The first few days I was there, I took advantage of other unique culinary wonders, like some really delicious creole seafood and classic pies at Goode Company Seafood. But after a few days, I was ready to embrace the Texas barbecue scene, and set out to find "the best" in town.
"The best" is obviously subjective, and every Uber driver, local resident, hotel staff member, etc I talked to gave me their top picks. For the most part, uh, none agreed. That is, except all my co-workers. The folks local to our Houston office were in close agreement. The best, no question, was Truth BBQ. It also happened to be, literally, across the street from our office. This later fact caused me some doubt, as I assumed it was a factor in being "the best" - convenience and ease of access certainly plays some role, right? Here's the thing though - there are some fairly well regarded lists of the best barbecue in all of Texas, and Truth routinely finds a place in the top five of those lists. This past year, it ranked #3 on the 2021 Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ List. It is always the highest rated place in Houston in statewide lists.
It also turns out, that even if it was located right next to the office, "ease" is not quite the word that comes to mind for a visit there (more on that soon). And yet, I completely endorse it, and would gladly return.
My first visit, I knew I was ordering far too much, but I thought it would be my only visit, and I basically wanted to try the entire menu, so narrowing it down to just two meats, two hot sides, two cold sides, and two desserts was hard enough. I couldn't prune my selections from there. I had a plan though: I visited at lunch, and planned to try everything then, but focus primarily on one of the meats and a sampling of all the sides. And one of the desserts. For dinner that night, I'd heat up the other of the meat and more hot sides, and try the other dessert. Lunch the next day would be the cold sides, with my own salad, and some meat. And whatever dessert I had left. So, I had a plan, and expected I'd eat this feast for at least my next three meals.
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| Epic Feast #1. |
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| Feast #2. |
Let's just say, I was so blown away that I may have extended my trip to Houston an extra day, in large part so I could go back to Truth. I wish I could say I am joking, but, uh, #priorities. I really wanted to try more of the menu! So my new last day in town, I returned. This time my order was much more reasonable, just one meat, two sides, and one dessert.
The space is fairly rustic, and quite large.
Setting
Feast BBQ is located across the street from a pizza joint and a grocery store, not in a particularly interesting part of town. That said, Truth brings people there, no question.
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| Curb Appeal. |
They have ample parking, as it isn't in a very walkable area (unless, like me, you were just crossing the street from your office!). A portion of the parking is dedicated to curbside pickup, which was always busy (for good reason, more on that soon). This is true curbside pickup, where they actually bring it out to your car, you park in a specific numbered spot at your pick up time. This concept is totally wild to me.
The outdoor area along the backside has high tables and stools for dining. Doors open directly into the dining room to make it easy to access. The tables were set with condiment buckets and supplies every time I visited, but I never saw anyone eating outside, even though it was a fairly reasonable temperature out (about 58*, not too hot to be outside, and downright balmy compared to San Francisco ...).
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| Outdoor Seating. |
The other outside area, also under cover, is the outside portion of the line. Yes, the outside portion of the line. The line continues inside. And a line there will be. They open at 11am, and my understanding is people get in line before then. My visits were at 12 and 12:30pm, and, wowzer, the line. That said, I knew to expect this, and just pre-ordered online instead. No line for me. Unless you want the experience and excitement building of waiting in a 45+ min line, I highly recommend the pre-order route. My impression is that line continues until they close, which happens when they run out of stuff, sometime mid-afternoon.
Inside the seating area is bustling. While many people did get their food to go, inside was always full and busy, with tables turning constantly. Seating is available whether you wait in line and order or order in advance (although it will be packaged for takeout then). Most people seemed to visit in fairly large groups. The setup is self-seating, but staff do come by to wipe down tables between guests the best they can. Not pictured here, but there is a bar along one wall too.
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| Indoor Dining. |
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| Retail Store. |
Meats
Obviously, the main attraction here is the meat, sold most commonly by weight - 1/4lb, 1/2lb, 3/4lb, 1lb (or in some cases, by the pint, like the pulled pork or chopped brisket, or by the link as the sausage). The most well known is their brisket, which many consider to be the best in Houston, and top 3 in Texas. The rest of the lineup includes smoked pork ribs (and beef ribs on Saturdays only), pulled pork, and turkey, plus an assortment of house made sausages (spicy pepper jack, brisket boudin, jalapeno cheddar, garlic).
During the week (Tuesday - Friday, as they are closed on Monday), you can also opt for a plate, with 1, 2, or 3 meats, and 2 sides, for $23, $27, or $31. The two sides alone are $10 of that base price.
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| 1 Meat Plate (Ribs), Corn Pudding, Tater Tot Casserole. $23. Included sides: potato bread, housemade pickles, pickled pink, OG bbq sauce. |
My first visit, I opted for a 1 meat plate, with the ribs. Even though people rave about the brisket, I knew I was more likely to like the ribs, and people certainly love those too.
Since I ordered ahead for takeout, it came nicely packaged up, with the ribs in one big compartment, and the two sides in their own. I also opted for all the optional complimentary add-ons: potato bread, pickles, pickled onion, and bbq sauce. I wanted to try everything!
Pickled Pink:
"House made pickled onions, just like we serve in the restaurant. The perfect companion to your smoked meats, salads and charcuterie boards."
"House made pickled onions, just like we serve in the restaurant. The perfect companion to your smoked meats, salads and charcuterie boards."
The pickled red onions they dub "pickled pink". My order came with two small condiment containers with them. They were perfect with the bbq, the acid level strong, and they helped to cut the fat in the meat. Definitely recommend getting these with your order. ****.
Housemade Pickles:
"House made pickles just the way you like them. Full of dill and the perfect amount of vinegar, made in small batches weekly. Perfect with your briskets, even better as a snack out of the fridge!"
The dill pickles also came as two small containers, each with two slices in it. The pickles were good, again nice acid level, a bit of tang, and went well with all the food. I wanted more than the 4 slices I had. ****.
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| Smoked Pork Ribs + Brisket Sample. |
I started with the brisket, and, well, I can see why people rave about this. I can safely say that I'd never had brisket that good before. I didn't know brisket *could* be that good. Wowzer. It had a flavorful bark (is that the right word? Crust?), was insanely tender, and just melted apart in your mouth. It was brilliantly fatty, with the fat rendered expertly. It was so flavorful from the rub that it didn't need, or really want, any sauces. I think it would fantastic in a chopped brisket sandwich (which they make) or with mashed potatoes (which strangely they do not serve). Hands down, best brisket I've ever had, and better than I imagined it could be. ****+.
After that star, the ribs had a lot to live up to. The crust/rub on the ribs was even more incredible than the brisket. Both sides were deeply coated, so loaded with flavor. So *this* is what a quality dry rub is all about?! The smoky nature of the ribs was also unlike anything I've had before. I've had smoked bbq before, but, they really truly captured all the smoke in these. Again, I felt no bbq sauce was necessary. I didn't want any. There was just such incredible flavor in that rub and smoke. The meat itself was good, fatty, juicy, fairly tender, but it wasn't as phenomenal as the brisket. The ribs were both loaded with meat. The rub and smoke blew me away, but the actual meat was just slightly above average. Still, probably in the top 3 ribs of my life, and definitely the most flavorful. ****.
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| Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage. $9. |
Little known fact about me is that I do actually quite like sausage. Well, some sausage. I love breakfast sausage patties, but not links. I adore hot dogs. I like sausage in my gravy with biscuits. I was eager to try one of Truth's sausages, even though I don't normally eat just sausages like that. People most rave about the brisket, but, sausages are well regarded too.
As to which sausage, I debated between the house sausage (garlic) and the jalapeno cheddar (I ruled out the boudin as it isn't my style, and the spicy pepper jack as I don't care for jack). I almost went for the most simple, to really taste the sausage, but at last minute, I went cheesy, thinking back to those cheese filled hot dogs I had as a child.
The sausage was a mixed success for me. On the plus side, the casing was quite snappy, and it was very juicy, well cooked. It was flavorful and well seasoned. The casing was more dominant and substantial than I like though ... I didn't like a mouth full of chewy casing. It was also very, very cheesy. Not 50% cheese, but, nearly. The cheese was gooey and delicious, don't get me wrong, but it took over. If you want a cheesy sausage, go for this. It had a nice kick from the jalapeno too.
So I had mixed feelings on this. I think the insides were tasty, and would be great with some mashed potatoes ... which is definitely my childhood speaking here, but I went through a phase of being able to cook my own lunch, and my creation was nearly always Potato Buds (e.g. instant mashed potatoes) with hot dog slices and cheese mixed in. Or cheese infused hotdogs, if we had them. 10 year old me really wanted this sausage filling with some mash. But I did feel like I made the wrong choice, and wished I'd ordered the simple garlic one instead. Still, a flavorful and well seasoned sausage, just not the right pick for me. ***.
Ok, I don't really like tater tots all that much. Nor do I care all that much for Tex-Mex. But the tater tot casserole is a signature dish at Truth, and I wanted to give it a try. So, to be clear, this is NOT a high brow dish. This is, literally, frozen tater tots, mashed up and cooked down casserole style, with cheddar cheese, sour cream, bacon, onions, cajun seasoning, and a can of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies. Yup, its like a loaded baked potato, Tex-Mex style, but made into hashbrowns ... but with tots instead. This side is served warm.
The side I was most excited for was the corn pudding, even though I've never had any corn pudding before (seriously, why is this not found outside the South?). As a lover of stuffing, particularly cornbread stuffing, and creamed corn, it sounded entirely up my alley. This dish was also served warm. I had to laugh at the obvious ice cream scoop shaped ball in my container. Truth serves up the sides "cafeteria style", and you could see it clearly here.
This was everything I was hoping for. It was like ... really corn-y cornbread, made into a really moist stuffing. Not creamy and pudding-like a creamed corn, definitely more solid, and full of whole kernels of corn. The corn flavor was really remarkably strong. This deserves a place on every Thanksgiving or holiday table, and it is really a shame it hasn't caught on in other parts of the US. And it did go great with the ribs.
The brussels sprouts were not what I expected at all. I wasn't expecting simple healthy steamed brussels or anything like that, but I thought they'd be roasted, crispy, likely with bacon, as you get many places. These were not that at all.
Sides
Every platter comes with a choice of two sides, but sides are available a la carte as well in 3 sizes: "single" for $5, pint for $10, or quart for $15. The lineup is pretty heavy stuff: their signature tater tot casserole and corn pudding, mayo style coleslaw and potato salad, mac and cheese, and then slightly healthier options like brussels sprouts (but they are fried), green beans (they do have bacon), and beans. Most of these aren't vegetarian, e.g. the brussels, green beans, tater tot casserole, and beans all contain pork or beef. Besides the baked beans, I honestly wanted them all, but narrowed it down to just 4 on my first visit - two with my platter, and two additional a la carte. When I returned two days later, I tried two more. The only ones I didn't try were the beans and mac and cheese, the later of which I still have FOMO over.
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| Tater Tot Casserole (included in platter). |
The soft mushy tater tots really seemed more like hashbrowns than tots, no distinct tots remained. There was tons of flavor from the chiles and cajun seasoning, creaminess and richness from sour cream, and lots of gooey cheddar cheese. It was very satisfying, and totally unhealthy, in a somewhat glorious way.
There is no denying that this dish screams comfort food, and, I think is the thing hangover dreams are made of. I think it would be great for brunch, maybe with a fried egg or extra strips of bacon on top, and a drizzle of maple syrup? As a side with my BBQ, it actually felt just a bit much ... I already had so much fat and decadence, and amazing flavor from the rubs, I didn't want the overload here. I think it could be great alongside a burger or something like that as well. With my barbecue, I wanted something more like mashed potatoes, but they actually do not have mashed potatoes (only potato salad, potato bread, and this, for potato sides).
I'm glad I tried this dish, and I think my family would love it (they are definitely a casserole family, and definitely into Tex-Mex). I very much appreciated my leftovers the next morning, warmed up and drizzled with maple syrup, in my hotel room. If nothing else, I recommend ordering a side so you can enjoy it the next morning!
***+.
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| Corn Pudding (included in platter). |
This was everything I was hoping for. It was like ... really corn-y cornbread, made into a really moist stuffing. Not creamy and pudding-like a creamed corn, definitely more solid, and full of whole kernels of corn. The corn flavor was really remarkably strong. This deserves a place on every Thanksgiving or holiday table, and it is really a shame it hasn't caught on in other parts of the US. And it did go great with the ribs.
My favorite of the sides, and I hope to have it again sometime. ****.
I moved on to the cold sides, mostly intending to bring these home for lunch the next day.
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| Potato Salad. $5. |
The potato salad was a fairly unique style. The potatoes, and eggs, were all small cubes. There was a considerable amount of egg. Also in the mix was chunks of peppers, and red skin from the potatoes. It was a creamy style, obviously from mayo, but I think they also mash some of the potato and egg to make it creamy? The lack of larger hunks of potato was definitely new to me.
I probably wouldn't have ordered this if I knew it used red skinned potatoes, as I just don't really care for them. Or if I realized it had the roasted peppers in it. Just not things I go for. It wasn't really my style of potato salad, sadly. Nothing wrong it with, and freshly made, but, I like bigger, al dente hunks of potato, less egg, and other mix-ins. ** for me, probably *** for others.
The slaw however was perfect. I love a good coleslaw, and this was exactly that. The cabbage was still crisp, clearly it had been made fresh that morning. It was shredded, a mix of red and purple cabbage, with some nice chunks for a bit of bite. Colorful shredded carrots made it quite vibrant. It was mayo based, and nicely dressed, well coated, but not too heavy.
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| Cole Slaw. $5. |
This was exactly the style of coleslaw I like, and it went great with the ribs and brisket. I savored it. Only slight nit is that it could use some pepper (which I easily added). A little of the house bbq sauce also went well with it, but wasn't necessary.
I'd definitely get this again, my second favorite side. ****.
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| Brussels Sprouts. $5. |
The brussels were fairly soft, bordering on mushy. When you think of reasons why people dislike brussels sprouts, and they mention mushy boiled brussels sprouts, these did trend in that direction texture-wise. But they were also incredibly flavorful, and contain beef, so I think likely cooked in the drippings from the brisket? There wasn't noticeable bits of meat in here, but the flavor was just incredible. They were also very, very indulgent, very wet, moist, and with lots of oil (and brisket droppings?). They were far too heavy to eat with the fatty meat, and far too heavy to eat many of at a time, but the flavor really was extraordinary, and I ended up throwing them on top of a salad, and the flavor they added throughout was fantastic.
I wouldn't get these to pair with barbecue meats, as they were just too heavy for that, and I really would prefer them more crisp, but the flavor was unbeatable. ***+.
The green beans went much the same way as the brussels sprouts. Again, I wasn't expecting fresh steamed snappy green beans, but these were fairly soft, bordering on mushy, bordering on what you expect from a cafeteria ...
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| Green Beans. $5. |
They were flavorful, with bits of onion and a few cherry tomatoes cooked down with them, and well seasoned, and do contain pork somehow (no visible bits of bacon nor ribs, but, likely cooked with drippings?), but weren't the flavor powerhouses the brussels were. They were less heavy as well, and paired better with my food.
I probably wouldn't get these again just due to the soft nature, but they were nicely seasoned, and if you like soft green beans (like come in cans, etc), try them out. ***+.
Included in a platter if you want it is sliced potato bread. When you order, it is listed as an option, so those who shy away from carbs can easily opt out. The portion was two slices, and they came packaged separately for my takeout in a ziplock bag.
In the end, I decided the Italian cream was the most unique of the cakes, and, it was one I've never had before. While called "Italian", it really is a Southern cake, loaded with shredded coconut and bits of pecan. Like all slices from Truth, it was a triple decker, with frosting between all layers.
Given my love of pudding, I obviously had to get the banana pudding as well. It actually looked better than this when I picked it up, but it toppled over in my bag before I took a photo, and suffered a bit.
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| Potato Bread (included in platter). |
The bread was, well, bread? It tasted slightly enriched. It was soft and fluffy, and likely good to soak up any juices if you wanted. Definitely fresh and not stale. But just bread. ***.
You can also add this on to any order for $0.50 for 2 slices.
On the tables when you dine in are big containers of their two house sauces. Little plastic condiment containers are available for you to take some home to go with your leftovers if you please.
You can also add this on to any order for $0.50 for 2 slices.
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| House Sauces: OG BBQ and Stay Gold Mustard. |
I of course tried both, even though many people say you don't need sauces for any of the food - which, they are absolutely correct. I'm a sauce girl, and I realized I didn't want to smother anything in these sauces.
Both sauces were vinegar based, not exactly the style I go for, quite tangy. Both were lightly sweet. The bbq didn't have any smoky nature to it that I was hoping for, but, the meat had so much smoke, you didn't need it. The mustard one was a bit sweeter than I expected, but mostly just very acidic. Both were fine, but, again, didn't really add anything to my meal, and actually, took away from it. ***.
That said, I did bring the sauces home, and used the OG on leftover creole seasoned mesquite grilled catfish from Goode Seafood the next day, and thought it paired beautifully there.
You can also buy these to take home for $15.00 for a 16 ounce bottle.
You can also buy these to take home for $15.00 for a 16 ounce bottle.
Dessert
After all that epic, heavy, savory food, dessert may be the last thing on your mind, but I recommend grabbing a slice or two of their massive cakes to go. Future you will thank you. Desserts are all made in house, and, as you can guess, the portions are, well, Texas appropriate. Let's just say, the cake slices do not fit in normal size side dish takeout containers, nor did the container fit in my fairly large lunch bag!
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| Desserts. |
Cakes are the main attraction, with some available year round: carrot cake, red velvet cake, triple chocolate, coconut, banana caramel, and Italian cream, plus some seasonal offerings like strawberry in the summer, and pumpkin spice in the fall, and funfetti other times. They also offer tres leches only on weekends. Cakes are available by the slice, or you can order whole cakes.
If cake isn't your thing, classic banana pudding is on offer as well, or if chocolate is what you want, they have brownies (triple layer, with a chocolate chip cookie layer).
The bakery portion of the restaurant is actually separate (along with order ahead pickup), so you can actually just go get dessert if you please, and not wait in a huge line. Even though it may not be what you'd expect, Truth is a worthy bakery destination just as much as a bbq one.
Much like the sides, narrowing down my choices here was insanely hard. I knew I wanted the banana pudding, and I wanted a cake, but I was torn between the red velvet, the carrot (people say its great), coconut, or Italian cream (which I'd never had before). If the slices weren't so insanely huge, I would have gone for two cakes and a pudding my first visit, but, even I have my limits.
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| Italian Cream Cake. $7.99. |
The cake was pretty perfect. It was moist, light, fluffy, clearly so very fresh and expertly baked. I loved the crunch the nuts added to every single bite. Really top notch cake, not necessarily what you'd expect a bbq place to have mastered. The frosting was thick and rich, I think cream cheese based. The ratio of cake to frosting was just right - I'm normally all about more frosting is always better, but this rich frosting did not require more. It did trend a bit sweet, but, I paired it with coffee after lunch, and that balanced it out nicely. In the evening, I think a glass of port would do well too.
Really, just near perfect cake. I have absolutely no criticism of it, besides that I did want a little fresh fruit with it, but that was easily done.
****+.
The slice was massive, it may look like it is in a standard side dish / dessert takeout container, but this is actually double sized, and the slice was quite thick. Texas portions, and I am not upset by them (although it took more than one go at it to finish it!). The $7.99 price for a fresh huge slice of quality cake was insanely reasonable.
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| Red Velvet Cake. $7.99 |
My next visit, I was torn between all the other cakes. I knew I wanted cake, but, I didn't know which one, as none were jumping out. I really wanted to try the strawberry, or funfetti, but those were not on offer. Mostly I was torn because I wasn't in the mood for more cream cheese frosting (and the Italian Cream, carrot, and red velvet all had that), and even though people rave about the banana caramel (which is topped with toffee), I wasn't really into the idea of banana cake (am I just missing out?), and I didn't want chocolate cake. That left me with the coconut or seasonal pumpkin spice, which, I nearly ordered, but was worried about the nutmeg level. Coconut could be good, but, I still had a little chunk of the Italian Cream, which is loaded with coconut, left, and I didn't particularly want even more coconut. I was about to order the carrot cake, but ... then it was sold out (and, I thought would be much like the Italian Cream also, with the same frosting, and nuts in it). And thus, red velvet it was.
The cake was ok. Not as special. It wasn't particularly moist. It didn't have a very strong tang. The cream cheese frosting was very rich and thick, which was good, but, I thought it was too much with the cake. It didn't taste nearly as fresh as the previous cake, and wasn't as light and fluffy. Very average cake. ***.
I ended up turning this into multiple desserts after being a bit let down by the original form. I enjoyed it most as warm cake, which seemed to bring out the flavor a bit more, and rather than using the cream cheese frosting with it, I topped it with both ice cream and whipped cream. This really was considerably better in my mind. I didn't discard the cream cheese frosting though, I simply used it to make a cheesecake-like dessert, with just tons of the frosting, a little fresh fruit, and cookie crumble. It was definitely sweeter than a regular cheesecake, but, it too worked better this way for me. ***+ in my new forms.
I wouldn't get this one again, and would love to return in the summer when the strawberry cake is available.
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| Banana Pudding (Single). $5. |
This was good banana pudding. The pudding was smooth and creamy, lightly banana flavored, lightly sweet. It wasn't super thick, but wasn't too runny either. There was fresh banana layered within for a bit more actual banana flavor, classic Nilla wafers on top, and some light and fluffy whipped cream. It clearly had been just made that morning, as the bananas were not mushy nor browned in any way, and the wafers were still quite crisp when I got it (they did soften over time, as I had the other half later that night). I appreciated that it wasn't overly sweet.
There wasn't something mind blowing unique about this, but it was a classic done right. However, I would have liked even more whipped cream. ***+.
This was a single size portion for $5, but you can also get it by the quart for $16.
This was a single size portion for $5, but you can also get it by the quart for $16.
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