Since its grand opening in Los Angeles, a huge list of A-list celebrities has made it a habit to frequently stop at this eatery.

Why Mr. Cecil’s?

Chi-chi ambiance and unpronounceable dishes? Nope. Dim lights and velvety booths? Neither. Candles and exotic French wines? Zero. So what, you may ask, is attracting so many celebrities and mortals alike to this restaurant?

Well, you may have guessed it: it’s the food. Particularly, their succulent ribs and otherworldly hushpuppies.

No week goes by, before one or the other, entire TV crews or isolated celebrities alike, stop by to sample Mr. Cecil’s food. And unlike most celebrity ridden restaurants in LA, you can actually afford eating here without having to miss a car payment.

In fact, Mr. Cecil’s offers very little in the department of luxury dining, except of course –and this is the only thing that matters- in the quality of their food. Their ambiance, well lit, open, airy and tending toward the eatery/sports bar design, is not your average celebrity hangout. But their food absolutely rocks and all humans, celebrities included, love an exquisitely prepared meal.

The ribs are so tasty -only the finest Iowa meats are used- you'll forget about your intention of going vegetarian this year

And Mr. Cecil’s is one such place: Jonathan Burrows, its owner, is constantly circulating around from table to table making sure the dining experience is nothing less than exceptional.

Like our very own while dining there.

Regardless of how busy the place was, he always made sure to come back and check on our order. The man has charisma and a passion for what he does (he insisted, being an ex-film producer himself, that movies and cooking are exactly the same science) and it shows in the pride he derives from the quality of his food offerings… after all, he’s the main chef, not just the owner.

When we stopped there, my companion and I started with the Cajun Hot Link ($7) and an order of Hushpuppies ($6) with butter and honey. Everyone who knew about this restaurant had recommended we begin with these. They were right. The deliciously crispy, deep fried corn balls were seasoned to perfection with a bit of bell pepper. That Mr. Cecil’s honey containers are the plastic bear kind just adds kudos.

Next, we ordered Annie’s Salad ($4), made with cucumber, tomato & red onion, all nicely soaked in a vinaigrette dressing. Not a bad counterpoint taste for the Triple Combo ribs ($25) coming our way. And oh boy, are those ribs sinfully tasty. Forget fork and knife, dig in, bare fingers… the meat will just fall of the bones –depriving you of the pleasure of licking them for an even longer period of time-.

Barbeque dream #3. After you're done with the baby backs and the beef ribs, dig into a nice piece of barbeque chicken.

When Jonathan sits again with us, we can’t resist asking: where do you get these prime meats? He smiles, he knows the impression his food causes on people’s palates: “I buy only Iowa meats from a prime distributor in Downtown Los Angeles…’ he provides the name but my hands are taken: I’m going for my fifth baby back rib and the pen and paper seem miles away… ‘Aaha’ I utter, intending it to be a reply.

I grab some French fries and soak them in the barbeque sauce left over in my plate. They remind me of In-n-Out’s: these fries are the real deal. An actual potato thinly sliced and then deep fried. I can’t believe people settle for the grease-leaking fake type found at fast food restaurants. 

To conclude the feast, we order us some of Mr. Cecil’s Rum Cake ($6). I wish I was home alone where I could have 3 slices of this thing with a carton of milk all by myself. Gosh, there’s a way to immediately dispel depression. Didn’t know.

I realized it was a terrible mistake to have a late lunch that day. I can’t, even if my eyes insist, have a bite more. Well, as a consolation to myself I think that perhaps this is the perfect excuse to come back here soon.

Definitely, if you appreciate meat, you need to stop by and chow on some of the dreamiest meat plates in this restaurant-saturated town.

Above, Mr. Cecil's Chef/Owner, Jonathan Burrows with Nicole Deshotel Nineteen year-old Nicole Deshotel was a student at the University of New Orleans when Katrina uprooted her home and family. In an attempt to escape the horror, Nicole drove to Dallas with boyfriend Mike to seek shelter with a family friend.  Little did Nicole know that this family friend had purchased airline tickets to Los Angeles for Nicole and Mike to give them a new start in life. They arrived in Los Angeles and Mike's father, who lives in Sherman Oaks, took them in.  Nicole had but one duffle bag of clothes to her name. "I walked up and down Ventura Blvd looking for work, filling out applications but no one would hire me," says Nicole. "Then one day, looking in the newspaper... I saw an ad that read 'Displaced Gulf Workers - Jobs Available at Mr. Cecil's California Ribs'"   Nicole called up Chef/Owner Jonathan Burrows and he asked Nicole to come by the restaurant on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks and hired Nicole on the spot. "This job is a godsend. I didn't know that people could be so good!"

Sit down, enjoy the open and airy ambiance –and a game or two on their big plasma screen- and make sure you are plenty hungry because this is one eatery that takes away all the fancy decorations and gives you nothing but succulent plates with huge portions of the most bodacious baby backs you’ve ever eaten. Forget Tony Romas… better have a burger there if you’ve already eaten ribs at Mr. Cecils.

And while you’re there, as delicious as the meat in front of you might look, keep an eye open. You never know, your favorite rock, movie or TV show star may just coincide today with you and casually stroll by your table in his or her way to the counter, to pick up some food to go.

Celebrities there recently spotted include: Harrison Ford, Baby Face, Seal, the entire Scrubs crew, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey 4 Flava Flav, Adam Sandler, John Goodman, Tim Allen, Alex Rocco, Tony Shalhoub and many more.

While I wait outside for the valet to retrieve our car, I meet up with a couple and their daughter whom I saw earlier dining inside. I smile and ask: ‘so how was the food?’ ‘Amazing’, the woman replies, ‘we live nearby and this has become one of our all time favorite restaurants by far…’

If Jonathan wanted a compliment to his culinary skills, in my opinion, you couldn’t top that…

Mr. Cecil’s California Ribs restaurants are located at:

13625 Ventura Blvd.

Sherman Oaks, CA 91423

818.905.8400 phone

818.905.7657 fax

mrcecilsribs@sbcglobal.net email

12244 W. Pico Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90064

310.442.1550 phone

310.442.1552 fax