Yeeeeesh.  I'm in Oakland, and of course I'm in and around San Francisco / east bay frequently.

I've had *DECENT* BBQ at a place or two in the east bay, but, coming from the east coast, it wasn't that great, and a full rack of baby back ribs seems to be $25 just by itself. (One such place was in Pleasant Hill as I recall, not bad, just not great for the price.)

I am not exaggerating when I say Sonny's is better than virtually all the BBQ I've had out here, and Sonny's is just a fast food chain more or less, and not expensive.

ALSO:

COLESLAW.  MY GOD.  What have they done.  Every place makes it differently here, and every place makes it wrong.  I had THE WORST coleslaw imaginable recently at a place in Hayward, which incidentally also had some of the worst BBQ I've ever tasted.  The name of the place is Emil Villa's.  The coleslaw was served dry in a bowl, very roughly cut, big pieces of cabbage, and then you pour on top this absolutely disgusting horseradish juice that is anything but what you expect for coleslaw.

Anyone have any good BBQ places within a short drive of Oakland or thereabouts?

For people who came from "real" BBQ states: Have you found BBQ in California sucks in general?  I am sure there are some good places, they're just nowhere near as easy to find as they were or as common on the east coast.

In California, the real BBQ happens in backyards and is generally public.  

There are some good ones but not where you'd expect.  I cannot speak about Bay Area restaurants, though.

I have a smoker, but sometimes I just want to go to a decent BBQ restaurant and not worry with the mess.

Find a kenders in concord or walnutcreek and be happy.

Been to both, several times.  It's acceptable but frankly it's not amazing.  It's a decent lunch spot.  I've been to them in both cities.  One in Walnut Creek was better, one in Concord once when I went, the food was lukewarm around 2 pm.

My brother lives in Oakland and recommends Phat Matt's on Telegraph.

That's about as good as it gets in ca ,   If you want the good stuff you have to do it yourself.

My brother states that in order to get good BBQ in Oakland, one must go to the 'pigmented parts of town' in order to find anything recognizable as 'Southern'.

Or you could always go to Souley Vegan...

In Vallejo, find Woodys or Gracie's BBQ. You won't be disappointed.

I second that recommendation. Phat Matts is the best BBQ I've had in the area

Sweet, thanks, I'll definitely try out Phat Matt's and report back soon.

A friend of mine who has lived here a while also told me to try out Brick Pig's House.

Two places that I really liked in Oakland were Abura-ya Japanese fried chicken, and Juhu Beach Club for Indian food. Le Cheval is pretty good if you like Vietnamese food, though the portions are a little small.

BBQ is regional - why do expect it to be just like back east?  

Personally I'm not a fan of the vinegar based BBQ but I won't say it's wretched and done wrong.

I understand your point about BBQ being regional - - I assure you that isn't the problem here.  I've talked to numerous people here, natives, who say California BBQ sucks.  I've heard it over and over again.  It isn't a regional style difference problem, for whatever reason most restaurants here have not perfected the art of producing large batches of BBQ.

My brother says to go the really black areas of Oakland if you want good BBQ. No hipster wannabe outlaw-cuisine types to fuck up something as primal and delicious as good BBQ.

I've been recommended a couple of those places, just haven't tried them yet.

I'm curious about the CA natives BBQ expertise and why they think CA BBQ sucks.

BBQ restaurants aren't as prevalent in CA IME so the "mechanics" of producing large consistent quantities might be lacking.

Gorillas in Pacifica is one of the best. It is a caboose on the side of the road. No indoor seating.

Gorillas

The Cats in Los Gatos is nice but higher end

I live in Sonoma County.  We have plenty of chefs that come here to ply their craft in the land of food/wine pairing & Farm to Table - and we have some very, very good restaurants.  Unfortunately, BBQ is not one of the major selections.

I kind of doubt the BBQ competitors will agree with you.

Well, I think what Paul is saying, it doesn't (or at least shouldn't) take anything special to make reasonable, edible, restaurant-quality BBQ.  Of course the competitive stuff might be an art of its own.

Ate lunch at a decent place today!

Coworker and I finished looking at a jobsite in Hayward around noon.  Looked at Yelp and saw "Just Potato Salad" (weird name, right?) listed as a BBQ joint 0.3 miles away.

Went and ordered a combo with two ribs, two pieces of chicken, some baked beans, and potato salad.  The BBQ was actually quite good!  Meat on the ribs was neither too fall apart nor tough at all, flavor was decent, chicken was good, sides were good.  All the way out on the far end of Hayward unfortunately, so I doubt I'll go often unless I'm in the area for something else.  The combo was only $17 or something with a drink, so the price was right too.

Try Everett and Jones in Oakland / Berkeley.