EXACTLY what I expected and wanted from a TX BBQ joint!!! I am from the West Coast and have had BBQ…read moreis cities known for BBQ!!! I heard GREAT things about Country Tavern and when we drove up, I knew it was going to be great!!! Just a country bar/restaurant w no frills! Just a friendly local place w a bar and GREAT BBQ! Friendly staff seated us and we knew they had no menus. DONT ask for a menu. Check the menu online if you need. We ordered 3 meat plate with sides. The ribs were fall off the bone moist and tender. The brisket was pull apart tender and juicy w a simple rub!!! The jalepeno cheese sausage was filled w cheese and delicious. Not spicy at all. Hands down the best beans I had in TX!!!! Not sweet with a nice smoke flavor. A hint of pork flavor and brisket chunks!!! We were so full but ordered their newest dessert. Brown Butter Cake! OMG it was great!!!!! The cake was so moist and dense topped w a large scoop of ice-cream along with caramel drizzle! I would come back just to have the cake it was so good!!! Highly recommend the drive to Country Tavern! The drive is nice and easy from Tyler TX and scenery is beautiful!! The most memorable BBQ I have had in recent years traveling!!!

The best ribs in Texas. As a 6th generation Texan that is a big compliment because I have eaten a…read morelot of barbecue in 73 years.

Unfortunately, our visit to this barbecue joint was a disappointing experience that did not live up…read moreto its past reputation. The restaurant was nearly empty, a bad sign that should have been heeded immediately. The brisket was the first letdown. It was served lukewarm and had a very faint, almost non-existent smoke ring. The lack of a proper smoke ring suggests it was cooked too quickly without the long, slow process that gives great barbecue its depth of flavor. The ribs were a slight improvement. The meat did fall off the bone, but the flavor was just okay. The sauce lacked any real punch, leaving the overall experience feeling mediocre at best. While they were above average, they were far from remarkable. We chose to skip the sausage entirely after learning it wasn't made in-house, which felt like a missed opportunity to showcase genuine barbecue craftsmanship. Given the mediocre food and the restaurant's desolate state, I would not recommend returning to this establishment. It's a sad example of a once-great place that has lost its way.

Quick and smooth service. I enjoyed the dry ribs and onions. It was a side-road bbq pit. Nothing…read morespectacular just hungry

Fast service...friendly people and of course some awesome bbq! I love this place and would suggest…read moreit to anyone!

Ribs where great, brisket, and boudin where good as well, all the sides were great. Service was…read moregood, restaurant was clean! A pleasant experience and we'll be back!

Quick and easy lunch. Salad bar is good. All u can eat. Basics like mixed greens lettuce and sides…read moreof everything from potato /macaroni salad onions eggs olives pickled okra and pretty tasty blue cheese but there's other choices. Gets pretty busy for the 1100 lunch rush. Worth the $10 for a sit down restaurant meal. Plenty of booths to sit at. Clean and tidy. It's the local gathering spot for all folk.

Quick and easy buffet!! Pizza was decent, bread was good. Don't waste your time on the pasta! Try…read morethe desserts! I really went for the salad bar and it did not disappoint!! Two kinds of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, egg, corn, pasta salad, and multiple offerings for dressings and toppings. Ranch is great! Tea was just ehh. Not a great setup. The place needs to be remodeled. Seems like they built it in the 70s and it has not been updated since then... There's a small arcade but I didn't visit! A little pricey, but it was convenient for us!

Touristy and bland. I kept waiting for flavor to come and it never came. I had the turkey…read more(flavorless) ham (flavorless) and brisket (the only thing that had flavor) and tasteless mashed potatoes (they don't serve gravy) The cornbread was generic and dry. Honestly without floating everything in bbq sauce it was pretty much elementary cafeteria style. If it hadn't been for the EV charger we wouldn't have stopped. And that was 3x the amount of other chargers

Ordered brisket meal. Meat was perfect and the roll and sides were as good as I hoped for. Will…read moredefinitely be back.

Small place big flavors! We have these in Louisiana and the the food never leaves you feeling…read moresatisfied. We got sloppy Joe & sliced beek sandwiches. Both excellent. Both sides tasted fresh even though it was late in the evening. The gentleman behind the counter was nice and got our food out quickly and order correct.

Melty brisket and flavorful ribs. The side of beans is free and you get a choice of the regular…read morewet BBQ or spicy sauce. A great BBQ experience. I like the flexibility of the menu as it allowed me to try small portions of what I like. Great service. Easy parking. Vintage seating area. Please come and create your own adventure.

Love this place! Been coming here for years. The burgers are great and so is the catfish. They…read morehave quite a menu to choose from. Great service and very friendly. Highly recommend.

Everything was fantastic! They have great service, great prices and great food! Today we went and…read morethey had two burgers two fries and two drinks for $12.99! Unheard of!! Frito pie was amazing had great tasting chili lots of cheese, onions and jalapeños... Onion rings were hand battered light and crispy .. Burgers were char grilled and tasted amazing! Fries were crinkle cut, fresh tea .. zero complaints! Sadly phone died before I could snap photos! I'll be back and will update my review with photos!

This is a great place to experience Mexican music and dance culture. They have good drinks here and…read morean awesome dance floor where many of the locals love to dance solo or with a partner. I learned how to bachata here, I danced for hours! I had so much fun and can't wait to come back. There is always a Mexican food truck that serves good food out front as well.

I've been here a couple times now. The food is spot on and the service is great! I had the bacon…read morewrapped smoked meat loaf - man it was killer!! I highly recommend it. It's inside the Levee.

Wow, my local friend brought me here and I have to say most tender and tasty brisket and ribs I've…read morehad at an awesome great value. Coming from the big Texas cities and fancy bbq, Carter's is definitely a no frills local joint and super packed. Love the atmosphere and the people are as sweet as their tea. Huge portions! And chef threw in a couple of ribs!! Will be telling my Dallas and Shreveport friends to stop by when driving by. So nice, thank you chef and staff!!

I would give them a solid 4.5 can't give them the straight 5-stars yet as I didn't get the moist…read morebrisket I'm accustomed of eating. I forgot to ask for it! I just don't see why folks don't want to eat the juicy, moist, fatty portions of the brisket!?! That's is the best part...but next time I will remember to ask to get those pieces. Now the regular brisket it was necessarily dry...but it just wasn't the fatty lusciousness I'm use to eating. When you walk in the people behind the counter were really nice and actually SPOKE! Now being from East Texas that's what I'm use to and miss about people. Living in the DMV area now these folks can't be really standoffish and that's why I can't wait to go back soon...but I digress. I really wanted to try the turkey but it was already sold out by the time I made it there. So make sure you come early to try it. I did wish they offered chicken because that would have been a great addition to my meal. My two sides were potato salad and coleslaw. Both of which I really don't like. Straight to the point bbq spot down in East Texas and can't wait to come back to hopefully try the turkey and MOSIT brisket!

This was actually one of the better bbq experiences we have had at a top 50 Texas Monthly BBQ…read morejoint. Kee took our order. She was very friendly and sweet. It was Tuesday afternoon and there was no line but they were sold out of turkey. Very interesting...... The decor was great with really cool bbq themed posters and guitars. The restrooms were very clean. They do not brew their own tea and have waters, bottled teas and sodas in a cooler. We ordered a pound of brisket and 16 oz container each of the brisket mexican street corn and the charro beans. Please do not employ the salt shaker and in fact, keep any salt granules WAY FAR AWAY from your food items. It is perfectly seasoned and does not need it, OK? Maybe a little ice water to have with your cue would be a good idea! I thought the brisket and the sides we tried were some of the finest I have ever had and I was admittedly a little sad to see it dwindle away over the next day or two in the refrigerator. I think I need some more of that perfect elote, charro bean, brisket goodness, dog gonnit!!!!! That nagging feeling I get about the turkey selling out so quickly......should I have that on our next visit? I think so.

If I have to take a trek back to Longview again, it's probably to go back to Sunbird. As I journey…read morefor another Texas Monthly stamp, I drove from the sister city of Tyler into Longview to try the new brainchild of former Bodacious Bar-B-Q employees. As we got to Sunbird just around 10:30, there was a small but excited line ahead of us. We met a guy right behind us who was from Pittsburgh but would fly in multiple times throughout the year to journey through Texas and hit all the different spots to get stamps. We had a great conversation about food, and he got a picture with us on his phone. What a sweet guy! By 11, we were let inside and the line moved pretty typically for a barbecue joint. I tried to order their Dr. Pepper pork belly burnt ends, but the first guy in line came in and ordered all of their stock, sitting and eating some while telling a guy next to him he was going to freeze them all to save. Jerk. I'll list everything I had and my thoughts: Brisket: A beautifully long slab of meat. It's slightly smoky and full of flavor. Pork ribs: I feel like we got skimped a little bit on our ribs compared to my friend, who got a lot more on the same order, but they were very good and sweet as well. Sausage: Their house sausage had the right amount of spice to it, and the small slices were nice to throw onto some of the bread and chow down on. Street corn: Holy hell, their corn is next level. A perfect heat in the spice department mixed with the cheese. Really special. Mac and cheese: Only available on Fridays and Saturdays, their mac and cheese is a delight. I ate all of it with nothing left to save. It's creamy, cheesy, and absolutely heavenly. Go on Friday or Saturday just for this mac and cheese. On par with some of the best. Maybe second to La Barbecue as the best macaroni. Charro beans: A nice spice and flavor to them. Feels like a perfect East Texas bean. As we were finishing up, they had already come down to their last pound of brisket as the line was thinning out. Their Saturday stock was probably a little less than I anticipated, but it's nice to see a community and plenty of travelers come out to give them a shot. They are list-worthy. They might have the case for some of the best food in Longview. The prices here are so much more affordable compared to Austin. I paid $39 for a pound of brisket a few weekends ago, so I was very happy to see it's $27 here in Longview. I love smaller Texas cities!! RIYL: Affordably incredible barbecue