The Rose Bar-B-Que

ODESSA: The Rose Bar-B-Que
4740 West University Blvd.
Odessa, TX 79764
432-580-3332
M-Sat 11-8

Out on the edge of West Odessa is this humble building clad in particle board. Once inside there's an ordering window and a few tables. When the order came out to the three of us, the server was confused why three guys were getting just one plate. We assured her that we were fine, but she came back out with some fried catfish, and extra basket of fries and 'German' potato salad on the house. I guess she thought we needed the food.

What they called 'German' potato salad was whipped potatoes with bacon, cheese, cream and green onion. It wasn't German at all, but by any name it was good. Potatoes seemed to be their forte with the hot and crisp fresh-cut fries. The catfish was also nice, but the rest of the meats weren't great.

They were all wrong on the provenance of their 'German' sausage as well. It was likely a cheap Hillshire Farm link and tasted of nothing but grease and salt. The rib was oversmoked and overcooked. The meat that disintegrated off the bone tasted of creosote from the mesquite smoke. The sliced brisket was bland and tough, and not even the sauce helped. A dessert of banana pudding was 1/3 pudding and 2/3 cool whip with a few banana chunks thrown in. It was okay on its own, but served much better as a dipping sauce for the hot salted fries. The sweet and salty worked great together and led to an empty basket of fries by the time we left. Meanwhile, the plate of ribs, brisket and sausage remained mostly full.

Rating **