Trails End Barbecue & Grill — Restaurant in Owasso

An unexpected turn of events led me to this barbecue spot that, somehow, had completely escaped my radar. A business partner suggested it—he’d had dinner there the night before. I trusted his judgment, especially since he’s from Austin, Texas. And you know what they say about Austin… well, they say a lot of things, but one thing’s for sure—they know their barbecue.

As I walked in, I realized it was waaay past lunchtime, which meant this meal was either going to be good—or way good. The place was quiet, just a few tables occupied, two waitresses on the floor, and the smell of smoked meat in the air. The décor had a casual, comfortable flow to it—nothing fancy, just the right vibe. We were handed a paper menu, a little worn and stained with barbecue fingerprints. I liked that. It was simple, no fluff—straight to the point. Just the way I like it.

I placed my order: sliced brisket, fries, corn… and a Coke.

While we waited, our group took care of some pressing work issues—important things like who’s going to dig the hole and who’s going to cover it. You know, high-level stuff. I slipped away to check the restroom. Clean, well-kept, thoughtfully designed—another good sign.

Back at the table, the conversation heated up. Apparently, no one was in the mood to dig a hole today. Heheh.

Then the food arrived.

My brisket looked just like the doctor ordered. I’ll say this—the slices were a bit thicker than what I’m used to, and slightly on the dry side, but still packed with flavor and had that smoky kick I crave. Yeehaw.

Now, here’s a more honest observation. For most of our visit, it was just us and one other solo diner. Meanwhile, two employees sat nearby folding silverware and chatting—loudly—about their grievances at work. I get it. I’m human too, and I know work dynamics can be rough. But there’s a time and a place, and this wasn’t it.

That said, the two waitresses working the floor were phenomenal—attentive, kind, and on point. The dining area was also impressively clean.

I’ll definitely be coming back, this time alone, and during lunch hours. I’ve already picked the...

You get what you pay for. I was surprised that a 4 meat combo where you get a full pound of meat, 2 sides and Texas toast would be less than $16, but after digging into the plate I started to see perhaps why it appeared to be too good to be true. For one I asked for marbled brisket, and I got some of the leanest brisket I've ever had in front of me. Second, considering how long of a wait I had, you would think they had to pull the meat out of the pit and carve it to order, but the entire plate was room temperature. So I'm pretty sure they had the meats already cut and sitting off the fire. I ordered sliced brisket, polish sausage, pulled pork and ribs as my 4 meats (you can't double up on your favorites), and the ribs were the best part. The brisket was dry, the polish sausage looked and tasted more like a sliced hot dog, and forget the pulled pork. Might as well been eating mystery meat. It was so bland. The sides were small portions but standard. Again you get what you pay for. If you want BBQ on the lower end, this is your place. I saw a sign where apparently they have an all you can eat ribs option on specific days of the week. The ribs were my favorite part of that plate, so perhaps if I'm famished and looking for a good deal I'll go again, but overall I wasn't...

I recently went here for the very first time and was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the barbecue and the fair pricing. I would have been blown away if it wasn't for the lack of service. Notice I said lack of service and not quality of service. My waitress was very nice but very non-existent. After dropping off the food she went and sat down at the table with people she knew. She never checked on me again.... It would have been nice because I would have liked to try the hot barbecue sauce with my meal. I eventually had to flag another waitress down. Again, everyone was very nice but there was not an intentionality in making sure that I had everything I needed after the food was delivered. I hope that the management will read this and Be able to turn this into a learning moment for the wait staff. When I was a waiter many years ago we had a 2 minute / 2 bite checkup. No matter what we were always back at the table and no more than 2 minutes or enough time for the customer to take two bites. That made sure that the customer was always taken care of in a proper amount of time so that they could enjoy their meal while it was hot. I would suggest that this restaurant take up a similar policy. Again, I had a mostly positive experience and plan to return and...