Moos BBQ

We are always on the lookout for really good bbq and I think we hit the jackpot again! Newton is woefully lacking in good restaurants, so I didn’t hold much hope when I found Moos BBQ on Unilocal.Just don’t waste your time going to the location they have on the town square. Only open for lunch on I’m guessing weekdays. The location to go to is out on Hwy. 14 in the former KFC building. Well worth the trip… meats and bbq sauce both.
Building has seen better days, but is clean. We ordered a full rack of pork ribs that were beautifully smoked, meaty and tender, but still with good chew. Ribs come with 2 sides, so we followed the recommendation of other Unilocal reviewers and ordered the cheesy potatoes and the bacon mac n’ cheese. I was intrigued by the smoked green beans offered, so got a side of them too. Cheesy potatoes… ho-​hum, bacon mac n’ cheese… where’s the bacon? Smoked green beans… holy cow! Don’t know how they fix them and the first bite was a bit of a surprise and even off-​putting, but then I couldn’t stop. I’ll get the large order next time.
I loved, loved, loved the bbq sauce they offered. I’m a wuss when it comes to hot, so didn’t try it. The Sweet isn’t too sweet and had a nice tang to it to. As strange as it sounds, the Bridgeport Coffee bbq sauce was wonderful! Like the green beans, the first taste was off-​putting, but then I was in love!
We will definitely make the drive out to Newton again!

I haven’t been to the square in Newton for awhile. I was pleasantly surprised to see a BBQ place and that they have such a high rating on Unilocal– Go Moo’s!
It has a typical BBQ vibe as far as atmosphere, the menu is a similar story. I ordered 1 meat and two sides for $ 9, my meat was burnt tips so .75 was added, and the Texas toast was an additional .50 as well. My aunt bought our lunch, she got 1 meat and no side, I think hers was still $ 7 (1 meat, 1 side= $ 7). The total ended up being $ 17 something. We didn’t take the receipt but we should have because I think we could have ordered it differently to make it cheaper– probably something the lady working there should know and make us aware of.
When you wait for your food, you are given a fun name like yoda, Farrah Facet, Marilyn Monroe, etc. I thought that was cute and different.
I’ve only had burn ends once before and they were different than these, more cooked. The Texas toast had great seasoning, however it should have been more like toast and less like a piece of bread with butter and seasoning. The jalapeño corn was okay however my baseline is Flemings jalapeño corn and thus far, no other establishment has been able to compare. The bacon Mac was decent, I liked the addition of the bacon.
Overall, it certainly hit my BBQ craving spot, but I wasn’t feeling it 100%. The prices are a bit high for the quantity of meat provided and there are some subtle tweaks that would help the sides, particularly the bread. I’m glad to see this establishment in Newton and would certainly come by again to try other meats and sides. I read how good the brisket was AFTER I made my order :)

This place is great! The meat is perfect, the bbq sauces – Sweet Blues, Bridgehouse Coffee Co, and Hartwig Hot – are fantastic, and there’s a great list of sides to choose from (I highly recommend the cheesy potatoes… so good).
The people who work here have been super friendly every time I’ve come in, which makes for a nice relaxed atmosphere. Lots of seating, good for groups. Prices are insanely reasonable for the quality and quantity of what you get. Highly recommended.

We had meat & 2… we got pulled pork & brisket! Was good, hubby wished he got a little more brisket though! Nice little joint! Going back towards the restroom, there was a little bakery… LOTS of goodies!!! We got today’s special, buy 2 bars get 3^rd free… so far soooo good! They also had cookies, cupcakes & scones. Good place to stop while traveling through… they have a nice downtown shops too!

I learned of Moo’s BBQ from Facebook and was excited to get a chance to try it out. A thirty mile journey for some great bbq seamed like a good idea, however I was deeply disappointed.
Most of the meat and sides were warm to cold so I am not sure, but mostly it seamed like leftovers from lunch.
The portions are small for the price point.
The ribs, I got the half rack with one side bacon mac & cheese. The ribs were very fatty, I prefer lean meat. They didn’t really have any flavor. I wouldn’t recommend them. The bacon Mac and cheese was very dry, over cooked and I had a hard time finding any bacon.
I also got the two meat and two sides as did my wife. We wanted to try a few of the sides.
The pulled pork was also like the ribs with no smoke flavor. They have three sauces and with the sauce the pulled pork was decent. All three sauces were excellent, the one really brings the heat and it comes later so watch out for this sneaky sauce.
The brisket was mostly lean and was the best of the three meats I tried. Again it didn’t have a real good smoke flavor and you could see from the smoke ring it was not a deep smoke. With the sauce this was also a decent bbq.
The cheesy potatoes were just OK.
The jalapeño cream corn was a home run. Highly recommend the corn. Great flavor and not to hot. Excellent.
The smoked beans were also very good. Excellent side with the BBQ, these also had excellent flavor.
Mostly from what I have seen, everyone orders sandwiches so I plan to try a sandwich, most of the sandwiches have sauce and with the sauce the BBQ is OK, but I expect more of a smoke flavor similar to Woodys Smokeshack or Flying Mango.
Definitely didn’t think it was worth driving sixty miles round trip to try this place.

Found these guys on Unilocal.Worth driving a little ways off the highway. Fun place, kicking out the blues, but no alcohol. We got the ribs, and some wings plus 2 sides and took it back to the hotel. It was delicious!

Excellent food and wonderful service.
We stopped on our way to LA and it was be the best food we ate on the road.
Thank you!

This is my favorite place to order brisket! It is always good. The sides are also very tasty! I feel lucky to have such a great place nearby, so we don’t always have to travel to Des Moines or Ankeny!

Great meal. Ordered a full rack of ribs and they were awesome. I could only finish a half so I took the other half home. They offer three BBQ sauce and I recommend the bacon mac and cheese and the beans.

WOW! This place deserves nothing less then 5 stars… My boyfriend and I stopped in on a Thursday night after a long drive and I am so glad we did! We both got brisket and two sides (2 beans, cheesy potatoes and, mac and cheese). They offer 3 bbq sauces which are all distinct. Go there and you won’t be disappointed! Worth the 5 minute drive from the I-​80.

The brisket is REALLY good! Moist but not greasy. If you are from Texas, this is waaaaay better than Rudy’s, C&J’s etc. I just wish they sold beer.

Glad to see a tasty restaurant open up in Newton. We love having this local option when we choose to dine out.
So far, we have enjoyed everything we have tasted. Smoked Chicken and Brisket for the meat choices and we have tried the bacon mac and cheese (not much for bacon flavor), cheesy potatoes, baked beans and our favorite, jalapeño creamed corn (better than Jethro’s).
We will definitely keep coming back to try more menu items.
p. s. I know people talk about the prices, but we feel the prices are just fine for good quality food. Also, please keep in mind, they are a new business that have bills to pay (food, staff, utilities, etc.) and they need to put food on their own tables. I know that other BBQ joints tend to serve mass quantities — but we (humans) don’t need that — that’s too much food. So, please, give this place a try, the food is great!

Great atmosphere and great food! We were on our way from Kansas City to Chicago – we stopped in Newton to find a place to eat and stumbled upon this hidden gem. After we placed our order, we had our food within 5 minutes. Pulled pork, jalapeño creamed corn and Cole slaw was all very good. They even gave us two free cookies! We will definitely be stopping here again when passing through.

Simply delicious! Best smoked chicken I ever had… and the brisket was fabulous. Short detour off rt 80 but the best 8 min decision of the trip. We stopped for dinner on our way to Kansas city and it was so good we made sure to stop back for lunch on the way home.
Clean bright restaurant, friendly staff and fresh delicious food. Perfect.
Only complaint? Wish it was closer to home…

I love this new BBQ restaurant in Newton! Atmosphere is nice – very clean, simple, open look. It is a great place for a casual lunch or dinner.
My recommendation? Try the Brisket sandwich on ciabatta bread with sweet BBQ sauce and a locally-​made root beer.

Very excited that there is a new restaurant in downtown Newton! The decorations are great, the atmosphere is awesome and the food was perfection!
They feature four different meats and two different breads for your choice of eight different «sammiches». There are quite a few different sides — including bacon mac & cheese and cheesy potatoes! The highlight though? Four different bbq sauces with one featuring a local coffee shops espresso and another featuring a local root beer!
One of my favorite features? The fact you get fictional characters instead of a «number» when you place your order — who doesn’t like to be thought of as Princess Lei, Thor or Spiderman if even for just a few minutes?