A review of the barbecue served at Tony DeMaria's Barbeque in Waco, Texas.
My wife and I recently took a short day trip to Waco
so she could see and shop at The Silos at Magnolia Market. If I have to do the Chip and JoJo thing, then
I need to eat some barbecue.
I was in Waco back in November 2016 to see Tyler
play Klein Collins in a high school play-off game (Texas Passions 2016, episode 14), I had
tried to eat at Tony Demaria’s then, but they were closed for the Thanksgiving
weekend. I made sure this time to pick a
day for our trip when DeMaria’s was open and serving barbecue.
Tony DeMaria’s is located at 1000 Elm Street in Waco,
a little west of I-35 and north of the Brazos River. They originally opened in 1946 as a grocery
store and meat market. Son Geoff took
over the business in 1985 when Tony retired.
In 1995, they moved to their current location, dropped the grocery
store, and began operation only serving barbecue using the same recipes and
cooking techniques from back in the 1950s.
I ordered my usual half pound of moist brisket and a
couple of pork ribs. Unfortunately for
me, they only smoke pork ribs on Wednesdays (all you can eat) and we weren’t
there on a Wednesday. My brisket was
served on butcher paper and was mising some of what I look for in good brisket:
not much of an outer bark, no smoke ring.
But what it did have was a great smoky flavor. Slow smoked over hickory wood, the brisket
was super moist and tender and was easily cut with a plastic fork. They had two kinds of sauce on the table: a
typical tomato based sauce (very mild, not much kick) and a spicy sauce that
was a little watery. What made this
barbecue special was that it was served with a side of “gravy” – an au jus made
from the meat juices themselves. Dipping
a bite of brisket in the gravy added extra richness and depth to the meat.
My wife ordered a two meat plate with brisket and
turkey. Like me, she really enjoyed the
brisket. The turkey was also very tender
and full of smoky flavor.
Tony DeMaria’s has a large indoor eating area, but no
dining area outside. We arrived just
before 11 AM and there wasn’t a line to speak of, but there was a long line of
diners by the time we left. It was
really neat to see a wide cross section of people there to eat lunch. The staff was very friendly and it was great
talking with them and some of the other patrons. I enjoyed their BBQ, but can only give them a
single Hook ‘Em! Since I did not get to sample their ribs. I’ll try to time my next visit to a day when
ribs are being served.
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