Review
of Waller County Line BBQ (Waller, TX)
On my way to
Pearland for New Year’s I decided to stop for lunch. I quickly realized I had a
choice: Waller County Line or Field Store BBQ. Both of these are located
in/attached to gas stations on 290 in Waller County, TX. I decided I would take
Waller County first, and grab Field Store on the way back.
Waller County Line
BBQ is set up line style. Order your plate, pick it up, and pay at the register
(same place you pay for gas).
(Scott's comment: Do you want your
brisket moist, lean, or premium unleaded?)
They offer a decent
selection. I order a three meat plate (brisket, sausage, chicken), and get a
pork rib in addition.
Sausage: I ordered original sausage. It has a
good snap, is nice and juicy, and has a decent smoky flavor. This is good
stuff. 8.0/10. I also noted that they sell boudin, and (if I recall correctly),
you can buy uncooked sausage to go.
Note: You are now going to see some
*. Don’t worry, I’ll explain in a bit.
Chicken: The chicken is tender and moist.
There’s an interesting tomato flavor to it, but it doesn’t taste like BBQ
sauce. I also don’t taste any smoke. It’s decent, but something is missing and
not quite sitting right with me. 6.0/10. *
Pork Rib: The pork rib has the same flavor as
the chicken. I’m starting to think they are using a wet rub of some kind early
in the process. It’s not a bad flavor. Unfortunately, I’m still not tasting any
smoke at all. Even more unfortunately, this rib is so tough I’m having to cut
it with my knife. 3.0/10.
Brisket: Waller CL BBQ offers brisket and
“Smoked” brisket (which is apparently their version of fatty or moist brisket).
I ordered the smoked. It’s hard to tell how it would taste on it’s own,
because it came pre-chopped. And yes, that picture is brisket, not pork. Again,
I taste no smoke, and that tomato flavor is back. And if I close my eyes I’m
flashing back to elementary school for some reason. Again, it’s not a bad
flavor, but something is definitely missing. 5.0/10 *
*About the time I finished the brisket, I figured out
what this flavor reminded me of: the Italian flavored Manwich that we used to
make sloppy joes out of when I was a kid (do they still make that stuff?). And
the more I think about it, that was the issue with the chicken, the brisket,
and would have been the case with the rib if it hadn’t been so badly prepared.
I feel like I’m eating Italian food, not BBQ.
(Scott's comment: A severely
bastardized version of Italian food. My dead Italian grandmother is probably
rolling in her grave as I write this.)
So how do I rate Waller County Line BBQ? This
is always a tricky situation. With the exception of the rib, everything was
actually pretty good. However, it didn’t taste like BBQ. The chicken only
needed a little pasta to be a perfect Italian dish, and all I needed was some
bread and the brisket would have made an excellent sloppy joe. But there was
nothing in any of those three items that made me think I was eating smoked
meat.
So the scores above
are based on their rating as BBQ. It’s like ordering cheese cake and being
brought carrot cake. The carrot cake may be a perfectly acceptable dish, but if
you really wanted cheesecake then the carrot cake is going to be lacking.
(Al's comment: I had the experience
recently of getting Heinz BBQ sauce to go with some smoked flank steak at a
buffet. It was basically Heinz ketchup with paprika mixed in - terrible! So maybe it's harsh of me to say somebody is
using Heinz BBQ sauce in their cooking.)
Is it worth a visit? I’d say
yes. The sausage is definitely worth trying. And the other items certainly
taste fine for what they are.
Is it worth a trip? Nope.
Decision time: Since Waller
County Line and Field Store BBQ are one exit down from each other, which should
you choose? You should choose Waller County Line if you want overall better
tasting food and aren’t as worried about a more “genuine” BBQ experience.
-Tom & Scott