mark’s bark bbq

On a recent Sunday, Jake wanted to check out a new BBQ place he spotted when he accidentally drove up a random side street through Normal Heights. The place? A spot called Mark’s Bark BBQ which is only open to the public on Sundays. 

The rest of the time they are a catering business called Bettina’s Custom Catering, Inc. but on Sunday’s the joint is all Mark’s. His mom works at the front and she told us that Mark puts the BBQ in on Saturday night to get it ready for business on Sunday afternoon. Mark’s mom was very warm and friendly and was happy to talk to us about the food and her son’s BBQ.

There’s some seating inside if you care to get your BBQ and stick around. They had the football game going so the boys were able to watch the Chargers while we waited. We had ordered it ahead of time and then took it back home. 

The menu is posted on the front door and there are also flyers inside with the full menu (click the photo above to see a readable version of the menu). Mark’s Bark BBQ offers pork ribs (available after 2PM), smoked brisket, and smoked pork shoulder. You can get the meat by the pound as well as half or full racks for the ribs. They also have plates combinations that come with side dishes.

The special for the day was pork belly and also macaroni and cheese. We had already placed our order but decided to also get a plate of pork belly. Mark had to check and see if it was ready and he told us it was but he was planning to smoke it for another half hour. We decided to go ahead and spring for it since he assured it was definitely ready to be served.

[garlic fries / $3.50]

Jake ordered a side of garlic fries (which was HUGE) but by the time we got home (which included the drive home and waiting for the pork belly plate), the fries were completely soggy and limp. They smelled wonderful and Jake and T enjoyed them anyway but soggy fries just aren’t for me. It was our own fault for getting them to go though – fries are definitely a “eat it right away” kind of food! If I had thought about it, we could have munched on them while we were waiting for the pork belly plate to get fixed up.

[macaroni and cheese]

The macaroni and cheese was super creamy and extra cheesy – I really liked it! It mostly tasted like cheddar and I think the macaroni and cheese is baked. The noodles had cheese in all the nooks and crannies and was nice and gooey.

I wasn’t sure how much the mac and cheese cost since there was a little confusion with our order and Mark’s mom just gave us the macaroni and cheese. We had ordered two sides with the pork belly plate and wanted to pay for the macaroni and cheese as an extra side. And then I guess we had been given the wrong bag and they checked to make extra sure we got the right order after all. No matter the price I definitely recommend the mac and cheese if they have it available! I also appreciated that they checked to make sure we got all of the right food – there’s nothing like getting home and discovering the wrong order!

[potato salad / $2]

The potato salad is made with red onions, green onions, hard boiled eggs, mayo, bacon, and cheese. No pickles – hoooooooray! Jake made sure to ask before ordering it. (As a side note, they do give you pickles which look homemade – I’m just glad they don’t put those in the potato salad!) The potatoes seemed a little undercooked and were a tiny bit on the hard side. The flavor was good though – I just wished it had been a creamier consistency. I loved the smokiness from the bacon and all of the onions in the potato salad. It tasted a bit like a baked potato with the cheese mixed into it.

[smoked pork / $15 per lb.]

I was expecting pulled pork but we got simple smoked pork shoulder instead. Just un-pulled! I shredded it myself and then covered it in their mid BBQ sauce (they also have a spicy BBQ sauce) which was on the sweeter side (and also forgot to photograph – they gave us plenty of sauces since Jake asked them for a couple extra). You can see bits of the “bark” that formed on the pork above. The pork was tender and smokey – I liked it much better covered in sauce but I like that they don’t sauce it for you. I ate it with some of their rolls and made my own little pulled pork sandwich. Their rolls are pandesal – a sweet Filipino bread that I love. That slight sweetness from the pandesal gives it a nice contrasting flavor.  T remarked that the flavor of the pandesal reminded him a little bit of King’s Hawaiian bread.

[pork belly plate with coleslaw and soy chorizo black beans / $14]

For the pork belly plate, it came with your choice of two sides PLUS rice (which is hiding underneath the slices of pork belly.

We got the coleslaw which was eaten by Jake’s mom. I was curious about their black beans that are made with soy chorizo, onions, and tomatoes. Jake thought they were gross but I actually didn’t mind the flavor of them. The onions and soy chorizo gave it a nice bit of flavor that took them beyond just plain old black beans. They were much better than I thought they would be!

Here’s a close up of the smoked pork belly slices. You can see a little layer of the fat glistening under the bark that formed on top of the pork belly. The meat was very tender and really delicious – I preferred this over the smoked pork! The bark created a really nice crust on top of the meat imparting a bit of extra flavor for the pork belly.

Someday when we’re in the mood for pork ribs we’ll be back to check those out – if they ever have pork belly again I’d be down for some more of that yummy goodness! 

Mark’s Bark BBQ (FB)
3641 Madison Ave.
San Diego, CA 92116
(619) 285-9578
Hours: 12PM-6PM on Sundays only