Tamez Barbecue — Restaurant in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

Update9/1/22 -- Usually just do breakfast, but got the opportunity to grab lunch. Mmmmmm. The brisket sandwich is so good and really doesn't even need sauce, but that's my preference. Love that they have Mexican Cokes in a bottle on hand. Only slight disappointment was the potato salad. It was too firm. Some of the pieces felt just barely blanched. Very tasty salad, though. Frankly, everything I've ever had at Tamez is tasty. I occasionally don't like the texture or doneness, but I never regret going there. Always at least one amazing thing in your order.

UPDATE: I went back again and decided to give the brisket another try. I got a brisket and egg breakfast burrito, plus, my fave chorizo and egg. I think someone read my past review because the brisket wasn't like I got the last time (chopped into tiny pieces more like a pulled pork texture). It was sliced chunks. You would not believe how much difference the texture makes. I'm sure I got the same amount of meat, but the smoked flavor comes through SO much better. Now I have to say that I like the brisket as much as the chorizo and egg. And the tortillas are still as amazing as ever. You'll probably never get a picture from me because I' m too busy inhaling the burritos. Just go.

----previous post Ok, I went to Tamez BBQ here in Athens, which is marketed as Texas style, and being from Texas (Houston) people have been asking me what I think. Keep in mind Texas is big, and BBQ will have a different style between regions.

1. Tortillas -- OMG I have never had a tortilla like that outside of someone's house, not just outside of Texas. This is home made. I would go to Tamez just for the tortillas the burritos are wrapped in.

2. Chorizo -- FINALLY! In Texas, chorizo is not stick of hard sausage. My mom would buy it raw in a soft casing, and split the casing open and scrape out and cook the soft sausage inside. You wind up with little clumps of meat that look like tiny bits of ground beef. This Is It. I would go here just for the chorizo and eggs breakfast burritos.

3. The BBQ sauce -- Personally, I think there's too much vinegar, which is more the Southern style all my Athens friends like. I will pass on the condiments. Anyway the burritos don't need it. I prefer the Original to the Tangy, but found the Original sweeter than I would like, and that's saying something.

4. The brisket -- mixed bag. The taste is good. Texas BBQ gets flavor in the smoking (often Mesquite). I'm used to brisket that is sliced, firm in texture, soft to the bite, but not at all mushy. You can get chopped brisket, but I prefer sliced. This brisket was chopped and fatty, and reminded me of pulled pork in texture. To me, if you're going to have brisket, it should not look or feel like pulled pork.

So Tamez is a great blend of Texas and Southern style, but I may stick with chorizo breakfast burritos over the brisket. That said, I ate every little bite, and so quickly I didn't...

Let's start by saying that we had high hopes after our research on this restaurant, and the reviews we'd read.

We arrived shortly before 2pm, and the staff was chatting when we walked inside the establishment. There were no smiles or hellos. However, they were quick to announce they were out of pulled pork--as soon as we walked in. Okay, thanks for letting us know.

Once we ordered, they directed us outside to the dining area. At first glance, the makeshift dining room seemed fine, but, as we looked around (the dining area was completely empty), we saw that all the tables were dirty. We chose the cleanest table, towards the rear of the room.

After waiting 30(ish) minutes, the same person who took our order came into the room, left our plates and just walked away. Not a single word. I get it; we all have "days", but, wow, ok.

Now the food: worse than disappointing. My partner ordered the brisket plate and I got the chicken fajita plate. The amount of actual brisket was probably less than 2 oz, and mostly fat. It seemed to crawl across the tray because of how gelatinous it was. Also, the beans and rice were basically unseasoned. Not even the slightest amount of flavor.

All of this resulted in us leaving the majority of our food and leaving shortly thereafter.

I can honestly say that I have never had such a bad meal...EVER. And in terms of the service, I really hope her day got better, because, after that experience, ours...

Stopped by to try this place for the first time during lunch. I ordered the brisket plate with macaroni and collard greens as my sides. Meal was around $19 including an added drink before any tip. This was my first time having brisket and I’m not sure I would ever have it again if this is how it’s suppose to be cooked. It lacked any flavor to me and was only edible because of the sauce. The sides I tried were terrible. I opened my macaroni and immediately realized I had been served something similar to boxed mac and cheese except the boxed macaroni from Kraft may have tasted better. The “macaroni” only tasted like noodles and pasta water with absolutely no seasoning or even hint of cheese flavoring. The “cheese” used must be the liquid packaged stuff you get out of boxed macaroni but severely watered down. I tried adding salt and pepper to it and it was still inedible and bland. It was quite literally the worst macaroni I’ve ever been served. The collard greens tasted like they were made with pickle juice for some odd reason and that was off putting to me. They had a kick to them but definitely not the collard greens I am use to. If this is how BBQ is in Texas I’m not jumping to go try it anytime soon and I don’t see myself returning to this restaurant. I ended up throwing the majority of the food away unfortunately. Many people seem to love this place so maybe I just caught them...