Overview: En route to Austin, a combination of hunger and a 20 MPH drop and the speed limit provided an excuse to stop and try Peters. A regrettable stop.
The Good: Reasonably priced, inoffensive BBQ sandwiches. Not one of the better BBQ places I've experienced but certainly not in the bottom either, HOWEVER,
The Bad: While I can stomach weighing the meat prior to assembling the order (we all know how tough the margins are in the restaurant industry), the exceptionally gruff (and quite hairy) gentleman behind the register gave a distinct 'Deliverance' and/or "we don't like your kind here, take your food and go' vibe. Very uncomfortable for me and my family and unexpected in this day and age. The experience served as a full-on reminder that certain people in Texas still are still hostile towards some some shades of brown.
My absolute favorite BBQ joint, anywhere!  I just love this one!  A homely structure beside Hwy71, it does have a large enough parking lot for whatever vehicle you're driving!  Go inside and turn to your right to get in a usually short line for a pleasant encournter with the cutter!  Tell him your meat choice(s) and your plate will be loaded down with a huge amount of it!  You tell the next person your drink preference, get a styrofoam cup issued to you, then pay the cashier... $10 whole bucks!  lol  When you leave the meat alcove, set your plate on a table and go get your drink and eye the sides... holy cow are there some sides!!  My friend and I agreed that several of these qualified as THE BEST we had ever had:  Hushpuppies, yellow squash, and the catfish!  2 cobblers, soft serve ice cream, and even some chicken fried steak.  Yes, catfish!  lol  Who'da thunk it?!  Then my favorite, which I lovingly call "BBQ salsa"... it's chunky red BBQ sauce that just doesn't look like it's gonna do the trick... but let me tell you, this stuff is GOOD !!!  I just love it!  Really unique for a BBQ joint. Â
OK... now for the best part... it's an all you can eat buffet you just paid for!!  So, go get another plate full of meat and start over again!!!  lol  I've only had the delightful brisket and tender ribs... I just can't  bring myself to deviate from perfection and branch out with the other meats. Â
Well, there you have it! Â I've been to the Lockhart joints, Salt Lick, and bunches of others, but to me, this is the most fun, the tastiest, the best deal, and most wonderful BBQ experience I've had, ever!! Â Been 3 times... 200+ miles from home. Â Wish it was closer...
I thought their Brisket while lean was very good and more moist than expected. Definitely their best meat of the day
Lately so many BBQ joints I go to take little pride in their ribs which is a shame. Â I find it odd that so many places ribs taste the exact same - like the rub has lost its original spark and the warming drawer has put an unwanted outer texture / glaze on them - I don't know how to describe it and it's not that bad, it's just that so many places have ribs that come out like this that it makes me wonder.
Mediocre ribs aside, I like this place, it is super cheap ($10 for all you can eat meat).
I wish they had more meats to choose from and I wish the guy taking payments was a little friendlier but I would stop in again if I was hungry.
Oh, the sauce. Â It looked like salsa, like a lumpy red ketchup sauce. Â I wasn't a fan and judging by all the ketchup boxes in the back I imagine it is the main ingredient. Â The brisket tasted better with just a dash of salt IMHO.
The cobbler and pudding looked good, but I was saving room for my next BBQ stop up the road.
I gave this only a four as I'm generally loathe to give anything a perfect rating.  But this place is good!!!  Almost a hole in the wall on the edge of town but we stop in every time we go to Austin.  Their $2 chopped beef sandwich is a real value and  comes with your choice of onions, pickles and/or jalapenos.  Delicious!
The most expensive thing on their menu is an all-you-can-eat plate for $10!
pathetic BBQ, this place should be ashamed of them selves, I ordered the brisket and sausage, the brisket was dry and just plain bad. The sausage was ok but this place is located at such a great spot they should take better care of their meat. Plus the service took forever and the guy cutting the meat had no skill what so ever, if anyone gave this a good review they prob never eaten good bbq.....
Review Source:Places like this break my heart. With the location and traffic count, plus built-in local clientele, this could be a 5-star place garnering rave reviews. Instead, it's an example of a business missing its true potential as a "must stop" Texas BBQ joint between Austin and Houston.
If you're an veteran BBQ diner accustomed to observing experienced cutters and cashiers operating in clean, efficient work environments with great attitudes (Rudys or Donn's BBQ in Austin, for example), then you'll note immediately that the crew at Peter's is no "A Team" of BBQ jockeys. I won't go into the blow by blow of what I observed, but it was a trainwreck. A complete disaster of an operation.
The staff appears to be mainly family/friend quality, lethargic, unfocused, no "snap" or personality. They frankly seemed overwhelmed by what would be considered "slow" or "low volume" business. Throw in some flies and a long wait in a relatively short (6 people) line, and I was reminded why I stopped stopping here many years ago. I want to like this place, but it's just too hard.
Peter's is ripe for a "make over". It needs an experienced consultant or manager to come in and rework the entire setup, including a retooling of the work space setup to current standards. At present, it's a C- or D+ operation occupying an A+ location, and it's really sad to see. It's a relic of the past, run the way it's been run, probably forever. That may be cute and folksy for some, but it makes for a poor customer experience and lousy food.
It may be several more years before I try this place again.
I've been here several times on the way to and from Austin and Houston. First of all, just plan on skipping the "sauce" altogether. It is NOT sauce, it is ketchup. I consider it a crime to put ketchup on any meat other than hot dogs, so to have that as your main condiment for brisket is downright barbaric. The lack of proper sauce could be forgiven - after all, a sign of good barbecue is that you don't need sauce on it at all. Unfortunately, the quality of beef is inconsistent. The first time I came here it was great - the brisket was juicy and flavorful, and fell apart easily. I was excited to come back again the next week but was sadly disappointed. The flavor I enjoyed from the last week's experience was missing, and the meat was chewy.
The service is not great. The guy at the front doesn't greet you when you walk in, doesn't smile or say thank you, and generally just does not seem like he wants to be there. I will say, it is cheap - I think around $9 or $10 for a pound of brisket. Despite my problems with the quality of food from Peters, I still stop here whenever I'm hungry but I don't want to load up on carbs from the kolaches next door at Hruskas.
Four stars on a good day, one star on a bad day. If they come up with better sauce to make up for the inconsistent quality of meat I will bump it up to three stars.
I make it a point to stop here on my way to and from Austin whenever I'm visiting Texas! It's the perfect "road trip" meal.The quality is superb for the price. The hamburger is delicious, just your basic burger at it's best. The quality of the beef is better than any fast food version on this road. The chopped beef sandwich is amazing for the price too. I bought the pork ribs and the bar-b-que chicken to go the last time and "wow" it's that perfect smokey flavor I love.
Review Source:Okay, upon arrival it had all the characteristics of a delicious hole in wall barbecue joint. However, i should have been wary when the woman serving could not make any recommendations on what was good. My husband got the two meat plate and he was surprised when he was given four small slices of brisket and one rib. Yeah, one rib. I chose the two meat plate and was given a small sausage link and the same amount of brisket. We told the sloth-man as previously mentioned in another review, that we would like two drinks. The grand total $26. So, yeah, I thought a little pricey, but was told by sloth -man that we could get all the veggies we wanted. The veggies appeared to be the same veggies served everyday and possibly reheated under hot lights. Crispy, hard Mac and cheese and tasteless canned green beans. The sweet tea tasted like the water came straight out of the Colorado river. The cole slaw was okay. The sausage and rib was edible but nothing to write home about. The brisket was fatty. The vinegar based barbecue sauce was horrible, tasteless, and had mysterious chunks in it. Â Peters Bbq should feel ashamed, particularly since it is on a touristy highway and will be a representation of Texas barbecue, which it is not!!!
Review Source:We decided to stop here instead of Hruska's to get a meal. I was REALLY disappointed. I had a chopped beef sandwich with 'fries' and a drink. It seemed like a good deal. The chopped beef is sitting there in a bin waiting to be served, and my sandwich had a lot of fat in it. It tasted ok, and as someone else said the 'BBQ sauce' looked very much like crushed tomatoes and had little flavor. As for the fries, the gentleman at the register (who was about as cheerful as a sloth) told me to get them from the buffet. When I got there, they were hard and lukewarm, sitting under a light. They most resembled the fry pieces you find at the bottom of a bag of frozen fries from a grocery store.
To be honest, it was food and I was hungry. My fiancé got the buffet and most of the stuff was ok, nothing to write home about.
Seriously regret not eating at Hruska's next door. And not just the kolaches. You certainly could've bought a better bbq sauce from one of their aisles. This place served ketchup and called it BBQ sauce. Embarrassing.
I had the brisket and sausage, no ribs available. Brisket was very mediocre (at best), sausage was tasty, but I doubt it was done in-house.
The sides were horrendous. Seriously, seriously bad. There was really no redeeming quality about this place other than the cost. I'd rather spend the extra 2 bucks and actually get some tasty BBQ.
Having just returned to the great state, I have two foodie priorities at the moment- TexMex and BBQ. This place hit the spot require to sate my BBQ cravings.
Dive-y and authentically rural Texas, the is probably not a hot date spot. When you are on a road trip though, its solid, cheap, and tasty. Seriously- I had a BBQ sandwich for, like, $2. I'll stop in again before too long.
After buying Kolaches to bring home from Hruska's next door I decided to actually stop in here for a sit down meal. We decided to try the "buffet". I am surprised at the  reviews. I am a Texan and I don't know many Texans that are "ok" with chunky/crushed tomato sauce posing as BBQ sauce. It was blahh blahh blahh
The ribs, sausage, and brisket however were good but not earth shattering phenomenal. The macaroni & cheese was definitely homemade one of he best veggies on the buffet. The catfish was missing something. It didn't taste like anything.
I had never been here before. It should have been obvious by the questions I asked. "How much is it", "What's included", "How much for children" -- yet after question 3 I apparently annoyed the guy so much that he just interrupted me and wanted to know "what do you want- buffet or off the board?" Geez dude. I felt so small for a minute and decided I would just try to figure it out on my own and we proceeded with the buffet so we could eat and get back to Austin. Then he seemed really annoyed when I had to walk back  up and ask for a new plate so I tried not to disrupt him again.
Overall -
BBQ decent (without sauce)
Peach Cobbler yummy
Veggies ok to good
Service depends on which person you had to deal with
BBQ sauce - absolutely yucky!!!!
A hole in the wall packing good pecan smoked BBQ for cheap prices.
1 lb of non baby backed ribs or brisket for $9... really good value for your money.
Slow and low brisket is done for 12 hours, and you can smell and taste the smoke in the meat.
Sides are just mediocre so is the tomato based bbq sauce.
OK I have driven past Ellinger, TX regularly for the last 12 years. This is the tiny town on 71 where the speed limit changes to 55. BTW, don't worry about a speed trap here; I have only seen a couple of cops here over 15 years and they were all getting food.
So after 12 years, I finally stopped by and checked out this Peter's BBQ. You can get a chopped BBQ sandwich for 1.99!!!! If course I had to try it out and a sausage link. All this for 3.50 or something. I didn't get sides b/c I arrived late in the night when most of the stuff was gone.
Nice, delicious meal for 3.50. I gotta stop by here much more often again.
BTW there are 2 gas stations in Ellinger. There is the large Chevron. This is the "tourist-y" gas station. The other one is Shell. The Shell one is where the locals and a bunch of construction or workers go and all pay cash. I like the Chevron much better.
I stopped here for lunch today after a long motorcycle ride in the LaGrange area. Â I ordered the buffet and an iced tea, which came to $12, including tax. Â I had my choice of the following from the meat counter; pork spare ribs, sausage, brisket, or chopped beef - sliced to order - in any amount that my little heart desired. Â Then, there was the buffet (side order) table, which included baked chicken, ham, and a varied selection of vegetables, salads, etc. Â Let me just say that the BBQ was truly excellent. Â The ribs were perfectly smoked and tender, and the brisket was flavorful and moist. Â All of the food was freshly prepared and served hot. Â I went back to the meat counter only once, since I was trying not to completely overdo it. Â Great food and great value. Â I recommend this place to anyone with an appetite for BBQ.
Review Source:We were on our way to Houston from Austin and stumbled onto this place. Â Well, not that you could really miss it with all of the road signs advertising for $9.00 BBQ Buffet.
The place is pretty rustic looking and had a decent amount of people when we walked in. Â When you pay for the meal, you have to tell them the type of meat that you want, they cut it up and serve it. Â I personally had some sausage and brisket... and the brisket was fantastic! Â So much flavor and sauce wasn't necessary. Â Though the sauce was also pretty good.
They also had a few bars with different items... Â just the usual BBQ items. Â All of which were good and so was dessert. Â I definitely recommend the place if you're hungry and driving through.
I would say that this place is really good for the money and location. Â They definitely beat the BBQ I've had in Austin, though that is not saying that much.
On our way to Kingsland, TX, we stopped at Hruska's for a restroom break, food and gas. Much to our dismay their grill and deli were closed so we found ourselves about 50 yards down the road at Peter's. I am not sad Hruska's was closed. Â We had a delicious chopped beef sandwich for $2.50 and we lucked out with timing because they were closing the "sides/dessert" bar and let us get whatever we wanted for free. It was a great treat. Good to know there is more to the drive from Houston-Austin than Hruska's.
Review Source:
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
