Rudy's "Country Store" and Bar-B-Q — Restaurant in Amarillo

After some intensely exhaustive sleuthing, I have FINALLY figured out EXACTLY the Rudy's BBQ me and my dad visited where my life was forever changed! I BEYOND love Rudy's! It was in 2009 when my dad and I moved from Las Vegas to South Carolina. We were on the road and stopped at what we thought was just a gas station to fill up the moving truck and noticed a small, unassuming sign on the pump that said "Free BBQ sandwich with the purchase of every 10 gallons of gas." We were both like how good can these sandwiches be if they're giving them away? sigh Oh how silly us Rudy's BBQ virgins were...

So we went in and as we passed through the 2nd set of doors a great meat smelling mecca greeted us in what looked like a coolly decorated aircraft hangar. The smell was beyond delightful and I swear I could hear angels singing! We went to the counter, showed them our receipt and got 6 brisket sandwiches. I will NEVER, EVER, NEVER forget what that first sandwich tasted like, the explosion of pure brisket, meaty goodness I drowned in their spicy BBQ sauce!

We were totally blown away! We at a few of the sandwiches, left totally revived and perked up, basking in the glory of fully satisfied stomachs cradling the remaining sandwiches like they were bars of pure gold and hit the road to continue our trek to South Carolina.

As we drove, we munched on the remaining sandwiches, which we forgot to add sauce to and they were still incredibly delicious! I don't think in all my travels I ever munched on better food in a car, in my entire life than munching on a Rudy's BBQ brisket sandwich!

As the years passed and I later moved to Texas, Rudy's is still and will always be my favorite BBQ place by far, as well as their BBQ brisket will always be my favorite sandwich, drowned in tons of that spicy BBQ sauce!

I always wanted to figure out exactly which Rudy's I had that first amazing experience at. I thought once or twice I managed to figure it out but didn't know for sure until I looked through my photos today thru Google Photos and randomly found our roadtrip pictures. It was just a few minutes ago that I found a pic where I spotted the street number letters on the roof. 3751. Which makes the location that changed my life all the way back in 2009 to be Rudy's BBQ in Amarillo, TX! 3751 W Interstate 40.

A many years long mystery finally solved! Why hello there you beautiful thing! One day I will visit you again to thank you for such a wonderful introduction to Texas...

Yesterday was my second time of going to Rudy's in Amarillo. I was craving a loaded baked potato and thought I would give them a second try. I wasn't that impressed with the first visit. The second visit wasn't much better. The employees are very nice and cheerful and helpful so that's not the problem. There is no service involved since you order and pick up at a counter and take it to your table and do your own clean up. The tables and condiment containers are on the sticky side which always worries me as germ attractors. I had pork loin on my first visit and was really looking forward to it because that's not something you see on menus that often. It was too dry and chewy to suit me. I tasted the brisket this time and it was also not as tender and moist as what I've had it other BBQ places in town. I got the pulled pork on my baked potato and it was plenty moist but still kind of chewy and the flavor was not the best I've had. The potato wasn't hot, maybe lukewarm. Their prices look good at first glance but when you realize you have to order each item separately you can end up with a $15 meal before you know it, which is what happened to me the first time I went. Today I just got the baked potato which I thought would be $6.99 based on info I found on the internet. But they must have raised their prices since that was published because the baked potato was about $7.50 and ended up over $8 with tax. I tried both of their BBQ sauces and didn't care for either one. I'm no expert on BBQ sauce, I just know what I like. One was too spicy and the other was too sweet and Bland. I got side dishes the last time and they were just okay. If I were you, I would just skip the chain restaurants and go for the little local Indy places that seem to have much better quality barbecue and sides. Tyler's seems to be the best but I have found others that were very good also. There are four Soul Food places in town and they...

Arrived after 8:30 pm. Place was still open - a couple customers were having their late dinner. Went up to the counter and ordered Rudy's Moist Beef Brisket. 1/2 pound to be exact. The potatoe salad and coleslaw came prepackaged inside styrofoam containers. Reached into the cooler. I opted for the small sizes. No problem. What came next was a shocker. The beef brisket was served only on brown sheet of waxed paper. The beans were also served in a styrofoam bowl. I then asked for their 24 ounce cup. Then all the items I ordered were placed inside a large black milk container tray. Hmmm. Once getting my plastic flatware next to the condiment bar, I went across the aisle to the drink counter. Great, lemonade and sweet tea! The drink dispensers had plenty of ice. Okay, off to my table. Bluntly the food presentation was less than amirable. Then again, real Texas bbq. Served within a rustic themed dining area. Keep an open mind. What really counted was the food preparation. The aroma was spot on when compared to the first brisket morsel melting into my tastebuds. BBQ sauce came either spicy hot or the sissy mild version. Tried both of them. With my choices of sides, from the potato salad, coleslaw, and beans, with the brisket, they were very tasty. All complimented each other. Not bad. To be honest, my exposure to Texas bbq dates back my days in West Texas. Squire's of Abilene. So I had a fair idea what my expectations was to be. As for the rest of the restaurant and store, customers could buy beers to go, get Rudy's bottled bbq sauces, get takeout food, and fillup the truck with gas in one stop. Novel concept. After experiencing Rudy's, the food is worth in its flavor and value. And it's a family friendly restaurant. Sport fans would appreciate the numerous large screen TVs. Yeah, it's my first visit here to Rudy's BBQ and Country Store. The takeaway they earned a repeat customer. Walkabout Al says check...