Papa Jacks!

The Eyes of Texas are Upon You
Part 7


Papa Jacks Smokehouse
On East Waco Drive, between Hood St. and Turner St... right across from DJ Seafood.
Waco, Texas


So today I couldn’t decided what I wanted to eat. I spent all morning and even the night before trying to decide what I wanted to eat for lunch. Even tried to get a few people to join me with no prevail, but that’s no biggie. Finally around 12pm after getting my oil changed and picking up some Menudo (the meat, not the soup), I decided Id go check out this BBQ joint I had seen down on Waco Drive, called One Stop BBQ. But we will talk about them later, today we are gonna talk about a place I saw on the way to One Stop BBQ called Papa Jacks.

I had never seen Papa Jacks Smoke house before and as I drove by I noticed a small line and smoke flyin, so with a quick u-turn a pulled into the parking lot hopped out and got in line. Its not a sit in restaurant, its just a little trailer and attachment with their smokers on the side, and a big ole pile of wood.. Though it would be cool if they put up some tables with umbrellas, they have plenty of room and it would be great for beautiful days like today. While in line I looked over their menu. They have plenty of meats to choose; Sausage, brisket, spam, hot links, a couple other things, sandwiches or plates… and on Thursdays they have Smoked Turkey legs (stuffed or regular). They also have yellow potato salad, beans, home made cookies, soda, etc.

So once the crazy lady in front of me who ordered 4 big plates and just about every cookie in the place, it was my turn. I was hungry and wanted to try a couple of their things, so I ordered one of their Brisket Sandwiches, a stuffed turkey leg and some yellow potato salad. While the prepped my food, I talked to the guy, who I suppose owns the place, was real nice. He opened the place about 3 weeks ago and makes everything fresh… sounds like a plan to me. So I got my food, only cost me around $11, which isn’t bad, not bad at all.

So I get to my parents place with the food, thought Id share the spoils with them before they go to the ranch. The first thing I break into is the turkey leg…. open that sucker up and its just steaming and the smell just engulfs your senses… smells just wonderful. You can smell the smoke, the jalapenos and stuffing, and even the turkey meat. The meat has a nice red smoke hue to it and stick a fork in it and it just peels off the bone. Take a bite of it, and its just great… sweet, juicy and tender meat. The smoke isn’t over powering, the jalapeno stuffing isn’t over powering, it all works together. This is one of, if not the best turkey leg I have ever had. I can see my self going back every Thursday to get one of these.

Next I try some of the brisket, just pulled it off the sandwich so I can try it alone. The sandwich is served on white bread and stacked with brisket. It is a decent brisket, nothing really special about it. It has a nice smoke ring, good texture and flavor, not too dry. Was really good with their BBQ sauce and makes a great sandwich. Their BBQ sauce was pretty damn good, really sweet, seemed like it had honey in it and about the same consistency.

Then I finished it off with some of the yellow potato salad. It is a classic yellow dill potato salad. The potatoes are small diced and a few seemed to still have the skin on, which I liked. It seemed very fresh and had a nice sweet flavor, seemed to have just the right amount of mustard and dill, and it had a nice creamy texture. Really enjoyed that.

Over all I really enjoyed this places BBQ and so did the rest of my family. I will definitely be going back there soon, and I highly recommend every one else give them a try too.Gotta keep local places like this alive, so stop by and tell’em DavieG sent ya.

*If you wanna try their turkey legs, I think you’ll have to wait till Thursday.*

Veronica's Restaurante

Veronica's Restaurant

1618 Franklin Avenue

Waco, TX 76701-1720

(254) 714-2655

Veronicas restaurant, a small quiet Mexican restaurant owned and operated all by women. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner from 7 to 9 on most days. Their menu consists predominately of Mexican food, but also have some American foods. The waitress there are very nice and friendly, the atmosphere of the place is very nice too and all kinds of people eat there. Ive eaten there one time before this and really enjoyed it, so Im not sure why its taken me so long to go back…. hopefully next week I can go back for breakfast.

While waiting for your food they bring you some tortilla chips and a couple salsas. They bring you one green and one red; the green is a home made jalapeno based salsa, it was alright but I didn’t really like the strong-ness of the jalapeno flavor. The red one was much better, it’s a very like chili salsa and it too is home made. It has a much more subtle flavor that is nicely rounded out with the peppers used. I know some people that like to just eat the salsa with a spoon.

The first time I went I ordered their combination plate, which consists of a taco, chalupa, enchilada, rice and flour/corn tortillas. It was about a year ago, but I do remember that the meat for all three were beef and everything tasted really fresh, was well prepared and had great flavor. This time around I ordered the Asado De Peurco (Pork Roast) in red sauce with rice and flour tortillas. The tortillas are fresh and I believe home made. The rice is nicely seasoned and well prepared, deff not over cooked like some places.. The pork was nice and tender, could just peel the chucks of meat apart with no trouble and it wasn’t dry. The sauce the pork was cooked in was very flavorful, it had hints of cumin and peppers in it that blended nicely. You mix it with the rice and wrap it up in one of the tortillas… its pretty awesome. Probably some of the best Peurco Ive ever had.

Ill expand on this review more in the next week or two after I try out their breakfast. But I would still definitely recommend Veronicas for some great authentic Mexican food from a great local restaurant…. Probably one of Waco’s best locally owned restaurants. They get pretty steady around lunch time and there is very limited seating, so get there before 12 or around 1. if you wanna grab lunch and miss the crowd.

Who you calling a HO!

Re-opened

follow link below for new review & address
New Beginning

Fat Ho Burgers
11th and Ross
Waco Texas




So this is one of the newest restaurants to hit the Waco scene, and has made the news several times but not for its food, but instead of its name. I don’t mind the name, but apparently a lot of people are uptight about it. My main thought on the name is that if you are going to have such a name you have to have food to back it up… other wise what’s the point? A name will carry you so far, without good food you’ll fail.

Because of all the publicity they have been packed since day one, my father and I went today around 12:00pm and there was a line out the door. I really wanted to give them a try so we stayed, while waiting in line some people decided to leave cause the wait was sooo long. In the long haul the line stayed long, it actually got even longer after we placed our order and sat down. While in line a couple of Waco celebs showed up for lunch… Cowboy and Lucky… oh ya. Channel 10 news also showed up to film some of the staff and the patrons. I think the news crew just got in the way, going back into the kitchen and slowing down the cooks… not exactly the smartest thing to do when you got a steady line out the door. If I was the owner I would’ve told them to stay out of the kitchen while so busy and then when slowed down maybe let them in and make sure they were a hair net….

During our wait I also noticed a few flaws in the place. For one, the seating inside was bad, they could’ve easily utilized their space better and placed more tables inside and they probably could’ve even places some out side. Second, they didn’t have a menu anywhere in sight, even though there is plenty of wall space and even a big space right above the counter that would’ve been great for a menu. This would’ve greatly expedited the ordering of people, rather than having to wait to get up front and read the menu there. Third, I noticed that the lady taking the orders wrote every single thing out… when short hand should’ve been used and would’ve also expedited service. I know they are new, but the person who opened up this place should put a lot more thought into this place, and maybe gotten some outside help from people who’ve been in the business. Hopefully she will realize this and be able to make some much needed changes soon.

After about 20-30 minutes we finally made it to the counter to look over the menu and place our order. They have a fairly vast menu; burgers, burritos, short ribs, soul food, some Mexican food, chicken, breakfast, nachos, kids meals and even a $1 menu… and some of the names of the items were pretty funny. It seems to be quite a lot of stuff for such a new and small place, but hey if it works let it be…. Im just not sure how well it works. I order their “Supa Fly Ho w/bacon & cheese” for $4.25 and a side of fries for a $1. So after about 15-20 minutes our burgers came out. We got them to go, so I didn’t really look at them till I got home. Once I got home I opened the box and noticed three immediate things- 1. the fries were similar to Ore-Ida and pretty small serving. 2. the burger meat looked way over cooked. 3. The toppings on the burger were very small and they left off my bacon! NEVER FORGET THE BACON!!!

Now the big moment, the very first bite. Well the meat was a cheap frozen pattie and was way over cooked, very dry and chewy. The veggies were what you’d expect, simple lettuce and pickles and onions… I skipped on the tomatoes...but as I mentioned they really shorted you on these things. The cheese is your run of the mill. The bun was slightly buttered and toasted. They fries were unevenly cooked, some were slightly raw, some were over cooked and some right in between. To be brutally honest, the burger strongly reminded me of McDonalds... but worse…. that’s the first thing that popped into my head with the first bite… “Tastes like a dry McDonalds burger.”. So I was over whelming unimpressed.

I will definitely go back one day to try some of the other things on their menu, like the meatloaf, chicken fried steak and short ribs. But would I recommend them for the burgers? NO, no I wouldn’t. Least not right now. Maybe once it slows down there and the hype is all gone, the cooks can work cooking the burgers properly and maybe getting in some better patties. The place needs a lot of work, but Ill give them a little leeway since they are new. If they fix the problems I mentioned earlier and work on making their burgers better they could really be a successful place…. but if these changes don’t happen, I don’t see them sticking around for a long time. You just cant call your self a burger joint, have shitty burgers and expect to stay in business, just not how the world works.

So If you want to wait 45 minutes and dish out a few bucks for a burger that is very similar to mickey d's… give it a shot. But Id suggest to wait for the hype to calm down or try some thing else on the menu.

So ya, final words: Give Fat Ho’s a chance to work on their cooking and menu before diving into their burgers. They need some trained cooks, a smaller (concentrated) menu, and some improved products... and they'd be pretty well set.

Century Old BQQ

The Eyes of Texas are Upon You
Part 6


Jaspers BBQ
105 Clifton Street
Waco, TX 76704
(254) 799-8351



Two days ago I finally made it to Jaspers BBQ, probably Waco’s oldest BBQ joint.
It has changed hands a couple times, or at least once that I know of, but it still has its following.
Every time I have driven by it, the lot was decently full and this time was no different.

So me and my father pull in and find a place to park, wasn’t too crowded and the lot is decently sized. We go in and get in line, which is about 4-5 people, and check out the menu. They sell meat by the lb, 1/2lb, complete plates, sandwiches and sides. The offer the basic brisket, sausage, ribs and bologna; with the classic sides of beans, slaw and potato salad, deviled eggs, and they don’t serve bbq sauce… but offer this stuff they call gravy (we’ll get to that later).

I order the brisket plate with slaw, potato salad, white bread, pickles/onions, bowl of “gravy” and 3 deviled eggs. The brisket isn’t sliced like most places, they just do a rough chop on it. They serve a decent size scoop of potato salad and slaw, with enough pickles and onions as requested. Once I paid up, one of the guys carried my plate and sat me at a table… as well as my fathers. Was rather unexpected and nice, none of the joints Ive been to have had that.

The first thing I try is one of the deviled eggs. They are made with dill relish, which give them a less sweet taste, but they still had a very nice flavor and consistency. I really liked the potato salad; it is a mustard mix, with chunky potatoes and still a creamy texture, complete with a nice sweetish flavor. The slaw was alright, not as sweet as I like and was a but tangy, but the veggies were still fresh and crunchy. The brisket was alright, nothing really special…. and maybe it was just the cut I got, but it was a little dry…. It still had a decent flavor and texture. My least favorite thing was the “gravy” which is a juice/sauce I believe is made from the brisket juices with some added hot sauce and seasoning (one of which I believe is cumin, cause it kinda reminded me of Mexican food grease.). I don’t mind the beef juice being used as a sauce, that’s usually one of the best things to use, but I didn’t care for flavor of this recipe… nope didn’t like it at all.

The overall atmosphere of the place was great. All the employees were very nice and helpful. They constantly had a line trailing toward the door, was never really long but stayed consistent. Right before I left I decided to pick up a shirt, but they were out of mediums… so they offered to sell me the one stapled to the wall and gave it to me at a discount… worked for me. Ill deff go back to try more of their stuff, cause I feel I just got a bad batch of brisket…. and that happens sometimes.

Home BBQ Adventures P2

So obviously I’ve been kinda slacking on my blog posts… For the last couple of months I’ve been fairly busy at work and havent eaten at any new places yet, but I have managed to squeeze in a couple of BBQs at Home. I’ve smoked a couple racks of ribs, a brisket, and have experimented more with my yellow potato salad, deviled eggs, sausage and ice-cream recipes.

The ribs have only been getting better and better; keeping the seasoning simple, the wood sweet and letting them cook till they peel right off the bone. Though my mom keeps asking me if I can make them “less smoky”… ya… smoked ribs “less smoky”. Besides that they are pretty awesome, cant wait to share them with the world one day. The last brisket I did came out alright, wasn’t too fond of the seasoning I used, but it made some great sandwiches and what we didn’t eat I vacuum sealed and froze for later sandwiches.

The newest addition to my culinary arsenal is a meat grinder and sausage maker… made by ACME, so hopefully it doesn’t blow up. But I found it on sale at Academy for $50, much cheaper than the one for $300. It came with 3 different blades and 3 different spouts. I’ve used it 3 times now, making 3 different types of Sausages. Eventually I also want to utilize it to grind my own beef for burgers and such. I made 3 kinds of sausages; Chicken/Spinach/Feta sausage, Beef/Green Chili sausage , and a Beef/Beer sausage. The first two were great hits. Every one who tried the chicken sausage loved it. For the green chili sausage I used authentic chilies from New Mexico that my aunt and uncle brought back to Texas for me. That one turned out pretty well, but several people thought it was a little too hot…. but they are just wimps. The last batch I made was beef and beer sausage. For the beer flavor I tried this de-hydrated beer product. It is a fine powder like substance, that contains everything that is in your basic beer. It smells just like bud light, and when added to water it tastes like bud light. Sadly though I apparently didn’t add enough of it to the sausage mix…. or at least for my taste, so next time I will have to add more to hopefully get a stronger beer flavor.

Deviled eggs are a bbq staple, so every time I throw something on the smoker I also make some deviled eggs. Trying different mixtures of mustard, mayo, relish, bacon and such… and trying different types of mustards too. Most of them turn out pretty darn well…. especially the last batch I made with apple bacon. I’ve also been experimenting with smoking the deviled eggs. I got the idea from one of my BBQ books where the author went to a restaurant and saw on their menu “BBQ deviled eggs”, only to be let down when they weren’t really BBQ’ed, they just threw “bbq” in front. So I thought, why hasn’t any one tried this? I haven’t seen any real BBQ deviled eggs in any books or at any of the places I’ve eaten, so I’ve been experimenting with them…. and I gotta say… they are awesome. I just gotta tweak them a little but more before I show them to the world.

The potato salad has been my biggest hit so far. I haven’t really gone with a recipe, I just took what potatoes I had in the house and prep them. Then started throwing mayo, honey mustard and such in and mixing it up. I like my potato style country style, so I leave some of the skin on and cube them up roughly. Then cook up some apple bacon and hard boiled eggs for flavor and texture. Overall I really like the product I made so far, and only probably only tweak it a little more. Next time I cook some BBQ though I think Ill try out some white potato salad.

The ice cream has just been something fun to mess around with. So far Ive made a cookie n cream ice-cream and then a cinnamon apple ice-cream. Once peaches come into season Ill make a fresh peach ice-cream.

Besides that; Ive been kicken ass and taking names at work, Looking for new places to eat at, and new recipes to try out at home.