Pok-e-Jo's - Parmer — Restaurant in Austin

Recently attended to two family events here and both times ended up sick. I'm going to narrow it down between the sausage and ribs as to what caused it.

My family likes this location because it has a back room and is often available.

I could probably tolerate the brisket and turkey if the prices were remotely reasonable for the quality and portion vs price.

The quality is that of an establishment that is having a hard time holding food. The brisket and turkey have decent flavor however both were visibly dry, almost to the point of having a shell surface. Like they were sitting uncovered for too long. The sausage is not deceptive. It looks just as bad as it tastes. I gave it a few bites the other night in case the 3 times before had been a series of bad days for them. The ribs WERE deceptive. They look great! One bite and you know you have tasted decay. If you're hardcore you could probably finish the 3 tiny ribs that come per order. My potato salad smelled good but then I ended up chewing raw potatoes. There was a side offering I tried called cornbread casserole which looked like it would be good but the cornbread was somehow dry despite being stuffed with quite a bit of whole kernel corn. Meh

What was good? My Texas toast and the sauce wasn't bad.

Here's a breakdown of their pricing vs portion: for their main bbq plates as of 8/3/2016

2-meat plate - $11.99 2 Meats $8.11($4.055/6oz) 2 Sides $3.88($1.89/4oz) 3-meat plate - $13.99 3 Meats $10.11($3.37/6oz) 2 Sides $3.88($1.89/4oz) 4-meat plate - $15.99 4 Meats $12.11($4.03/6oz) 2 Sides $3.88($1.89/4oz) (All meats are served in 6oz portions and sides in 4oz portions, verified by scoop handle colors)

I should also not that all of these plates come with a trip to the condiment bar. Whatever that means...(just one?)

Surprisingly the best deal is the 3 meat plate. The 4 and 2 are almost the same for value. To me these prices are absurd. Bill Miller has superior bbq and their largest offering is less than the cheapest offering here. This place costs more than good ol faithful overpriced Rudy's.

Their unsweetened iced tea tasted beyond old. I dumped it out and got their only other sugar free offering (diet coke).

They were great in the 90's. If I could sum this place up it would be: Low-Effort, overpriced, cost-cutting, BBQ establishment with disinterested staff.

I think next time my family decides to have an event here I will probably order some Texas...

We picked up BBQ from here last week and it was great.... The ribs fell off the bone, the turkey and brisket were super moist and delicious, the fried okra was crunchy and yummy, even the pickle spears were crunchy not soggy and gross.. Dinner that night was amazing, my stomach hurt I ate so much, so the next night when were talking about what to eat I half jokingly offered up Pok-E-Jo's (again). The first night I spent a little over $80 on: 1 lbs. Ribs 1/2 lbs. Turkey 1/2 lbs. Brisket 1 pint of Mac n chz 1 pint of banana pudding Lg order of fried okra

He place our order over the phone the second time and then picked it up. Unfortunately, when he got there with the much anticipated food we all got super bummed out. The ribs were dry and weren't tender, it seemed like they had been sitting for a while under a heat lamp or something. They were out of banana pudding, which sucked, but at least they let us know. Instead of turkey we ended up getting chicken. It was good, but not what I was craving or paid for. We didn't order the Mac n chz again because neither of us were impressed. Its ok. Im sure its just because of the type of cheddar they use, but Im not a fan of the color. The shade of orange makes me think of highly processed foods and that to me is not appetizing. Oh, and of course we got the fried okra again, no complaints there. The okra was crunchy, hot, and...

Pok-e-Jo's, has a great flavor to seasoning their meats and adding the original BBQ sauce, to me it's Sooo goooood. Some like the spicy BBQ version. It's so tasty and Yummy. 😋 You'll want another bite as I did. Foods good and worth it. But......

The only thing I didn't like about the Pok-e-Jo's location @ Parmer Ln. Is after you read what you get on the menu, "the price how it's structured" It clearly says, My choices of meat is brisket, sausage, etc...for $13.50 comes with a side and drink. To my surprise, when she charged me $14.50 plus tax. I asked why? She said $1.00 for choosing brisket. What? The menu clearly reads brisket as a meat choice. But Down lower like it's in "fine print" $1.00 brisket. I stated, it's confusing and I feel as though I'm being taken advantage being charged more. I believe being fair, and not being confused. There a better way of charging the customer. Clearly, it's a $1.00 cheaper if you don't get brisket. So let's do it this way and you'll get more money in the long run without any confusion. Simply, change the price to $14.25 and they can choose any meat without any up charges and still get their side and drink. I remember the drinks used to be in the styrofoam 32 oz cups. They say it's a shortage in cup size. They only have 20oz or 24oz cups.. So please, as a customer. I don't like getting charged extra unless I'm asking for extra food... Okie...