True Texas BBQ — Restaurant in McKinney

I waffled quite a bit on checking this place out. Heard good things, love BBQ, but being as this location is in McKinney (aka Hutchins' backyard), wasn't sure the point.

Ultimately it exceeded expectations. The brisket mac & cheese was excellent. Very good brisket. Very creamy mac & cheese. Went great together. Probably the best brisket mac & cheese I've had. The Texas Torpedo was also better than expected. Very good amount of spice. The sausage on the other hand... I can't figure out why this is on the menu. It was awful. Truly terrible.

Also enjoyed the thick cut pickles and how it's one of the few places I've been where you can get Coke or Pepsi. Though at this point, I'd be happy with either. If I go to one more restaurant pretending to be fancy by serving one of those terrible "craft" sodas that a) aren't any healthier for you, and b) taste like trash, I'm going to lose it.

Now for the other side of the coin... this place is no Hutchins. As far as restaurants inside another store go, this is the best I've been to. And yes it's cheaper than Hutchins and you won't have to wait in line nearly as long, but... Hutchins is an institution for a reason. The brisket was the most comparable, but it certainly wasn't better than Hutchins. The Texas Torpedo exceeded expectations, but still was not nearly as good as a Texas Twinkie. And the aforementioned sausage... well obviously it doesn't hold a candle to the jalapeno cheddar sausage at Hutchins.

All that to say, I will certainly eat here again and am looking forward to it. Just don't expect it to best Hutchins, which for my money, is the best BBQ I've had in...

TL;DR? = Get the chicken tenders!!!

Warning: they no longer provide sauce for the tenders. Still, worth it. My hubs & I both loved them and we've rarely felt that way.

Drive thru: 7:45pm on a Tuesday, 3/26/24 ▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎ Person taking the order couldn't hear me because the music inside (trivia night as per them) was too loud. I had to repeat my order at least 10 times & by the end I felt like I was screaming it so that she could hear me.

That was very frustrating and embarrassing. If there had been cars behind or people around me, I would’ve just left instead of experiencing that.

After ordering (in the uncomfortably dark almost alley beside the HEB, accessible only from the curbside pickup/back side of the McKinney HEB) the wait was minimal; less than five minutes after paying.

The ribs are alright; good not great. The pulled pork is ok. The sausage links are a little less than ok. The chicken tenders are great!

Sides: The cornbread is dry but still oddly tasty. Just needs ~4x the anount of butter than what they put on top to get an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Collard greens were good.

Cole slaw was really good.

Mac & cheese was good but it is bland. Idk if they offer salt & pepper packets but I'd ask for them if we were to order this item again.

Brisket beans were good. This and the cole slaw were my 2 favorite sides.

The bread that comes with non sandwich meals is sliced white sandwich bread, in case you're wondering. The pickles and onions aren't special either. These 3 items came free with our meals. They're not worth paying for if...

My meal was a little over 7 dollars. That included a bottled 1.00 drink and a sliced turkey sandwich with BBQ sauce. I dined in. It may have been because I was fairly hungry getting here, but the food was pretty stinking good. Definitely better than Dickeys. The meat was tender and fell apart in my mouth. It wasn't that juicy but what made up for it was the thickness and flavor. There was a peppery taste to the BBQ sauce which went very well with the smoked meat. The size was good, or fair for the price. I did want pulled beef but the price was over 9 after tax for that. A little more steep than turkey. The bun was crisp on top and soft to bite into. The meat was warm but not hot. The BBQ sauce was cold. But again, I was too hungry to care. There wasn't a line today (Wednesday afternoon) and I was able to order immediately upon entering. Tables were clean, atmosphere was nice. There's a large selection of sweet teas I wish Id tried. I'll definitely be back for that though. A regular drink was 2.25. my drink was a lime mineral water. I'm used to sparkling water so it was really delicious. Nice lime flavor true to what it was. Very bubbly. They did have a flavor on the prompter I couldn't order that was discontinued. The mango mineral water. Wish I could've tried it. Overall I'll be back to try more later. Bring 15 or so dollars to eat a...