Blanco BBQ

Reviews 4

JE

Jeff Turpin

Oh yes, Ive been waiting for this place to show up on Google+. I waited in line for an hour tasting sub-standard samples of turkey along the way in hopes of a great que experience. The ?owners wife? was talking about Franklins in Austin, standing in line until the restaurant ran out of food, and about how it cant be that good for such a wait. I can assure her that the difference in this place and Franklins is the difference between Joe Blow in his kitchen and Gordon Ramsey. Lets begin. The brisket was horrible. Not only was it tough and chewy, but it lacked even the slightest smoke flavor, or any flavor at all outside of "beef". Some pieces were so tough and rubbery I could not eat them, and I had to spit them out. The bark was not crispy, and there was no smoke ring. Disgusting and disgraceful. The ribs were forgettable. There was a little bit of pork taste, a little bit of rub, a little bit of smoke, and a little bit of flavor. The bark was nothing to speak of and was rather dry. Not horrible, but it was on par with the below average ribs SA BBQ restaurants consistently turn-out. The sausage was the best meat I tried (other than pulled pork). The flavor was actually quite good, but it was incredibly dry and lacked snap (both probably due to improper cooking not necessarily lack of fat). Further, the temperature was cool instead of nice and hot so they need to turn that serving oven up higher. The pulled pork was tasty, but this was mainly due to their sauce. As a purist, who never sauces anything unless its not particularly edible, let it be known that real pulled pork (like Franklins BBQ) is finished with a 50/50 water and vinegar solution, not a sauce. The sauce itself had good flavor, and I could definitely eat more. Neither too sweet nor too tangy. The sides were far worse than the meat. The green beans tasted frozen to me and lacked flavor, even with the cubes of ham. The mac and cheese (something I take great pleasure in sampling everywhere I go) was bad... like... powdered processed cheese and water kind of bad. Definitely no freshly grated cheese mixed with butter and cream to form a cheese roux. The creamed corn had a thin gravy and tasted like corn - straight from the can. In short, Blanco BBQ seems to be a local NW side "tourist trap" in that it fills a vacancy (BBQ) in a neighborhood devoid of BBQ and with plenty of money in the pockets. Its huge, theres plenty of parking, and its actually a pretty cool spot. Not a bad business strategy, but the food wont be garnering any awards or attracting foodies. The food is generally terrible with a few glimmers of hope that make this place survivable should you get stuck here in line for an hour with your friends and family members. My recommendations are to get out of SA for BBQ. Harmons in Cibolo is your closest bet. Other than that, Lockhart and Austin are your next best bets - especially Franklins in Austin.

MI

Michael Lerma

We have been going to Blanco for the past 3 or so years and most times the food has been delicious. Service in the past have been on point and professional. They usually serve breakfast which we go to eat there in the morning. Well we ordered our tacos and they never came. I went to check on them and Juanee the nice lady that works there tried to help see what happened. The Manager on Duty didnt apologize at all for the wait. He waited at the table a minute as I opened my taco and I hadnt got upset with him about the long wait, but when I when I opened my taco and it looked cold and unprepared to me he asked me "what is wrong with the taco?" He pushed my button to flare up and then he responded to to me "Well we are busy with an event." The resteraunt was not even completely full to their capacity yall! Omg! He began to get defensive and asked me "what do I want?!" I told him I want my food on time and I want it well prepared. He brought me an additional taco which I had not asked for and not accepted. I told him the service has gone down hill for awhile now... they have rude people and many workers in the back but its like pulling teeth to get them out in the morning to serve a customer. Mind you we have been there a long time and have already experienced food poisoning with salads. But we still worked around all the bad to get to the convenience of good they have. At this point with my experience and the manager saying "My name is Ruben, if you would like to report me!" Well here I am writing a review on poor service and the food today was not up to my liking but got questioned and attitude about it.... Hope this helps you as well as me from being so pissed off at them. I mean yall guys we go to this resteraunt a lot and it felt like I was wrong for ordering or so we forgot your order --- who cares?!? So you spend money there and you should get your food at all or not the quality you expect..... the guy was like "Do you want me to grill your taco like a quesadilla?" No. I just my taco made the right way!!! Dammit!!! Ugh sorry Im truly going to have to think about really going back and I always have this feeling usually when I leave... or just getting my meals to go cause obviously its not working as it should...

MA

Mayor Doctor

I have been here countless times because I work right next door and it is a good place to get a quick meal that I can get without having a lot of carbs. Thats about where the pros end. There is no consistency here. Ive had my meat sliced thin, thick, with the grain, against the grain, and all sorts of strange triangle cuts. The seasoning in the side dishes are often lacking. The meats are acceptable at best. My brisket is always too tough, the ribs can be good IF they arent dreid out, the turkeys outer layer gets acrid (probably from the smoke pit not being taken care of right). The sandwiches have been served on stale buns (i assume they keep them under a heat lamp, they get very dry). All in all its just seriously lackluster bbq. I think their success can be attributed to San Antonio having a weak restaurant scene. They get 2 stars because I like their green beans and if you have a family Im sure its an easy spot to make everyone happy, but if you like bbq or consistent food, this is not your place.

MA

Mark. Cue

1st visit to this place. My wife and I really enjoyed all the food we were served. I had the house special platter (4 meats), she ordered the pulled pork sandwich, and side dishes of Mac, onion rings, mashed potatoes, and charro beans. As I said, we both thought the food was very tasty, flavorful and well prepared. Our one complaint was with the two young girls working behind the counter. They seems completely disinterested in helping us, and lacked basic customer service skills. These two were the first encounter with staff, and left quite a negative impression. The man we observed pushing a handcart around, presumably bussing the tables, was more friendly and engaging with the diners. We were also happy to see a playground in the back/patio area with lots of room for kids to play. We will be back soon, with our kids, for a return visit. It would be nice to see better, more positive attitudes and help at the counter.