Grandpa’s Grub BBQ

Real deal bbq here. They got the wood burning indirect smoker out front showing off the fact that it is actual bbq and not oven baked gah-​bage like at other places… you can smell what’s going on from blocks away… mmmm…I had the monsta plate… the ribs… perfectly cooked, nice spmoke ring, too much sauce though for me, would have been better on the side… sauce BTW is on hit! Links were delish and the chicken was cooh, a little dry but still good. Best Que I’ve had in that area hands down.

Now called «Grams BBQ» or «Grams place» as it states on their new menu at 1600 G St, Antioch, CA. (corner of 16^th st and G st) New location, new name, same owners. Menu and portions have changed, «see pics.»
Was excited to see they finally reopened in their new location under a different name and went there today and tried a couple dinner items. Pork Rib dinner $ 9.75 and Beef brisket dinner $ 9.75. Portions were skimpy, menu a bit confusing. I watched them heat up their really good baked beans in the microwave on the counter right next to where you order. Major downer since I do not like my food heated in microwaves. The meat tasted like it was heated up in the micro and was tough.
Do not lean on the ordering counter or it will tip/​appear to break off (there is a sign asking not to lean on the counter but you have to bend down to talk through the plastic cubbyhole to order and it’s natural to put your elbows on the counter)
VERY disappointed in the small portions of the brisket for the money and the quality of the BBQ has diminished. Menu had some things overpriced like the catfish sandwich with fries for $ 10 bucks. I tried the catfish in the past and it was good but the pricing is steep. Being located right next to the high school, I am sure some kids will stop in for a $ 6.00 sandwich but most other items are cost prohibitive. The old menu had better package deals.

The closed their brick & mortar restaurant and only cater now.: ((

Just got back from our first visit here. BEST fried catfish ever (other than Asian-​style fried, which is what I grew up on)! Super juicy inside with a delicious crispy outside. The batter reminds me of fried chicken, but the catfish beats any fried chicken I’ve ever had. The place is small so I could hear everybody’s order and every single person that walked through the door while we were there ordered the catfish. Both the boyfriend and I agreed that we’ll be coming back for the fish. They give you tartar sauce, but this was the first time I had fried fish where I didn’t feel the need to dip it in anything. So flavorful just as it is. $ 12 for 3 large pcs of catfish, 2 sides, and 1pc cornbread. Or $ 9 for catfish and fries. 5 stars for the fish!
We also ordered the Momo’s Monsta Plate, which includes a some chicken, 2 ribs, and a hot link, plus 2 sides for $ 12. The bbq meats are good though I wouldn’t say far above any other soul bbq I’ve had. The hot links were not as fatty and juicy as other hot links I’ve had – whether that’s good or bad depends on your personal preference. Boyfriend said he enjoyed the chicken best (after the catfish of course). I was so focused on the fish honestly that the bbq stuff kind of just melded together to me. 3−½ stars for the bbq.
They also had a sliced beef (tri-​tip) plate, which made me wish we had a 3^rd person with us so that we could try that too. Maybe next time.
As for sides, since each plate came with 2, we tried them all:
— Yams. I love yams. You don’t have to do anything but boil them and I’d love them. Sadly, American people seem to insist on candying them up. The yams at Grandpa’s are not as nauseatingly sweetened as the yams at other restaurants, so that was a big plus. I could’ve done without the buttery sweet sauce that the yams sat in, but I could see how others might enjoy that. The sauce was very good, just not necessary and I’m not a fan of too much sweetness.
— Potato salad. You can definitely taste (and see) the mustard in it. Boyfriend ate it all. It was good but I would’ve enjoyed it more with just a tiny bit less mustard.
— Greens. I’m not a fan of veggies but these weren’t too offensive. I actually finished it. The woman at the register asked if we wanted vinegar (white) and hot sauce (tabasco) and I said yes since I love vinegar and tabasco as a general rule, but I was sort of at a loss to understand what we were supposed to eat them with. Then another server came out and mentioned pouring them over the greens, so I did, and it added a nice kick to them which I really enjoyed.
— Corn bread. You get a piece with the greens. The texture was just the teeniest bit dry from being absolutely perfect, but I really loved it nonetheless. It was fluffy and airy and not overly sweet, and it actually reminded me of cake.
— Baked bbq beans. I hate beans. Of any kind. I especially hate baked beans. I can tolerate baked bbq beans but usually the bbq sauce is overwhelming. Not here. These are the best baked bbq beans I’ve ever had. I not only liked them, I loved them. Just the right amount of bbq, plus ground beef! I’ve never seen baked beans prepared like that before. So good! 5 stars for the beans.
I’ve already decided on what I will order the next time we come here: cat fish, corn bread, beans. A 5 star meal all the way.
Service was friendly and fast. The place is definitely a hole in the wall, but the atmosphere is laid-​back and small town-​ish. Proportions are good, definitely enough leftovers for an extra meal at home if you’re not pigging out (too much). A great find. (Did I mention their catfish?)

My husband and I decided to try this place on Sat, with our $ 2 off coupons. It was around 6pm, but it wasn’t that busy. We walked up to the counter, but I guess you can also just sit at a plastic table and they’ll come take your order for dine in. We both ordered the combo plate, with 2 ribs, chicken, hot link, and 2 sides, plus they also included the Corn Bread with this coupon. I got Yams and Potato Salad and my husband got Yams and BBQ Beans, so we could try several sides. The meats came out on plates about 15 minutes later, and then the sides and corn bread didn’t come out for another 10 – 15 minutes. The ribs were a bit fatty on the ends, but they were saucy and falling off the bone. The Chicken was a bit dry, as well as the Corn Bread. The Yams were so hot; I had to wait for them to cool down for about 10 minutes before I could even eat them. I’m not sure if they were so hot from being microwaved. They were also pretty sweet. The beans seemed very similar to Van De Camps with BBQ sauce and meat added. For $ 11 each, it was a lot of food, so I would probably go back, as long as I had another coupon. There was another table that had Catfish, which looked good; they just don’t have a coupon for that. They seemed very unorganized, and a bit confused.

I had a taste for a fried catfish lunch today, so I headed over to Grandpa’s. I’ve tried everything else on their menu and have been quite satisfied. I’m glad I went because the fish was fried to perfection in a light, floury coating. Passed on the french fries and got the yams. Sweet and delicious. When I walked in there was two other people eating. I was finished at 12:45pm and had the place to myself. Quiet and peaceful. One thing to remember-​if you’re coming on Highway 4, you better time it because traffic gets real ugly after about 2:30pm.

I would not try to make ribs myself. I feel like it’s one of those things that is time consuming and laborious to make, have lots of ingredients (if you make the sauce from scratch)… and even if I tried, it wouldn’t be as good as if a pro made ‘em. So when I got a hankerin’, of course, I Unilocaled and found this joint.
I grew up in Antioch, Grandpa’s is on the older side of the town, so I never saw it before. I had the ribs and link combo plate: three ribs, hot link, two sides, two pieces of bread and cornbread. That’s a big olé heapin’ helpin’ of food for 12 bucks. I chose beans and greens as my sides. I wish they had mac n cheese. The highlights for me were the ribs and beans.
Pros: The sauce on the ribs was finger lickin’ good. So good, it’ll make you SLAP YO MAMA! Smokey, slightly spicy and tangy… the ribs were meaty too. The BBQ was more memorable than Everette & Jones.
Beans were sweet and salty, with the right proportion of beans to sauce. They weren’t at all mushy or overcooked.
Cons: The greens were super duper salty. Cornbread was a bit dry, as was the hot link.
The prices were fair for the amount of food you get. Service was really friendly. The owner (I think) mentioned to us that we just got done doing a fundraiser for Antioch HS. So, the food overall was good and satisfying, and the people were real nice, so given those extra factors, I’d go back when I have another BBQ craving…

I wish I could give this more stars… they have the right
start and ingredients but…
I ordered a full rack of pork ribs ($ 24.99). Yup, on the expensive
side. BUT the rack is HUGE! Enough for two people for sure.
The sauce is good. just a little nip to it, slightly sweet… smokey.
But the meat is a bit tough and mine was not cooked very well
in the thicker parts. I guess there is a fine line between drying them
out and cooking them all the way through. Maybe turn down the heat
and leave ‘em on a bit longer. I was not impressed with the ribs.
Certainly not 5 stars. I have eaten a few ribs in my days… ah, years!
I like ‘em on the tender side. I hope Grandpa can figure out how to
do that.
The meal came with two sides and 4 slices of bread. I had the home
made potato salad and the baked beans. The beans were the BOMB!
So good in fact, that I ordered a large side ‘to go’ so I can have some
with the 5 ribs that I brought home. The potato salad is ok. it is better
than the pre-​made stuff that most places scoop out a 5 gallon
bucket.
All in all, this is probably a good ‘locals’ joint. If I do return, I will try
something besides the ribs. The chicken looked good. but it was a 30
minute wait till it was ready. The people at the table next to me said
the catfish was really good. And they also have hot links. of which I
am not a fan.
For those of you that rated the ribs ‘5 stars’, there ARE better ribs
out there… keep on lookin’!
p/​s also what is good about this place is they have REAL soap (instead of that foam shit) in their bathroom and also REAL paper
towels instead of blowing air! Thanks, Grandpa.

When I first moved to the Antioch area, I was sad to see that there really aren’t many BBQ places around. The only places I’d heard about were in Pittsburg and Concord which, frankly, is too far to go for mediocre BBQ. On a whim, I decided to check to see if any places had opened up recently and lo and behold, Grandpa’s Grub had!
When folks say it is a hole in the wall, they’re not kidding. Grandpa’s Grub is located at the corner of A Street & 9^th in what used to be an old drive in. They’ve got a smoker going outside. The smell alone will lure anyone into the joint.
There’s a small counter and a few tables and the décor is, shall we say, modest. Which, honestly, is fine with me. I’m always for good food over fancy digs. I came in with the idea to get some food to go since my toddler is a menace when let loose in public.
At around 6:00ish on a Saturday, most of the few tables were full, as was the counter. Turns out that folks were waiting for their ribs. They had run out earlier and the cook did not want to take the ribs out until they were perfect. The staff apologized and asked if I minded waiting. Nope, I didn’t mind. It was only a 10 minute wait from when I came in and the folks that had been sitting looked like they had a longer wait than I did.
I looked over the menu which was pretty simple. They offer four main proteins: ribs, chicken, hot links and fried catfish. All the plates are either single protein or combo plates and come with bread and sides. The sides are greens & cornbread, baked beans, yams, potato salad. I ordered the ribs plate, the ribs + chicken plate and the ribs + hot link plate. Yes, my family likes pork. Oink.
Maybe it was because of the wait but in those 10 minutes, a crowd had gathered. Dinner rush, I guess. I was darned happy that I had got there when I did. When the first ribs came off of the smoker and into the dining room, I drooled with envy. Oh man oh man, big juicy ribs, slathered in this heavenly smelling sauce. I couldn’t wait for my share!
The staff is friendly but service can be a little hectic. On this Saturday night, there were two girls in front but it looks like there was a bit of mix up with the tickets as the lady that came in after me and had ordered something similar got MY order. I didn’t complain as I wasn’t really in a hurry. Finally, my order got to me and I scurried on home with my take out containers.
Since my order and another lady’s order got mixed up, my sauce was on the side. This didn’t bother me any and frankly, I’m going to have to thank the lady for ordering it that way because it gave me a chance to really taste the meat on the ribs. And it was perfect! Just perfectly smoky but not overdone. Flavorful as is but I’m a BBQ sauce lover and Grandpa’s has an awesome rendition. They have a very tangy, ketchup based sauce with just a hint of sweetness and kick. It went perfectly with the smoky ribs. My hubs reported that the hot link was great, flavorful with a kick akin to the level of heat you’d get from say, Tabasco.
I have a toddler who doesn’t eat too much but she went wild for these ribs! She just kept on stealing my ribs, finally I had to give her one of her own which she happily ran off with, gnawing on it with this huge smile on her face.
My order was missing our bread. Not a big deal for me since I probably wouldn’t have eaten it anyway. (MEAT!!) We got one of each side. The Hubs and I were not too impressed with the potato salad as we found it to be a bit heavy on the mustard. The baked beans were a surprise as we don’t really like baked beans but these were tasty. The greens… oh yum! I’ve only liked collard/​turnip greens in the South; this is the closest I’ve had to them since. I was also not too fond of the cornbread but I suspect this is more because I like my cornbread overly sweet which I know isn’t how it is «supposed» to be.
This place is awesome if you love real, down home, honest food. We will be back, oh yes we will!

Looks like a little hole in the wall but the food is fabulous. Make sure to get there earlier in the evening because if you arrive near closing time they may have run out of some things. The staff is great, including a grandmother that cooks on Sundays. Love, love, love the ribs and the chicken. Really, the best bbq ever!

Catfish and Fries — Huge Portion. the best!
Beans w/​meat — very tasty
Agree with Richard — funky place… I think it was a bit expensive when i saw the prices ($ 24 for two including soda’s) but when the food came out, and it was way more then i thought it would be, we realized it was right on.
Cant go wrong with the triple…
Ribs, juicy, meaty.
Chicken — soft, juicy
Hot Links — Just right
Stars taken: Wish there were choices of sauce. too mild and not as smokey IMHO.
Wish they had brisket and/​or tri-​tip. gotta have beef in a BBQ joint right?

Great BBQ and friendly staff! I had the monsta plate which came with 2 ribs, chicken, hot link, greens, potato salad, corn bread, & white bread for $ 12. Very satisfied and full! I have to try their catfish next because a customer had eat and it looked huge and great! Definite repeat!

OMG! Oh my God! Oh! My! God! I have been hit by the food cupid.
So Grandpa’s came to downtown Antioch in November. They took up business in the old diner at the corner of A and 9^th Streets. I’ve been driving past the diner since then, smelling the mouthwatering aroma and dying to try it. That day has finally come!
My hubby and I went tonight to see if it tastes as good as it smells, and I am soooo happy to say that it by far exceeded my wildest expectations! I am in love… with BBQ!
So the reason for my enthusiasm? Why, the food, of course. =)
We ordered the Momo’s plate and the Joshua plate. The Momo consists of two huge ribs with a very yummy, tangy sauce, just enough smoky goodness to make it very, very interesting. Also included with the Momo is a quarter chicken, leg and thigh, a hot link, and choice of two sides. We picked the baked beans and the tater salad. The baked beans were divine!!! My hubby said the tater salad was the best he has ever had, and he’s not normally fan. The other choice is greens and cornbread which I may try next time. The only thing we weren’t completely enamored by was the hot link. That was okay.
The Joshua plate **my fav** is cat fish. Deep fried cat fish. Very yummy, yummy cat fish. The best cat fish, bar none, I have ever had! The hubby really liked it even though he is not usually very fond of fish. The fish is battered and fried: slightly sweet, slightly salty, slightly citrusy. OMG. Soooooo good!!! They have snapper sometimes and I can’t wait to try it!
The family that runs the place is very nice, very friendly. Grandpa does all the BBQ’ing while the daughter and granddaughter run the inside.
I cannot WAIT to go back and eat that food! I think I may have dreams about it. ;) This is my new neighborhood fav!!! I’m so excited, too, as I really love to support local, small business rather than chains. Yay! Go and be amazed!