LaVaca BBQ - Victoria — Restaurant in Victoria

4.5 stars here. Victoria branch of this Texas Monthly magazine top fifty in the state list. Large nondescript building, possibly an old garage with picnic tables inside on the wide open floor area. Huge ceiling fans helped cool the space on this hot day. a nice young man learning customer service invites you to ask questions and directs you to the order window. There the owner is the one taking your order. She was a real treat as she clearly loves what she and her family do. The original location is in LaVaca and her daughter is the pit master. The meat is smoked at that location and transferred to Victoria. The business is in the process of building a pit room in Victoria and when finished the process will be reversed. The menu includes the expected meats by the half pound, sandwiches, tacos & tamales, along with jumbo baked potatoes. Exciting to see pork belly but did not choose it today.

We chose the two meat platter with turkey and pork ribs. The side choices were the green beans and potato salad from a list that includes jalapeno cream corn, mac & cheese. and gumbo. The platter also came with two slices of homemade white bread which put any wonder bread to shame. After one bite it’s clear why they made the Texas Monthly list. The turkey and the pork ribs had excellent flavor with no need for any sauce (beef, Texas hot, and mustard offered here). Light peppery bark with a hint of sweetness. Beautiful pink pork with a deep burgundy smoke ring. The turkey was simply one of the best I’ve enjoyed at a BBQ spot. Moist and full of flavor.

Strangely the green beans were very, very sweet and not in a pleasant way I’m afraid. The potato salad wasn’t my favorite here either as I prefer a chunkier style. These were similar to whipped potatoes. If you like banana pudding even a little bit, I cannot recommend the version served here highly enough. Matter of fact, you might want to start with this as the meats and sides keep better as leftovers. Silky, delectable banana flavor, and topped with candied pecans. Accompanied by a house made vanilla wafer. Do not believe I have ever had the pleasure of tasting a better banana pudding then the one served here. As we left, the nice young man was offering samples and holding the rapt attention of a group who had just arrived. We were offered a brisket sample. Small and fatty, but very tasty and was great with the beef bbq sauce. Something to remember when we get here again. Can just imagine the experience being even greater once they have the onsite smoking in place. Fantastic meal made by folks that love what they do. PS-Google will not allow my photo for some...

The short version: fantastic food. Meats are perfect, and the sides are delicious. Service is great, atmosphere is clean if not a little boring.

Now down to the details.

All of the meat is great. Period. Cooked right and very tender. Brisket, pork ribs, sausage, pulled pork, turkey, etc. Perfection, every time we've been.

You may not like all of the sides (I prefer sides that are savory, spicy or vinegary, rather than sweet) but you will find a side or two that you love. We like to get all of the sides so that everyone is happy, and believe me nobody complains. Mac belly, jalapeno corn, potato salad that I'll actually order because its the best I've ever eaten. Amazing! The only side that could up its game, for me, is the pinto beans. Need a little more pork, garlic and cilantro IMO.

Almost forgot, the tamales are wonderful! Never had something like this in a BBQ joint. Kind of like a smoky meat pie tamale. Looks like a big tamale but less cornmeal, more flour. Filled with perfect BBQ. Just excellent, especially when "dressed!"

So I've read some of the other reviews, and I have to say that I'm surprised how unfair people have been here. Fantastic BBQ IS NOT and HAS NOT been a cheap-eats, lunch/dinner choice for over a decade. The ONLY reason LaVaca is ranked below mums is because of cost. So if you want cheap barbecue, go to Mumford's, where you'll get exactly what you pay for...classic "meh" barbecue from the 1980s, where they just put fire on some meat and serve it. There are folks who think food excellence should be cheap, and who wouldn't know good BBQ from stuff cooked in an oven, slathered with ketchup. I'm not throwing rocks here so don't get pissy. I'm being brutally honest. Mumford's was such a disappointment for us. We badly wanted it to be great, or even good. And it just isn't.

We've had great bbq from Dallas to the RGV, Luling, Lockhart and all places in between.

If you're a modern meat lover who appreciates the quality ingredients and ridiculous attention to detail required to make Fantastic BBQ with zero excuses just the pure, tasty meat goodness, then you'll have to pay for it. But I assure you, it's worth every penny and you'll be glad you did.

Ignore the cheapsters and their reviews. LaVaca BBQ is fantastic. A Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ Joint...

Update: On my visit today, the cashier recognized who I was and let me know that they are making changes to ensure that the burgers are better (read my previous review)! Awesome! I'm glad that they try to do better and strive for perfection. Thanks Lavaca BBQ!

3.3.23: I've been to Lavaca BBQ a few times now and I have already been greeted right away. Nice family that runs this business. Very good BBQ, and definitely different from other local joints. I've had a smattering of items off their menu and they are all good. Moist brisket and turkey, delicious ribs, the sides are excellent. Today I tried their "Big Cheese" burger and it was good. Nice smoke on it the bacon and cheese topper was nice. Unfortunately their burger wasn't hot enough to melt the cheese and I think that's because they don't put some heat on the burger right before they serve it. Fries came with the burger and they were crunchy, but again not fried to order; so they weren't hot. Another thing, is that rather take your order and have a separate pickup window or bring it to your table they have you wait in line, and that backs up the line. I think this is just a sign of not having been in the food business for all that long. But, that being said, they are very nice and the food is good. A few missteps, but nothing that...