Old South Bar-B-Que & Desserts

Finally a B-​B-​Q joint worth trekking across town for. John R’s review of the day had me thinking all day about BBQ tonight for dinner.
I talked a friend from the south Bay into visiting promising him real southern BBQ. We arrived a little after 8pm, the band was getting ready to play a set of beautiful jazz. We ordered a little bit of everything, BBQ brisket, ribs, boneless rib tips, BBQ chicken, and the best fired catfish with a corn meal crust crispy fried with the fish being moist, flake, and tender. The meat was piled high on our plates everything drowning in Delicious mild BBQ sauce. We had Mac-​n-​cheese, greens, and baked beans for the sides, all three YUM! the corn bread muffins we good as well. And since desserts is part of the place we had incedible banana pudding and 50 cent cupcakes. Marjory, the owner’s wife, greeted us at the door & was welcoming, when I saw the band set up I asked if it was appropriate for the toddler, and she gave me a comforting why wouldn’t it be ok… and the service was exceptional, the busboys were attentive too. I told Marjory every thing was great except for the sysco packets of tarter sauce, I told her I could envision them making great homemade tarter sauce, she informed me the real southerns use Ketchup and hot sauce on their fried catfish.

Well I declare ya’ll, just like John r, my grandmother was also from the south. So was/​is every other member of my family. Even though I am the «born and raised in California» black sheep in my family, I still love me some southern food. Love.
When Rachel H suggested that we meet here for dinner, I jumped at the chance to feed my southern tooth. (Like a sweet tooth but the cravings are for slow cooked meats, fried okra, cornbread, etc.)
I opted for a plate of sides and got the collard greens and mac and cheese with cornbread. I was pleased that John r was indeed correct about their cornbread. Old South makes their cornbread the right way — not a corn kernel in sight!
If I were just rating my meal, I would probably go with three stars. The collard greens were wonderful but I would skip the mac and cheese next time because it was a bit dry. However, the melt-​in-​my-​mouth bites of meat that I stole of my honey’s plate and the delightful staff and impeccable service lock them in at four stars.
We were plotting our return before we even finished our meal.

The best thing about this place was the lady working there. She was just so sweet. I loved her.
Husband H. and I shared a combination plate. We picked three meats and two sides: Links, ribs, brisket, macaroni and cheese, and cole slaw. The plate comes with a choice of corn bread or wheat bread. Ummm, that’s not a choice. CORNBREAD! The sweet lady who I loved gave us two cornbreads. How sweet is that? Love her. The links were great, the brisket was good, the ribs were not so good. They were chewy. They weren;t horrible, but I’d skip them next time. The cole slaw was very refreshing, without too much mayo. The macaroni and cheese was dry and disappointing, with a strange sweet flavor.
We were accompanied by Emily J. and Jac C., who enjoyed their food, although Emily agreed with me about the mac n cheese being not all that. Jac C. was plotting his return, including his route from work to Old South to pick up take out.
I would definitely come back here to try the other meats, sides, and sandwiches, and to sample all the tasty looking desserts they had displayed at the counter. That red velvet cake is calling to me now…

My granny was from the south, and she taught me some valuable things about life, food and art. One: getting blue from time to time is a natural fact. When you’re feeling down, sing it out. Two: Whenever you’re feeling a mess, you should cook up a mess of food and share it with a mess of people. Three: sex is good, but not as good as Red Velvet Cake!
I think I love Old South Barbeque because it is exactly the kinda place my old granny woulda loved if she were alive and well today.
I came on a Friday night with my best friend and my lover. I was feeling grouchy after a hard week at work and a few personal let downs. «I know exactly the thing to cheer you up,» my best gal said.
As we arrived in the parking lot, I could hear the sweet, melodic crying of the blues band and felt it was a good first impression. Audiences love their blues singers to be miserable, and misery loves company, so I was instantly at home.
Once inside, the electricity was infectious. The band was really feeling it, people were moving their heads to the music, and the barbeque sauce was staining well pressed shirts left and right.
Two can live as cheap as one… if they eat like one. Ha! My boyfriend and I shared a plate of ribs. Like all good cooks, the sauce was a secret, so we didn’t bother asking. He said the pork melted in his mouth and he went back for more. I had the collared greens, baked beans and corn bread. I have to say they were all cooked perfectly, and the cornbread wasn’t the yankee version, either. It wasn’t sweetened and it had the perfect level of grit to its texture.
Right about the time I finished my meal I noticed the cakes coming out of the oven in the open kitchen. The band kicked the music into high gear, and one old couple got up and showed us how it was done. The crowd was clapping and singing along, and my spirits beginning to lift, I shouted across the counter that I wanted a slice of chocolate cake, a slice of red velvet, and some banana pudding. (Don’t look at me like that! It was for the whole table, ya’ll!)
The chocolate cake was still warm and barely frosted. It was heaven. The banana pudding was creamy and sweet and had generous chunks of bananas and vanilla wafers. The red velvet cake was my favorite. The cream cheese frosting was amazing and the felt textured, semi sweet cake played jazz on my tongue. Let’s face it; it is just impossible to think bad thoughts while eating home made dessert.
Old South Barbeque gets it! They know that soul food isn’t just about the sauce; it is a ticket to our past, our family values and our traditions. It is more about heritage than greens.
I left that night in love with my friends, in love with my bluesy sugar buzz, and in love with my memories. Thank you, Old South!

I had great expectations from this place, hearing my friends talking how wonderful the BBQ was.
We went there on a night they had a live-​band. Planned to go early so we could eat there and then leave before the crowd and the band played.
There was no place for us to sit. Every table was reserved. Nobody sitting, just reserved. We told the lady that we were not going to stay long, just to eat the food. All the empty tables stayed reserved… this was just odd. We decided to still order and just take-​out.
Service was unorganized and unprofessional. I understand southern hospitality and all, and they did smiled a lot, but that did not make up for the lack of professionalism.
We ordered a combination of the BBQ meats and sides, so we could taste it all. I was not impressed, the sauce was nice and tasty, but the meat itself lacked flavor. I think you can only make up so much with a good sauce.
I am sure the fact that we could not enjoy the food right there has something to do with my
my understanding this place is usually packed and people love it. So, one day I will try it again, but I am not in a hurry for it.

I haven’t really enjoyed good links since my favorite BBQ pit, Doug’s in Oakland, closed several years ago. Places tell me they make their own links, they can’t fool me; commercially prepared links have a different texture. A recommendation from a friend who lives in the mountains sent me here. I did not expect to find really good BBQ on the outskirts of Concord, heavens they are in a strip mall, almost in Clayton, in a restaurant where you can sit down and eat after you order. I was wrong!
The first time S and I went we had combo lunches. He was pleased because somehow they found him some crispy ends to add to his beef and chicken plate, he said he liked his food. I ordered a rib and links combo. The ribs were good, but then I am really not expert on ribs and am easily pleased because I don’t order them often. The beef links however were wonderful, perfect in texture and taste. I like that they have mild, medium or hot sauce to finish off these heavenly morsels. S wanted to try a few of the sides and desserts so we had potato salad, Mac and Cheese, Peach Cobbler and Red Velvet Cake. I had never had Red Velvet Cake before; it was tasty. I would stick with potato salad it is much better than the Mac and Cheese
We went back for dinner and had a very similar meal. I just had links, S tried the beans this time, and I suspect they were good, he did not offer to share, we did share a slice of potato pie and it was pretty good. The live music added to the ambiance, although it was so loud that I could not hear anything S said to me, and perhaps that was a good thing.
So for now, good links are not on the list of foods that I will never taste again.

Smoky BBQ flavored ribs, chicken, hot links, brisket or sliced pork… It all is very good here. The food comes in big portions. A two-​way which comes with two different (or same) portions of meat and 2 sides with cornbread is about 16 bucks, 3 way is 18 and 4 way is 20. They are very friendly here and check up on you frequently.

Awesome BBQ! I am so excited to find good BBQ on this side of the tunnel — what a thoroughly pleasant surprise!
What we ate: sliced pork, baby back ribs, brisket, chicken, collard greens, mac & cheese, and coconut cake. Come on now — you know I had to have a good sampling; but I shared with mama. I am not a big chicken person in restaurants because I’m somewhat picky, but this was tender, juicy, and had great flavor. Sliced pork and brisket were great too — juicy and tender, the only way to go. Ribs were lip smacking. We tried the medium BBQ sauce which just enough kick for us. Collard greens were tender and spicy too — yum yum.
Jazz music on Fridays/​Saturdays is just a plus plus! Couldn’t stay for music this time but will definitely be back!

Old South is a passable BBQ joint, and will more than suffice for most peoples’ taste for grilled and smoked foods. What sets this place apart from most are the friendly proprietors who obviously take great pride in their cooking.
When I recently visited, I was immediately greeted by both the warm smell of smoking meats and the warm demeanor of the hostess.
The side dishes are amazing, but the ribs I ordered seemed to rely too much on the sauce to be delicious. I’m an amateur smoker, myself, and prefer to use sauce as a spice and enhancer, and not the main flavor of the meat, but that could speak mostly to my personal tastes. For most people, Old South is more than enough to satisfy.
The hot links here, however, are out of this world. Don’t leave without a serving of the sausage. If you do, I’ll find you and make you pay for your transgression.
The location is a bit unfortunate, since it’s a tucked away and not visible from Concord Ave, the main cross street, and it’s nestled in the midst of businesses that, judging from appearances, are sub-​par and likely won’t attract too many newcomers to the area.

Old South is one of the best unexpected discoveries in the Walnut Creek and Concord area. First off the African American family that owns Old South are the nicest folks I’ve met and the service is extremely attentive, polite and gracious.
The Que is amazing. Great flavor and not to saucy but just enough to compliment the meat. My favorite and recommendation are the ribs. The ribs are by far better than the chicken.
And Old South even feature local jazz and blues musicians on weekends. You gotta set a date to visit and I’ll meet you there!
MM

In-​Laws arrived with some food from here for dinner this past weekend. The menu is basic BBQ food. Pork ribs, beef brisket, chicken, homemade hot links and sliced pork. They also serve sandwiches with your choice of meat. They have good old southern desserts like red velvet, coconut cake, pecan pie, cobbler and bread pudding. Side dishes include potato salad, baked beans, cole slaw and mac n cheese!
They chose to get the 4-​way combination. We got brisket, hot links and the rest as pork ribs. Brisket: very tender, had a smokey flavor. Homemade hot links were delish! It wasn’t as hot as a hot link can be but it really had a kick. The texture is also more like ground beef. The pork ribs were fall of the bone but for me did not have a lot of flavor. The meat that is however the mild BBQ sauce added some flavor.
Potato salad was good. Baked beans were also good very smokey. I could come back here. Not so much for the ribs but for the brisket and hot links!

I’ve been craving some good old southren BBQ, and I found this place… After the first bit, it felt like being home… This place is awesome and the owner’s are from LA. which made it all the better.
The beef brisket and ribs where nice and tender, and the meat fell right of the rib bone… YUMMY!!!

Ordered a slab of pork ribs for $ 30 to-​go this weekend. The menu stated that it feeds 3 – 5 people and it did! The ribs had a good smokey flavor. I’ve defnitely had better ribs before, but I’ll keep this place in mind when I want good ol’ southern food.
They had a great blues/​jazz singer singing and it definitely set a great mood in the small restaurant. I saw that they had red velvet cake, coconut cake, and pecan pie on their counter.
I’ll def come back on a Friday night and try other stuff on their menu, while listening to the live music. =)

I must admit that my expectations were inflated by the high reviews. I also must admit that I didn’t bother to review the track record of the five star reviewers before coming. Needless to say, I was sorely disappointed. The only aspects keeping me from two stars are the friendly employees. The folks at Old South are really down to earth and friendly. So much so that I hope they don’t see this review. Overall, my quest for good barbecue in the Bay Area continues. Onwards to the next place. Judging by the reviews on barbecue places in SF, it certainly looks like a tough road ahead.
Old South is located in a very remote part of the Concord boondocks, in a seemingly out of place strip mall. Once you walk in, you’re greeted by a nice aroma of warm brisket and a bunch of smiling faces. The bbq, however, was a bit of a let down. I found my brisket to be bland by itself (I had the sauce on the side). Hence, the taste really comes from the sauce, not the meat. The pork ribs were a little on the dry side. They also were not full sized pork ribs… more like riblets. They were also a little dry and heavily dependent on the sauce. The meat was tender, but not cooked to perfection. A little more jaw action is required to peel the meat off the bone than I’d prefer to give.
On the plus side, the sauce was A-​OK with a nice touch of sweetness to it and the hot sauce has a nice little kick. They also have very good baked beans.
Kudos to the nice folks at Old South. Thank you for the nice service. I’m hoping for continued (and necessary) improvement and I wish you all the best.

The people working here are really friendly. Service is slow but relaxed. Not the best place for a quick anything. Food comes out in the order it is ordered — not particularly great for large groups of people. They screw up the orders regularly, but are more than generous to fix the problem.
I love the sweet tea here. The food is ok. The mac n cheese always seems sad and day-​old (but I don’t think it is). Same goes for the collard greens. The meat all tends to be more on the dry side (hot link, brisket, ribs). The spicy bbq sauce is good but not amazing or particularly spicy. The corn bread is underwhelming.
The restaurant itself badly needs new lighting. Flickering florescent lights will give anyone a nightmares. There’s an old big projection TV that looks faded and can be hard to see.
Anyways, the people that seem to think this is the best BBQ in the bay all seem to be ones that have been living in or around Concord for far too long.
I would be sad if this restaurant went away, I love mom & pop shops, but this place does need a renovation.
Update: I reviewed this place before going there for lunch, I just got back and was pleased with some of their changes. I bumped up the stars from 3 to 4. The food came out faster, they turned off the awful florescent lights and had simple Christmas lights + natural lighting which was a much nicer change in ambiance, and the servers are still very friendly. I tried the lunch pork sandwich with hot bbq sauce and was really pleased.
Finally, I had to try their cake. A nice lady behind me in line was clearly excited FOR me – and she happily ordered herself a slice of coconut cake. They are very pretty. The red velvet cake doesn’t taste like red velvet cake. It is very moist and has a spongier texture than I expected. Not bad but not for me. I probably will pass on dessert next time. Apparently, I like boxed red velvet cake better than their homemade — so take that with a grain of cake.

Got the two item combo — the ribs were dry and meh, but the brisket was delicious! The mac-​n-​cheese was just okay at first, but when coated with a layer of the sauce it is just perfect. Other reviewers have mentioned how «spicy» the sauce is — it does have a very strong peppery taste. Luckily I like black pepper so I found it quite tasty… I ordered it «medium» and may up it next time.
The red velvet cake tastes like regular white cake dyed red (instead of chocolate-​y like most red velvets) BUT it was incredibly moist and decadent. A perfect way to douse out all the peppers in your mouth!
As others mentioned, the owners here are super duper sweet. I hope more people frequent the place… this area could definitely use good BBQ! (Disclosure: I didn’t see a smoker or even smell any smoke in the air, so I’m not sure how «legit» it is… but it tastes yummy so that is good enough for me.)

The food is good, but the service is better.
It’s been a while since we’ve been here since the last few times our food has been greasy.
The sauce is decent. The sides are delicious. Their desserts are good as well, although serving the peach cobbler in a styrofoam cup is kind of weird.
Honestly, this doesn’t compare to real southern BBQ. I’ve had it, I used to live in the south and I think it’s just something in the air.
However, they get kudos from me for being family owned and really trying to expand the menu in Concord.

Damn! I’ve been going to this place for years. FIrst in Hayward, then in San Leandro and I thought they had gone out of business. Thank goodness they are still around and still cooking up some really tasty BBQ.
The bad part for me is that I live in San Leandro and instead of a 10 min drive I now have to saunter all the way out to Concord. :-(
Anyway, this place is great. The lady that was working there on Labor Day could not have been nicer. This is the way I have always found the folks at Old South to treat their customers. She was taking the orders AND serving everyone while the guy in the back cooked up the food.
Traditionally I order a 3-​way (ribs, chicken, and links) but on this day I kept it civilized with a 2-​way (brisket and links). For my taste no one does links like this place. Their links complement whatever other meat you may order with it. The sauce is also among the best I ever had. The brisket was tender and juicy. The stuff practically melted in my mouth.
I had 2 side dishes (cole slaw and cornbread). The cornbread was great and the slaw was ok. But then again I’m not a real fan of cole slaw. Next time maybe I’ll go for cornbread along with mac and cheese for my sides.
I also noticed a blazing red velvet cake, a yellow cake with chocolate frosting and of course a sweet potato pie all on the counter ready to be ordered. I’ve never tried their desserts but If they are anything like their BBQ then this place is really dangerous (in a good way!)
Unlike a lot of BBQ joints this place has plenty of room for you to sit down and enjoy your meal. They also have a big screen that usually has a sporting event on… YAY! What more could you ask for?

old south cooking in the ‘cord? i figure i try them out. friendly and orders made to order.
tried the lunch special w. beef brisket and links & potato salad. (7.95)
home made hot links, very dry. sliced beef brisket (very thin) not so juicy, also dryish.
corn bread was shaped like a cupcake. potato salad seem like the commercial kind available at costco. med sauce was so-​so.
was underwhelmed by the food, doesn’t compare to oaktown or the «dro.
3 stars for the clean atmosphere/​service, food-​2 stars.

Made a 30 min trip out to Concord for this place. Tucked away in a stop mall, the outside does not scream great food. Once on the inside you are greeted by the friendliest staff and the yummiest food. We had the chicken, ribs, and brisket. Amazing! The cole slaw was very good. I wanted to lick the bowl. The corn bread muffin was hot and moist. For dessert we had the Red Velvet cake. WOW! It was perfect. There was a chocolate cake made that morning but the person in front of me got the last piece. We also had the sweet tea which was refreshing.
The one thing that could make this place better is coke products. They serve Pepsi.
There was such a welcoming feel to this place — not only was the food some of the best BBQ that I have had, it was a warm place to sit and enjoy a meal. If you judge it from the outside you would miss a real gem.
They also have take-​out and catering.