Eat. Sip. Chew. » TUBS Fine Chili + Fancy Fixins’: Haiku and Doodle Review

TUBS Fine Chili + Fancy Fixins’: Haiku and Doodle Review

TUBS Fine Chili + Fancy Fixins’: A Darn Tootin’ Good Meal!

****TUBS FINE CHILI HAIKU REVIEW****

Rick Hodges spent years
Perfecting Six Tubs Chili’s.
It was time well spent.

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Neighborhood: Culver City
4263 Overland Ave
Culver City, CA 90230
(310) 559-8827
www.tubschili.com
Yelp Page
Hours: Mon-Sun. 11:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.

WHAT TO ORDER:

CHILI ($4.99 “City Slicker” Small (1 large scoop – perfect) / $6.99 “Showgirl” Medium (2 large scoops – if you’re really hungry)/ $8.99 “Rancher” Large – massive)

STEAK TOWN CHILI: Unfortunately it was sold out, probably due to Linda Burum’s recent article. “I had just such an epiphany over a “tub” of the Steak Town chili. It came loaded with marinated grilled meat chunks that stood out against a galaxy of seasonings driving the flavor of a grease-free sauce,” said Burum. Those words are enough to make you run there right when it opens.
SMOKIN’ PIG: *FAVORITE* Spice imbued Chili freckled with Black-eyed peas and finished with 8-hour wood smoked hand pulled pork. It’s protein’s smokiness that rounds of the flavors of this excellent dish.

SIDES

TUB’S BUFFALO CHIPS: Horizontal, Hand-Cut Russet Potatoes which are soaked then lightly fried resulting in a crisp exterior and soft interior. Topped with dusty Chipotle Salt and served with a side of Buttermilk Ranch. While I wish Rick used a multi-soaking process (Father’s Office technique) that would result in the reduction of starch in the potato and a crispier, more Chip-like dish, the chips still disappeared off the plate faster than the rest of the meal.

Turkey Drive with Tub Topper

Linda’s Burum’s article from last week’s LA TIMES is a supremely thorough review of this 2 and a half month old Chili Gem. “Our clientele has tripled since the LA Time review came out – and we just can’t make the Steak Town Chili fast enough,” said Rick’s wife, Margie. Sure enough, it was 12:30pm and, yes, the Steak Town Chili was Sold Out.

If The Log Ride were a miniature-chili restaurant, then Tubs would be it. Pioneer scenic painting conveniently shield the kitchen pantry; Cowboy hats not missing from a single scalp; “Order Up” and “Pay Up” carved signs pointed to the operation orders; Giddy-up Saddles for chairs; with “We Twitter, Do Y’all,” signage to round out its messaging. Rick’s years in advertising screamingly displays itself in the brightly colored, Westernesque Tub’s Logo and Menu Descriptors: “showdown,” “hitched,” “simmerin’,” “corralled.” So Branded is Tubs, that you’d mistake it for a chain – and not a 20-seat max hole in the wall in Culver City. But, the intuiting is correct; Rick’s drive is just that- the desire for an American Tub’s Chili Revolution – with the Tubs home base on the gorgeous plains of land they own up in Gold-Placerville-Country. But for now, with some of his children still in High school, Culver City remains the home to the Hodges…and to Tubs.

Now That’s A Real Potato Chip.

Remembering hunger, we are brought back into the world of Lunch as Rick Hodges booms a courteous “Welcome, what can we get y’all, today.” My coworker Vania wanted to try Cattleman’s Pass (The Legume filled Vegetarian option). “Well, usually with long lines we can’t give out tastes – but since your so sweet we’ll do it anyway.” We turned around. The line — out the door.

The Cattleman’s Pass, with the tame crumbled Soy was like Kryptonite to Superman – it leached the powers of the Chili Powder right out of the dish. While it’s a fine vegetarian option, we wanted something special. Our attention turned to the layer-spiced phenom: The Smokin’ Pig.

“Two City Slickers of The Smokin’ Pig, Please!” Rick moved effortlessly – first, turning a counter-clockwise 45 degrees to pick up 1/2 inch thick, Custom-made flatbread. He worked with a bakery for months to develop a maliable wheat corn bread that could both form and maintain the shape of a bowl while keeping the chili within. Another 30 degrees and he was at his bowl-molding station: an appliance Rick rigged to heat the bread into a crisp, round bowl.

He ladled the Smokin’ Pig Chili into the Bowls and inquired if we wanted Tub Toppers (Crisp, Flat Taco Shell/Onions/Yellow Cheese/Sour Cream). I wanted that honest Sweet-pork and long-hour smoked flavors to come through, so with a kind, “No Thanks!” I was off to the “PAY UP” Station. Before me – TNT Sauce (Habanero infused Oil) that added a subtle, but not as, “Tubs-Nitro-Tonic,” as the menu denotes. Stepping up to pay, Ben, another coworker, asked the cashier (Rick’s Daughter) where she was from. Ben’s originally from Tennessee and he was looking for a, “We’re from the South,” response.

Instead, she giggled, “We’re from here…But that’s my Grandfather over there, and he’s from the South.” (Looks like Tubs has a kind-mannered Overseer in its midst).

Smokin’ Pig…So, Good.

Ben’s question spurred a thought: Will people try to compare Tubs Fine Chili to the beanless variety crafted as the Official Dish of Texas? Are people looking for a take on Chili that reflects its origin more than one man’s craft? Chili, it is argued, is an 1840′s Mexican invention, first served to Cantina customers akin to the purpose of Chips and Salsa. A free starter, typically for outsiders, who wanted something spicy and a local (while, in actuality, it was far removed from traditional fare).

Hopefully, Tub patrons will agreeably restrict Memories of Memaws Chili or refute Doctrines of Chili History in exchange for Hodges silky varieties packed with layers of balanced spice, juicy meat, and an ambitious variety of beans.

With the lines as long as they were, it appears that “hope” is already a reality.