Augies Barbed Wire Smokehouse
Texas BBQ · 3709 N St Mary's St, San Antonio, Texas 78212
★★★★½ 1 review(210) 735-0088
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Reviews
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Was Recommended But Lacking The Flavor Expected
This was my first visit to Augies. 2 people had recommended it to me, curiously both mentioned the BBQ sauce, so I wanted to see what that was about. I ordered the 2 meat combo with double moist brisket, cream corn and mac n cheese.
We will start with the sides first.. The cream corn was super thick, almost the consistency of mayo, you could shake the spoon and it jiggled. The flavor was a bit bland, unseasoned, no salt or pepper and semi-sweet, not creamy enough or sweet enough for my tastes. The mac n cheese was creamy but lacked any texture, I couldnt tell if it was baked or just boiled, again unseasoned and a bit plain. I would consider both sides average.
Now, onto the BBQ. The moist brisket was tender, enough to be cut with a fork, it had good flavor on its own, but wasn't impressive, I would say it was above average, but not good enough to make my top 10. The meat wasn't greasy or dry, it was perfect moisture wise, the flavor was where it was lacking.
It was sliced pretty thick, about 2-3 times thicker than what most places serve, and I feel like that took away from how tender the meat actually was.
Now for the highly recommended BBQ sauce, that was where all the flavor was hiding. Right away I identified this as Memphis BBQ sauce. It was super sticky (probably mollases or cane syrup), very sweet (probably brown sugar) and had a ton of smoke flavor. I almost have to suspect its put into the smoke in trays so that it can soak up the smoke, the flavor was that strong. The sauce also had the cracked pepper you find in Texas BBQ sauces, so it seemed like a blend of the 2 styles, but the prominent flavors were sweet and smokey.. My Dr Pepper tasted like water afterwards and the smoke flavor hung in my mouth for a good half hour.
Overall, I found the food average to good, but not excellent. The sauce was interesting, but too much like Memphis BBQ sauce, and too similar to Baby Rays or Jack Daniels sweet sauce for me to say it was really unique.
It also took 3 tries to eat here, one day I arrived when they were closed (mondays), and another day when the road was blocked off due to an accident. The location is right next to the zoo entrance, so if theres anything going on in the area, you could have trouble getting to the parking lot.
I decided to eat outside which in retrospect was probably a mistake. I was next to a table with some people who brought a music speaker, and a barking dog. The flies were really bad outside, and I was either trying to eat quickly or swat flies away. We will just say the experience could have been much better.
Ohh and Im not sure if the outdoor dining area is dog friendly, but the people with the dog let him do his business on the artificial grass floor right next to my table..
The food was decent, the service was good, and my plate was ready in less than 2 minutes. I would consider eating here again if I was in the area, but I didnt have anything I felt was good enough to make me specifically go back.
Double Moist Brisket, Cream Corn & Mac n Cheese
Augies Smokehouse
Double Moist Brisket, Cream Corn & Mac n Cheese
Augies Smokehouse
— Paul