Jesse's Barbecue & Local Market — Restaurant in Souderton

As a competition pitmaster and aspiring BBQ restauranteur, I make it a point to try every BBQ joint I can find while traveling on business (and that's a LOT). I found Jesse's on my first day of a long-term assignment in the Souderton area and decided to give them a try. The restaurant is clean, cozy and attractive, with a nice seating area outside for good weather. They also have a small store that sells candy, sodas and other goodies. My takeout order was received by a friendly staffer, and I had my food in less than 5 minutes, which gave me just enough time to check out the sauces (regular, spicy, mustard and vinegar sauces) and fill a couple of cups to go. I ordered the sampler, which is St. Louis style ribs, sliced brisket, pulled pork and a chicken drumstick. Sides were mac 'n cheese, baked beans and cornbread muffin. The ribs were just right! Perfect tenderness and bark, with a slightly sweet, smoky flavor. The pulled pork was moist and mildly flavorful (many places I've tried offer pork that tastes like the pan it was sitting in for the last who-knows-how-long. That is NOT this place!) I tasted the pork in this case, although it was not what I would call a flavor "explosion". Still, excellent in my book. The brisket had good, smoky flavor and nice bark. I would have liked the slices cut a little more across the grain for maximum tenderness, but still a very good offering. The drumstick had a nice, smoky flavor and good seasoning. The only negative was that the skin could have been a little closer to crispy/bite-through, but that isn't always doable when you cook in advance (BBQ takes waaay too long to make to order from scratch). The mac 'n cheese was pretty solid, with a white cheddar look and flavor, I'd get it again. Baked beans were respectable, but the seasoning wasn't really my favorite. The cornbread muffin was also good by my standards. Another thing I really liked is that they have A-Treat sodas! That alone is awesome! I will definitely be back to Jesse's! On a final note, I saw two 1-star reviews while checking this place out online. After eating the food, it was pretty obvious to me that those reviewers have no idea what good BBQ is about, or how it should be served. Take it from a semi-professional, this is...

Ah the unexpected, but simple joys of life. We love to eat out, the wife and I, but are often disappointed. Too expensive, just average, if not pedestrian food, and service that isn't up to par. Jessie's is a refreshing change of pace. Here, you have options, dine indoors, or outdoors, weather permitting, or take out. Welcome to smoked meat heaven. It is an immaculate preparation of meats, slow smoked, and I mean slooooooow smoked. So much so, there is an abundance of smoky goodness in every bite. This also lends to some of the most deliciously tender meats you'll ever stab with your fork, and place in your drooling mouth. From ribs, to brisket, to chicken and pulled pork, it's all there waiting for you, patiently basting in their juices. Choose your meat, depending on your taste, or choose the sampler, and get a little bit of everything, it's world tour of meat laden decadence. Pro-tip, choose your sauces wisely, as they serve as the perfect compliment to these virgin meats, and they are also a necessary complimentray component. You see the meats are prepared so well, so tender, that they preserve solely the goodness of the meats, pure and unadulterated, so salt it, pepper it, sauce it (there are four distinct sauces available to render you unconscious), and the find the heaven that awaits. It's a delicious game of flavor, and it's always your move. The sides are decent, but lack a little conviction, they are middle of the road good, solid. The cornbread is unique, and very good, dense but not too wet. Beverages are available, from local craft favorites, to homemade Birch Beer, tasty, tasty. The atmosphere is modern decor with a country flare, woods, vintage tins, subdued lighting. The counter staff is friendly, and eager to help. Once your order is placed, goodness awaits, usually 10 minutes or less. Once your number is called, feast your eyes on the holy grail of gastronomy. Take it to your table, say a blessing if you're so inclined, then grab a fork and dig in. Let the taste, and all the wonderful food sensations wash over you. This my friends, is what you've been...

This was my first time at Jesse's Barbecue. My friends all said it was good and they were right. We arrived on a Wednesday at just after 11:30am and there were only three parking spots left. Luckily some people were getting takeout, so there were still some seats outdoors. The staff was really nice and friendly, but they were out of the birch beer on tap. It is a self service restaurant where you order and pay at the register and then they call your number (from your receipt) when your food is ready. You can then stop at the sauce station and get some BBQ sauce before heading to your table. There is a vertical drink cooler by the register, where you can pick a drink before ordering. The credit card terminal had the high-pressure tip suggestion screen, which always irks me a bit at self service restaurants, so I dutifully selected 15%. Anyways I got the pulled pork sandwich platter with the bbq baked beans and the french fries (extra cost) and the food was really good. The smoked pork was excellent, with great flavor and texture. The beans were good, but not great. The fries were pretty good, but I would have liked them to be a bit more crisp. They had three sauces, a sweet sauce, a spicy sauce and a vinegar sauce. I tried them all and they were all pretty good, but all very thin, too thin for me. I mostly mixed the sweet and hot sauces and enjoyed it on my sandwich and with my fries. It was a good barbeque experience, about the best around here in Eastern Pennsylvania. I will definitely be coming back to try some of the other meats.

Update Oct 2023: Still awesome food here! The creamy cucumber salad is also delicious.

Update Aug 2024: Still a fantastic place to eat. My only slight complaint is that their paper napkins are too thin, requiring us messy people to use a...