Stiles Switch @ Lamar

This was not the first time that ALR visited Stiles. Unfortunately for them, this is the day we decided to go and review it. I had a previous bad experience when they ran out of brisket while we were on the line. Could you imagine a BBQ place without brisket before noon? Well, this time they had brisket but it was very dry.

We arrived around 11:30am to find a small line building up and we were glad to see that we really beat the crowd. 15 minutes later, the line had expanded as long as it can go inside the place and some people were leaving. We also noticed that they have a new menu structure which included plates of meat with sides. The cost is still quite high for any of the plates since a one meat plate with two sides is $9.99 and a two meat plate is $12.99.

Two of the ALR friends went for the two meat plate of brisket and pork ribs. They choose potato salad and corn casserole. Once they added at drink the cost of the lunch was more than $15. I decided to go with a half-pound of brisket and a serving of potato salad. I choose to have water since the soda selection was very limited. My lunch was $9.02 with tax.

By far the high of the lunch were the pork ribs, they were described as one of the best ribs ever from both expert ALR friends. For me unfortunately, I had 0.472 pounds of horrible dry brisket that was hard to swallow. The potato salad was Ok since didn’t had a definitively flavor. I guess the water was good.

Overall, the taste from a plain brisket to a great pork rib gives an overall score of good. The value seems quite expensive considering the quality of the food. I’m giving it an Oh, Well score. The place has some Groovy decoration and has worked to bring a definitive Austinite air. Finally, the service is just Fair since you order from the cashier and get your food there.

Link to Stiles Switch web site

Bill Miller Bar-B-Q @ E Hwy 290

Is Bill Miller a fast food restaurant with enough locations to deserve a QLR (Quick Lunch Review) rather than a full review? This was a topic of conversation among ALR friends during our visit to it. We decided that a full review will be better in order to fairly highlight some of the strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, let’s start from the beginning asserting that Bill Miller doesn’t have the best Bar-B-Q in town. There are other well-known places that fight for this honor. This is the main reason for the low scores on other review sites such as urbanspoon. However, Bill Miller has a consistent menu with several options that you normally don’t find anywhere.Therefore, this is our taken on this place.

They are setup as fast food restaurant where you order at the cashiers and they have pre-established combos such as Poor Boy sandwich, selection of meats (brisket, sausage, ham) and sides, fried chicken, salads among other options all of them accompanied with a large tea or soda. In this occasion, I ordered the brisket Poor Boy sandwich with Spanish rice and an un-sweetened tea. One of the great features of Bill Miller is the free self-served bar of offerings to complement your food. You can add pickles, “pico de gallo”, sour cream, butter, and/or bread (French or Rye). Also, the ice tea is very good always with a consistent flavor and available sweet, half-half, or un-sweet.

A friend ordered the brisket with three sides which is a complete balanced meal that offered a better and healthier option than a fast-food combo from any other fast-food chain. You can balance your food with Spanish rice, pinto beans, green beans, smash potatoes, Cole slaw, hash browns or the always popular fries. Where could you get this variety of sides when you are eating at any other fast-food restaurant? This is one of the things that I like the most. One of these combos allows anyone to eat a meal that is not just a burger and fries. To complete your lunch if you want to add a sweet, they offer pecan pie, meringue pie, fudge brownies and peach cobbler.

The restaurant is nicely decorated with a Texan motif of ranch related gadgets and taxidermy. This creates a unique environment consistent with their food. The service is above average since this is one of those strange restaurants where you can leave your tray and they will clean it after you. This is now a luxury based on today standard from other fast-food restaurants where you are expected to clean up and throw your trash.

In summary the overall value of the lunch is hard to beat. For less than $7 you get your Poor Boy sandwich and drink with $1 more you get a brisket with three sides and a drink (this is a full meal). The place is nicely decorated to fit the Texan Bar-B-Q on the menu and their people are always friendly and ready to serve you.

By the way, the offer drive-thru car line at this location as well as excellent brisket breakfast tacos that are available in the morning.

Link to Bill Miller web site

County Line On the Lake

The “Flintstone Platter” has been a thing of legend around our workplace for several years now.  It is not for the weak or wimpy, nor is it for the sophisticated of palate, nor is it for BBQ snobs.  It IS for lovers of quantity with decent quality.  I am referring to the ‘Big Daddy’s” Beef Rib platter at the County Line on the Lake.  The Big Daddy consists of a huge rack of Beef Ribs smothered in bbq sauce with a side of pinto beans, cole slaw, and potato salad.

Our Blog team set out with but one mission, to conquer the Flintstone Platter, and then the ensuing BBBQB (blissful barbeque buzz) that proceeds the successful mission each and every time.  The team of 5, once seated at the County Line, quickly divided into the Men and the Boys as we gave our order.  After all the big talk all the way over to the restaurant, only 2 of the 5 actually bellied up (or out!!) to the task of the Flintstone Platter, while the other 3 resorted to ordering Kids Meals, otherwise known as the brisket plate, 2 meat plate, and a 5 meat plate.  (OK, maybe the 5 meat plate is not a Kids Meal, but for a Flintstone Platter connoisseur, it was no more than an AARP endorsed appetizer…)  

Orlando was the first to get his Flintstone platter, while I waited patiently on mine.  In the 3.9 seconds that elapsed between Orlando getting his platter, and the waitress placing my platter in front of me, Orlando already had the first rib cut off of the rack and positioned for extinction.  I was only half way through my rack when Orlando was done with his entire rack, which the team agreed was only a shadow of his past performances.  Orlando is typically to a rack of ribs what Tony Stewart is to a Sprint Cup car- he makes it go FAST!

OK, on to the review.  I found first 3 or 4 ribs in the rack to be very tasty and fairly tender. However, further into the rack, there was a lot of toughness and non-beef things going on….
The sides are very boring, as they always are at the County Line, i.e. non-memorable.  The beans are not very flavorful, the cole slaw is bland, and the potato salad is dry.  The Big Daddy is fun, but this time around, was less than spectacular.  The other thing we noticed, since eating it last December, is that the price went up from around $18.95 to $22.95 per plate!

As far the Kids Meals, ordered by the other 3 in the group, there were no toys included with the meals, which left the group a little disappointed. 

Lastly, we chased the Flintstone Platter with a cup of Butterfinger Ice Cream, which was an excellent neutralizer!  It was actually the best part of the experience today!  The service was Awesome!  The waitress was impressed by our ability to eat the Flintstone Platter and still have room for ice cream!  (I mentioned to her that we had a long line of admirers of our food consumption abilities....)

Link to County Line on the Lake Web Site