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    Sunbird Barbecue

    4.9 (28 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 3:00 pm

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    Specials
    Nick R.

    Was there prior to open with a decent but not overwhelming line. Very small interior, were it not just me I may have died in rather than my vehicle. Got a lovely brisket taco and honey street corn (the powered cheese was nicely warm and near melt tiptop). Also got Strawberry Jalapeno Burnt Ends. They came immersed in the sauce (which had a light syrupy texture). They were good although the liquid bad eliminated some of the chew I usually enjoy (trade off was the consistent flavor which was great).

    Line
    Zachary S.

    If I have to take a trek back to Longview again, it's probably to go back to Sunbird. As I journey for 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

    Caitlin L.

    Worth every penny!!! Little gem located in Longview! I got tacos and let me tell you they are so juicy and delicious

    Sean L.

    "Like a cowboy who rode into town five minutes too late for the hoedown, we came hungry and left humbled." TL;DR: Sunbird Barbecue's menu reads like a meat-lover's dream and (I suspect) tastes like smoke-kissed heaven; but you better show up early. By 1:00pm, the pit is picked clean. We missed out, but now we know: first in line gets the brisket. Last in line gets the door photo. The third stop on our East Texas meat tour was supposed to be legendary. Big D and I were high on smoke and road dust, bellies half-full, spirits soaring. Two joints down, two to go. We were ecstatic with anticipation. Sunbird Barbecue was next, and all signs pointed to meat nirvana. We'd been tracking them like two brisket bounty hunters all morning, checking social posts, drooling over every new photo. My mouth hit max moisture capacity when Big D read the day's specials aloud like a preacher reciting the Book of Revelations: - Maple bourbon blueberry pork belly burnt ends - Brisket boudin - Creamy mac and cheese Sweet mercy. I tightened my belt and said a prayer to the BBQ gods. ETA locked in at 1:10. I told Big D we had this. It was only two hours past opening. We'd be just in time for that first bite of brisket to hit like a country love song. But the BBQ gods are jealous and cruel. At 1:00pm sharp, the bad news dropped like a cow off a cattle ramp: SOLD OUT. We stared at that hand-scribbled sign like it was a breakup letter taped to the fridge. Blue painter's tape never looked so heartbreaking. We walked up anyway. Maybe we could smell the smoke. Instead, we met the pit crew, who were wrapping up the day's magic with the kind of humble pride that only comes from turning oak and meat into pure happiness. They were kind, tired, and still smiling. We thanked them. Took a photo of the menu. Promised ourselves a redemption trip. And we will be back. But next time, Uncle Sean's gonna be in that line before the rooster crows, folding chair in hand, cooler of Shiner in tow, ready for brisket glory. Stamp Count: As a consolation prize (or out of pity) they stamped the passport saying something about the rules and no purchase is necessary. Number 20. the mission continues. Final Dad Line: I didn't get any meat, but my hunger pangs got a full-course meal of disappointment. FYI... I'm giving them 5 stars because we met the pitmasters, they are great, and they must be doing something right to sell out so fast! Upon my return visit, and a tray of deliciousness, I'll review the awesomeness of the bbq!

    Charro beans
    Squeaka D.

    Food was great the turkey was melt in your mouth tender and I do not normally like turkey, the charro beans and corn salsa was absolutely amazing and macaroni and cheese was delicious too. My service was wonderful

    Exterior
    Jim B.

    A worthy addition to the Texas Monthly Top 50. Amazing brisket, get the fatty for max flavor. Turkey tacos and salsa were outstanding, as were the elotes. Super nice folks running the place as well. Pro tip: Burt ends are only available on Saturday so plan accordingly.

    Smartest people in East Texas
    Jason G.

    Sunbird Barbecue is a winner! Fantastic barbecue and sides - my favorite is the burnt ends, they rotate what they are marinated in and so far it has not mattered...the last time I had the Arnold Palmer soaked burnt ends, which was a definite game winner. The Mac and cheese is perfect. The ribs, brisket, and pulled pork wow! The pit is right behind the food truck. They will soon open their restaurant, which will make this easier to access as it will be in downtown Longview.

    I've been around just about every part of Texas eating bbq and this stands right with the top bbq restaurants.

    Tray of moist sliced brisket pork ribs and pulled pork
    Ty F.

    We Trued everything they had left the pork belly had sold out in 45 minutes. The brisket was moist tender with just the right balance of salt, pepper and smoke. The pork ribs were a new rub just fantastic very straight forward rub just simply great. The pulled pork was sweet, juicy, tender and just a light smoke.

    Brisket, street corn with pork, and apple jack pork belly burnt ends
    Lorraine G.

    This food truck came highly recommended and did not disappoint. We waited in cold drizzle and wish we'd arrived early. Had the brisket and street corn with pork and both were excellent. We made sandwiches with some croissants we got at Sam's club. Being from Kansas City, we decided to try the apple jack pork belly burnt ends and they were a bit of a surprise. I'm more of a savory lover and the sweetness was not my jam. But for those with a sweet tooth, you might like them.

    Moto S.

    Stopped by for lunch on a weekday when I was going this way for a few days of vacation. I always wanted to try Bodacious when the pitmaster here worked for them, but never made it, and figured if I had a choice of the two, I would come here first. Little off the beaten path, north of I-20, took me about twenty minutes to get here. Walked up to the trailer, sadly they were out of the special sausage of the day, but no big deal, I got brisket, ribs, and some of the regular sausage, plus a side of mac n cheese. For the TLDR folks, it was all great stuff. The sausage was really flavorful, especially for a house regular sausage nowadays. The ribs were nice and tender, and although I'm not the biggest brisket guy, the moist brisket was tender, and had a great flavorful bark on it. I really lack the words to describe BBQ anymore, just really thought all the meat here was really good. The mac n cheese looked good, was good, just not seasoned up much, and honestly I just wasn't into mac n cheese that day. But it was quality stuff. I had some leftovers of all, and when I ate it later on that evening, it was still good. Anyway, it was great stuff, and I didn't think it was overpriced for what you're getting. Top end BBQ, friendly people, and if I find myself up this way again during open hours I would surely stop in.

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    1 year ago

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    8 months ago

    Outstanding food. Small place and get here early for lunch. Service was fast and efficient

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    1 year ago

    Elite BBQ. Ribs, brisket, and the pork belly was surprisingly super elite. Cool owners too!

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    11 months ago

    Delicious BBQ! "New" Location closer to downtown is more convenient -hours seem to vary, however. Friendly service.

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    3 years ago

    I like the unique options and the team. Good little stop to stop and take away! The sides are always delicious as well!

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    Carter's Bar-B-Que

    Carter's Bar-B-Que

    4.0
    (99 reviews)
    2.1 mi
    $$

    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!

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    Carter's Bar-B-Que
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    Fat Boyzzz

    Fat Boyzzz

    4.7
    (127 reviews)
    3.8 mi
    $$

    We live in East Texas, where there are plenty of restaurants to choose from, and we've eaten at…read moremost of the local spots and many in the surrounding towns. My husband challenged me to find somewhere new, and Yelp led us to Fat Boyzzz in Longview, TX. I'll be honest--I'm not usually a soul food fan, so I wasn't especially excited about trying it. But my husband had been craving some good soul food for a while, so we decided to give it a shot. The restaurant had excellent ratings and reviews, but I was still a little skeptical. When we arrived, the place was packed, which is usually a good sign. Thankfully, we were seated right away. Our waitress let us know upfront that there would be about a 30-minute wait for the food. Our first interaction with her was a little rough--she seemed stressed and was somewhat abrupt while taking our order. My husband was initially put off, but he was determined to get his soul food fix. Now, whenever I see grilled liver and onions with brown gravy on a menu, that's what I'm ordering. I'm a Luby's girl through and through, and until today, I would've said nobody does liver and onions better than Luby's. Fat Boyzzz changed my mind. The liver was sliced a little thinner and wasn't quite as tender, but the flavor more than made up for it. Every bite was absolutely delicious. And that's not even the best part. The mashed potatoes and brown gravy were phenomenal--rich, flavorful, and pure comfort food. My husband ordered the fried pork chops with mashed potatoes and cream gravy. The entire meal, all he could talk about was those mashed potatoes. Between bites, he'd keep saying, "These mashed potatoes are AWESOME! This gravy tastes just like my Naw-Naw's gravy!" My husband is a big, burly guy with a deep voice, and hearing him repeatedly praise the food while happily devouring his plate was entertaining all by itself. This was truly food for the soul. We left full, happy, and completely comforted by a fantastic meal. Fat Boyzzz has definitely earned repeat customers in us, and we'll absolutely be back. Highly recommended!

    Awesome food and great customer service 3/13/26 I'll eat…read morethere every chance I can. You can not ask for any place better. All there food is delicious. Carol Sipes

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    Sunbird Barbecue - bbq - Updated August 2026

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