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    Jimmy's Barbeque Pit

    3.4 (87 reviews)
    InexpensiveBarbeque
    Open 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

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    Iowa twister with beans and mixed vegetables.
    Wayne Z.

    Wish I had better things to say about this place, and quite frankly I read some of these reviews and wonder if I'm the crazy one here. I've had bbq far and near, east coast west coast north and south and I can say with certainty what I had for lunch this week here was NOT bbq. Was it an acceptable meal that I ate, sure, but bbq it was not. I had the Iowa twister which consists of all the sliced meats. The ham and turkey both tasted like straight up lunch meat, plain and simple. For some reason the turkey came out hot compared to the other meats, but in a boiled meat kinda way instead of smoked. Sliced pork tasted like a pork tenderloin out of an oven, not tender but not dried out at least. Brisket was by far the most disappointing, pretty tough and incredibly bland with a weird artificial smokiness that tasted so off. The sides are a weird bunch too, "mixed vegetables" are nothing more than cold cut veggie tray offerings, beans were uninspired and I think I would've opted for canned Bush's varieties. They had 3 sauces, the sweet and mild both tasted the same but the "hot" one at least could tell apart. I don't want to be mean to a small town family run joint but it's just not very good. The flies buzzing around inside were a nuisance also. On the bright side (I guess) the food is incredibly cheap by today's standards and service was good and friendly. I'm somewhat intrigued by what rib offerings they have as they actually have spare and baby back varieties but I'd have to think long and hard before I could step foot back in here again. In the meantime, Cornbred in Ames is where I'll continue to go for real bbq

    That absolute boat of Texas toast makes the 1/2 lb. of brisket look insufficient.
    Lobster ..

    Oh man, I'm bad at doing these in a timely manner. I'll keep it short and sweet since I probably can't remember all the details at this point. So, I went to Jimmy's Barbecue Pit in Boone on the Friday before Easter (3/29/24? I think?). I've been there a couple times before--it's got a nice, rustic interior that matches the theme of the restaurant--but on this night, I had a mission: to finally try their brisket. In all honesty, I'm not a voracious eater of that particular cut of beef. I mean, I've had it other places--some good, some bad (it's an easy cut to mess up, I hear)--but ribs are more my thing. And it I wasn't as if I'd been avoiding the brisket at Jimmy's or anything, it's just that, in previous visits, I'd always found something else on the menu that had caught my eye, like the aforementioned ribs, or some of their smoked ham, or that mysterious "Lemon Chess" pie. (More on that later) So I ordered the Brisket Dinner, which came with a half lb. of brisket, the usual huge, delightful slab of Texas toast, and two sides, of which I chose potato salad and baked beans. I'll address the sides up front: they were fine. Nothing outstanding, just good, solid offerings. The Texas toast was fantastic, as usual. Okay, then we got the brisket itself. Jimmy's does a good job of smoking all their meats, but, for some reason, when I tried the brisket, I was expecting more salt than I tasted. That's not a slight to Jimmy's or their pit-master. In fact, it's probably some false preconception that snuck into my subconscious in anticipation of the Easter ham I would be enjoying two days hence. But no, instead of salt, I tasted an incredibly delicious amount of smoke in that tender meat. And that was great! The brisket wasn't dripping juice or anything like that, but it was in no way dry. To satisfy my craving, I added a little salt to it, and that, combined with that smoky flavor, made it difficult NOT to devour all the slices on my plate. The last thing I'm going to add is a warning. If you go into Jimmy's, see the Lemon Chess pie in the Sweet Things section of the menu, and think, "Hm, that sounds interesting. I think I'll give it a try", you're probably setting yourself up for disappointment. Do not misunderstand: I'm not commenting on it's flavor; I have never actually tasted this pie. A LOT of people have never tasted this pie. I've had multiple sources tell me it is NEVER available when they try to order it. Does it even exist? Who can say? It's a mystery, it's an enigma, it's a conundrum that hints at sweet citrus flavor and a flaky crust that's somehow connected to a board game--I don't know! Maybe they just sell out too fast, or perhaps their baker can only do a small number of pies per week...or maybe it's a stroke of marketing genius designed to get the masses clamoring over a lemony confection that might not actually exist. Or might NEVER have existed! Small towns like Boone tend to have secrets. You've been warned. P.S. The staff was very friendly and helpful in their interactions with us that night. This type of welcoming demeanor is what you want in a small town eatery.

    the inside of the restaurant
    Kat B.

    I used to eat at this place way back when it first opened when I lived in boone in 2004. I loved it then so we wanted to try it again. We ordered take out. I ordered a turkey on wheat bun with both sauces. My sister order the same plus a ham on wheat. For food that is mostly prepared already, we heard a lot of microwave door slamming and it took us 35 minutes to receive our 3 small sandwiches and bags of chips. I was rather perturbed. The whole dining area was blanketed in this thick cloud of burnt something or smog almost. It hurt my eyes since I was there for so long. When you pay they charge you if you use credit cards, just FYI. The sandwiches were still amazing and I will definitely ordere again, just over the phone so I don't have to guess at how long my food will take.

    Lunch at Jimmy's BBQ

    When possible we skip the I-35 Des Moines traffic and travel through Boone IA to I-80. Our favorite lunch stop is Jimmy's BBQ. This trip we ordered 1/2 chicken & pork rib dinner with sloppy spud and side salad, Sliced beef brisket dinner with potato salad and side salad. Plenty of good food at a very reasonable price. We always check the daily specials and today was 1/2 price drinks. Thanks Jimmy and see you on our next trip!

    Iowa Pit Bits
    Aja L.

    Great service and fair food. As a native Texan I was leery about trying this place out. They give a fair amount of food for the price, and they definitely got the baked beans right - but you can tell where they cut corners.

    people sitting at tables
    Ryan C.

    Stumbled upon. I'm from out of state but VERY happy. I smoke a lot of meat and it's very good at Jimmy's. Be great for families or adults. Also great to go. If you see this and wonder if to stop....stop wondering and just do it. It's good.

    Beef Brisket on Texas toast

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    9 years ago

    Brisket and rib tips so tough. Shoe leather with sauce. Wish we had paid more attention to the reviews. We won't go back.

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    9 years ago

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    17 years ago

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    13 years ago

    Great meat! Really nice staff! For as small as Boone is this is a great place, and I would definitely come back.

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    11 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    12 years ago

    Good food...had the Iowa Pit Bits...but my buddy had the Texas Pit and said there was no brisket....mine was delicious!!

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    11 years ago

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    15 years ago

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    13 years ago

    Great little place. Ribs tasty. I did find out the baby backs come with more sauce. Bake beans and cole slaw just ok. Nothing great

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    12 years ago

    Looking for a place in Boone, IA for amazing BBQ? Head to Jimmy's. Great sandwiches and potato salad as well as gracious customer service.

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    9 years ago

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    14 years ago

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    15 years ago

    Great brisket sandwiches. Just like eating at a Texas barbecue. Actually, better than most Texas brisket.

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    10 years ago

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    Page 2 of 3

    Ask the Community - Jimmy's Barbeque Pit

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    2/2/26 5:15 p.m…read more Walk-in for to-go Food: Delicious! Everything was correct, and they didn't skimp out on any part of our order. I live in Ames but occasionally drive over to Boone just for the Sauced & Tossed basket lol. It's my favorite, and the two locations here in Ames don't offer it. My husband tried the new Backyard Bacon Ranch Signature Stackburger and really liked it. It's a great combination of flavors. Their ice cream is great (as usual!) and barely started to melt by the time we got home. Service: Absolutely great! The girl (I forgot her name) that took our order and brought our food to us was incredibly nice. She greeted us with a smile and was really patient with us, despite how incredibly busy the drive-thru was. They were fully staffed and doing their best to make sure all of the orders got out in a timely manner; the drive-thru was LONG and kept getting longer. There weren't too many people inside, thankfully. When she brought our food out to us (we were sitting down waiting), she told us to double-check to make sure our order was correct; it was. All of the other employees that made eye contact also smiled, which was nice :) Ambiance: The new remodeled interior is really nice! It's kept really clean as well. The menu is so much easier to read; it's big, bright LED screens. The interior is simple yet comfortable. It definitely feels more private than before because of the dividers. The noise level was pretty minimal as well, even though they were slammed.

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    Jimmy's Barbeque Pit - bbq - Updated May 2026

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