Sowell's Bbq

The brisket and sausage are flavorful. Wait staff is not very friendly. I do not recommend the burgers mine lacked flavor and had been sitting under a heat lamp for awhile. Don't eat the mushrooms or onion rings either. Excellent sweet tea.

We stopped in this afternoon following a day of birding at Choke Canyon State Park. I ordered a 2 meat BBQ plate (brisket and ribs with Cole Slaw and Potato Salad as my sides) and my husband ordered the BBQ Salad.

Their BBQ is quite good -- smoky without being overpowering. The nicely sized portion of brisket was split between moist (=fatty) and dry (lean). Three large ribs rounded out the meat portion. They were cooked just right, being easy to eat off the bone, but not falling apart.

My sides were great. The cole slaw seems to be made there. The cabbage is chopped into larger chunks, rather than being the factory shredded kind. This allowed for it to have more crunch. Their potato salad is the German kind (the one that's yellow) and was also good, though it could have used a touch more salt.

The BBQ Salad was a standard iceberg lettuce based salad smothered in drained kidney beans and topped with chopped brisket in bbq sauce. My husband declared it "delicious".

I also would like to comment on their sauce -- probably the one I like best of all the joints I've tried in the state. It has a distinct mustard flavor as it's foundation and both my husband and I loved it.

After our meal we spent a little time speaking with the owner, one of the reasons we love eating at small establishments. Apparently a Food Network tv show is considering featuring Sowell's in one of their episodes so get there before you need reservations!

Was here for a local refinery t/a recently. This place was located right outside the main gate. They had very good bbque and sides. The large order of onion rings was the size of a small armadillo. The stuffed potato's we're also excellent.  If I'm ever back near 3River's I'll definitely be stopping by again.