Sunset Texas Barbecue — Restaurant in Honolulu

IYKYK. This is not good BBQ! If they it is then their mouths are broken. This is not an angry review. It's simply to inform others on what to expect. You can compare the pictures to my descriptions.

This was probably the worst BBQ I've ever tried. If you like cornbread, DONT ORDER THE CORNBREAD! First, it was covered with powdered sugar lol. I took one bite and realized it was mochi, corn mochi with a smidge of cornbread flavor and chunks of corn kernels.

The brisket was a little below average. Slightly decent flavor, not bad, but sliced into chunks with a huge strip of fat in the middle of every piece (check my pics). It was almost all fat. The bark was extremely salty and it reminded me of a poorly cooked pot roast meat.

The ribs tasted like they were freezer burned. They were dry and the only flavor they did have was from the sauce on them.

The regular barbq sauce tasted like a mild tomato sauce with a hint of ketchup tang. The hot bbq sauce tasted the same, but with an added buffalo wing flavor. I ended up using my barbecue sauce from the fridge since this was take out.

The rice was the typical rice, nothing special, sticky white rice from a rice cooker. The white bread had a sour dirt aftertaste like it was stored in container with mold in it.

The sides weren't very good either. The creamed corn was thick and very sweet. It tasted like cool whip or tapioca with corn. The potato salad was not your typical potato salad. It was small red potatoes that were cubed, undercooked and coated with a watery mustard dill dressing. The coleslaw and beans were the only sides that were ok, but they were bland.

All in all it was a very disappointing experience. Maybe we went on an off day and this place is usually better. I highly doubt it though lol. Makes me think all these people from Austin giving good reviews haven't had good BBQ. Or BBQ sucks in Austin too lmao.

The two of us didn't eat much of the food. Look at my pictures. My GF only took a few bites and said it was inedible. She's from Houston so her BBQ standards are much higher than mine. I would love to be wrong and say I had some really good BBQ, but I honestly don't know if good barbecue exists in Hawaii. Or at least I haven't found anything good on Kauai or Oahu yet in 17 years. This was a $62 lesson that I will...

Heard a lot of good things heading into my waist to Oahu. After a long day, we entered the establishment less than an hour before close knowing that most barbecue joints are out of their best by then… boy was I shocked to find EVERYTHING still on the menu! We each got a plate and the portion size was substantial!

I got the brisket with pinto beans and corn chowder. The brisket was marbled and some of the most tender I have had! Great, subtle smoke (using native woods). The bark was light but ample. Delicious! The corn chowder was the star of the show! Slightly sweet and a good ratio of sauce to kernels. It was smooth and soft on the pallet. The pinto beans went well with the combination and had a good amount of spice to them. Definitely not a “sissy bean.“ Not The best I have had, but very good.

As for the rib plate… The ribs were fall off the bone juicy. The bark was heavy with just the right amount of chew. The flavor was impeccable and definitely in the top 10 of ribs that I have enjoyed over the years. The coleslaw had a unique twist to it with the addition of kale. I certainly was not disappointed with this addition, as it just added a unique additional dimension. Not very vinegary, which I look forward too, but I still found it enjoyable.

The only complaint hard was with the potato salad which seemed overly heavy on mustard and weak on salt/seasoning.

Overall, this was a gem that I was not expecting in as remote a place as Honolulu! (The pit master is from Austin, TX, so it makes sense!). I absolutely loved that he uses local wood to season his meat. It’s something you won’t experience anywhere else. I think we’re coming on a new style of barbecue… The Honolulu barbecue!

I proudly give this an experience of 9.2/10! Great job, my...

I ordered the pork rib plate with potato salad and pinto beans as the two sides and white bread. Rice does not belong with BBQ, unless it’s dirty. I also ordered a 1/2lb. of brisket. The white bread was spot on, but it was in the wrong place. Anyone that has had southern style BBQ, knows where the white bread goes. The brisket has a nice rub with a little spicy kick to it, fat cap, and smoke ring. It was just a notch on the dry side but tender. The flavor of the smoke was okay but I do not know if it is fully smoked or if liquid smoke was added to the rub. Either way, if I didn’t feel like smoking my own brisket I would give only the brisket a second try. The pork ribs were okay for Hawaii. They were very close to southern style. The meat was falling off the bone but the meat was dry and on the ends a little hard. The pork rib also had a little kick to the seasoning. There was something about the spice on the pork ribs that was definitely not southern but tasty. The potato salad was a complete miss for me as well as the pinto beans. I like the fact mustard was added to the potato salad that’s a good start. The potato salad was well seasoned but it’s a no for me. The pinto beans were a tad undercooked and the sauce they were in was a miss. I think overall for Hawaii it is so far the best southern ‘Style’ bbq I have had here over the years. It is not Texas or southern but it is made in the southern style of bbq. It is a good start. Myself and the person I was with will not seek them out if we get a hankerin’ for bbq. I am going to try to...