Mr. B's Barbecue

GRAND SALINE: Mr. B's Barbecue
1505 W. Garland
Grand Saline, TX 75140
903-962-3340
Open Tues-Thur 11-8, F 11-9, Sun 11-8

It was early. They weren't yet open on this gray and rainy morning, but the lone lady working opened the door up for us anyway. It seemed the guy who owns the joint called her at about 4:00 am to come open the joint because he was ill. It was Tuesday and we were informed not to worry because everything was almost ready. It had all been smoked on Sunday and just needed to be reheated. Now we were worried.



More and more meat piled onto our plate with every ding of the microwave. The only meat worth eating were the ribs helped by a good crust and a sweet sauce. The two thin ribs were overdone while the thicker two were just too chewy. I won't waste too many descriptors on the poor quality hot links, the awful fatty commercial sausage, and the wet and salty deli ham.



The dry as a bone brisket fell apart into chunks on the plate. The first bite was awful, and I didn't need anymore to make an adequate assessment. A gallon of sauce wasn't going to fix this.



The lone bright spot on the morning was the only thing cooked fresh. Onion rings were hand battered and fried to order. A dash of salt and they were a welcome crispy excess on a dreary morning. Come to think of it, fresh onion rings make a better breakfast than microwaved brisket any day.

Rating *

Lum's Country Store

JUNCTION: Lum’s Country Store
2031 Main St
Junction, TX 76849
325-446-3541
Open Sun-Thur 7-11, F 7-12am, Sat 7-1am

Update: It's been four years since my last visit to Lum's out on the far west side of the Hill Country. On this return visit I was hoping to affirm what I'd found on the previous trip, which was that Lum's serves some of the state's best BBQ. My suspicions arose immediately when I pulled up to ind their new sign proclaiming "Best BBQ in the World." Really? What I normally find out on the BBQ trail is that humility is usually a big part of great barbecue. Those that crow themselves the best tend to get complacent having already reached their mental mountain top.

















It all looked promising as it was being cut. The ribs and brisket both had a black crust, and they yielded easily to the knife. The sausage had a casing that was darkened and had some good snap. A couple of deviled eggs could be subbed for a side item. As I strolled out to the picnic tables, things were looking up.



As we reached the table I noticed that the brisket's surface had already dried out considerably. The ribs hadn’t dried to that degree, but the edges were showing some age. The sausage link was sliced, but the knife hadn’t gone clean through. As I pulled them apart I could now see why. While sitting on the steam table the bottom edge of the link had dried to a crisp. The knife couldn’t slice through it easily because it was so stiff. It simply should not have ended up on the plate. The flavor of both the brisket and ribs was adequately smoky. They both could have used more seasoning. I could easily chalk this visit up to a bad day or bad time of day (late afternoon) to visit, but all three of the meats had issues. Either way we left a bit dejected after sincerely looking forward to this visit. At least the deviled eggs were good

Rating ****  

2008: On a drive from Del Rio to Mason we passed through Junction, Texas were the famous Junction Boys from Texas A&M spent 10 grueling days under the hot sun. The giant metal contraption belching smoke and all the bikers out front of this joint forced me to make an unscheduled stop with a friend. We didn't expect much from a gas station trying to serve 'cue on the side, but we soon learned that the gas station was the side business. We ordered brisket ribs and sausage. Their sausage supplier is in San Angelo. The links had a great snap and a medium grind with lots of visible spices. They had a bit of heat which married well with the sauce. The brisket had the thickest deep red smoke line that I've seen. The crust was incredible, and the meat was deeply smoky throughout. The tenderness was perfect as was the overall flavor. I haven't had a brisket that's any better. The ribs here were also great. They had a deep red crust, excellent flavor throughout, and the fat below the crust was perfectly rendered. The meat was smoky right down to the bone, but the meat could have come of the bone a little easier. This is the only negative I could find in the meat here. It may just be the best find of all the joints in my road tripping due to the fact that it is unmentioned in any BBQ publication that I've read. Based on this trip, it belongs in some of the future ones.

Bill's Bar-B-Que

KERRVILLE: Bill's Bar-B-Que
1909 Junction Highway
Kerrville, TX 78028
830-895-5733
Open Tues-Sat 11-7
www.billsbbq.net

Joe Marino has been running this joint on the outskirts of Kerrville since 2005. It's been around a lot longer with the business starting some thirty years ago. Their set up is not your usual one. They opt for indirect smoking for briskets, but direct heat over coals for ribs, chicken and sausage. No matter the equipment they're using, it's live oak wood that supplies the smoke or the coals.



Ordering is done in the U-shaped line. After you've made your way around to the register, you can find a spot inside or take a seat at a couple of picnic tables outside. I like the smell of oak smoke in the morning, so we immersed ourselves into the pit area.



The ribs had a great flavor from the coals and a rub heavy in black pepper. The meat had been cooked quickly and the fat had a seared flavor. Nick described the rib bark as being reminiscent of fried chicken skin. I wasn't complaining. While the brisket had too much of the fat trimmed away, what remained was a deeply smoky and very moist cut of beef. The bark was a nice black color and the fat that still clung to the ends of each slice was quite tasty. The pork shoulder was more chunked than pulled. The moist meat had a great crust and good smoke. After a very good meal I was bit surprised that I'd never heard much about the joint. The owner came out to see how we liked it and mentioned that some folks had been around recently taking photos. Maybe word's about to get out.

Rating ****