The best BBQ I've had in the area. The restaurant itself is spacious, bright, and surprisingly…read moreupscale--almost more polished than you'd expect for a BBQ spot. I usually think the smaller, hole-in-the-wall places have the best food, but this place proved me wrong. The staff at The Shed were incredibly friendly and helpful, making the whole experience even better. Portions were generous, and everything tasted amazing. The brisket, in particular, stood out--it was moist, tender, and easily one of the best I've ever had. I even spoke with the manager to share how impressed I was, and he went above and beyond by taking me back to see the smokers. That really showed their pride in what they do. I can't say enough great things about The Shed Market--I just can't wait for my next trip back to Texas. Hope to add photos soon

This is a stand up business for sure! Not only the food was excellent, for some reason the…read moregentleman in the drive thru must have sensed I wasn't having the best day (I had to drive a four hour round trip to get parts for a machine) and he gave me a free cobbler. Everything I ordered was great, I had a better day starting at the Shed, and I can't wait to come back!

We ventured out for some all you can eat catfish so we gave this little gem a try! The catfish was…read morepretty good just prefer fillets instead of little tenders, but still a good deal and coleslaw was great and so were the fries, however the star of the show was loaded brisket nachos! OMG next time I go I am ordering this with double queso and double brisket! It was so delicious there as not one bite of anything left on the plate that we shared as an appetizer was perfect for 2 people but you would want the whole platter to yourself if having for dinner and to be really honest I wished I wouldn't have had to share! By far the Queso is the best I have had since I moved to Abilene, finally the search is over and the Mexican food places in Abilene need to take some lessons from them on how to make Chile con queso! AMAZING! The brisket on top with the tomatoes cilantro sour cream and jalapeños was the Bomb! I would totally have a chopped brisket sandwich here if they had some gluten free buns to put it on! And on top of everything else the service was on point, friendly attentive and just very accommodating' I hope she is there next time we go which will be very soon! Oh and best part we had a beer 2 all you can eat catfish plates and the loaded brisket nachos and a big iced tea, all that under 45 bucks pretty awesome for date night! THANK YOU FOR AN AWESOME EVENING AND FANTASTIC DINNER, see you soon Betty Rose's Little Brisket This was the Cat Claw location!

I have gone through the drive through here a number of times- typically for chopped beef…read more If i get a pound of chopped bedf, it typically comes with a cup tub of sauce. Last time through, I ordered 2 lbs of chopped beef and told her a pint of bbq sauce. When i looked at my ticket, they charged for the pint of sauce and my normal free sauce wasn't included. Today, I ordered 4 lbs of meet at 1:33 and it took 20 minutes with a line of cars behind me. I had already waited in line for maybe 10 minutes. It was 11:33 and they open at 11:00 and they were already out of chicken. So, they ask if i want pickle and onions and I said yes. Finally got home and opened the bag and no pickle and onions. I opened the chopped beef and these globs of fat were laying right on top. Don't have high hopes for the rest of it. Their "pulled pork" is actually shredded, heavily sauced with something and has a real wanky taste. It will hit the trash.

Absolutely some of the best BBQ I've had in ages - and I'm a bbq snob from Kansas City!…read more We had the sampler (brisket, pork ribs, pulled pork, pulled chicken, and one each of the mild and spicy sausages). I fully expected that one or two of the meats would be good and the rest just passable. I was wrong. Every single bite was spectacular. We also had the brisket and queso chips and pig candy - both were really tasty; the chips especially were very fresh and sprinkled with just a touch of bbq rub. We arrived a few minutes before they opened on a warm Saturday and the wait was about 75 minutes or so. Definitely worth standing in line for. There's ample outdoor (but covered) seating and plenty of good music playing, plus cornhole games if you're feeling competitive. Jays will be our go-to for BBQ the next time we're in Abilene! PS - if it's still available when you go, be sure to try the cherry chipotle sauce - it's amazing!

Outside of the big heavy hitters in major cities, Texas Monthly's Top 50 BBQ list often leads you…read moreto smaller joints you'd never think to visit otherwise. The list brought me three and a half hours north of Austin to try Jay's BBQ Shack in Abilene. My girlfriend and I got in line around 10:40 am, and it was already turning the corner. According to my Yelp research, if you're not early, you're late. The restaurant is in a super cool location. It's a red brick house where all the operations take place, with a huge side patio for seating. There are a lot of cute photo ops and things to look at while you move through the line, like it's a Disneyland queue. My favorite is the alien with a Guns N' Roses shirt, a Michelob, and Doritos shorts. Their menu is expansive. From your traditional meats to your plates, there are also sandwiches, tacos, queso, Frito pie, and more. The line moves at a slow but steady pace. Orders are taken at one window, and pickups happen at the next. We had a pretty sizable meal for the two of us, and it was just around $55, which felt pretty affordable for BBQ. We ordered the Texas Trinity (as I normally do regardless of it being an option or not). I didn't read the menu closely enough to realize it also came with two sides. The one-third pound brisket, sausage link, two ribs, and two sides total $31, which feels like a steal. I will now talk about everything I tried: Brisket: When you try so many all-star places, it feels harsh to call a place's brisket "alright" when compared to a Rudy's, which this is far better than. Compared to other Top 50 joints, though, their brisket was alright. Their fatty cut was good, but their lean was not impressive and a little dry. I hate to say that the lean needed some sauce to save it. Pork Ribs: The best thing on their menu. Their pork ribs are massive and very well-flavored on the bark. I would come back just for the ribs. Each pork rib is $3, and you can add as many additional ribs to your order, which is an awesome feature this joint has. New Mexico Christmas Sausage: It was fun to have "Christmas" sausage, but I wish it actually had the kick it should have had from the green and red peppers and pepper jack cheese. It was good nonetheless, but not impressive. Bread: Their bread is Texas toast, which I have yet to see at another BBQ joint and thought was super cool. Imagine a Raising Cane's toast slice. I do wish we got more for the amount of BBQ we ordered, and I don't know if that's something we were supposed to ask for, but one slice is not enough. Hatch Chile Mac and Cheese: It tastes like a classic cafeteria macaroni and cheese, which feels nostalgic. The panko breadcrumbs don't do much, and the spice is minimal, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. Jalapeño Corn: There was really no kick to this corn either. It tasted like canned corn. There'snothing else to say. Pork Candy: The pork candy, or their "Kansas City-Style Bacon Burnt Ends," was really nice. The saucy flavor was impressive. Having had a similar style of bacon before, I enjoyed the fattiness, but the better pieces were definitely the harder and less fatty cuts. Banana Pudding: A very well-done dessert and a great treat to wrap up the meal. There were plenty of BBQ sauces to choose from. Their traditional and mustard BBQ sauces were both good, but their spicy BBQ sauce was honestly terrible. It had this back-of-the-throat kick that didn't taste good. It felt like a hot sauce that didn't care about balancing heat and flavor, focusing instead on seeing what the heat could do. It wasn't significantly spicy, it truly just tasted bad. I think it's cool for Abilene to have a quality BBQ joint like Jay's, and I know it becomes a challenge to compare so many Top 50 spots. I think Jay's is good but not great. I've had better non-Top 50 joints but also worse Top 50 joints. If you're ever in the area, it's worth checking out, but not worth the trip to Abilene alone. On second thought, the alien guy who sits at the bench might be worth the trip alone other than that my girlfriend considered leaving me for him due to his raw beauty. What a jerk. RIYL: Hot Aliens

Food was surprisingly very good! Always a little wary when it comes to hotel restaurants, but this…read moreplace exceeded our expectations. I will say that you could probably get away with sharing the 12 oz brisket between two people. The sides are designed to be shareable so it's pretty much built in. Brisket was tender, and sides complimented the meat. The server was very kind. Highly recommend as a date night spot.

This was the Thanksgiving buffet and it was horrible! Cold food tasting leftover with all the same…read moreflavor. Desserts were not set up properly. Was mixed up with cornbread display and not properly grouped and labeled. Tea was not refilled. Waitress never attentive. Employees visited each other mostly. Immediately got stomach cramps after eating I do not recommend this place.

Very friendly, laid back atmosphere. Food came out quick!…read more Perfect place to stop if you are craving a good hometown west texas meal on the go. My only complaint was my turkey was slightly dry. The brisket was very tender and smokey. We would stop again!

If you're looking for true Texas comfort food done right, Joe Allen's absolutely delivers. From the…read moremoment the plates hit the table, you know you're in for something special.Our waitress Hannah was just the sweetest. She recommended the sweet potato fries and they were perfect. The brisket was tender, smoky, and full of flavor with that perfect bark, and the ribs were fall-off-the-bone delicious. The smoked turkey was juicy and surprisingly rich, and the sausage had just the right snap. Add in classic sides like buttery corn, perfectly seasoned green beans, and crispy fries, and it's a full-on feast. Don't skip the homemade bread and BBQ sauce--they tie everything together and elevate every bite. The atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming, and the portions are generous, making it the kind of place you leave full and happy. Joe Allen's is the kind of spot you'll crave long after the meal is over. We'll definitely be back!

If you're looking for a short road trip from Fort Worth that feels like a true getaway, you've got…read moreto check out Perini Ranch Steakhouse. From the moment you arrive, it feels like you're out in the middle of nowhere--in the best way possible. The rustic atmosphere is incredible, and on the cool day we visited, they had a wood-burning fireplace going right in the middle of the dining room. It made the whole experience feel cozy and authentic. What really stood out, though, was the people. The service was absolutely top-notch from start to finish. I even had the chance to chat with a woman who's been working there for over 20 years--she shared some of the restaurant's history and how it's evolved over time, which made the visit even more special. For food, we started with the fried quail legs--perfectly cooked and seriously delicious (we could've easily eaten more). For the main course, I had the ribeye cooked medium rare, and it was spot on--full of flavor and didn't need a thing added. My wife went with the hamburger steak and loved it as well. Great food, even better people, and an atmosphere that's hard to beat. We'll definitely be back.

Perini's is well known around Abilene and has a great reputation. We tried it twice and the upshot…read moreis this-- Great steaks. Few menu choices. Mediocre sides and appetizers. The ambience is fine; sortuv a rustic cabin feel. We've had great service the two times we went, and the table bread is wonderful. Not impressed with the thick, (cooked?) carpaccio or the overcooked brussel sprouts. Compared to the USA, it's a 3/5. But in Abilene? Maybe a 4/5.

Wow, this place really impressed us. Trendy design and great food -- I spent 10 years in Abilene…read moreback in the 80s, and a spot like the Cork & Pig was not what I expected to find here. My wife had the asian salad, and she says it was the best she'd ever had. I had the fish tacos with mac and cheese, and both were unusually flavorful and had a great texture (I rarely eat much mac and cheese, but I finished all of this). Service was good, friendly and helpful. I appreciated the decor and general vibe of the place, inside and out, including the music. My only quibble might be that parking was a bit tighter than expected, but not a problem. Great place overall, and we were discussing how we might find an excuse to return, plus wishing a branch would open closer to Houston.

Slow wait staff. Limited brunch menu and no substitutions. Example flour tortillas instead of…read morecorn. Same goes for the sandwich bread. Our food was cold. Eggs must have been sitting for awhile and were cold as could be. Bacon was not cooked and looked like it barely saw the grill.. There are better options for brunch. Won't be back!

RUN! DO NOT WALK! RUN!…read more The first time I tried this place at approximately 5:30pm on Wednesday 3/25/26 I got some of the worst food poisoning of my life! It took about two hours to set in and boy did it set in hard! I literally had to vomit my guts up because the food just did not sit right and may have been bad in one way or another! For reference I got a regular plate with ribs and jalapeño cheese sausage with jalapeño corn and pinto beans on the side. WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT EAT HERE!!! Steer clear of this place like the plague if you know what is good for you! I wish I would have read the reviews prior to eating this food! The sad part is that it actually tasted pretty good, but you can't argue with food poisoning! Forgive my long winded review, but I literally just got done expelling this vile mess from what felt like the depths of my soul while having an utterly debilitating stomach and headache in the process! Please for the love of God do yourself a favor and don't ever think about eating any food from this place!

Their food is so delicious and great service too! Always…read morefriendly and helpful and easily located.

Good bbq, but had a wait…read more Got a two meat meal, which fed two people with no problem. Sausage was wonderful. Good flavor and great texture. Beef had good flavor, but was a bit fatty. Not enough that I wouldn't order it again. Sauce was good, better than most places.

You seriously need to stay at this small shack and wait till they return. Their always leaving and…read morehaving to go get supplies or whatever, This has happened 2 times to us within 3 days. When we were there. Not impressed with Abilene Tx at all

I have been eating at Sharon's since she and Joe Allen opened their first place on South Treadway…read more I cannot tell you how many feet of ribeye steaks I have eaten. Remember when you could order your steak by how thick you wanted it cut. I have often wished Cahoots would come back, they had the best catfish and shrimp. I know times are tough but charging me $1.80 for a small cup of water is way way over the top. It will be a long long time before I return to ANY of Sharon's restaurants

Need to change the hours. Went at 7:22 and they are closed. Hours have changed…read more Last time food was good though