Brisket Love Barbecue & Icehouse — Restaurant in Lindale

THE GOOD: Hands down, the best brisket we have ever tasted anywhere ever. Beats the beef at Stanley’s and Bodacious in Tyler. Don’t know how they do it, but it is delicious. German potato salad was superb and a real treat. We never see that on a menu around here. Pickles were excellent…perfect taste and very crisp. Most BBQ joints have limp pickles that I put to the side. These were really great pickles. Ditto on the raw onion, which may seem easy to achieve but is not. I have had many onions in BBQ joints that taste like they have been in the crate far too long. The onions here are crisp and taste like they were just picked. Pulled pork was good but not better than what I can get in Tyler. Cobbler was good with a good crust.

THE BAD: As stated in other reviews, the bacon mac and cheese is just sad. Really sad. My husband and I both tried it to see if we agreed with other reviewers, and we both agreed it tasted like pasta paste with just the slightest hint of cheese. There were specs that I suppose were bacon, but there was no bacon flavor. The curiosity here is that good mac and cheese is not exactly a hard thing to pull off. They just need to use a different kind of cheese or a combination of cheeses. It should be baked until the edges are slightly burnt and crusty, and everyone should get a bit of that crusty cheese in their serving. The pasta shells were fine. The dish was simply tasteless. And if bacon is not actually going to be a factor, then leave it out. They ran out of vanilla ice cream, so that was not available for the cobbler. I’m not sure how a restaurant can run out of vanilla ice cream. It freezes, right? Seems like they could have 25 gallons on hand at any given time. The food is expensive, there is no wait service and everything is served in little rectangular paper containers with plastic utensils on a tray. Bleugh. If you want a beer or a glass of wine, you have to go into another room (2 rooms over) and get it there and pay for it there and haul it back to your table. What nonsense. You go through a line like a cafeteria and take your tray to get your own sauce and drink. FOR THE PRICE THEY CHARGE, they should bring your drinks and food to the table and should serve you with real utensils and real plates. Also bad was the location, which was out in the middle of nowhere and very hard to find. We had a GPS system and two smart phones, and none of the three devices could find this place. We finally pulled out a paper map and did it the old fashioned way and finally found it.

THE UGLY. Gravel parking lot. Building looks like it was made from scrap lumber and worn out sheet metal. Furniture on the inside is pretty lousy (think roadhouse). Some reviewers have found this charming. We just found it to be lackluster and a little depressing in a “poverty-looking” kind of way.

BOTTOM LINE: We might return if we get a really strong desire for brisket. It is the best we have ever had. Other than the brisket, there were just too many mediocre elements to warrant a drive...

Went to BL on a Sunday nite. There was a party to which I was invited (about 40 people). Arrived at 6 pm. Special was Prime Rib $34/lb. Sounded good. Waited a few minutes for the guest of honor to arrive. Then went to order. My wife approached the counter with me, to which we were informed “all we have is brisket and pulled pork”. At that time about 30 of the party was in line. I asked what about the prime rib. “Oh. We don’t have any of that.” To their defense, there is a sign that says certain items available all night or until we run out. (Paraphrased). Then the other girl at the order line yells it out to the birthday party guests. “All we have is brisket and pulled pork.” Did they forget about the birthday party of 40+? I didn’t ask the rest of the group how disappointed they were to get treated like that. I didn’t want the organizer to be embarrassed by the situation. But I was less-than-pleased. Good service is a lost art. A lot of the people got a cheeseburger(at the bbq place!). When I paid, $38 for a plain cheeseburger, fries, and a sliced brisket plate, the first thing you see is a minimum 18% tip choice (They don’t deliver your food to you). ‘No tip’ was chosen. And I was raised in the restaurant business. I have never not left a tip. The hamburger was fair-good. The sweet tea was good. Atmosphere was good for my friends and me. And I thought to myself, at least the tea was good. I went to get some more and guess what? I asked the third girl at the condiment area where the tea urns were (before closing), and she said it was close to closing and they didn’t want to make any more that they might have to throw out. Sarcasm alert: Yes tea is SUPER expensive. You wouldn’t want to have to throw out a $1 urn of tea. Once again, worked in the restaurant industry for 12 years. I know, approximately, how much a restaurant’s cost is for beverages. Very disappointed at the preparation and lack of concern by the staff. I can’t imagine that the owner has taught them to behave and prepare this way. 40+ potentially dissatisfied customers spreading their negative experience throughout the small town of Lindale/Hideaway does not sound like a good marketing plan. As for this patron, I will be traveling to Van for my BBQ...

The food is great, but the service is lacking. They don't seem to pay attention when ordering. They banter back and forth with each other, which is fine if you can do that and still stay on top of your orders. I was overcharged for brisket when the meat was actually pulled pork, and the cashier was pretty rude about it when I politely let her know. They completely missed our BL salad when paying, although they chopped the meat for it with the rest of our order. We mentioned it was missing, and they did a separate charge for it and asked us to wait. Again, this lady had some pretty rude smirks when ringing it up. Waited about 10 minutes before asking where it was. They gave our chopped meat away to a different BL salad, had made 2 more BL salads, and completely forgot our order again. 🤦🏻‍♀️ They called out another BL salad for the meat and got it out to us a few minutes later. But for the high cost, it would be nice to be able to eat with my family at the same time when we all ordered, and I shouldn't be made to feel bad about correcting a mistake. By the time I got to the table, half our group was almost done eating, and they had to wait on me. I felt bad as the kids were restless. This isn't the first time they missed stuff but is the most recent. Really great food with amazing flavor, though, and most of them are very nice. My experience won't keep me from going back as I understand mistakes happen, and not everyone is going to have a good day. They're allowed to have bad days. You just want to try not to pass it onto your...