The Q Restaurant & Bar Menu

The Q Restaurant & Bar Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant: This ain’t your typical rib shack. It looks like a sleek wine bistro, bottles stacked behind a marble bar, black-and-white photos leaning on another wall, Riedel stemware, umbrella-shaded tables on a broad patio.

Food: The menu relies on hormone-free, naturally raised meats and poultry, local produce, artisan olive oil and herbs from the owner’s garden. Despite the California sensibility, this food’s got soul. Case in point: the pulled pork sandwich, Memphis-style with a vinegar base. The tender shreds of pork are roasted for a dozen hours, topped with slaw, and heaped onto a toasted bakery bun that keeps crunchy even as you add extra homemade sauce (spicy, mild or vinegar) from plastic squirt bottles. The spice-rubbed ribs, moist chicken, chipotle-braised short rib sandwich and sirloin chili all have deep-down, smoky depth. Don’t pass up unexpected starters, particularly a duo of mini CK Lamb burgers, harmonized with lemon-dressed mint, parsley, watercress, sweet tomato marmalade and grilled onions. A savvy wine list with heavy-hitters befits the food’s quality. Loud music keeps it fun, a parking lot view keeps it real, and the mixed crowd sports flip-flops and heels.