Texas Rib Kings

It’s true, TRK is closed. The place is now SLAB, which is not TRK renamed if you’re wondering. I hope TRK opens it’s doors in a new location in the not so distant future. One of the best beef ribs you could score in town. I guess it’s off to Black’s to get my fix. Thanks for the great food and hospitality Texas Rib Kings!

I love this place! It is delicious! Everyone I have encouraged to eat here has loved it! They know what they are doing and have excellent customer service. I am never disappointed when I eat here. Keep up the good work, yall rock!

I really wanted you like you trk but my taste buds cannot lie. The $ 14 buffet on Monday n Tuesday is a crazy good deal if you are hungry and don’t mind mediocre BBQ
I had the pork ribs which were pretty good but lacked spice n flavor. The same could be said of the beef rib I ate which was well cooked but greasy without much smoke or spice. The brisket n pulled pork were probably a notch down from the ribs. The coleslaw was very good.

Tender and flavorful meats.
Sides need work but still decent.
I liked the sauce real well.
Hardy portions.
Friendly owner.
Clean restrooms.
***All You Can Eat meat, sides and dessert for $ 13.99 on Mondays and Tuesdays.

The best pork ribs in town!
IMHO, both their regular sauce and the their new sweet sauce are worthy of bottling. Normally, I am not a fan of sweet sauce, but Rib King’s sweet sauce has just the right amount of «sweet» to compliment the tang.
Of course, you can get adventurous and mix their original sauce with the sweet to create your idea of the perfect balance.
Just writing about their pork ribs is enough to make my mouth water.

Stopped back in today for my former boss’s going away lunch. This is his favorite BBQ place, so lunch here was a must. So, here’s the deal, Texas Rib Kings isn’t trendy and there’s no line out the door.
Here’s what they do well. They still serve some of the best ribs (both pork and beef) around. They are super accommodating to their customers. The owner (Dan) is usually on site. You can tell when Dan’s around. The place hums. The line is efficient, yet still friendly. (A certain BBQ craftsman could learn a lot from how Dan’s lines move.) And despite catering more to the workingman than the food critic, Dan still keeps current. For instance, they’ve now got a second BBQ sauce that they call a sweet sauce. To me, it’s more tangy than sweet. But like his other sauce, the secret ingredient must be crack, because I can’t get enough of it. Texas Rib Kings probably has my favorite BBQ sauce in Austin.
I hadn’t been in a while, but after today’s visit, I’ll be back more for quality, no frills BBQ.

I have now been at events twice where Texas Rib Kings has catered, and I have been favorably impressed. Normally when I’m invited to an event or a party where brisket is being served, I prepare for the worst and expect to be eating beef jerky and shoe leather. But this Texas Rib Kings has been good two times now — I am prepared to believe.
The pork ribs are pretty damn excellent. The meat falls off the bone and has a great smoke flavor. Sauce is absolutely not needed. I would have eaten more than my share, but the ribs were gone by the time I went back for seconds. The brisket isn’t quite as good as the pork ribs, but it was fatty and tender. There is a little smoke flavor, but not much salt or pepper. It wasn’t perfect, but it was still pretty good brisket, especially for a caterer! I approve.
The sides (including mustard potato salad) and beans have been very good both times. The only flaw in their game is the BBQ sauce, which is a thick brown variety which I don’t associate with Texas style BBQ. Simply put, the sauce sucks.
I’ve never stopped by their brick and mortar location, but their catering business shows some skills. They are worth checking out if you’re having an event.

GREAT BBQ! The food was super good! Rib meat just falls off the bone, brisket nice and tender. Sauce was great. Nice selection of sides and the server was SUPER nice! Relaxed atmosphere and GREAT food! We will be going back. How could I have not heard of this place before? SO glad someone told me about it!
If you want great BBQ, friendly service, excellent choices… come here my friends come here.

Had lunch here with a friend, as a last-​minute alternative to Rudy’s BBQ. I was promised awesome brisket, and these folks certainly delivered! I had the two meat brisket and chicken plate with green beans and mashed potatoes with gravy. I asked for the brisket to be lean cut, and it was still juicy and tender, practically crumbling onto the fork. The chicken was also moist and yummy. The green beans were a bit overcooked and lacked in flavor, but not terrible.
Texas Rib Kings is another example of how you can find great food in unassuming Austin strip malls. I never noticed it until the recommendation from a friend, but I’ll definitely make this a regular spot. There were no lines at noon on a Friday afternoon– definitely a surprise for this little north Austin gem. Lunch and drinks for two tallied up to about $ 20, but there also sandwiches available for under $ 5

Their brisket has to be the best kept secret in Austin. If they served it in any other city there would be a line out the door. I haven’t had Franklin yet but have eaten at Snow’s many times so this would be my favorite brisket outside of Lexington, TX. Everyone I’ve introduced it to has agreed — a buddy even took 2lbs back home w/​him to NYC.
Today I took another first-​timer, a brisket-​head, and she was very surprised at how tender their lean brisket was. I always opt for the moist and it’s fork-​tender. Their chicken was very juicy as well. I also think their sauce is something a little different and really adds something to the brisket.
The sides are about average and there’s a large variety. I was on the fence about giving them 4 stars vs 5 but I don’t think their current review average reflects the quality of the food. We are definitely are spoiled having so many good spots BBQ close by, but I shake my head when people think County Line and Salt Lick are representative of good Texas BBQ. Give this place a shot, maybe after word gets out they’ll rename it to Texas Brisket Kings.

Pretty good BBQ. We’ve pretty much tried all the different kind of meats they have and by far the best thing is the pork rib. Everything else was a little dry or way too fatty. I’m not a big fan of BBQ places that saran wrap their meat and keep them in that warming contraption. They do that here. The sides are completely worthless, just stick to the meat. Their BBQ sauce is decent tasting but a little on the watery side. The place is fairly clean and the staff is very friendly.

All right, I really need to quit letting my friend pick our dinner places for our weekly «Dweebs who dine» event. So far, most of his choices have been «average», at best.
We came here on Thursday evening, and it was completely empty inside. A little weird, but we *were* having dinner around 5pm, which is a bit early, I suppose. It certainly smelled good in here, so I was ready to chow down. We both ended up ordering the same thing: 2 meat place with a beef rib and brisket. For my sides, I got the mashed potatoes and gravy and the baked beans. The bill for 2 of us was around $ 25 or so.
My brisket was dry. Granted, I ordered the lean brisket, as opposed to the fatty brisket, but it was still more dry than it should be. Maybe it had been sitting out for a while, in-​between rushes? My beef rib was a bit disappointing, too. It was super fatty. My friend’s beef rib looked better — his definitely had more meat on the bone. I regret not trading with him, since (in typical guy fashion) he’ll eat anything you put in front of him. (Haha.)
I can’t say the sides were any better. They were very «meh»… not awful, not great. The sauce for the meat was also a big ol’ «meh», too. This meal wasn’t very memorable.
On the flip side, I think my friend enjoyed his meal… so, uh… I’m not sure what that means for all of you guys who are reading this. If you’ve had LOTS of bbq here in Austin or Texas, you’ll probably be very underwhelmed with this place. If you’ve not had much experience eating bbq’d meat, then you might dig this place. The décor is a little kitschy, but I can see where it fits with the theme.

This review is about how awesome their catering is.
My husband and I came in to the restaurant about 10 days before our wedding to inquire about catering. Luckily, they were available on the following Saturday and not only that, they were well within our budget.
They were able to accommodate all of our requests and the requests of our venue. They provided a buffet, cleaned up and cut our cake.
The food tasted great and so many of our guests commented about how great the food was and how efficient they were in getting everyone through the buffet without a long wait.
I would definitely use them again. They were so super nice, a very reasonable price and not to mention, super tasty!

Possibly the best brisket i’ve had. Juicy, flavorful, not too fatty, and perfectly tender. Yum! I even take brisket home to go for later and it heats up really well.
Easy in n out location, no long lines, buffet line style which I like for a quick lunch, and great prices make this one of my regular lunch stops.
The Coleslaw and potato salad are ok, I don’t come here for the sides, though these are the sides I always order with my meat. Pretty standard bbq sides and generous portions. I load up on the pickles and onions, I skip the cheap bread thats stardard bbq fare (never understood the cheap bread thing at all the bbq’s) and eat my meat with the onions, pickles and sauce and I think its pretty amazing.

A big fat nothing to write home about. Reviews were mixed, and it was worth a try, but…
The sausage was bland and had no snap.
The ribs were ok, but not very flavorful.
The sauce wasn’t sweet and sticky OR thin and peppery… more like a weird ketchupy mess.
Not that the sides matter much, but they were runny and tasted like hospital food.

I showed up as scheduled. Dan was busy with a business deal so I never got to meet him, sigh. I understand, so no hard feelings. I got the brisket and sausage plate with baked beans and mac n cheese. My friend got pork ribs with pinto beans and potato salad. First off: I got the moist cut of brisket, it was dry and tough; the spicy sausage was great; and the pork ribs were awesome. The sauce was just ok, I think it could use some more kick. As for the sides. It is self service, ugh! Kinda gross to me. I didn’t like the mac n cheese at all, way to gummy. The baked beans were just ok, they were a little too watery and didn’t have enough kick (bite). As for the potato salad, my friend said it was ok, and he did not like the beans. The onions were tasteless, which is what happens when they sit out all day, night, day… Oh, the service was good. Overall, I was not that impressed with the meat. I would pop in here for lunch if I were in the area, but I would not go out of my way to come here.

What can I say that hasn’t been said before. I have had better and worst BBQ. Since this place is close to Pinballz Arcade, we chose to eat here.
Both of us ordered the two meat plate with pork ribs and I had the turkey and BF had the brisket. I like how you can serve your own sides, as much or as little as you want. Our favorite was the pork ribs, tender and flavorful. The sauce does help the flavor. My turkey was okay and BF said his brisket was moist without the fat.
The sides were average. Coleslaw was decent. Green beans were the best side. BF said the potato salad was a little off tasting.
Service was friendly. Restroom was clean. Prices were reasonable. My only advice is if you have leftover turkey, don’t microwave it to heat it. Dry as a bone.

Had lunch here while I was in Austin recently and I got a pound of ribs: half beef, half pork. The beef ribs were interesting, but only so-​so. I think that’s just the way beef ribs are, but it was worth trying once. The pork ribs were really good, but I’m told not the best Austin has to offer.
I was on a job interview, so I didn’t want to stuff my face, but I could have eaten more ribs and coming back for all-​you-​can-​eat at some point sounds like it might be worth doing.

Cheap, tasty, and friendly. What more could you ask for? There is nothing at all spectacular about TX Rib Kings, but it is a good quality spot to grab some bbq.
The brisket was the best thing I tried. It was moist and tender and very flavorful. I would definitely go back for another round of brisket. The Ribs were smokey in flavor albeit a bit dried out, but they were still quite tasty. Probably the coolest thing is the ‘help yourself’ side dishes. Just ‘take what you need’ and enjoy. I tried the spicy mac and cheese and the mashed taters. Both were solid choices. There isn’t really a lot else to say… Texas Rib Kings is a lot like this review I just wrote… Not exciting or ‘different’, but it gets the job done.
Pros: Cheap, Tasty Meats, Good Selection of Sides, Friendly Service
Cons: It’s Entirely Unspectacular in Many Ways — Much like this review!

Definitely not the best in Austin. Not even close. This is the kind of place that if it were in Georgia, I would rave and rave and rave about it and tell all my friends to eat there, and eat there at least once a week myself. But this is Austin and competitors for the best BBQ are more numerous– and other places do it better.
Price wise it was a good price, one of the cheaper places in town– depending on what you order.
I got the two meat plate with two sides– Brisket and Ribs, Mashed potatoes and corn. The brisket was decent– definitely not the best in town by far, but not bad. The sauce was just ok– tasted like a pretty standard slightly spicy BBQ sauce. The ribs were good, though I rarely eat ribs, so I can’t say exactly how good– but they were tasty to me (a rib expert might disagree). The sides were ok– The mashed potatoes and gravy were great, but the corn didn’t have much taste at all to it. My fiancé got the mac and cheese and said it was delicious! They had several other sides, which I really liked that they have more than a couple — it gives people options, and while BBQ isn’t usually about the sides, it is nice to have something to eat along with the brisket.
The guys working were really nice and I liked the set up– you go through a cafeteria style line– They put the meat on your plate, then you put on your own sides. My fiancé said the guy working must have thought I was cute– since he got out a fresh brisket and gave me almost twice as much, but in reality it was probably due to the fact he noticed I was «eating for two»
This is the kind of place that’s just average– we would definitely go back here, but its not our first choice in Austin for bbq.