San Diego Zoo Safari Park

4/25/11 Escondido, CA Have I gone completely nuts?? Am I really going to review BBQ served at one of the most exotic animal parks in the world? Seriously?? Hell yes I am, and imagine how the review would be if they would have let me cook up half the animals I saw! I'd start with Badger brisket, then maybe some Ocelot sausage finished off with polar bear pudding.

In all seriousness, they served BBQ and I ate it, and then I write about it so here we go.

Here's the deal on the BBQ sandwich. The meat was tough, but it was edible. I can't verify that it was some exotic animal, but then again I can't verify that it wasn't either. The sandwich came with a bag of cheese puffs (their choice) and a pickle. For 9 bucks in southern California, I'd buy it again. C-, and a large part of that is for the following reason:

There are secret animals that they will bring out if you specifically request it. You heard correctly. THERE'S A SECRET STASH OF CRITTERS that the public doesn't see. It's like the secret menu at In N' Out Burger. You can't just read it on the menu, you have to ask. My son was interested in one particular weasel-like varmint called the Honey Badger. After a couple of voice messages and a ranger station visit, the nice folks at the Safari Park agreed to take "Benzi" out for a walk so my son could check her out. Cheers to them for honoring request. It was like going to a Monsters of Rock show or the Warped Tour and knowing that if you do the secret knock on the super-secret porta potty, you are whisked down a narrow shaft in a silent elevator to see the most awesome Danzig show (or insert your favorite cheese metal band here). So greetings from Southern California! See the animals, party at the beach, take the kids to the roller coaster, but for barbecue go to Lockhart. Party down.