Cowboy's BBQ (Covington, GA)

To contact us Click HERE
1066 Highway 142
Covington, GA 30014
770-784-1401
http://www.cowboysbarbecue.com/




After no luck finding BBQ anywhere between Atlanta and Augusta on a Monday night, I was able to find a little BBQ spot off of I-20 in Covington later that week. Cowboy's BBQ is easy to miss since it's attached to a small gas station on Highway 142. BBQ might be the only type of food that can be more promising when attached to a gas station. I decided to pull over and give this two year old BBQ joint a try. The stale cowboy decor was a little offsetting at first, but I made sure to try and keep an open mind for their food.


Once inside the faux corny corral, I pulled up a chair and placed my order with the sweet waitress behind the counter. I'd try the baby back ribs, pulled pork, and brisket today. With a name like "Cowboy's" they better have some decent brisket. I ordered my brisket from the moist end to give them their best shot at quality BBQ. I noticed the smokehouse outside that housed either an Ole Hickory or Southern Pride smoker the best I could tell (owner later confirmed it was an end-loading Ole Hickory). I waited about fifteen minutes for my manly meat plate to arrive.



Hmmm...Something was off when I got my food. This pulled pork had clearly been BBQ'ed, but I just couldn't tell how many days before. It tasted as old and dry as it looked. After one bite I moved on to the ribs and brisket. The first bite of brisket was Ok, but the huge pieces of fat left hardly any other meat to try. I can say that there was some kind of nice salty bark on the outside though. The ribs were sweet and smoky but dry and old. The membrane snapped when you bit into them like a piece of sausage. This meal might have actually been decent had I arrived the day before when it was pulled out of the smoker.



Disgusted and frustrated, I asked the worker in charge of the pit when this food came off the smoker. He confirmed that it was all yesterday's meat. I commend his honesty, but was still frustrated that they would serve this to customers. There are a lot of ways to effectively use yesterday's BBQ (burnt ends, Brunswick stew, baked beans, etc.). Throwing it an oven to reheat and serve isn't one of them. He told me he was sorry and would get "some good stuff" for me. The good stuff was foil wrapped pork that was thrown into a crock pot for ten minutes. I don't get it. They don't get it. There are couple sauces to choose from here if you'd rather not taste the old meat. My favorite was the honey BBQ, but the spicy and mustard sauces were pretty good too.

On my way out I was able to run into the owner, "Cowboy." He told me some story about how competition BBQ wasn't for him and how much Southern Pride smokers are overrated. I said my goodbyes, never to return. See ya' around, Cowboy.

Moonie's Texas Barbecue (Flowery Branch, GA)

To contact us Click HERE
5545 Atlanta Highway
Flowery Branch, GA 30542
770-617-4008
http://www.mooniestexasbarbecue.com/




A Texas-style BBQ joint in Georgia...really original. We're already littered with many places making this claim. Some really good (Fox Brothers BBQ) and many not worth your time at all. But no, Moonie's isn't just "Texas-style" or Texas inspired, this is a real-deal Texas Barbecue joint that somehow has made its way into Georgia's graces. From the woods used, decor, meats offered, and beer selection, this place feels like you've stepped straight into some outlying town near Austin. Our friends at Socks Love Rub were actually the first to let us know about this up and coming BBQ spot in Flowery Branch near their house . I don't know much about Flowery Branch besides that the Atlanta Falcons train and are headquartered there. It's nowhere near where I live so I made a special trip to see how this food could compare to anything we've tried to date.


We pulled into Moonie's on a Friday evening around 6PM. I made sure to call ahead to ensure nothing was sold out just yet. With the limited hours I've heard Moonie's sells out more often than not. As soon as we got out of the car Jamie and I immediately noticed something different in the air. It wasn't your typical hickory log smoke that most Georgia BBQ restaurants use. There's nothing wrong with hickory. I actually enjoy it. This was post oak though. Post oak is something that you'll find at a lot of Texas joints across the state. I didn't realize how different it smelled until our Georgia BBQ adventures began. I haven't had enough experience with woods to be able to just pick smells out of the air (just yet), but it didn't take much to know that this wasn't our usual wood smoking. The outside has a small resemblance to Louie Mueller BBQ in Taylor, TX. It even has the double flags out front signifying if meat is sold out yet (flag's up, you're in luck...down, sold out). 

Once inside, the line was already formed about seven people deep. There's meat by the pound as well as some "plates" that Moonie offers (all served on butcher paper). Moonie (computer programmer by day) and family just recently joined the Atlanta BBQ scene after moving from the Austin area a couple years ago. After a lot of hard work, the doors finally opened to his dream job in the summer of 2011. When you walk in though it's still evident that Texas is very close to their hearts. Lone Star beer waits in the tubs while the Texas staples such as brisket, sausage, and ribs are available by the pound. Pulled pork and turkey are also available if the Texas trinity doesn't particularly do it for you. The sides are simple and few including baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad, and creamed corn.



I ordered our half pound of brisket from the moist end. This brisket had a lot of smoke flavor and oozed properly rendered fat and juice from the 15 plus hours in their BBQ Guru-maintained Pitmaster Vault. The nice bark added great flavor to some of the best brisket we've tried in Georgia. The jalapeno sausage was equally as pleasing. They use a medium casing and has an inside that's a lot more "crumbly" than anything you'll usually find in a Georgia BBQ joint. Moonie mentioned that he's also in the process of adding his own beef sausage to the menu as well as beef ribs very soon. The St. Louis style ribs were seasoned nicely and also had a good amount of smoke. I wasn't fond of the thick membrane left on the back and would really love to see them take the extra time to remove before smoking. Regardless, they were cooked perfectly. The pulled pork was smoked to a perfect temperature but was just too smoky for Jamie and I. It had a nice bark and also tasted like a light sauce was added prior to serving. You couldn't really taste much of the pork flavor though the sauce and smoke though.

Moist brisket from the point

The colesaw tasted fresh with crisp pieces of shredded cabbage and carrots in a light mayonnaise based dressing. The baked beans are hardwood smoked and include chunks of apple that add a sweet contrast to the meal. All meals are served with soft towers of white bread, pickles, onions, and jalapenos.  Moonie was hesitant to include any BBQ sauces, but offers three different options for anyone who prefers that sort of thing. After all, great BBQ doesn't need sauce, right? There's a regular and spicy sauce which both have strong cumin, pepper, and tomato flavors. The spicy version has just a little more kick though from the jalapeno powder. There is also a third mustard-vinegar sauce that's available.

Lean brisket from the flat

Moonie's served quality food that should make any Georgian or Texan proud. Be warned, they don't go lightly on the smoke though. We at GBH highly recommend the brisket and sausage. I can't wait to visit again and wish the best to Moonie and crew. If you stop by, please let me know what you think.

Bradley's Real Pit Bar-B-Que (Covington, GA)

To contact us Click HERE
1160 Church Street
Covington, GA 30014
770-786-1140
http://www.bradleysbbq.com/


Allured by the advertising of "Real Pit BBQ" was enough for me to stop at this BBQ joint located just off the square in downtown Covington, GA. I'll go ahead and alleviate any curiosity by explaining that the real pit was a Southern Pride "gasser." Some great things can be done with these contraptions as evident with Fox Brothers, Community Q, Grand Champion, and others. As one reader said though, "Don't ever let your gas bill be more than your wood bill." While somewhat unrealistic, I thought that was some pretty sound advice for any new BBQ venture.


I arrived at 7:30 on a Wednesday night. I double-checked their closing time to make sure I wasn't late (it's 8:30) because staff members were already cleaning and starting to close up. Needless to say it wasn't busy at all. I appreciated the case of Monster Energy Drinks being displayed at the front counter since sometimes those might be the only things that get me through the long drives. Pulled pork, two meaty spare ribs, coleslaw, and "Bradley's Beans" would be paired with a side of smoked chicken wings.



The pork and ribs were both seasoned well. I've found a lot of BBQ joints not seasoning their meat enough. Either they think that the smoke is adequate flavor or they're just scared to over season. Don't be scared to over season large cuts of meat. With that being said, the pork was extremely dry. It reminded me a lot of Cowboy's BBQ which is not far down the road (this isn't a good thing). The ribs were average. My favorite part of the meal were these hickory smoked wings. Strong smoke flavor and nice texture easily made these wings the star of my meal. I ordered six but could've easily eaten ten more, in large part due to how boring the rest of the meal was.


The coleslaw was not anything special, but I should definitely mention something about "Bradley's Beans." Tasting eerily similar to refried beans at your closest Mexican dive, these beans are topped with cheese and somehow have found their way onto this BBQ menu. I'm not sure what the reason is behind it, but they're available if you're into refried beans with smoked wings.

I left Bradley's still wishing for great BBQ off of a nice open pit. I had to settle for some smoked wings instead. My best advice would be to not get your hopes up too high if ever visiting and not straying too far from the hickory smoked wings. Jim 'N Nick's in nearby Conyers is a better alternative at this point.

Neal's Bar-B-Que (Thomson, GA)

To contact us Click HERE
664 Augusta Road
Thomson, GA 30824
706-595-2594


I've just returned from Austin, TX and had some damn fine BBQ. Will it make me be a little more tough on places recently visited in Georgia? Absolutely...and as it should be. BBQ is worldwide and should all be held to the same standard. I hate hearing "It's really good...for Georgia BBQ." It shouldn't matter where it's from. If it's good, it's good and if it's bad, it's bad. Call it like you see it.


With that being said, I recently visited a little place named Neal's outside of Augusta in Thomson. It's a little hard to find, but once you're there you're greeted like an old friend. The tin roof covered wooden porch leads you into a patriotic themed dining room. Whole hog cooked pulled pork and slow cooked spare ribs are kept warm in Crock Pots just over the counter....yes, Crock Pots. It's either chicken or pork here at Neal's. No beef on the menu. I didn't try the chicken on this visit and just stuck with the spare ribs and "spicy" pulled pork sandwich. Being so close to South Carolina, hash is naturally served as a side instead of the usual Georgia Brunswick stew.  You don't see BBQ hash in Georgia that often, but the further northeast you visit, the more it pops up on BBQ menus. If you've never had it, then just think "thicker Brunswick stew with potatoes." These side items are very similar in taste just not texture.



I don't have a lot of great things to say about the food here at Neal's. They cook whole hog which means you won't find a lot of smoke on the pork. For what you lack in smoke you usually make up with a juicy pork flavor in whole hog cooking....not here. The dry sandwich had a little kick of pepper with some vinegar flavors, but overall wasn't appealing. The grey, chewy, overcooked ribs that were covered in a sweet BBQ sauce should've been chopped up and added to the hash or thrown out.


For what it's worth, the hash and rice was better here than the last couple places I've tried. The staff here is amazingly friendly and will put a smile on your face as you stomach the sub-par BBQ.

Scott's Walk-Up Bar-B-Q (Cartersville, GA)

To contact us Click HERE
206 North Tennessee Street
Cartersville, GA 30120
770-382-1600
www.scottswalkupbbq.com/


Another spot that's been on my short list recently has been Scott's Walk-Up Bar-B-Que in Cartersville, GA. You walk up to the restaurant, walk up to the counter, place your order, and wait for the food to be brought out to you. I suppose a lot of BBQ places these days share the same "business model," but it still makes for an interesting BBQ joint name. I've heard that owner, Scott Panter, was very involved in the BBQ competition scene with a lot of success before deciding to open up his brick and mortar restaurant. Restaurant BBQ and competition BBQ aren't always a seamless transition so I was curious on what kind of food would make its way to the table. Restaurant BBQ and competition BBQ are two completely different beasts. Competition style focuses on one bite of BBQ while the other aims to make a great meal.



The GBH team had one of our most memorable BBQ experiences on our first ever visit to Scott's. When we "walked up" and sat inside we both noticed how quiet and dimly lit the whole place was. It had a "Walking Dead" post-zombie-apocalypse feel. This isn't usually the mood you try to achieve at a BBQ spot. It was shortly announced that all the power was out which made a little more sense. My best non-electrical background explanation was that some of the wires had crossed near one of the breakers. That sounds pretty official, right? Anyways, we were still able to place our orders even though there was no ice or active credit card machines. They said if we didn't have cash that we could just come back later and square everything up. Now that's good people.


My $20 bill was worth a half pound of pulled pork, half rack of ribs, one all beef sausage link, and a side of baked beans...not too bad. Scott's only serves brisket on Fridays and we were in luck because it was Friday! We were also shortly out of luck since their three briskets that they cook sold out by noon and it was 12:30. Scott uses a gas-wood fueled Southern Pride smoker which hopefully wouldn't let anything get too far off the path of edible BBQ.


The pulled pork we indulged in was pulled into long, fresh, flavorful strands of pork shoulder interwined with smoke-kissed, delicious pieces of outer bark. No sauce needed here, folks. While a pork butt might be one of the easiest things to smoke, it's still nice to see places do it well. More than 75% of places we visit can't decently smoke a pork butt which should tell you a lot about the rest of the menu. Our meal went down hill after the pulled pork though. The ribs were old, tough, and greasy. The all beef sausage tasted like it was straight out of a pack of Oscar Meyers. That's not a good thing in the BBQ world.

I know I've got to cut them a little slack since the whole place had been operating without power. The pulled pork was great. I'll have to come back another Friday to hopefully get some of their brisket that I've heard good things about. Not sure how the fresh ribs compare to the ribs we had, and I'd avoid the beef sausage if ever visiting Scott's

Walker's Southern Style BBQ (New Orleans, La)

To contact us Click HERE
I really wanted to like this place. I really really did. But I did not.

The ribs had a great taste, an ok texture (despite the fact that they left the membrane on), and yet they SMELLED awful.

They ran out out of the brisket so maybe I'm not being fair. However, I'm just going off what I was served.

Not much left to say. The women that ran it were really sweet and there wasn't an ounce of that presumptuous attitude that lurks many New Orleans establishments.








Walker's BBQ will be receiving a 2 out of 5 stars.


p.s. I'd like to say that maybe I'll try it again someday but I'd rather smoke my own BBQ than give second chances. I will also put a disclaimer up, Walkers is known for their couchon du lait po boys. I didn't get it because this is not a po boy blog.

Thelma's BBQ (Houston, Tx)

To contact us Click HERE
Really?

This place came under the recommendation of a BBQ Documentary I watched called "Barbecue: A Texas Love Story". I took this recommendation in good faith because it was a great documentary. I'm going to have to rethink my product review on that documentary now. Thelma's BBQ was also voted in Texas Monthly's Top 50 BBQ in Texas. I'm also going to have to rethink my feelings on Texas Monthly magazine. Thelma's BBQ is also a BBQ staple in Houston. Again, I will be questioning the character of Houston and their BBQ from this day forward.

Thelma's was horrible. The sauce was a diabetic nightmare which tasted like Sweet and Sour Sauce from a Chinese restaurant. They just dump the sauce right on it. Imagine a red soup and you have to fish bbq out of. That my friends was my experience at Thelma's BBQ. There was more sauce than meat (and there was plenty of meat mind you).I'm a no sauce/no bullshit kind of guy when it comes to bbq. I like to taste the meat, texture, and enjoy the moistness of a good rib/brisket. I read a sign that said "Sauce on Side - $2". Yea...F* That.

Atmosphere was horrible. Granted it's in the middle of the hood, but I don't like watching talk shows and listening to AC window units in the background while I try to enjoy my food.

My advice. Skip the BBQ at Thelmas and go down the block to Frenchies which is closer to U of H...it's like a home cooked menu from Popeye's.




Also, I stepped in horse shit on the way out. That's never helped anyone.

Thelma's will be receiving a 2 out of 5 stars.