Andrew Muñoz

The Climb

Insurance underwriting was Andrew Muñoz’s first trade, and it held until 2018. Barbecue took shape alongside that desk work, then overtook it: by 2017, Muñoz was already owner and chef of Moo's Craft Barbecue, building the business around smoke, timing, and the discipline that live-fire cooking demands. In 2019, he became a resident vendor of Smorgasburg, putting that work into a market setting where barbecue has to read fast, hold attention, and stay consistent in front of a daily crowd. Los Angeles barbecue often rewards clarity over sprawl, and Muñoz’s menu follows that rule. The cooking at Moo's Craft Barbecue is defined by a tight set of priorities: meat, smoke, balance, and enough brightness to keep the richer cuts from flattening out. That kind of edit is hard to fake. It comes from repetition and a clear line on what the kitchen is there to do.

Today

Brisket and ribs anchor the menu at Moo's Craft Barbecue, where Andrew Muñoz remains owner and chef. Those are not decorative anchors; they set the pace of the kitchen and the expectations of the table. Brisket brings the hours of labor barbecue asks for, while ribs carry the same weight in a different register. Together, they define the restaurant’s core. The strength here is restraint. Rather than stretching the menu in too many directions, the kitchen stays close to a few fundamentals and lets them carry the room. That approach fits barbecue well: direct, patient, and built to let the essential flavors land without clutter.

Signature

Moo's Craft BBQ Beef Ribs and beef rib tacos are Andrew's signature dishes. The ribs state the kitchen’s priorities plainly: smoke, weight, and the kind of depth that comes from treating a cut with patience. The tacos move that same profile into a different format, carrying the barbecue line into something more portable without changing its center of gravity. Taken together, they show a kitchen working from a narrow set of strengths and using them with precision.

In Their Words “We kept the menu simple, brisket, ribs, pulled pork, a few sides and some aguas frescas.”

Recognition

Beef rib tacos run as a Saturday special, which gives Moo's Craft Barbecue a weekly marker within its service rhythm. Specials like that do more than add an item to the board; they shape how a place is read. Here, Saturday carries its own weight, tied to anticipation and to the restaurant’s ability to make a single offering feel like part of the house cadence.