Chef Edwards Bar-B-Que

Chef Edward was very polite and patient when he recommended what to eat. At the end, I ordered the 4 way combo. The sauce was delicious. The beef brisket was awesome. The coleslaw was a bit different. Although he warned me, I just had to try it. My overall experience was super great. If you get a chance to meet the chef himself, he will not forget your name by the time you leave.

Just found out last week he moved to Rio Vista in 2012! It seems like he’s doing better there… I’ll b there to visit even though that’s a looong drive.

I had the best sandwich at Chef Edward’s. I had the Crispy Chicken sandwich with the green sauce, fries and asparagus. I’m going to try the Shrimp Pasta next. Thanks Chef Smelly for always supplying the good food that’s hot and fast when I’m hungry and on the go.

This is a nice clean small restaurant located in the Uptown section of Oakland. It is always empty well maybe (1) customer seated at the counter.
It has a nice selection of food choices and desserts, however this is where the good revies ends!
This restaurant is EXTREMELY overpriced especially compared to the portion of servings they give.
I have frequented this establishment (4) times last year spending an average of $ 25 per visit (quite much for lunch).
However, my last visit, took the cake. The owner «Chef D» became somewhat aggressive when i asked the simple question «why doe’s it cost $ 2.50 to substitue a side from his pre designed 1970’s menu choice, he always includes his famous «beans» with any BBQ order… truth be told not everyone wants Van Kamps… err i mean his famous beans, that would mean my total would then come to $ 30.
So after making a comment to his «worker» that he told me has been with him for 15 years, that the menu was overpriced, this worker took his hand and shew my away like i was some fly and walked into the kitchen, needless to say i was appauled.
I then had to verbally spar with both the owner and the worker, so the owner prepared my order, i paid, and NEVER BEEN BACK SINCE!
He is the classic business owner from back in the day who doe’s not know how to run a business in the 21^st century just using their name and time in the profession as their tools to sustain business, however when you have more people in the ktichen and behind the counter than customers… that should be your first clue.
The food is good… but be prepared to take out a second mortage or cash in one of your savings bonds before going.

Chef Edward is so warm and friendly when you go inside, it would be worth going even if the food wasn’t good… Luckily the food is pretty damn good… it was one of the few times i’ve gone out where i was actually full when i finished. I still could have eaten more…
The only problem I have is that it’s 7 blocks away and I am tempted to go in and eat every day… but life could be worse i guess

First, the people here are really nice. I’m a sucker for friendly service so it pains me to just give this place 3-​stars, but the food was just ok. The main issue is that none of the meats had a discernible smokiness.
— The beef brisket had a fine texture, but no real smoke ring.
— The ribs had a sort of sweet, almost asian-​inpsired rub. This was a nice, unique flavor but again, no smokiness. It was almost as if these were not smoked, but rather baked
— The slice pork roast was my favorite meat, although it too was not smokey. There are places in the area that do pulled pork, but sometimes I want a coarser cut. I’d have to say that (don’t scoff) Tomm’s pork (
) is the best in Oakland.
— The hot links were fine, although I’m not sure that they actually made those there. The links had a nice, tightly packed texture that seemed like the handy work of a machine.
— The mac and cheese was kind of bland, although to it’s credit, it’s real cheese. I guess that from visiting so many southern BBQ places, I actually sort of look forward to velveeta in my mac and chese
— The spaghetti was ok. Chunks of ground beef and a bland sauce that seemed more meat-​grease based than tomato based.
I also had a slice of coconut cream pie, which was probably the low-​light of the meal. The original request was banana pudding, but they were out so I opted for a lemon meringue slice. Much to my chagrin, it ended up being coconut cream.
The workers are good guys and they handled a particularly whiny patron very well. I just wish I liked the food more…

3.5 stars
Piggly Wiggly was good, but the bread got really soggy really fast. I ended up dropping the whole thing on a plate and eating it with a fork/​knife. Ordered the pork ribs to go for my bf. He loved it.

Good spot to go for lunch in the Downtown Oakland area. It’s not too crowded, so finding a seat and getting your food quickly isn’t an issue. I tried it for the first time today and had the pork on a bun (aka piggly wiggly) sandwich with mild sauce and it was delicious! I loved stumbling onto a charred crispy piece, but it all really tender and yummy. The sauce, which is admittedly pretty mild, had a nice amount of sweetness to it. As usual with bbq sandwiches, the bread wasn’t able to hold the weight of the meat and sauce. Still, the buttered and grilled bread went great with the meat.
The sides were more disappointing. You can get a basic side (coleslaw, potato salad, and baked beans) with a combo or add $ 1.50 for a fancier side. My group shared the potato salad (pretty standard, I liked it); the candied yams (holy sugar); mac n cheese (bland!!); and baked beans (unmemorable). Next time I would probably just get the potato salad as part of my meal.

Gee… I wish I could rave about the food at this cute little BBQ joint, but I honestly can’t. I am from the South and LOVE, LOVE BBQ! but I have been hard-​pressed to find the same kind of BBQ out west as I hoped I’d find. No offense friends! really!
The chef, Chef Edwards was a really nice man and I was really patient, waiting at the counter to place a «to-​go» order. He was doing a good job of waiting on people in the order they came in (it was dinner time 6 p.m.) but I wished he’d offered me a glass of water while I waited, really, about 10 to 15 min. till he got caught up to get my order. Having been a waitress I know you gotta make sure people have at least a drink until you can get their order. He didn’t even know I was ordering a take-​out until he took my order.
I got the order home… the Piggly Wiggly Special and a beef rib dinner. I was so looking forward to digging into the ribs! I opened the box and there were 3 MASSIVE sized pieces of rib. The ribs were spicy without the sauce on it (I ordered mild… and it had a kick to it… good). I was having a hard time gnawing the meat off the bone… that was most disappointing and there wasn’t much meat on the bone to begin with. I now know why baby-​back ribs are so much better.
The Piggly Wiggly sandwich was pretty tasty. I would order that again. The side dish of the cole slaw was most unusual. I love cole slaw very much and my grandmother used to make the sauce from scratch w/​just basic ingredients… milk, mayonaise, apple cider vinegar, sugar and salt. I was impressed that Chef Edward’s makes their own so I was excited to try it. It was very different… not bad, but curry and spicy style… not southern style. I am sensitive to spicy foods so I let my partner have my slaw. He really liked it. Just different strokes for different folks :)
I am not a big fan of getting plain old commercial sliced bread in a bag. It just seems to say to me…“I can’t be bothered with this part of the dinner… so here’s a slice of Wonder bread for ya.” Cornbread or homemade biscuit would be idea for this place… certainly for the fried fish it would go very well with that. I had a side of french fries and they were good… shoestring fries.
I noticed a lot of people were drinking the lemonade. I wasn’t asked if I wanted a drink and was tempted to ask for a glass of lemonade, but just didn’t speak up in time and certainly didn’t want to take it w/​me since I was on my bicycle. Maybe another time.
I will go back and try some other items, like I said I liked the pulled pork sandwich and it looked like the potato salad was homemade.
THIS PLACE CLOSED IN 2011.

A-​ok

Great BBQ, sweet owners & right across the street from my apartment. Chef Edwards nails it & the service always makes me smile. The Piggly-​Wiggly is a great sandwich & the brisket is one of the best in town.
A must try for a BBQ lover!

Walked in for lunch with a friend of mine around 1pm. I should have known better to eat there when the place did not smell like bbq nor was it smokey in there. Which now that I think about it I know for a fact my food was microwaved because I only had to wait a few minutes for my food.
When my food was ready, the waitress came out with a plate of 4 small dry ribs and a cup of beans. Ummm wheres the sandwich? She comes back within minutes with a BAG of cheap wheat bread and gives me the last two slices in the bag and says «enjoy». I could not believe I just paid $ 12.00 for a sandwich (if you could even call it a sandwich, which I had to fix myself) a cup of beans and a pepsi. At least it didnt taste bad as it smelled.
This place was the worst BBQ I’ve ever had!

It’s a different kind of ‘cue, and a good difference.
We wandered in on a cold and windy day, looking for protein and sustenance. The place was warm, inviting, friendly, and the service was fanstastic.
And the meat was solid.
The Pork On The Bun was pretty damn good. It was an interesting hybrid, reminding me a lot of the far-​western NC ‘cue (Appalachian style) that’s smothered in tomato sauce and served over a corn cake. But this stuff backed off on the cheese, went with a spicier sauce, and was served open-​face on a roll. The cubes of meat were tender and tasty, and a little Louisiana Hot Sauce brought everything up to speed. The side order of beans was just great, loaded with pork bits and chilis. All of this was served with a smile at a nice 50’s-style diner counter.
It’s different than Phat Matt’s pulled pork or Everett & Jones sweet sliced meats. I want to come back for brunch.

My wife and I were really looking for a good local BBQ option. We were psyched up about this place and were quickly disappointed.
First we’re not sure the food is actually cooked there.
We were one of three people in the place and it took them 20 minutes to carve an order of beef brisket and give us 3 beef ribs. It looked like they took food out of a freezer then heated up the order which would explain the delay.
That wouldn’t be bad if the food was actually cooked well. Instead both the brisket and the ribs were very tough. The brisket had nearly no flavor. and was very fatty. Iit seemed to my wife an I to be low quality beef… tough and grisly.
The beef ribs were 85% bone, 10% fat and gristle and 5% tough grade B meat. I tried 2 of the 3 ribs and threw the 3^rd one out.
The coleslaw was some sort of weird recipe for yellow shredded cabbage slaw with too much vinegar. They should describe it more as a sauerkraut that a slaw. We threw nearly all of it out it was so inedible.
The black-​eyed peas had no flavor. My wife threw it out.
The barbecue sauce plentiful nevertheless we prefer bottled sauce to what they call BBQ sauce.
We’ll never go back.

I was in the area and passed up two Vietnamese restaurants that intrigued me to try this bbq. I went here around 3 pm so there wasn’t much of a crowd. I was greeted by a nice lady. I asked her what she would recommend. She told me everything is good. I tried the baby back ribs with potato salad and coleslaw as sides.
Ribs: dry and covered with sauce. I wasn’t impressed.
Potato salad: tastes like potato salad.
Coleslaw: this was a kind of coleslaw I’ve never had before. It was the color of curry, looked like pickles you get at a Japanese restaurant, and tasted like a pickled cabbage. I ate it all. It was interesting. Can’t say I’m a fan of it but definitely points for a different coleslaw.

A solid four stars to Chef Earl Edwards and his BBQ’n staff.
If you like fall off the bone meat, covered in a tangy hot or mild saucy served with a side of wheat bread and a choice of slaw or potato salad, this is the place for you.
Pull up a seat at the counter, watch CNN on full blast from the TV in the corner and wipe the sides of your mouth as the BBQ sauce drips out and almost lands on your new shirt. Damn good!
Bonus star for the super friendly service. Enjoy!

I’ve been watching too much Food Network for the last couple of weeks and it got me to crave BBQ. Finally last Friday, I drove by the place to get a take-​out dinner for me and hubby. Having been here last year for my birthday, I know the food is not going to disappoint my craving.
One guy was waiting for his take out at the counter when I came in. The lady was really nice to take my order. I ordered an order of brisket dinner with potato salad and corn and pork ribs dinner with coleslaw and beans. It may have something to do with the fact that the place was empty, but it took a while for me to get my food. The lady was really nice and apologized for the delay.
The BBQ was good… it really satisfied my craving. I’m not a fan of potato salad and beans but I ate some of the potato and was okay with it. My hubby and I didn’t like the coleslaw since it’s the red vinegar kind not the traditional mayo. Of course, you can’t miss the wonder bread that always come with your order.

Chef Edward’s BBQ is a nice little nugget in Uptown Oakland. Hours are 7am to 10pm and they offer traditional breakfast, great lunch items, or excellent BBQ chicken, sausages, pork, ribs, etc.
I prefer Kansas City style BBQ and thought the quality here was decent. The sauce seems too sweet to me. I don’t like overly sweet BBQ. I prefer more hickory/​metallic/​wood smoked flavor.
Still, the interior is comfortable and Chef Gregory himself seems like a nice man who will give you your money’s worth.
Will probably try this regularly now that I’ve discovered it.

Excellent barbecue, and extremely accessible from Paramount theater or 19^th st BART station — and actually open in the evenings, which a lot of places in the area don’t seem to be.
Everyone was super-​friendly and our waitress checked on us frequently. We tried a lot of items, and there’s plenty more on the menu. Top recommendations go to the baby back ribs, which were incredibly meaty and tender. The brisket was quite good as well, although there were some fatty areas that had to be avoided. I’d skip the chicken next time — not bad, but really nothing special. The beans were outstanding and had much more depth and flavor than I expect from barbecue places, where they often seem to be an afterthought. The french fries were some of my favorite type — crinkly and well fried to create a pleasant exterior. Overall the barbecue style was less smokey and more sauce based, which some may not like as much — but it was tasty.

First of all the servers were excellent, they did a great job at everything and I was more than pleased.
This was my first time at Chef Edwards and we went with a
certificate. We got tons of food which was all very tasty. I like the ribs the most. The brisket and chicken were also good.
One thing to note that I didn’t notice until afterwards is that there is a $ 1.50 up charge for any of the sides that are not the normal sides. This boosted the bill a bit, but they were all tasty anyway and now I know for next time.
The place is not fancy inside, but there was a TV which has sports on it, which may be nice if there is a game on.
I’ve seen some people complain about the hot sauce, but I thought it was good. It is not fire sauce, but it has a little heat, which is just fine with me.
I will be going again sometime soon.