBQ Salad with BBQ Chicken on top and served with chopped walnuts, crumbled blue cheese and a corn bread muffin.  This salad is just wonderful and different, healthy and tasty.

Champs BBQ is a gem in the Northwest. If you have not been out by Pegasus Drive or 7th Standard Road recently you are in for a surprise. Champs has been in the same relative location for the last...

Champs BBQ is a gem in the Northwest. If you have not been out by Pegasus Drive or 7th Standard Road recently you are in for a surprise. Champs has been in the same relative location for the last 10 years and has a strong following. The atmosphere is casual and decorated in a laid back Caribbean theme. The walls are painted with palm trees, sand and water. The place was empty when we arrived at 11:00 but every table was full and people were eating outside when we left at 12:30.



I ordered the Pit Beef sandwich with a side order of Macaroni and Cheese. The beef was tender and perfectly seasoned. The sandwich is huge. To really spice it up I added the BBQ sauce. The Mac and Cheese was perfect elbow macaroni swimming in cheese sauces. This is a great place to get your comfort food fix! Champs offers pinto beans, red beans & rice, mashed potatoes with gravy, smothered green beans, macaroni & cheese, French fries, potato salad, macaroni salad or coleslaw as sides.



Tim and Carrie Champness were very gracious hosts. Carrie brought us three different kinds of desserts to try; chocolate cake, lemon cake and peanut butter pie. These are family recipes and truly worth saving room for. My favorite was the lemon cake; the frosting was sour cream and cream cheese! Of course there were leftovers and Katie took them home too!

I don’t usually eat a lot of barbecue. That’s always been my husband’s thing. Nothing makes him happier than a big ol’ plate of roasted meat dripping in sauce. I just...

I don’t usually eat a lot of barbecue. That’s always been my husband’s thing. Nothing makes him happier than a big ol’ plate of roasted meat dripping in sauce. I just figured barbecue was a guy thing, right? Apparently, not so much. By the end of my visit I had a very happy belly and a new appreciation for the good things that can happen when smoke meets meat.



At Champs you order at the counter and seat yourself. The dining room is clean and open with polished concrete floors. Seating is a mix of high-top and regular tables with a few picnic style tables outside. The Champs menu is pretty much what you’d expect from a barbecue place –meat, meat and more meat. There’s barbecued tri-tip, pit beef, pulled pork, turkey, chicken, hot links and of course ribs. In addition, their grill menu includes fish, lamb and flat iron steak.



My diva friends wasted no time staking claim to the menu item of their choice. Tracy went so far as to call dibs on the barbecued chicken salad days before our lunch. That left Katie and Penny sparring over who got to order the pulled pork sandwich. In a brilliant maneuver, Katie played the pregnancy card and won the battle. Penny relented and went with the pit beef sandwich. Part of me really wanted to try the pork ribs. But seriously, chowing down on a pile of ribs with a photographer poised to document every smear of sauce and chunk of gristle in my teeth… I think not. I went the daintier route and ordered the barbecued chicken plate.

   My plate was piled high with chunks of chopped chicken breast. This was a seriously huge portion of meat. Biting into a piece of the chicken, the flavor echoed the wonderful smell that had greeted me outside. The smokiness was pleasant and fresh tasting but not overpowering. Penny pointed out that I should try the chicken with Champs barbecue sauce. The sauce was not at all what I was expecting. This was a thinner reddish-brown mixture that was obviously homemade. It was surprisingly sweet. The sweet clean taste of the barbecue sauce perfectly balanced the smokiness of the meat. I declared it, “genius.”



While the meat at Champs is certainly the star of the show, I cannot pass up the opportunity to rave about the sides. At Champs the sides totally rock. Friends had told me about the wonders of the mashed potatoes and they were not kidding. A creamy pile of potatoes with bits of skin mixed in with a delicious brown gravy. Ask Katie, she tasted them and unapologetically declared, “These are mine now.”



I have to admit, as much as I was impressed with their barbecued meats, it was the quality of the side dishes and the desserts that really wowed me. At Champs they don’t overlook a thing. The food is full of flavor from start to finish.