Burnt Bean Company
Craft BBQ · 108 S Austin St, Seguin, Texas 78155
★★★★½ 1 reviewMenu Items
Reviews
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Didnt Deliver The Flavors I Hopped For - Yet Its Won Awards?
Well Reknown & Awarded
I decided to take a trip out to Seguin to explore a few BBQ spots, with Burnt Bean Company at the top of my list. I had seen Burnt Bean Co. featured in Texas Monthly, where it ranked 4th in their Top 50 BBQ Joints, as well as on several “Best BBQ in the Nation” lists. They even had a nomination for Best Chef in Texas by the James Beard Foundation.
The restaurant is located in an old storefront in the historic downtown square of Seguin, right across from the court house & police dept.
The Wait In Line
Knowing that they sometimes sell out after noon and tend to draw a crowd, I made sure to arrive early—around 11:30 on a Thursday. When I got there, the line stretched about 20 people deep, half of it inside the restaurant and the other half trailing down the sidewalk.
While waiting, I struck up a conversation with a fellow BBQ enthusiast from Houston. He, like me, was trying Burnt Bean for the first time after seeing it pop up on social media numerous times.
After about a 35-minute wait, we were sharing a table. My small order consisted of a 1/3 lb of brisket and a serving of their street corn pudding, which had come highly recommended.
The Brisket
I started with the brisket, trying it without any sauce. It had a nice smoke ring and decent moisture, but I found the flavor a bit underwhelming. The bark lacked unique flavor, and reminded me more of pepper seasoning used on jerky, and while the brisket wasn’t dry, it was toward the lean side, lacking that rich, savory flavor that is present in the brisket that has a bit of fat to it. At around $9 for the 1/3 lb slice, I expected a more robust flavor.
The Street Corn Pudding
Next up, I tried the street corn pudding. The concept intrigued me, but the taste didn’t quite meet my expectations. It was essentially cornbread pudding, topped with a cream sauce and a sprinkle of Cheeto dust. While creative, it didn’t have the standout flavor I had anticipated based on all the recommendations it had received.
I also tried a bit of their BBQ sauces, one of which was obviously mustard based, and had a flavor that overpowered the brisket completely. At this point my new companion and I swapped some food, giving me the opportunity to try a bite of thier pork ribs, and him some of my street corn pudding. I will say the sides here are very large and enough for 2 people to split.
I had kept my order light since I planned to head to another BBQ joint across town (about an 8-minute drive) for a second round of brisket tasting. Unfortunately, my photo of the brisket at Burnt Bean turned out blurry, so I could only post the one showing the edge of the slice.
Overall Experience
Overall, Burnt Bean Co. didn’t fully live up to the hype for me. I had seen other comments online where people had felt the same way. I’ve had brisket many places I felt was superior in flavor, and while the street corn pudding was unique, it fell short of being a must-try dish. My modest meal came to a total of $14.43 for the brisket and side, without a beverage.
I'll elaborate a bit on my scoring for this restaurant as there were many factors that affected my scores..
The location being in the town square can make it a bit difficult to find parking at times. The brisket prices are some of the higher prices I've seen, the flavor was underwhelming in my opinion. All of this added to the half hour wait to order, I cant justify a very high score, as their reputation did not live up to the actual experience.
Burnt Bean - Storefront
Burnt Bean - Storefront
Brisket - Smoke Ring & Bark
Street Corn pudding
Burnt Bean - Dining Area
Waiting Line
— Paul