Daily Dose of Sultnpapper 03/15/18> “Will Eat BBQ 4 U” Vol.5 ,… Joel’s BBQ , Flatonia, Texas

Welcome back to the fifth edition of @sultnpapper’s “Will Eat BBQ 4 U “ Texas BBQ review for March 15, 2018.

Today we find ourselves back out on Interstate 10 between Houston and San Antonio in the tiny town of Flatonia, Texas. We will be eating at one of my favorite places for grabbing a quick BBQ sandwich, but before we do I have to do my normal drive around and give you a taste of the town Joel’s BBQ calls home.

Flatonia has never been a town that attracted my attention, so everything I am going to share with you is also new to me as well, the extent of my travels to Flatonia in the past have been to exit I-10 at exit 661 and then stay on the feeder road until the stop sign, look both ways and then proceed about 100 feet and pull into Joel’s BBQ on the right. I would grab a sandwich and jump back in the truck and continue west to San Antonio.

So let’s go have a look around the town.

The main portion of town is south of the interstate by about a mile, and like most small towns in Texas that have managed to survive there is a rail road connection. The town of Flatonia is named after F. W. Flato who was a business man and pioneer back in the 1860’s the interesting part of this history is that the original settlement of Flatonia was actually about 3 miles southeast of the current location. When the Galvelston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Rail Road acquired property from W. A. Faries to connect the east / west lines with north / south lines the town folks picked up their belongings and moved the three miles north to be where the rail lines were. The post office building that was constructed in the original Flatonia location was also moved intact, by jacking the building up and affixing axles and wagon wheels to the structure and it was pulled by a team of horses to the new location. The town literally picked up, moved and never changed names.

Heading south from I-10 the first thing I noticed was the cemetery located just north of the town, the date on the sign put it as being established in 1874. The town was officially established on April 8, 1874. Once I got into town I noticed the rail road tracks and the switching tower for the rail road. At some point in time the Southern Pacific Rail Road took over the rail lines and tower number 3 was the last manual switching tower that was in use in the country, the sign shows it was in use from 1902 until 1996.

Like most little towns of the era there were saloons and boarding houses and so right close to the tower and across Main Street from the oldest saloon and boarding house is the original jail house, iron bars on the widows still intact. There must not have been too much trouble in Flatonia because the jail is pretty darn small, looks like it was more of a place to lock the drunks up so they could sleep it off.

The main source of income for the area was in agriculture and still is to this day, back in the late 1800’s cattle and cotton were the big money producers, cotton kind of fell off but cattle is still big business. The Flatonia Livestock Commission has a sale barn on the east end of town on Highway 90; sales are still held every Monday. Cal-Main is the company running the big feed mill which is right smack in the middle of the town and it was grinding feed as I was snapping photos.

The Lyric Theater is still in operation, and looks to be one if not the only thing to do in town if you are under twenty one. There are a couple little diners and a couple bars but the majority of the old buildings appear to be vacant or being remodeled. I did notice one building that showed the date on it as 1882, not sure what that building housed in the past but it is on a nice corner and would make a good diner or cigar bar.

There was a shop selling old antique windows and furnishings from old buildings but it wasn’t open for business when I stopped through, neither was the railway museum open. The whole town covers about 1.5 square miles, there are only a few large old houses but several modest size homes on quiet little streets. A couple small parks are in the down town area, one with a gazebo that overlooks the rail road tracks. The big attraction for the town is the Czhilispiel Festival in October each year, according to what I was told it is a chili cook off and festival, I guess the Czech’s who settled the area made some wicked chili and still do.

All in all, Flatonia might be a nice little town to raise a family in but it isn’t a tourist attraction by any means so let’s head on over to Joel’s, the reason we came here to begin with.

Don’t let the outside appearance of Joel’s scare you off, what it lacks in curb appeal it more than makes up in taste of the meat. Like always, I never mention that I am doing a review of the BBQ until I am finished eating and this trip was no different.

Joel Kubesch founded this BBQ establishment in 1978 and they have been steadily satisfying customers hunger for good Texas BBQ ever since. I love the flavor that mesquite wood gives the meat and Joel’s only cooks with mesquite. Needless to say, that alone makes this one of my favorite spots to grab a sandwich. The other thing I really like is the size, the regular BBQ sandwich is healthy in size, but the Texas size is big.

I had the Texas size, it is only fitting that the Texas size sandwich is made with bread that is from a “Texas loaf” of bread. For those of you who know what Texas Toast is there is no need to explain, but I am sure some of you have no idea about Texas Toast or a Texas Loaf so I’ll explain.

The saying is. “Everything is bigger in Texas.” and so it is only fitting that our slices of bread are bigger and thicker as well. So, a slice of Texas bread is about a good inch thick and about 10% larger in surface area. The Texas size sandwich is packed with the beef; I would say that the slices of meat on my sandwich were at least a good inch and half thick all the way across the bread. Just like normal I didn’t get the pickles or onions, and I did tell them to hold off on the sauce. I took a small container of sauce on the side, just in case I needed it.

I have never needed the sauce when I have gotten brisket from here and this sandwich didn’t need it either. The brisket was nice and moist, the mesquite flavor was heavenly.

Speaking of heavenly, Joel Kubesch ran the business up until 2000; he passed away in 2002, so rest in peace Joel. You started a nice little business and your family has continued to keep it going strong. I talked with Joel’s son, Chris, and he did confirm that mesquite is the only wood they use. When I asked if they have won any awards for their BBQ he told me that they don’t enter competitions but prior to him running the business he was on a BBQ cook off team that placed 4th one year at the World Championship BBQ Cook Off held at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. That 4th place was in the “over all” category, which means you have some skills, because all meat is not created equal or cooks equally as well. I guess the saying that “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” applies here as well. I can remember stopping here for sandwiches back in the 1980’s when his father was running the place and it was as good back then as it is today.

The operation truly is a family business, Chris and his brother Charlie and their mother Jocelyn are all involved in the day to day operations. I asked Chris if he would let me get his picture for this review but he declined, he said his mother is the face of the business now and unfortunately she had just left a few minutes before he and I started visiting.

The walls of the building are split firewood logs that are set in cement, the benches are just rough cut pine, as are the tables. The original building doesn’t seat many folks at all, maybe fifteen or so. They did build a dining room in the adjacent building with nice restroom facilities so there is plenty of room now for dining in. There are also some picnic tables outside as well.

Joel’s BBQ is real good Texas BBQ and priced very fair, the Texas size sandwich was $6.75 and bag of chips was about a buck. I drink water so all told I was in and out for less than $8, the sandwich price includes tax. If their brisket wasn’t so damn good I might try something else of theirs, but like I said, I normally grab and go and eat on the road. Next time though I think I am going to try the chicken or ribs, that way I can sit, eat and visit a little more with these nice folks.

So to wrap this up, Flatonia isn’t a tourist town, it does a have a couple things to see, but 20 minutes is all you will need for that. Joel’s BBQ is the real deal in Flatonia, and I highly suggest getting off of I-10 at exit 661 and giving them a try. You can check them out online at www.joelsbarbq.com

This concludes this volume 5 of the “Will Eat BBQ 4 U” Texas BBQ review, now you can return to your day’s activities.
Until next time,
@sultnpapper

All photos are property of @sultnpapper

https://sola.ai/sultnpapper

Additional Photos of Flatonia, Texas and Joel's BBQ , enjoy!!!

South Main Street

The Daily Emporium Antique Sales

The Stein Building Est. 1882

Joel's BBQ sign in new dining building

Joel's BBQ pit , located right behind the meat counter and ordering counter

This old BBQ pit was, at the time it was made, the largest BBQ pit in the world. It is now retired.

Building mural depicting the past in Flatonia, TX.

Cal-Maine Feed Mill , downtown Flatonia, TX

Joel's Sign Post on the highway frontage road