Johnny T’s B-B-Q • Round Rock

Johnny T’s B-B-Q • Round Rock

Written by James Wickett Friday, 01 August 2008

Johnny T’s B-B-Q Owner John Tomlinson celebrates one year in business.

Barbecue is a time-honored Texas tradition. John Tomlinson, owner of Johnny T’s B-B-Q, exemplifies the depth of that tradition and what it takes to keep it alive in Central Texas.

Tomlinson has been in the food industry since third grade, and he remembers trying to keep his footing on a milk crate just to reach the counter while he prepped food in his family’s restaurant. He is a third-generation restaurant owner.

Johnny T’s B-B-Q is celebrating its one-year anniversary in August, and while the restaurant is new to Round Rock, barbecue has been served out of the building on Round Rock Avenue for the past 12 years. The ownership has changed and so has its name, from Hog Heaven to Round Rock Barbecue and now, Johnny T’s B-B-Q. While the name has changed, several menu items, such as the pulled pork, are still on the menu.

A group of us went to Johnny T’s for lunch on a weekday, and one of our favorite items was the JT’s Memphis Chop sandwich ($5.49 large, $4.49 small), which includes pulled pork, coleslaw, pickle and onions on a bun.

Tomlinson prepares all of the food, including the barbecue sauce, which is made with tomatoes, molasses and a touch of chipotle.

“[The sauce] is definitely geared [more] towards Memphis-style barbecue than Texas barbecue,” he said.

Johnny T’s offers traditional Texas barbecue items like brisket, Elgin sausage, turkey, chicken and pork ribs. The most popular item is the brisket, and we agreed it is among the most tender and moist we have ever eaten. The brisket is slow smoked over a pit filled with a blend of oak and pecan wood, adding just a touch of nuttiness.

The two-meat plate ($8.49) is a great choice for those who cannot decide what to try. The portion is large, and the meal includes a choice of two sides: potato salad, coleslaw, pinto beans, baked beans, cream corn, green beans or tamale potato casserole.

“Other barbecue restaurants do the side items as an afterthought,” he said.

The tamale potato casserole was remarkable and owes its heritage to a dish Tomlinson created while working as the executive chef at the Main Street Grill in Round Rock.

A barbecue dinner is not complete without cobbler. Johnny T’s serves excellent blackberry and peach cobblers a la mode ($2.29). The giant homemade Butterfinger cookies (99 cents) rivaled the cobblers as our favorite dessert.

Barbecue styles

• Memphis: Heavy emphasis on pork, particularly on dry-rub pork ribs and pulled pork sandwiches topped with coleslaw
• Kansas City: Sweet smoky sauce, beef and pork, usually sliced rather than shredded
• Texas: Mostly beef with brisket as the most popular item; served with pickles and onions

Summer hours: Tue.-Sat. 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m.

Sun. noon to 6 pm.

Open at 7 a.m. weekdays during the school year