Riverport Barbecue — Restaurant in Jefferson

I headed to East Texas a day before the 2016 Red Dirt BBQ & Music Festival to explore the barbecue in the region. I was off to a good start with a stop at Bodacious Bar-B-Q. The second destination of the day was at Joesph's Riverport Bar-B-Que up in Jefferson. The Texas Monthly Top 50 currently includes Riverport so I was excited to see what was in store for me. Pitmaster/owner Stephen Joseph has been there since 1991 and took over the business in 1993. An electrical fire gutted the building in 2012. Stephen had to get a new Bewley smoker and build the place back up from its ashes.

I did not go crazy at Bodacious so I had plenty of stomach space to spare. I went with a three-meat plate and ordered brisket, pork ribs, and pulled pork with Cajun fries and potato salad on the side. When I received my meal, I was like what?! All this for 13 bucks?! I felt like I was stealing. The tender, smoky brisket was easy to eat. I was pleasantly surprised. The bark was seasoned by salt and pepper and also cayenne and garlic. It had a good flavor to it. The meaty pork ribs were no joke. The juicy meat came away from the bone easy and had a sweet finish to them. I wanted to eat more than one but needed to pace myself. The trend of good smoked meats continued on to the pulled pork. My mouth enjoyed the succulent bites of pork. It had a nice texture and taste to it. All the sides are house-made. They even cut their own fries. The potato salad was solid. The fries were wonderful. I ate all of the sides. Stupid mistake. Stephen brought me out a half order of the Swamp Fries to try. It comes loaded with Cajun fries, cheese, onions, jalapeños, bacon, and topped with chopped beef. It is a meal in itself. I could not stop eating it and somehow ended up finishing it all. Tasty and fulfilling.

Although Jefferson is a ways off of I-20, it is worth going out of the way to check out Joesph's Riverport Bar-B-Que. The quality and value makes it a no-brainer. I will try to stop by again next year. I really want to do the Swamp Fries challenge. It is basically five pounds of meat and fries. No one has come close to completing it. If I attempt it, I would probably be useless the next day. Anyone want to come join me for moral support? Do yourself a favor and visit Stephen and company. He is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. East Texas BBQ was treating me well so far...

I was nearby and a local couple suggested I needed to try Riverport Barbecue before leaving the area. I always listen to the locals and I am glad I did! This place looks fun from the outside and a bit dicey on the inside, but the line told me I was in the right place. It was almost back to the door when I walked in, but it moved quickly. Seating is pretty limited, especially for a party of one or two as most tables have 5-6 places. Everybody was so friendly. I think I could’ve asked to sit down if I wanted to, but I went ahead and got my order to go. The menu seems pretty reasonable with baskets and platters between $10 and $18. A lot of reviews seem to talk about the Swamp Fries, so I had to get a small order of those. I also got the sliced Brisket sandwich with a side of onion rings. The brisket barbecue is served dry but has a good smoke right on it and good flavor by itself, but they give you plenty of barbecue sauce to add to it. That’s exactly what I did along with some pickles to make my sandwich taste just right . The Swamp Fries are wonderful with fresh FF, smothered in chopped brisket, shredded cheese, and sliced jalapeños. There’s no way I could’ve eaten a large so I’m glad even though it was just two dollars more I decided to opt for the smaller portion and still had leftovers to take home. Overall, really good food definitely...

Boss lady and I came in for a quick lunch, and had a weird encounter with some staff members. It started when we ordered. We are normally asked if we want fatty or lean brisket. Since we were not asked, we asked for fatty. The cashier got snotty with us and said, "Well, I guess I'll have to tell them." THAT'S YOUR JOB! We weren't asking for the moon 🙄. Then, we got a peach cobbler, which was goopy and raw. Boss lady is a baker, she's made tons of cobblers. She went back to the counter to let them know, of course, another staff person got snotty and argued that it wasn't raw. WHATEVER, just refund our money and move on. The brisket and ribs were good. The fried okra was just ok. The potatoe salad has way too much mustard. Solely based on their bad attitude, we will...