Dinner Bell - Big Tom's Barbeque

Big Tom's Barbeque
6500 Denton Highway
Watauga, TX 76148
(817) 503-8214

Sometimes you can judge a book by its cover. When you show up at a barbeque joint at ten minutes till noon and find that you are the only customer in the whole place, that should tell you something.

Nevertheless, on a recent weekday I decided to give the place a chance. Who knows? Perhaps it was an as yet undiscovered jewel?

The fella' behind the counter greeted me promptly, after all, it's not like he had a lot to do. I don't know if he was Tom or not, he wasn't really that big. Another thing that wasn't big was the helping of sliced brisket he delivered to my table shortly thereafter. Heck, I normally nibble on more meat than that while passing it around the table.

I wish I could say that the meat made up for the puny portion with a hearty flavor. Alas, such was not the case. I've chewed on wallboard that was more flavorful and tender. The bottled barbeque sauce didn't help much either. Yes, I said bottled barbeque sauce. What self-respecting barbeque place serves bottled sauce?

The potato salad held out promise. Rather that the mush most places serve, Big Tom puts small chunks of potatoes in his salad. Unfortunately, what Big Tom doesn't put in there is flavoring as the salad was just as bland as the half warm, half cold, corn-on-the-cob.

I'm pretty sure Big Tom's has been in business in Watauga for quite some time, though I can't for the life of me figure out how. Perhaps in the sea of fast-food chains along Denton Highway Wataugans just don't know any better?