Review of John Mueller's Black Box Barbeque (Georgetown, TX)  

Black Box Barbeque's Website, Facebook, Instagram & Twitter  

 

Jason Voorhees. Michael Meyers. John Mueller. What do they have in common? They never stay down for long. (Scott: No Godzilla on the list?)  With Black Box Barbeque, John (related to the same Mueller family who runs Louie Mueller’s in Taylor) is on his third business in six years. And he’s come out swinging. Scott and I headed there Saturday to see how this one compares to the others.  

Scott double-fists beer and coffee??

 

Black Box is currently a food trailer, which opened in late April around the Georgetown Red Poppy Festival, although there are plans for a brick and mortar. As he has in the past, John offers beer to those waiting in line. Lone Star is today’s offering (a good breakfast beer as my German brother-in-law calls it). But we aren’t here for beer (Scott: Officially). Scott and I order turkey, sausage, ribs, and brisket, and sit down to eat.  

Turkey: The turkey is extremely tender and juicy. There’s lots of smoky flavor, and a ton of black pepper adding a wonderful kick to it. It almost melts in the mouth. Scott sums it up thusly: “When the spice and the turkey got together, Barry White was playing in the background”. Tom, Scott: 9.5/10. 

Brisket: We get moist. It has a nice thick bark with a lot of the black pepper 9it’s a theme). There’s a good smoky flavor as well. Scott: 8.5/10. Tom: 9.0/10.  

Ribs: The ribs have a nice meat to bone ratio. They are tender and juicy. There’s a good smoky flavor. The pepper is present, but a bit more subdued than the other items, which works well. Tom, Scott: 8.5/10. 

Sausage: It’s a coarse ground beef sausage. There’s a nice snap, and it is moist without being greasy. It starts very smooth on the flavor and then the heat kicks in about 15 seconds later. Tom, Scott: 8.5/10.  

Note: Coarse ground pepper is a prevalent part of the rub on the meats.  It's presence in the meats is a theme, leitmotif - (checking a thesaurus or Wikipedia).

A few people had asked me what I thought about John opening a new place, and if it would be as good as his old ones. I could get nostalgic, or poetic, but I think paraphrasing a John Wick quote will sum it up best: 

“People keep asking if he’s back and I haven’t really had an answer, but yeah, I’m thinking he’s back”.

Is it worth a visit? Absolutely.  

Is it worth a trip? Again, absolutely.

-Tom