California > Sacramento: Tank House BBQ & Bar


 

Chris Allingham

Administrator
Staff member
Tank House BBQ & Bar
1925 J St
Sacramento, CA 95811
http://tankhousebbq.com/

During a recent visit to our state capitol, and upon the recommendation of several TVWB Facebook followers, Mrs. TVWB and I had dinner at Tank House BBQ & Bar in downtown Sacramento.

Tank House is a little place on busy J Street next to a railroad track and named after the historic water tank, built in 1881, that's situated behind the restaurant. I counted 10 tables and 9 bar stools inside, plus a collection of picnic tables outside next to the G-Stacks Pit in the parking lot.

You order food and drinks at the bar from a very friendly bartendress, take a number back to the table of your choice, and someone quickly delivers your food order. The place was hopping on the Monday night we visited.

The full food menu is available from opening until 10:00pm, then an abbreviated late night menu from 10:00pm to midnight, then drinks-only from midnight to 2:00am closing.

We shared the "Meat Treat" platter consisting of two meats and two sides. We chose a half-pound of brisket and a half-slab of baby back ribs with mac & cheese and cornbread muffins, plus the "Tot Skins" special as an appetizer. The Tot Skins were crispy tater tots covered with a creamy cheddar cheese sauce, homemade bacon crumbles (actually small square chunks of bacon), sour cream, and green onions. The tots and the bacon were the stars; the cheese sauce was warm and smooth but kind of bland...a drizzle of BBQ sauce helped improve the flavor. We saw several tables getting "Dirty Tots" consisting of tots, the cheese sauce, pulled pork, and BBQ sauce, which looked and smelled better than our app.

We asked for our brisket half lean/half fatty. The portion from the point was really great! The portion from the flat was a bit firm to the touch but ate well and tasted good, with nice smokey flavor. The ribs were just leaning toward dry but tasted very good and were perfectly tender. The mac & cheese was outstanding, made with radiatori pasta, little square radiator-like pasta that was very substantial and held the cheesy goodness quite well. Delicious, well-seasoned, not gummy like so much mac & cheese can be...I'd eat a big bowl of it all by itself. The cornbread was just OK.

Two sauces were served on the side, one a sweet fruity tomato-based sauce, the other a vinegar-based sauce without much heat. There was a big selection of beer, 8 on-tap, some local craft beers, plus a few old-school favorites including Hamm's and Olympia. There's also a full bar. There's no dessert available, unless you consider an after-dinner drink as dessert. Tank House also offers weekend brunch and catering.

When in Sacramento, if you're thirsty and you're hankerin' for some 'que, Tank House is definitely worth a visit.

Here are some photos from our visit...enjoy!

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The sign in the window.

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Do as the sign says.

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A view of the small dining room.

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Four gentlemen enjoying fine dining by chandelier.

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The Tot Skins special.

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Our "Meat Treat" two-meat platter featuring brisket, baby back ribs, mac & cheese, and cornbread muffins.

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Close-up of brisket flat, sliced very thick.

Continued...
 
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Line waiting to order, with two BBQ sauces in the foreground.

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The ribs didn't stand a chance.

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A view of pit and patio.

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The BBQ pit has a prominent location outside the restaurant.

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I had never heard of G-Stack Pits...they're located in nearby Vallejo, CA. It looked like a nice piece of equipment.

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Small outside dining area with picnic tables and umbrellas for those hot Sacramento days.
 

 

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