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.
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