Burnt Bean Company — Restaurant in Seguin

We were excited to try this place after taking the #1 spot in the Texas Monthly rankings. We weren’t sure what time to get in line on a Saturday, so we decided on 8am to tailgate. There were 11 people in line ahead of us. We asked the first guy what time he got in line and he said “4:45!” We found street parking easily at that time. We brought chairs, sunscreen, and a cooler of drinks/beer and enjoyed our wait. They open their doors to allow people waiting in line to use their restrooms. When you step in the building you can’t help but notice the age. There’s a plaque outside saying it was part of the historic society in 1983. It’s a really nice place with a brick interior with old wooden floors. The staff came out and greeted us while we waited. The co-owner Ernest came out and walked the line, stopping to talk and take pictures with anyone interested. Very nice of them to do that, we really felt welcomed. They ended up opening about 30 min early, which we appreciated. Our group of 3 tried a little bit of everything knowing we would take some stuff back to our Airbnb. We ordered 2lb brisket, 1lb Ribs (each half lb is 2 ribs), 3 chicken drumsticks, 2 slices of steakhouse bacon, Boudin sausage, El cinco sausage, beef sausage, El tejano taco, Korean beef rib, and a partridge in a pear tree. For sides we tried the hot Cheetos mac, cowboy beans, bacon ranch taters, street corn pudding, pickle pasta and the poblano squash. If that wasn’t enough, we tried the Big Red tres leches, banana pudding, peach cobbler taco, and the German chocolate cake (to-go). Where do I begin? Everything had great flavor! The Korean beef rib was amazing. The pork ribs were delicious. The brisket has a different flavor. The bark is great, but the rest of it tasted like a savory pot roast or roast beef. Not bad, just different than some of the other places that really absorb the smoke. The sides were unique. The beans reminded me of a chili you would put in a Fritos pie. The pickle pasta reminded me of an after-church potluck dish. The corn pudding was my favorite. The peach cobbler taco is a must. It was recommend to us by one of the store owners next door (shout out Southern Traditions) while we waiting in line and it did not disappoint. I don’t really buy merch anywhere, but for some reason I wanted to get something here. I decided to get a hat and I really like it. Their t-shirts are soft and the other 2 guys I was with got one (#brisketcartel) All of that food, desserts, and 3 Mexican cokes cost around $250. Considering we’ve spent that on platters with not nearly as much food or variety, I would call that a win.

Since we were in the area a couple of days and didn’t know when we would be back (we are 4 hours away). We decided to try the Sunday brunch menu as well. Again, we weren’t sure what time we should get in line, so we chose 6 am. They open at 8 and this time we were 25 in line. We tried the huevos rancheros, the Hangover, Cactus jack taco, carne guisada taco, Blue October, Boudin, Conchita bowl, 2 slices of brisket and 0.5lb pork chop (forgot to try that the day before). So many flavors coming together. I really think that’s what sets this place apart from other Texas BBQ places. We tried the brisket again to see if it was the same as the day before and it was, same roast beef flavor. Overall, this place is fantastic. The line is a unique experience and worth doing at least once. The unique menu items set it apart...

Bottom line: unfortunately, not worth the wait. // I’ve eaten a lot of BBQ, and I heard great things about Burnt Bean for a while, and wanted to give it a shot once my wife and I could muster the courage to wait in the long line. We got sliced fatty brisket (8.5/10), ribs (9/10), el cinco sausage (5/10), chicken drumstick (3/10), el tejana brisket taco (7/10), Mac n Cheese (5/10), cornbread pudding (7/10), big red tres leches (9/10), German chocolate cake (10/10).

I really wanted this place to be awesome, and maybe my recent trips to 2M BBQ and especially Reese Brothers BBQ in San Antonio slightly affect my scoring since they both had nearly identical good quality brisket and ribs.

ENTREES: BRISKET: Solid Texas Style Brisket, tender and flavorful but again, no extremely noticeable difference between there’s and even True Texas BBQ, Reese Brother, or 2M. RIBS: their ribs we very nicely done. Great flavor, very tender, perfectly cooked. SAUSAGE: The sausage thought was texturally off - possibly over-ground - and tasted somehow both greasy and dry. CHICKEN: The chicken leg tasted like a cafeteria quality oven baked chicken leg and the skin was crazy tough.

SIDES: MAC N CHEESE: The mac n cheese flavor was good, however, the noodles were very over-cooked making it very mushy and a gelatinous consistency. CORNBREAD PUDDING: The cornbread pudding was solid, not a knock your socks off side, but worth getting if you decide to wait in the line. DESSERT: *They may want to consider opening a bakery, because these deserts were fantastic. * BIG RED TRES LECHES: very good - a must try. GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE: truly exceptional. Best German chocolate cake I’ve ever had.

The crux of my issue with Burnt Bean is their ordering process. The inside was about 30% occupied after we waited about 75 minutes in line to get to the counter. The place inside is huge, including the counter, however they only have 1 station, with a meat cutter who is also weighing and ringing you up as they go - huge bottleneck. Meanwhile, there were 5 people down the counter that end up twiddling their thumbs waiting to add toppings to tacos/sandwiches, make sides, extras. It took very long for me to have my order processed even when I got to the counter which explained why we moved about 15 feet in line every 20-25 minutes with a mostly vacant restaurant. The restaurant could easily double or even triple efficiency by reworking their order process - this would not only enable them to serve more customers (more money for them), but also makes customers happy by not having to wait so long, and no telling how many potential customers don’t end up stopping in due to how long the line is (a large reason it’s taken me and my wife over 10 months to go).

I apologize for this rant, and I want this place to do well, I really do, I just think that the quality of the BBQ is not justifying the wait by any means - especially when comparing it to the others I mentioned previously who have minimal wait times, and not only great BBQ and sides, but also much more consistently...

When I visited this place back in March of last year, it still hadn't really "taken off" the way it has now. I wasn't too impressed that time; unfortunately, it wasn't much better this time. I kept hearing the guys in line behind me going on and on how "its #4 in the state", and so had my mind set on how I'd be blown away now. 45 minutes later (30 spent in line before they opened and another 15 once the line got moving) I was excited to order. After sampling the roughly $50 of meat and sides I had just purchased, I just sat there confused, wondering how other "Top 10 BBQ Joints" must taste like, and how my own isn't too bad after all. Not what I want to be thinking. THE MEATS: I don't know if it was just miscommunication, but I ordered half a pound of brisket, to which the pitmaster asked, "did you say lean?" I said "No." and ended up with nothing but 3 chunky slices of some extra fatty moist cuts. Hey, I'm not going to lie, I didn't mind some good PRIME beef fattiness, but these slices were FATTY. I was left wanting some lean. So I actually got back in line (it had died down) afterwards to make sure I was really getting a good sampling, and this time specifically ordered LEAN and more ribs. Overall, the brisket is moist, better than my last visit. My disappointment lies in it's lack of a solid smoke flavor. Again, it's good, just not great. Super moist, just not super flavorful. The Pork Ribs on the other hand, nice sharp smokey flavor with a good peppery bark that is balanced out with a sweet glaze. These are awesome! I don't know why I got the Turkey, but I figured I'd be thorough if anything. It was just turkey. Like most places only serving breast, I felt it's too peppery and too briney / salty to enjoy. It was moist, but it's never the same as when you smoke a whole turkey. The Jalapeño Cheddar Sausage was tasty, but after a nice pop from the casing, I thought the grind was a bit on the mushy side. I think it could've been better but maybe that's just my preference on texture. Good taste though. THE SIDES: Sorry to say, but these were ALL A BIG LET DOWN. Street Corn Pudding is just too dense and there's really nothing that reminds me of the "street corn" I used to eat in Nuevo Laredo as a kid. Would've rather been served con-in- a-cup! I saw a good review on the Bacon Ranch Taters but good Lord, stay away from these. A Salty starchy mess. Couldn't eat more than a bite or two, brought them home and my wife couldn't eat them either. Great idea, poor execution. Maybe if they were chopped in chunks and lightly mixed instead of blended? Or a casserole? Who knows. Potato salad was just meh. Coulda used a bit more salt and mustard. No egg? Sad when the highlight were the slices of potato bread! Nice touch with that! All in all, between my first visit and this one, I'm really not ready to jump on the BB BBQ Co.Bandwagon yet. Call me crazy, but I'll let the hype die down and probably revisit again sometime. In the meantime I'm looking forward to visiting any another bbq joint in Seguin for comparison. That's...