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(From June 2008) Menu surprise: Potato salad two ways (mayo or mustard).
This converted gas station, its service bays occupied by two portable cast-iron pits, immediately filled our tanks with pecan-smoked brisket and tender pepper-crusted pork ribs. The fresh coleslaw made up for a tomatoey sauce better suited to pasta. We ignored the five chain-link-enclosed picnic tables and ate by the car—whose own tank was soon filled by the Buc-Ee’s next door.

January 9th, 2009 at 12:07pm
Renee says:
This BBQ is the best. It is worth the drive to this small town. I have been eating there for many many years. You can see the BBQ cooking in the pits right as you drive up. You know the food is fresh. Give it a try and you will keep coming back.

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(From June 2008) Sign outside says: “Smoked Pig, Pull Pork.”
Owner Baby J (Jeremiah McKenzie) is gearing up for high volume at his cheerfully decorated new place. Pecan-smoked meats with dark, flavorful crusts are his game. It’s all good, so forget the sauce. Southern-style pulled pork provides a juicy wake-up call to jaded taste buds. Replace the usual sides with fried okra, turnip greens, and cornbread for a soul-food feast.

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(From June 2008) Chain alert: Baker’s has eight other locations, including one in (gasp!) Minneapolis.
Good sign number one: the smell. Good sign number two: Cops eat here. Good sign number three: The countermen want to talk about their food. The brisket was outrageous, with a thick black crust, a ragged red layer, and a juicy core that pulled apart easily (it’s cooked fifteen hours over mesquite). The chicken was moist, and the pulled pork was smokier than the greasy ribs. Bottles of the thin sauce (with a little kick) are kept in warming trays.

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(From June 2008) Menu surprise: Strangely addictive, olive oil—based coleslaw flecked with pecans, green onions, and broccoli. (Broccoli!)
Housed in a 104-year-old former mercantile store and lumber company, with a biergarten and live music, the Smoke Haus has style to spare. Luckily, the mesquite-smoked barbecue at this two-year-old establishment is just as inspired as the digs. Even the chicken was outstanding. Sides and desserts, all made from scratch, were spectacular—the blackberry cobbler alone is worth the drive.

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(From June 2008) Building used to be: A Gulf station that is rumored to have sold bootleg whiskey out the back.
Big Daddy’s prides itself on being biker-friendly, but it’s really just friendly. The first time we visited (anonymously, of course) the server insisted on putting extra meat on our plates so that our party could try a bit of everything. We came away with a profound respect for the moist, tender brisket and fell in love with the hot links. Neither required a dab of the sweet-and-spicy sauce, but we would have been foolish to pass it up.

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(From January 2009) A waitress pats a customer on the shoulder and says, “I’m so glad to see you!” Big G’s is that kind of place. It hasn’t been in business all that long, but locals obviously like the little roadside cafe, with a buffalo head on the wall and an antique toy scooter and tractor artistically suspended from the ceiling. The barbecue has customers queuing up, and the chicken-fry is far better than average, with a ruffly, toasty crust and peppery gravy. More good marks go to the well-seasoned hand-pressed meat patty on the cheeseburger (though the bun’s mundane). There’s not a lot to do in Tuscola (other than marvel at the Jim Ned High School gridiron, where Colt McCoy learned his chops from his dad), so drive seven miles northwest on FM 613 and poke around Buffalo Gap’s historic village and craft shops.

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(From July 2008) Amid ranch-themed murals you’ll find yourself listening for the clang of the triangle summoning you to “come ’n get” freshly sliced ribs, brisket, and turkey, all tender, moist, and nicely smoked. The sides alone can be a satisfying meal—crisp okra, slightly sweet coleslaw, saucy beans, mustardy potato salad. A baked potato stuffed with chopped brisket is a lunch favorite, and the cobbler here shines with firm peach slices and a thick crust. Beer.

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(From October 2008) As the name indicates, here wood-smoked meat is paired with alarmingly cold brew, to mutual benefit. Diminutive digs don’t diminish the portions; the rib slabs are as big as your arm, rubbed with spices till peppery sweet, and cooked until eager to leave the bone. Our tender brisket, cozied up to onion and potato salad, necessitated an order to go for late-night noshing. Beer.

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(From June 2008) Notable decor: A six-foot-tall cooler filled with raw steaks.
Twenty minutes after opening, the wood-paneled dining room was already filling up with patrons. The hickory-smoked ribs were so good we ate everything that wasn’t bone . . . and kept the bones for marrow-sucking. Sides vary daily, but don’t miss the crisp coleslaw mixed with just enough mayonnaise and a hint of sugar. Forgo the too-sweet sauce.

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(From November 2008) This rustic Market Center restaurant (think cedar and corrugated metal) offers burgers, barbecue, and much more. You can go all out for a half rack of baby back ribs or choose a special like the Cajun grilled salmon. We took the middle ground with an extremely generous platter of brisket and sausage with skin-on mashed potatoes. The beautiful condiment bar has great half-done kosher dills and roasted jalapeños that are both hot and sweet. Beer & wine.

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