CLOSED for daily business but check their social media for concerts/events--Big Country Beer Garden and Cocktail Courtyard is a fun spot with outdoor seating and tasty eats

Chips and homemade salsa

The Big Country Beer Garden and Cocktail Courtyard is a new spot in Abilene in the SoDA (south of downtown) district off of S. 1st and east of Treadaway. Recently, a few female friends and I got together for lunch on a Saturday to celebrate a birthday. We wanted to try somewhere new in town. 

Nashville chicken sandwich

The food menu isn't extensive but most anyone should be able to find something they like. There are several appetizers, a smashburger ($17), an upscale hotdog, a pork belly sandwich, a chicken sandwich, salad options, a meatball sub, and a grilled cheese. The sandwiches come with crispy fries and the bread on all the sandwiches was fresh. The people who own the Taylor County Taphouse in Abilene also own this establishment. If you like the food at Taphouse, chances are you will also like the food at the BCBG. The quality is high and the prices reflect it. 

Service was spot on, friendly, and attentive without hovering--pretty much perfect. We opted to sit inside instead of on the covered patio simply because it was a windy West Texas spring day. However, it was tempting to sit out there instead.

For our starter we ordered the chips and homemade salsa ($8). The salsa was flavorful but without a lot of heat. Quite enjoyable. The chips were thin and crispy with a bit of seasoning on them. As you would expect by their name, there was a fairly large menu of beer options and also a craft cocktail menu with some tempting creations listed.

Grilled cheese

The birthday girl ordered the Nashville chicken sandwich ($16). The chicken breast was hand battered (if a little heavy on the batter) but the flavor was great and the sauced cole slaw on top had a good crunch. She enjoyed it.

I ordered the grilled cheese sandwich ($14) made with Muenster and sharp chedder. It was perfectly "melty".  I could tell it had been done on the same grill as a burger so be advised that there may be a bit of smashburger clinging to the bread on the grilled cheese. If you are looking for a out of the ordinary grilled cheese sandwich, give it a go. 

Banh mi sandwich

One friendn was adventurous and ordered the Vietnamese bahn mi sandwich ($17). The portion of pork belly was generous and it had lots of fresh jalapenos on it as well. The meat was perhaps a little leaner than one would expect from pork belly but is was quite flavorful and worth the price. 

The last order at the table was a "build your own" smashburger wrapped in lettuce. The usual smashburger is served on a bun with three types of cheese but my friend needs to eat gluten and dairy free. She liked the smash sauce and she said the burger was good but she did not finish it. It looked like she only got one patty instead of two. The burger likely tastes better in the original form since smashburgers are known for their crispy edges and the cheese helps the texture and fat content of the burger to help it stay juicy. I am not sure if she had to pay the regular price or if it was discounted a little bit since there was no bun or cheese.

Build your own smashburger with lettuce wrap

However, for those who are gluten free there are salad options; a garden salad (can add salmon or chicken for an upcharge), a green chile grilled chicken salad, and a spinach salad. Price range on the salads was $13-$20.

Everyone at lunch that day said they would definitely return. The next time, I plan to try the Hatch chile queso or the fried cheese chunks appetizer. Other unique options on the appetizer menu are chicharrone encrusted boudin balls, a sausage board, and a meatball trio. For an entree the fancy hot dog is tempting. I almost ordered it this time. One of my friends would like to order the homemade meatball sub with the scratch made sauce next time. 

The restaurant is on the corner of S. 2nd and Pecan St. Be sure to check their social media pages for live music and other special events. Parking in the area is primarily street parking so keep that in mind. There is one small lot on the Pecan St. side. There was a mention of brunch being served on the weekend on their website but I did not see a brunch menu when we arrived at 12:30pm.

Next time you are looking for a fun spot to meet friends or have an adult beverage and some apps, go to the Big Country Beer Garden and Cocktail Courtyard.

HOURS

Monday CLOSED

Tuesday CLOSED

Wednesday 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM

Thursday 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM

Friday 11:00 AM - 12:00 AM

Saturday 11:00 AM - 12:00 AM

Sunday 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM

(325) 704-3181

806 S 2nd St

Abilene, TX 79602

https://www.bigcountrybeergarden.com/

https://www.facebook.com/bigcountrybeergarden

Jay's BBQ Shack--Abilene's favorite barbeque stand

 Jay's BBQ Shack in Abilene does indeed have excellent barbeque. In fact, the brisket sandwich I had today puts it in the top two places for brisket in town for me, with the other one being The Shed. Jay's has made it into Texas Monthly's review of BBQ joints with a very favorable mention, in fact it was dubbed Abilene's best brisket. No other brisket in Abilene compares to these two relative newcomers on the scene (read less than a decade old). I would say on taste alone, Jay's has a slight edge. 

Jay's BBQ Shack is only open for lunch and provides outdoor seating for customers. I got to the line shortly after they opened at 11am. They serve lunch until 2pm (or until they run out of  meat) Wednesday-Saturday. I wanted to be sure that they did not run out of brisket so I got there early. It was already quite long and it does not move very quickly. I stood in line to order for about 45 minutes and then had an additional 7 minutes to wait for my order to be ready. The line actually got shorter at around 11:40ish.

In all honesty, I am not a person that enjoys standing in line outside in hot weather to order food. My thought process was that is BETTER be as great brisket. Everyone in town has told me it was and therefore worth the effort. The effort involved is one reason it has taken me to try it. That, and I was secretly hoping I would be able to sample it at an event that they catered and skip the line. Since I was off work and the forecast was calling for it to only be 90, I went out there. Keep in mind that parking is on the street and the place is nestled in among businesses on S. 11th, west of Treadaway, so there is a fair amount of traffic.  

My order today was a chopped brisket sandwich with a side of Hatch green chili macaroni and cheese. A brisket sandwich is my standard order for BBQ places. Instead of sitting outside on the picnic tables, even though there was shade provided for the tables, the temperature outside was starting to climb so I got mine for takeout. The cost for the sandwich was $9.50, not a bad deal considering the price of brisket now, and the side of mac and cheese was $3.00. It came with their standard barbeque sauce, pickles and onions (which I asked to leave off). I also took home sample of their spicy sauce as well. There was a mustard-based sauce option too if that is your preference. 

The special for the day was brisket tacos and there were several other interesting items on the menu such as brisket Frito pie and pig candy (bacon burnt ends.) There were all the standard offerings of ribs, sausage, turkey, chicken and the usual side dishes as well as bags of chips. All the drinks are bottled or canned and beer is available. No ice or fountain drinks. 

My first impression of the sandwich was that they did not skimp on the meat. Yay! It had a nice bark on it but not too much which can make it chewy. The meat was not overly fatty which is how I like my brisket. The flavor was very good, not overwhelmed with mesquite smoke. Peppery but not over seasoned. The meat without sauce was juicy and enjoyable. The sauce was a little on the sweet side for me but still a good accompaniment to the brisket. The spicy sauce was also sweet but with a touch of heat. The bun was soft and fresh. Potato bread, I think. The pickles were thin-sliced and mouth-puckering dill, just how I like them. The mac and cheese had a kick of green chili and some breadcrumbs on top. The sauce was very creamy and the pasta was not too mushy. I was happy with it. A bag of chips is $2 but all the other sides are $3 each.

Was it worth almost an hour of my time? Yes. But you will not find me standing in line when the temperature gets above 90 degrees outside because I just do not do that. However, if you are tolerant of Texas weather or can go on a nice day, Jay's is well worth your time and your money. Check out their social media for daily features. 

Jay's BBQ Shack

602 S. 11th Street

Abilene, TX  79602

Wed-Sat

11 am - 2 pm or until sold out

https://jaysbbqshack.com/

   

CLOSED Biscuit Bar--Go for breakfast or brunch when the biscuits are fresh

The Biscuit Bar is a theme restaurant  that opened in Abilene last fall. The food is served on a biscuit. Not just breakfast items but all sorts of sandwiches. It is located in the new entertainment area on N. Judge Ely Blvd. close to Abilene Christian University. The other restaurants that are already there are Fuzzy's Tacos (Abilene's second location) and a Vietnamese place. 

The area has lots of outdoor seating, a playground and is situated around a pond with a walking track around it. In this pandemic world, the outdoor seating has lots of appeal. Even more so than it normally would with the generally agreeable weather in this area. There is room for more establishments to come in to the space. 

For a girls night in mid-December, myself and three friends went to have dinner at The Biscuit Bar as none of us had been there yet. Yes, they do have an actual bar and serve alcoholic beverages in addition to their menu of biscuit sandwiches and tater tots with a variety of topping options. It is a small chain with a few other locations around the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.

We arrived on a Friday evening around 6:30pm, early yes but with most new places in Abilene we anticipated that there would be a line even though they had been open for about 3 months. Lo and behold, no line and only about three diners inside. This set off a bit of warning bell in my mind that it was so sparse but I put it down to the end of the semester and the mass exodus of college students for Christmas break. There was a large party seated outside along with a couple or two. 

The service set up is to go through the line and place your order and it will be brought out to you. We all placed our orders and went to find a seat inside which as I stated wasn't a problem, except that we had to clean it off ourselves. I ordered the Fancy Chicken ($6.60) with a side order of plain tater tots with ranch ($3.80) and a drink. The sandwich was a fried chicken breast, dill pickles and house-made "fancy" sauce, which tasted like ranch to me. I found the biscuit to be tough and not warm enough, very disappointing since the entire restaurant concept was based on their biscuits. The breading on the chicken was tasty but the entire sandwich was quite small for the price. I do realize that prices have gone up everywhere but almost $4 for an order of plain tater tots no bigger than a large order of tots from Sonic was to be blunt, dissatisfying. To get toppings on them would have added another $2.50 to the cost. I think the toppings are meant to make them an entrée so the price follows. They are just not good enough or plentiful enough to cost that much, sorry.

My friends ordered the grilled chicken biscuit ($6.90), the grilled chicken biscuit with no biscuit--as there were no gluten free options in regard to the bread and salad would have cost $2 more--and the biscuit French toast ($5.80). Out of all of us the French toast biscuit was the best option. Perhaps going there and sticking to breakfast style features is a safer bet. Safer still would be to go early in the day when the biscuits are fresh. All day you have the option to get a sausage biscuit or a biscuit with sausage gravy for less than $5 or a bacon, egg and cheese for less than $6. Kid's meals are about $5 and there are salads but they start at $8.50. There are sweet potato tots for those that like them.

All in all, I may go back for brunch sometime and enjoy sitting outside if the weather is nice but it is not going to make my regular rotation. 

https://thebiscuit.bar/

2447 N. Judge Ely Blvd

Abilene, TX 79601

Sun – Thurs: 8am – 9pm

Fri & Sat: 8am – 10pm

abilene@thebiscuit.bar

325-267-6538