Best Barbecue Restaurants in Baldwin Hills

This was our first time at Maple Block. We started with the peach wood smoked chicken wings—not o ur jam. The texture of the wings was rubbery (especially the drumette), but it had a nice rub and good smoke flavor. The buffalo wing sauce accompanying them was awesome. We then ordered 1/2 lb of brisket, ranch beans, a kale salad, and the night’s special—crispy half chicken with salsa verde. The brisket was delicious—half lean, half fatty just as we had ordered it. The bbq sauce was spot on. Beans are always the test at a bbq place for us and they were stellar, perfectly cooked and creamy with just a hint of sweetness. However, the star of the show was definitely the special—this needs to be on the menu permanently!! Half a smoked chicken, fried to crispy perfection, topped with a refreshing herb salad with pickled white onions (which are better than their red), served with tomatillo salsa. This was the best smoked chicken that we have ever had. A refined dish that doesn’t let you forget that the chicken is the star of the show. FYI, portion size is robust, we took home 3/4 of the chicken, 1/2 the beans, and 1/2 the brisket. It made for a lovely breakfast in the morning.

I've been here a few times and it never fails to deliver good food and service. There was a small problem with the order but the server resolved it immediately. Reservations definitely help.

Love the food, drink menu changed, new drinks not so great

Great location. Our Brisket topped salad and brisket tacos were excellent. The coconut shrimp starter was unadorned. Looking around kitchen seemed to have issues with timing. Service was spotty. Great location before game/event.

Food was great. Comes out super quick though so just be ready for that. They kind of messed up the order of how the food was supposed to come out but overall was great.