Heavy's Bar B Que — Restaurant in Hondo

Me and my wife have started going to the barbecue joints from the Texas Monthly Top 50 list. Heavy’s was on this list and about a 50 minute drove for us. We came in hungry and with high expectations. We order 2 2-meat plates. One with ribs and sausage. The other with dark meat chicken and turkey. For the sides we got beans, coleslaw, potato salad and green beans. On top of all that we got a pound of the fatty part of the brisket (asked for burnt ends). GOOD: We tried to sample as much as we could. To my surprise the turkey and sausage was my favorite. The turkey was moist with good flavor and the tomato sauce that everyone talks about lived up to expectations. The people that worked there were friendly and made us feel welcomed. BAD: The ribs were sad. They didn’t have too much flavor. The chicken was okay, but not bite through skin okay. The brisket wasn’t the worst I’ve had, but also not the best. There were a few good bits, but overall slightly disappointed in the brisket. UGLY: After leaving the place I tried to get a sneak peak of the smoker, and it looked like it hadn’t been used in quite awhile. I don’t know if they had one elsewhere, but I didn’t smell any smoke or any signs of actually smoked barbecue. This concerned me, and gave me some explanation to having only...

I came here for the first time since I was in Hondo visiting a job site. Traditional Texas BBQ joint with wood tables and chairs and a covered porch if you want to eat outside. I ordered the two meat lunch special which comes with two sides - I asked for the ribs and a moist portion of brisket with Mac n cheese and beans - sauce on the side. Came with a cup of tea or lemonade too. Ribs and brisket both have a nice deep smoke ring, and tender juicy meat with good seasoning - and generous portions. I didn’t need to add seasoning to anything and only used the bbq sauce on a couple of bites just to taste it. The sauce is really good too - not too sweet, not too vinegary. As I was filling my drink the guy cutting the meat brought me a paper tray of burnt ends just so I could try them, but it was a good amount. I couldn’t finish my food and had some left over to go. I tried the peach cobbler - also a reasonable price. It was more bready than saucy, but I won’t take off a star for that - it was still good, just a different style - sweet with a little saltiness from the butter. Walked out the door for about $18 total and had leftovers for dinner - not bad at all for Texas bbq. I’ll be back next time...

Only one visit. I will return. Super friendly customer service. I had a two meat plate; brisket, sausage, beans and potato salad. The meat portions were very generous. The side portions were less than. Odd, one would expect the opposite. The brisket was decent. I noticed that there wasn't a good black "bark" on the whole briskets. This explains why the slices of meat I had were a bit dry and tough. They did have a decent smoke flavor. The sausage was just average and a little bit greasy. I am not sure if it was homemade. The beans were done, nothing much to say. The potato salad was very good. It was a mayonnaise base. Pure simple potato salad pleasure. I could tell they use freshly ground black pepper. Trust me for those who don't know this, it makes a difference. This was decent barbeque. The meat portions were generous and the service was excellent. I will return again and If the pitman improves his game I will revise...