Jay's Bar-B-Que — Restaurant in Marble Hill

Driving around southeast Missouri, I passed through the town of Maple Hill. Where I found Jay’s. What a fantastic find!

I ordered the brisket dinner, which came with two sides - I got fried okra and mac & cheese. And I also ordered their chocolate pie (they had coconut cream, chocolate peanut butter, and some other flavor, all freshly made)

It was a football field of fried okra, but it was so crunchy and tasty that I almost ate all of it! The brisket was thinly sliced, very smoky and tender. I got the barbecue sauce on the side, and it was also good. The mac & cheese was just mac & cheese, but I figured for leftovers it’s going to be mixed with brisket so it’s going to be thoroughly excellent.

The chocolate pie was really wonderful. A very large piece, lovely chocolate flavor, the crust was kind of like a puff pastry, and it was just really good.

The bathrooms were clean, service was quick on my takeout and it’s easy to get to, so go!

Stopped here in November 2023, got the Port steak, which was phenomenal. My brother loved the “real“ mashed potatoes, that had the addition of garlic. I had a half smoked chicken, and it was fall off the bone good. We also got cherry cobbler, which kind of looked like a mess in the to-go container, but was full of cherries and crispy oat bits....

TL;DR: it's a great choice for BBQ or burgers if you're in the area or passing through.

I had the Flames hooter. It was a delicious burger drenched in hot sauces, adorned with grilled jalapeños, and graced with onion and tomato. I had it with a side of fries and loved every bit of it.

My daughter had the chicken tenders and loved those as well.

If you choose instead to eat from the bar, you can pick meats, sides, etc and they'll fix you a custom plate right there. The other two in our party ordered there. It's definitely faster, but the wait from the kitchen wasn't bad.

Service came and ended with a smile and they were very accommodating when dealing with a group that had never eaten here.

Aside from the food itself, they have a board of prepaid meals that those in need can cash in for a meal. I'm not sure if you can volunteer to pay for these or if it's a separate program.

The atmosphere is lacking (to be expected from a small BBQ place) but if you come here for BBQ, I don't think...

Good BBQ but not as good as it was when Jay owned it.. something different because when you live in a small town but basically only has a McDonald's and Jay's BBQ then you go to Jay's BBQ because you can get better food and even healthier choices if you want them.. I still stand by my original statement Jay's BBQ was better when Jay owned it but he retired and sold the place. But we get it to go and if you don't want like your baked beans running all over and maybe leaking out or don't want your cold pasta salad or cottage cheese in with your BBQ to go.. just ask them to put it in a bowl for you please and they will.. that way you can add a little to each dinner if you've gotten more than one or can eat it later.. I do that and eat my pasta salad etc maybe the next day or...