Is Helberg BBQ In Waco The Best-Kept Secret In Texas?
Smoky ribs, melt-in-your-mouth brisket, decadent BBQ sides…Texas barbecue joints are all over the state, and a lot (a LOT!) of them are very good. So it’s hard these days to make a name for yourself amongst the saturated smoked meats industry in Texas, but Helberg BBQ in Waco has managed to stand out from the crowd. How are they doing it? I stopped to check it out.
About me: I’m Kelsey, a bestselling travel book author and the creator of 3 Texas travel websites. As a native Texan, I spend my own time and money exploring this state to help millions of readers find the best food, things to do, places to stay in Austin and beyond. Check out my other sites: TheSanAntonioThings.com and TheAustinThings.com!
Hardly a true “secret” due to its recent appearance on Texas Monthly’s 50 Best BBQ on 2021 list, but it still seems to be a place that not many people are aware of. It might be because it’s not actually in Waco. It’s technically in the bordering town of Woodway, which is about a 15-minute drive west of Waco. This means that all of the north/south traffic traveling on I-35 doesn’t naturally stop at Helberg BBQ unless they’re seeking it out.
But if you decide you’re willing to make the short deviation from the interstate on your next Texas road trip, Helberg is there, waiting for you.
Helberg BBQ Roots
It was started by husband/wife team Phillip and Yvette, who actually started it in California in 2017 before coming back to their roots in Texas in 2018. With no connections and a newborn baby, it was a slow start…until Texas Monthly showed up, declared them one of the Top 25 Best New BBQ Joints in Texas of 2019, and customers started making the trip to try out Helberg BBQ.
A Rough 2024 for Helberg BBQ
A devastating kitchen fire destroyed Helberg BBQ’s original location in November 2023. But thanks to community support and lots of hard work, they were able to raise the funds to open as a temporary food truck while rebuilding efforts started.
Their new brick-and-mortar will open sometime in 2025. But for now, customers line up at the temporary food truck (which still says the name of the previous barbecue company to own it), dine in a nice-yet-rustic outdoor pavilion, and eagerly await the opening of the gorgeous new building, which is right next to the food truck.
Is The BBQ At Helberg Really That Good?
In a single word: yep!
I’m no Texas Monthly 50 Best BBQ editor, but I am a native Texan who has eaten at more award-winning barbecue joints than I can count. I can tell the difference between an excellent brisket and a mediocre one, and the brisket at Helberg is WOWZA.
But one of my favorite ways to judge restaurants is by the myriad of little things that set it apart. After all, that’s what most of us notice. (Not whether the brisket is in the top 10 versus the top 50 in Texas, which is something that an average taste pallet won’t notice.)
Helberg BBQ makes everything from scratch. It’s why the pickles and pickled red onions on the side of your smoked ribs are SO crispy and crunchy. And it’s why the two flavors of BBQ sauce sitting in giant bottles on every picnic table are the perfect amount of tangy and spicy. And why all those sides, like the slow-simmered pinto ranch beans (flavored with flecks of smoked meat scraps!) or the mustard potato salad or the warm Mexican street corn are arguably just as the main dish.
They truly know how to create the perfect rotating menu. I’ll probably get some flak for saying this, but Texas Barbecue menus can get stale. Brisket, sausage, ribs, 3-4 types of sides…repeat. Helberg has mastered the art of the rotating menu. They have a sausage special (it was a beef enchilada sausage when I stopped by), everyday deals (a particular cut of meat + a side + a meat), and monthly specials. The monthly specials are genius. (Looking at you, Texas Twinkie-stuffed pork chop.)
The sides at Helberg are far from an afterthought. The creamy mac ‘n cheese is that delectable dark orange color, topped with the perfect amount of potato chips for crunch and saltiness. (Amazing!) The street corn is a warm and flavorful roasty corn, mixed with all the yumminess of butter, mayo, lots of fresh herbs, and generous amount of cotija cheese and spiced crema. It’s the added touch of micro-greens on top that made me fall in love with Helberg Barbecue even more.
But perhaps the most underrated part of Helberg Barbecue is something that you can’t see on a menu and you can’t quite quantify, but you’ll feel it when you’re there: this is a family-run operation, and you’ll be able to sense that. There’s an amount of warmth and welcome that is personified in every staff member, from the employee who takes your order to the one who makes a special trip to get you the silverware you forgot (oops!) to the guy slicing the brisket. Everyone seems genuinely glad to see you there and eager to make your visit a good one. Helberg Barbecue is a Texas BBQ restaurant that relies just as heavily on their hospitality and southern charm as they do on their quality food, which isn’t something I can say about every smokehouse in the oversaturated Texas barbecue market.
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