Restaurant Reviews

 Published bi-weekly:

Goin’ for BBQ!

Restaurant: Joe Allen’s
Location: 301 S. 11^th St., Abilene, TX

Written by: Brett O. Smith
Courtesy of: www.sweetwatertxnews.blogspot.com

Well, being from Sweetwater Texas we all know you can find great barbeque pretty much anywhere in Sweetwater.

But… What about those times when you’re not in town, or those times when you just need to try something different?

I found just the place! Give Joe Allen’s in Abilene a try.

I must admit I’m picky when it comes to BBQ, but who isn’t?

It all depends on taste buds with the right seasoning and good meat right?

Joe Allen’s definitely hit all of my picky BBQ choices.

Word of warning, Joe Allen’s gets very busy especially at dinnertime on the weekend. 

If you go on the weekend, make sure it is in the afternoon around 4:00 p.m. or so.

When you enter into the restaurant you may think. “Well, it’s clean and something smells goooood…”

Of course it has that laidback barn atmosphere with the unique western woodwork, with some wonderful country scenery paintings, and a couple of steer heads here and there on the wall.

You will be greeted with a smile and great service throughout your entire meal.

I have been to this restaurant more than once and I must say, so far I have not come across a meal I didn’t like.

I could go into detail on each meal, but that would take a while.

I’ll break it down by the categories I know best.

First of all, for a BBQ place they have the best batter fried shrimp I’ve ever had. I have had a lot of shrimp in my days, from east coast to west.

I must say, the shrimp are not tiny and they literally melt in your mouth as well as the batter does too! If you are looking for aquatic food at a BBQ restaurant, I’d highly recommend you trying Joe Allen’s.

OK, on to the chicken sandwich and regular beef burgers. I’ll just say “Yumeeee!” know matter which kind of burger you order. They are all delicious and tender to your request. The one thing that was a little to strong on the chicken sandwich, was the spiced salt. It was a little to heavy for my liking. Other than that, it was great.

Now I’m going to get to my favorite of all meals when visiting Joe Allen’s; the huge, tasty, and finger licking BBQ Ribs.

Yes, you can get good BBQ ribs at many places in Abilene. But, there is something about these BBQ Ribs at Joe Allen’s that just send me off to BBQ heaven. First off, they are huge. Most restaurants anymore seem to give you the smaller ribs.

These ones served at Joe Allen’s are the real deal, with lots of meat on the rib and great seasoning. Another nice thing they do, is they let you decide if you want a sauce on them.

They are not already flooded with a BBQ sauce that you are not sure of before even getting a chance to taste the juicy meat.

This is definitely a huge plus in my book when tasting any meat. “Lets taste the meat, before adding the treat!” as I say.

When ordering many of the meals at Joe Allen’s you may think they are overly priced.

I feel you will change your mind once you start eating any of their meals, delightfully surprised with flavor, not to mention many of the meals will leave you with a doggie bag to go.

Of course I have only hit some of the meals I’m familiar with.

I have been around when others have had the brisket, the beans, and a few other items on the menu.

In the end of it all, I can pretty much say you cannot go wrong with any meal or any of the tasty deserts.

So, if you have any room left after the full course. Go for a desert too, or do what I do. Get it to go!

As they say “They are a three generations restaurant, and they do focus on serving you the best darn barbecue and steaks!”

Check them out the next time you are in Abilene, you will see they definitely stand by their word.

My ratings: 1-5 (5-Awesome / 4-Great / 3-Good / 2-Ok / 1-Must Be Hungry)

Service: 4

Food: 5

Environment: 4

Price: 4

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It's Time For A Burger! 
Restaurant: Heff's Burgers

Location: 3374 Rebecca Lane, Abilene, TX 
Written by: Brett O. Smith
Courtesy of: www.sweetwatertxnews.blogspot.com

There are times where McD's and Burger King, and all those other fast food burger joints tend to taste the same. Not to mention they leave you feeling the same way physically after you eat there.

Some times you just need a real burger.

That is just what you will find at Heff's Bugers. A real burger! 

Not only will you get a real tasting burger to your liking with your option of toppings, you will also feel you were thrown back into a 50’s burger malt shop!

All is missing is the milk shake and the bar stools.

Heff’s is a great change of environment, to the typical fast food places. Don’t get me wrong; fast food is great when you are in a hurry. Or even when you have a group of kids that you need to feed, that makes it easy on the pocket book.

At Heff’s you will run into a line usually during the lunch hour of 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. This is not a bad thing; as a matter of fact it is worth the wait! Once you put in your order things start move pretty fast while you find your table and sip on your soda. The environment is very casual and friendly.

Speaking of friendly… After I had received my order. One of the employee’s came up to the table to make sure the order was correct and that I had everything I needed. About 15 minutes later the owner of Heff’s came up to the table to make sure everything was to my liking. Now that is customer service with a smile.

Not only will you love the burger you get, but the hot dogs and fries are delicious too! Perfect for a kids meal. They have that home cooked taste and flavor to them. Word of warning… If you order the larger size burger, be prepared to take the other half home or share it with someone. It is literally a mouth full, and then some.

The wonderful thing about Heff’s, is as full as you may feel. You don’t get that overly stuffed feeling, nor that thought of, “Did I just lick a grill of grease?” Either way you look at it. You can’t go wrong with Heff’s Burgers when you are in the mood for a real burger! Oh, don’t for get their dessert mini pies.

My ratings: 1-5
(5-Awesome / 4-Great / 3-Good / 2-Ok / 1-Must Be Hungry)

Service: 4

Food: 5

Environment: 3

Price: 4