Junction: Cooper's BBQ

On our wading trip on the head of the Llano river, we headed over to Junction (about eighteen minutes away) to try Cooper's BBQ. We were hungry from wading the river in warm sun and wind.

Interestingly enough we unsure what the JR's Restaurant sign above the green roof building is about unless it is left over from the restaurant before Coopers. The building is a nice limestone rocked building consistent with the Texas Hill Country style. The wood burning pits are at the back where it appeared to be mesquite and maybe liveoak but we did not stop to inspect the wood this time. But it was wood and the meat is smoked and cook by fire!

When you enter Coopers you are served cafeteria style with plenty to choose from meat. Brisket, sausage, chicken, cabrito (kid goat), and ribs. They serve by the pound, plate, or sandwich. The plate comes with two meats and two sides. The sides where beans, tater salad, or cole slaw.

We order one plate with sausage and brisket along with beans and tater salad. And a half pound of goat which was mostly bone but plenty of meat to pull of for our needs. We had enough food for the three of us with our main intent on reviewing the BBQ. None of the meats needed sauce so we cannot rate the sauce....this is a good thing.

The brisket was moist and tender and had a nice rubbed flavor on the outside but the inside did not have a lot of flavor. It was a nice brisket but nothing to get carried away with around here.

The sausage was definitely not store bought and had a nice flavor. Definitely a meat we would return for seconds. But M.E. and D.B. both think Rudy's sausage is better.

The goat was excellent. Moist, tender, and had a nice flavor inside and out. All three of us (M.E., ALB, and D.B.) really enjoyed the goat and rate it the best of the three meats we tried.

The sides were good. The beans were pinto beans with a bit of black pepper in them. All of us like the beans and would get them again. Very nice. The tater salad was good for what it is. It was more of a mayonnaise tater salad with a hint of mustard. But even so it was a nice tater salad that would be ordered again. Gwen would enjoy the salad a lot.

We did not try the ice-tea since they had Big Red and RC at the fountains.

Overall we would eat here again and found the BBQ to be good. The atmosphere was definitely Texas Hill Country style with plenty of mounted wild animals indicative of a hunters economy. There was a small but nice kids playground outside.

We all enjoyed the food. :)

---

Rating:
Goat (cabrito) 4.5 (The best of the best. Tender, moist, sweet.)
Brisket 3.5 (tender, moist, with a nice rubbed flavor on outside with mild to no flavor on inside.)
Sausage 3.5, 4.0 ( okay but definitely not store bought with a nice flavor)
Tater salad 4.0 (More a mayonnaise but very good for what it is)
Beans 4.25 (Larger helpings would be nice)

Would definitley stop there again. Good Texas-style BBQ.

The Back Forty BBQ: San Ramon

Well finally after waiting a couple of years I got up to one of The Back Forty's in California. It is based on Texas-style BBQ. There are two close to Oakland and two up by Sacramento. Since the San Ramon Valley location was ten miles closer to our Santa Clara hotel than the original up in Pleasant Hill then we stop there. It did take a GPS to help us (Steve, Joann, and DB) locate the place.

The San Ramon is located in a shopping center off of I680 up on a hill. The place is not real big and it is all sit down service. The folks were real nice and the atmosphere was contrived but yet western. How is that for a mouthful.

I was really stoked since I had read they served fried sweet taters. Not bad. Cut a tad thick but still nice fries. I really should learn to fry my own sometime. They were yum.

It helps to order by the plate or combo. I ordered Brisket (juicy not lean), Sausage ("Hot Links), and Beef ribs along with sides of tater-salad and fried sweet taters. The second bite, after the taters, was the tater salad. It was a mustard tater salad, chilled, that was very good...it may have been the highlight of the night for me. I recommend as a must.

The brisket was moist and tender but lack much flavor. I am unsure what was missing...a rub or the right wood to smoke it. But the BBQ sauce served with it help make up for that. The sauce was the second highlight. It was very nice and good on just about anything. Not spicy sauce but delicious.

Next came the beef ribs. Since I am not much of a ribs fan then I may not be a fair judge. My ribs were moist and tender but just lacked much flavor. I hate to say it given my motto about meat that needs sauce but if they had basted the ribs with that BBQ sauce they may have been mighty tasty.

Well when I saw the sausage was called "hot links"I was not holding my breath for anything good. As far as sausage goes they looked like a bratwurst but had a better flavor. Not a hot link flavor but a sausage flavor. Not what I am used to or like but it was ok. Better than all the meats I had on my plate.

The ice tea was good but not sweetened. The cornbread was good...it was a bit sweet which is ok with me. It went well with the beans. The beans, though meant to be like camp-style, were actually pretty good. I put some onions and cornbread into the bowl Steve gave me. Again this side may have rounded out the sides as being the best part of the meal.

Next was a sample of Steve's pork ribs. Turns out they were pretty good. They had basted them with something...most likely the sauce. I would have to say that the sausage and ribs are for me next time.

Joann ordered some banana bread (or nanner bread) which turned out to be pretty good. A nice option to have along with other breads. Joann order the BBQ chicken which she says was nice. I will take her word for it since BBQ and chicken just seems wrong to me. But to each their own. Joann seemed to like the chicken so that is a strong vote of confidence for that meat.

All in all we enjoyed the visit and the food. We may have to stop in there again while in the area.
We left full and content...well at least I did.

---

Rating:
Brisket 2.5 (tender, moist, not much flavor...sauce saved it)
Sausage 3.5 ( not store bought but more like a bratwurst..good for what it is and so the rating)
Beef Ribs 2.0 (tender, moist, but not much flavor, sauce could save it if basted)
Pork Ribs 4.0 (top of the meats, nice flavor and moist)
Tater salad 4.0 (just plain good. Would be nicer warm)
Beans 4.0 (nice)
Cornbread 4.0 (nice with a bit of sweet)
Nanner bread 4.0 (not bad at all)
Tea 3.5
Sauce 4.5 (good)

Duke BBQ (Utopia, Texas)

June 7th, 2008

Duke Ranch near Utopia, Texas. Utopia Shoot-Out





The Duke family served up BBQ for the lunch time meal to accompany the Utopia Shoot-Out. Since it has been almost six months since the meal then I will not rate each item.

They served up (to name a few):

Sausage
Brisket
Tater Salad
Beans
Ice Tea Sweet
Peach Cobbler
Naner Pudding

It was all good. The sausage was definitely not store bought. Yum.

The Brisket was outstanding and had all due care in its making. The taste said it all.

The Pudding and Cobbler was great. I think I got several helpings of cobbler which I had not had in a long time.

They definitely served up an outstanding meal and BBQ. It was good to be home and get a home cooked meal. The Duke's are great hosts who are proud of their BBQ and well they should be.

Overall I would rate the BBQ: 4.5

This leaves them room to improve, I am not sure how, and grow.

Bob's Bodacious BBQ - Los Alamos, NM

Fortunately in recent years Los Alamos has a nice BBQ place called Bob's Bodacious BBQ. The place is influenced by Texas in part. The family developed their style from the south, Texas, and Kansas City primarily Kansas City Style.

Bob's is comfortable place to visit with a southwest style decor. The people are very friendly and helpful and have a great little restaurant that makes Los Alamos proud. They serve a good product.

With all of this said this review may fall short since we are looking for Texas-style BBQ and Bob's specialty is pulled pork which is not a traditional Texas-Style BBQ. So we will offer ratings from two Carolina boys on the pulled pork.

Bob's offers up a variety of meats. Pulled pork, brisket, sausage, and ribs. Along with BBQ they offer standard fare for NM and TX like chili con carne, Frito pie, and chili dogs.

---

Rating:
Brisket 3.25 (tender, moist, very mild flavor)
Sausage 2.5 (more like store bought but good for that type)
Pulled Pork 4.0 & 3.5 (two Carolina boys say so) ****
Tater salad 3.0 (needs more mustard)
Beans 2.5 (ranch style like baked beans)
Tea 3.0 (Caroline boy says need sweet tea, he is right.)
Frito Pie 3.75

Albuquerque Rudy's (On Carlisle)

In New Mexico it can be hard to find good Texas Style BBQ so when you find a place then you visit it alot. Rudy's is one of those places that fills the Texas BBQ niche.




The Carlisle Rudy's is one of our (DB) favorite Rudy's. We usually make at least one stop here when we visit ABQ or if we are closer we stop at the other Rudy's over on Coors which is not much different than the Carlisle location.

This Rudy's uses Live Oak for its cooking as the website claims, "Our pits are 100% wood fired with oak, a slower burning wood as opposed to mesquite." We were doubtful that Live Oak could be had in NM but upon one of our visits they had the back gate open while wood was being delivered and sure enough it was Live Oak.

As a family we all enjoy Rudy's. Our usual order is sausage, brisket, tater salad, beans, and taters. We cannot remember a time at the Carlisle Rudy's that the food was not good. Though our usual order is our favorite there are several other meats available. They serve ribs, chicken, and pork.

This Rudy's serves one our favorite smoked sausages which is hard to beat unless you head to Texas where there is so much more selections. It is definitely NOT a "store bought" style sausage. The brisket is very good with a nice flavor, moist, and tender. Rudy's uses a rub on their brisket and no sauce. Our rule of thumb is that if you need sauce on your brisket then you may be in trouble already. This Rudy's brisket definitely stands on its own without sauce.

Also it hard to say you have a BBQ shack unless you have good ice tea especially sweet tea and this Rudys definitely has that which comes in Rudy's trade mark large plastic cups.

Rudy's tater salad is just how we like it. It is a mustard salad in the traditional style from Texas. One of us (DB) has to add just a tad more mustard since he is used to a bit more mustard. Their beans are different but very good. Pinto beans boiled with some meat for seasoning and a touch of spice like jalapeno to give it a nice flavor.

If you like boiled taters (as E.M. does) then you are in luck. Rudy's uses red new potatoes that are very nice and covers them in melted butter if you ask for it.

Here is the general Rudy's Menu.

---

Rating:
Brisket 3.75 (tender, a little dry, nice smoked/rub flavor)
Sausage 4.00 (yum, definitely not store bought) ****
Tater Salad 3.5 (good, needs a tad more mustard)
Beans 4.0 (nice, good with fresh onion and bread)****
Taters 4.0 (delicious even without extra butter)****
Sweet Tea 4.5 (Hits the spot, nice large plastic cups)****

Lubbock Rudy's

Well, this has been a longtime coming since I (DB) setup and started this blog a couple years ago but never posted anything to it even after eating at many BBQ places. So it is appropriate I start with a Rudy's since they are the prime source of Texas style BBQ in NM for me. Though this one is in Lubbock.

It is part of my tradition to stop at BBQ while going to and from Texas. In Lubbock I almost always stop at Rudy's too. This trip to the Utopia Shoot down in Utopia, Texas was no different.

I pulled into Rudy's parking lot here near the corner of Slide and the south Loop. As always there is a tempting Free Birds right next to Rudy's but so far it has not pulled me away from Rudy's. The Lubbock Rudy's is of the same style of most of the Rudy's I have visited, especially the ABQ ones, with a large dining area that is long tables with folding chairs with the look of the inside of a nice shed or barn. There some wooden picnic like benches along the outside with large windows that can be raised during the appropriate time of the year. The usual long bin of iced down drinks and the usual butcher/meat market like style of serving you the meat.

Though the brisket is pretty good at Rudy's I am watching my girlish figure and went with a half link of sausage, two slices of bread, a little cup of mustard tater salad, a cup of beans, and a sweet cup of ice tea.

This Rudy's has been a hit and miss for me over the years with their sausage changing brands or style and I am less pleased at times with some of the sausage. But this time the sausage was up to snuff and I really enjoyed it. Eating it plain is good in itself but I like to eat it between a halved piece of bread with mustard and a dab of the Rudy's Sause. It is down right delicious.

The tater salad is good but I always feel it needs a tad more mustard so I squirt some into it and mix it all us. The beans are very good and I like to cut up some onions and put it into it. The sweet tea is always good and I love the big Rudy's cups they sell it to you in.

All and this Rudy's visit in Lubbock was better than I expected. More like the ones in ABQ that I favor.

---

Rating:
Sausage 3.75 (definitely not store bought, sometimes hit and miss)
Tater Salad 3.5 (nice, might need a tad more mustard)
Beans 4.0 (good, nice with onions and bread)****
Sweet Tea 4.0 (hits the spot, though they experiment with different brands of tea)****