"Come for the BBQ...but come back for the best burger in LA?AJ 's Tex-Mex Barbecue is hidden gem in the San Fernando Valley...nestled next to a (dive? bar and a dry cleaners across the street from a gas station, it 's the type of place I love to find in LA. The outside is unassuming, you 'd sooner think it was a florist or a coffee shop before thinking they serve some of the best BBQ in the area...blink and you 'll miss it.If you want brisket, this is the place to go. Thick, moist, meaty, and fatty. There 's a decent pink smoke ring to show they did it right.The next best thing to get is their tri tip...always so tender.If pork is your thing, get the ribs. They have the perfect mix of chew and fall off the bone tenderness. If you don 't like bones, get the pulled pork.The chicken is chicken, but still good if that 's your thing. The wings are pretty good too...smoked first, then deep fried to get crispy, and tossed in sauce.If you can 't decide on what to get, get a combo tray. You can get the best of everything and it 's enough food to share with someone else...or not.On the weekends, they have beef ribs that can be pretty special.You can choose to drown it in their BBQ sauce, but you 're kind of not supposed to use sauce for Texas style BBQ. I usually don 't like Texas BBQ sauce cause it 's basically a thick, caramelized tomato sauce vs the sweet and tangy kinds you 'll find in Kansas City and other places. The BBQ sauce is somewhere in between and it 's the perfect compliment to their meats.Living up to the Mex in their name, they also serve all their meats in breakfast taco and burrito form. The red salsa is pretty spicy, but it 's a good burn.However, there 's one item on the menu that needs highlighting because I don 't think most people know it exists: their cheeseburger. First off I love that it 's just a cheeseburger. The only thing listed is burger, cheese, and mayo, served on a brioche bun. You can get (pickled red onions/pickles on the side which I recommend. The best thing about the burger is their meat blend...which I can only imagine is trimmings from all the brisket and tri tip ground up with whatever magic and happiness they have in stock. The burger is perfectly crusty, but isn 't a smash-burger, and it isn 't a thick, meaty patty you 'll come to find from fancier burger places. It 's the goldilocks of burgers. The cheese is melted, almost charred on, to perfection. When you take a bite, the meat crumbles in your mouth...every bite tender and flavorful. Served with their thick cut fries and some house made spicy ketchup, it 's the perfect meal alongside a root beer or a lemonade. Definitely enjoy a nice sunny day on their quiet patio as cars whizz by Riverside Drive.If there 's a couple knocks against AJ 's is their sides, but that seems to be par for the course when it comes to most of the city 's elite BBQ places. The sides are just OK...but then again, you come here for the smoked meats and not the sides. The mac and cheese is by far my favorite side here, but there 's a lot to be desired from it. It 's just cavatappi in a white cheese sauce similar to their queso. Side note, if you love queso, theirs is really good and that is a side dish I would totally recommend.The other knock I would have against AJs is their consistency. Every few orders the food is just off. It 's still good, but they don 't always clear the high bar they set the last time. It 's still better than most places good days, but it 's disappointing to pay X amount of dollars and come up feeling not as satisfied. They also seem to run out of things more times than not, which I guess is a fine problem to have if that means people are coming to your restaurant.Overall, you 'd be hard pressed to find a better meal in the Valley, if not all of Los Angeles."
