Helberg Barbecue — Restaurant in Waco

“You know it’s serious when the pitmaster walks out with a camera crew and stamps your chest.”

TL;DR: Pulled into Helberg BBQ with the Side Dish Queen for a late Friday lunch, early dinner. No line. Straight to the counter. Brisket, turkey, sausage. Sides? She picked three winners: chimichurri slaw, street corn, and mustard potato salad. Banana pudding was mandatory. The brisket bark? Divine. Turkey with pesto? Glorious. Sausage? Hot, snappy, just the way I like it. Then came the surprise; Phillip Helberg himself stepped out, stamped my orange shirt, shook my hand, and gave me stamp #25. Halfway done, full belly, and one happy Queen.

Let me set the stage. Friday afternoon. Sun high, stomach empty, and a BBQ itch only Woodway could scratch. My wife (aka the Side Dish Queen) was in tow, which meant I wasn’t leaving without at least three sides and a banana pudding. We pulled up to Helberg BBQ at 4:15 PM; not a single person in line. It felt like a trap. Or a blessing. Turns out, it was divine intervention wrapped in brisket.

We stepped up to the counter and I didn’t blink. • Brisket: That bark could hold a sermon. Smoky, peppery, cooked with conviction. • Turkey: Thin-sliced, tender, laid back in a blanket of basil pesto. Absolutely stunning. • Sausage: Snapped louder than my knee in a cold front. Spiced just right. Juicy but behaved. And then came her royal selections: • Chimichurri Slaw: Bright and tangy, just enough punch to make the meat sing. • Street Corn: Loaded, creamy, topped with lime and seasoning like a backyard blessing. • Mustard Potato Salad: Cold, bold, and heavy on the love.

Now let’s talk banana pudding. That creamy swirl with ginger snaps and banana slices danced like it was made by someone’s praying grandmother. They say it is a family recipe.

And just when I thought the tray was the highlight, a staff member leaned over and said, “Hang tight, we’re calling Phillip.” Out comes Phillip Helberg, flanked by a camera crew, cool as smoke in February. He stamped my shirt like it was a BBQ baptism. We chatted meat and the madness of collecting these Top 50 stamps. Then I grabbed our tray, grinning like a fool, and slid into a booth with the Side Dish Queen.

Every bite confirmed it. Helberg is the real deal. Clean dining room. Family friendly. Kind folks. Portions that don’t pretend. Flavors that preach.

Stamp count: 25 down. 25 to go. Halfway through the holy pilgrimage. If you’re looking for brisket and blessings, Helberg...

My family is from out of town. We were all in town visiting my mother in law who had been to Helbergs before and enjoyed it. We went late so we understood when they told us they were out of a lot of meat. They told us they had chopped brisket and ribs left. My brother in laws ordered a total of 5 ribs. At no point did the staff tell us that these were “Dino” ribs just that they were beef ribs. When we saw the size and then looked at the total on our order to say we were in sticker shock was an understatement. We had a bill of $381 for 6 people. Again at no point had the staff told us the size or the price per pound. I spent the rest of the meal looking at the board to see if we had missed something. Beef ribs were not on the board. The next day after having thought about what happened I decided to call Helbergs to just inform them what happened so they could make sure their staff was better trained to tell the customer about size and price ahead of time because had we know we probably would not have ordered so much. The first person I spoke to was the front of house manager, sorry I didn’t get his name, he was nice and listened and owned the incident and promised to talk to the staff. He said he would call me back after speaking to the general manager to see what they could do for us. Although that was not the reason I called. Then the general manager called me back, Ethan was his name. He was rude and condescending, telling me that he needed to look at the security cameras to see if it was written on the board but he was pretty sure it was, and to listen to what the employees and cashier said to us, indicating to me that he didn’t believe me. He then stated that he couldn’t refund the whole ticket, to which I said “ I am not asking you to.” I will not return to this business. Make sure if you go here you ask about...

Update: I went back a few months later when restaurant had all of their meats in stock. The meats are excellent; unfortunately the price reflects that. I recommend the sausage if you are on a budget. The BBQ sauces do not add much to the experience. I really appreciated the unlimited supply of bread. The banana pudding was phenomenal.

I am leaving the old review because I believe BBQ restaurants should not run out their meats more than an hour before closing.

Olde review: Good BBQ does not beget high praise without preparation and foresight. We arrived an hour and twenty minutes before closing on a Sunday. After waiting in line for about twenty minutes, we were informed that only two meats were available: sausage and corndogs. I have two criticisms/suggestions. First, Helberg needs a better system to let customers know what is available. Several people (spending upwards of twenty to thirty minutes in line) left after the somber announcement. Waiting to break the bad news until we are moments away from ordering is, at best, a slap in the face. At worst, it is a ploy to get rid of inferior products, leveraging our growing hunger to compel settlement. Second, Helberg needs to spend more time making its premium meats. I do not care if these corndogs were blessed by Gordan Ramsey; we were all there for the brisket/pulled pork/insert real BBQ meat. I have read several reviews imploring patrons to go early before the meats are gone. But is the lack of meat to be blamed on the customer? Of course not. Helberg knows it does not make enough meat to satisfy all of its customers. This reduces its daily profits and leads to sour reviews like this one. Seems like a bad strategy to me.

I will try Helberg again when I return to Texas and adjust my review to reflect the quality...