02-07-2025
A Tiny Barbecue Diner in North Los Angeles County Hides Inside a Chevy Dealership
It's beach season, and many weekend warriors driving State Route 126 between northern Los Angeles County and Ventura may not know they're cruising past some of the best barbecue in Southern California. But Randy and Ashlyn Balades of R+Q Kitchen, ensconced within the Bunnin Chevrolet dealership in Fillmore, aim to make their two-year-old restaurant a barbecue destination — and not just a highway pit stop — one smoked brisket, tri-tip, and batch of pulled pork at a time.
Although not the first Southern California restaurant housed in an auto dealership (the Horseless Carriage Restaurant has been open at Galpin Motors in North Hills for more than five decades), the Baladeses are going above and beyond typical barbecue and diner fare, making the biscuits, to the jams, sauces, dressings and gravy on the premises using seasonal and local produce whenever possible.
After working his first kitchen on the old Fillmore Western Railway during high school, Randy studied culinary arts at the now-closed Art Institute in Santa Monica. He and Ashlyn, a Ventura native, met while both working on opening a Yard House in Oxnard in 2013. Since then, the two learned and honed both back- and front-of-house operations during stints at the San Ysidro Inn and Rabalais Bistro in Santa Paula, where Randy served as the head chef for several years.
The duo made the leap as full-time restaurateurs, opening R+Q Kitchen, which stands for Randy and the Queen's Kitchen, in April 2023. They currently lease the space from the dealership, which previously operated its own restaurant. It's a quirky location, and Ashlyn felt uncertain it would resonate with locals at first. But once they crunched the numbers against other restaurant locations in Ventura County, the dealership space made the most sense for their budget.
A compact kitchen, a hand-built, train-shaped outdoor smoker in the car lot, and a dozen four-top tables sit behind the showroom that showcases both newer and classic Chevys. But with an elaborate and detailed process, R+Q's smoked meats can stand toe-to-toe against the top barbecue styles across the country. Randy Balades' brisket is the restaurant's top seller. When they opened, they would use three to four briskets, roughly 15 pounds each, a week; now they're up to 15. He smokes Harris Ranch beef once or twice a week outdoors, depending on the demand. (If it's a rainy week, they're taken off the menu.) The cuts of brisket undergo a 24-hour, multistep process before going into dishes like brisket omelettes ($19) or stacked sandwiches ($22).
'We lather it in Worcestershire and mustard first, and then, we do a heavy coat of pepper. That pepper sticks on there and creates a really good crust,' Randy says. Next, he adds his own brisket seasoning, a combination of brown sugar, Lawry's Seasoned Salt, onion, granulated garlic, and kosher salt. Ashlyn says that while they're riffing off Texas-style barbecue, often only seasoned with just salt and pepper, R+Q's approach with spices and sugar presents a 'Cali twist.'
'We let it marinate overnight,' Randy says. 'I put them in the smoker from 2:30 a.m. to about 5:30 p.m. When it passes a certain temperature, I add more tallow and then spray it with a combination of pickle juice, apple cider vinegar, and Worcestershire.' He wraps the brisket in butcher paper and lets it rest for three-and-a-half hours, and again wraps the brisket and paper in plastic wrap to steam in the warmer overnight. Then, and only then, is it ready to slice and serve.
The tri-tip and tender pulled pork shouldn't be overlooked either: Tri-tip is usually the first item to sell out when the Balades participate in local street fairs in nearby Santa Paula. 'Tri-tip is a roast. You don't throw it on the grill real quick,' Randy says. 'And I feel like ours becomes more tender because we smoke it at a very low temperature, which gets it that smoke ring, but it's still super rare in the middle.'
Born and raised in Fillmore, Randy's father still owns a small ranch that supplies the restaurant with citrus, including oranges for one of their three signature barbecue sauces. He grew up smoking meats for friends and family and calls barbecue his 'first love.' (Ashlyn doesn't disagree.) Ashlyn, who runs the front-of-house, credits their previous work for teaching them the importance of customer service and attention to detail. That's why R+Q's plating — like deftly sprinkled parsley, pink pickled onions, and shaved jalapeños that top some of the sandwiches — or the local fresh-squeezed orange juice for the mimosas sets R+Q apart from other roadside diners.
'We're not just a barbecue spot,' Ashlyn says. 'We have Atlantic salmon and tiger shrimp seared in a saute pan, grilled, or blackened.' They also serve a prime-grade New York steak for the steak and eggs ($22) in the morning and for the steak frites ($24) later in the day, the latter accompanied by charred scallion chimichurri.
R+Q currently serves breakfast and lunch, plus catering, with a small selection of beer and wine. An expansion into dinner service is in the works. With the Baladeses' dedication to their craft, the barbecue joint is already a bright spot along the 126 highway, beckoning even without the spotlights of the auto dealership.
R+Q Kitchen is open Tuesday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and closed Mondays. It's located at 1024 West Ventura Street, Fillmore, CA, 93015, inside the Bunnin Chevrolet dealership. See More:
