LJ's BBQ — Restaurant in Brenham

We pulled into Brenham with stomachs growling and fingers crossed that LJ’s still had burnt ends. The sign didn’t say SOLD OUT, so we jumped out of that truck like we were running from a vegan potluck.

TL;DR: LJ’s BBQ in Brenham delivered on brisket bark, burnt-end brilliance, and a cold elote curveball that worked. Mac and cheese got the daughter’s stamp of approval, and I got my 31st Texas Monthly passport stamp.

It was midday on a Saturday and the BBQ roadtrip was rolling hard. My daughter decided to join me for a father-daughter bonding session forged in smoke and meat. We pulled into LJ’s around 1:45 PM, praying to the brisket gods, and were rewarded with the best news you can see on a Texas BBQ door: no sold out sign.

I’ve been here before, and last time I left with tears in my eyes and a sausage-less soul. But not today. The line was gone, the staff was smiling, and the counter was still slinging burnt ends. We ordered a two-meat plate with burnt ends and moist brisket, plus sides of mac-n-cheese and elote.

The burnt ends were barky, rich, sticky, and divine. If a cube of brisket and a candy bar had a lovechild, this would be it. The slice of moist brisket was textbook central Texas. Fat cap rendered just enough, deep pink smoke ring, bark that snapped back like a good comeback.

Now listen, this BBQ dad has a strict no-fly zone when it comes to mac and cheese. I didn’t even flinch in its direction. But my daughter? She dove in like it owed her money. One bite in and she gave it that look: eyes closed, slow nod, total reverence. She called it cheesy in all the right ways. I call it: not my business.

Then came the elote. We both bit in and paused like someone had hit the mute button. Cold? Cold corn? We hadn’t read the menu close enough. But then… we kept eating. It was creamy, cheesy, tangy, and hit different on a warm day. That cold elote snuck up on us and stuck the landing.

The vibe in LJ’s is old-school butcher paper, red-and-white checkered tables, and good tunes humming low. Before we left, we got the all-important stamp in the Top 50 passport and snapped a pic outside by the mural. I rocked my orange shirt like a man on a mission. And I am.

Why did the burnt end break up with the sausage? Because it needed space to meat its...

The question I always ask myself when going to a bbq place is would I go back, make some sort of effort to go back.

Before I understood how to not waste my time going to run-of-the-mill bbq places my “yes’s” would be 1 in 10, now it’s 1 in 3 or 4.

I would absolutely go back to LJs.

I had brisket, pork ribs and mac’n cheese.

The mac’n cheese was very good. Not the best I’ve had, and it needs seasoning - I'd much rather a place allow the customer to add his/her salt & pepper than vice versa, but it was very good.

The brisket is really very good as well. It left me with a taste of wanting more.

If I was disappointed at all it was with the ribs. Average at best. No flavor whatsoever and they keep the membrane on. (which may impact the lack of flavor)

The friendliness and helpfulness of the staff was as good as it gets.

Most of the time I drive by LJs it’s a 2 or 3 in the afternoon on a Saturday, and they’re almost always out of bbq and already closed. Meaning, they rightfully do very well because of overall very good quality. But within 2 miles of LJs is one of the top rated bbq places in the state, and my personal favorite for brisket (above Franklins and all others I’ve tasted throughout the state…Evie Mae’s in Lubbock does well as does Cattleack in north Dallas) is Truth BBQ just down the road; Truth’s pork ribs are much better as well, and their smoked turkey and jalepeno & cheese sausage is out of this world good.

4 stars is too low but given Truth is ever so slightly better, I went with 4, but it's just below a 5.0...call it a 4.75, and on any given day I'm sure LJ's is as good or better than Truth, but overall most of the time, Truth is ever so...

Decided to take the trip down from College Station to try it out. We usually go to Truth in Brenham because we love it, but we had heard good things about this place. We got there at about 1030 and they opened at 11. We were the first people in line. However, we noticed some people going towards the back entrance and figured they were staff. The doors opened at 11 and we went from first in line to fifth in line because the people going in the back door were also customers. I really didn’t mind however, one of the four aging frat brothers decided to get loud about it bragging about his “VIP status” which ticked off everyone else in line. The guy behind me said he wouldn’t come back. Not a good look for the business but there are loud idiots everywhere so I just let it slide. I’m a fat dude, so good food can fix all issues. The guy slicing was super welcoming and friendly. We ordered a pound of sausage, a large mac & cheese, collard greens and a quarter pound of brisket. They said on Sundays they have Cabbage instead of greens, so I went with that.

Sausage- really good especially the cheddar jalapeño. Right amount of snap and good flavor.

Cabbage- nice change of pace, and done really well. Very flavorful and definitely the best part of my meal.

Mac & cheese- pretty basic. Not really good or bad. Meh

Brisket- over-cooked, crumbly and dry. To be fair I usually order point and not the flat but I did not specify.

Not exactly great value for 50 bucks but it is what it is. I would probably not go back after the first impression, but it might just have been an off day so go and decide...