Bob’s Texas Style BBQ

My husband and I eat very little meat. But like the sirens’ song to Greek sailors, every time we pass this place when the smoker (Mesquite wood aroma, perhaps) is going we feel tempted. Today we pulled into the lot, walked across the gravel up to the trailer window, looked at the menu affixed to the trailer’s side and ordered two rib dinners (to go) from the very nice young women attending the place.
For $ 11 ‘and change’ each of the dinners included four big meaty ribs, two sides (we each chose coleslaw and potato salad… more on those to follow), a slice of Texas bread (my virgin voyage for that food) and a bbq sauce (choice of regular or ‘kick’ and we chose the latter).
A more than ample serving of delicious food, as we tried to finish the meals (we couldn’t) at our home table (the only seating option there is small tables on gravel surface inside a netted in — very nice touch to keep our the insects — canopy), we figured one rib dinner with a couple of extra sides would have been plenty to feed the both of us next time.
MENU:
The menu (see photo) runs from sandwiches, through lunch/​dinner boxes, to meat plates (like half rack or whole rack of ribs, or a mixed meat plate to include brisket and ribs and pulled pork or…), to sides. Beverages are soft, like sweet tea or soda.
VIBE:
This is NOT a full service dining facility. With no indoor seating and no loo, I’d put this more in take out, food truck category. The space is well tended to and orderly. You could picnic at a lot less desirable places in an urban setting. But you’ll be disappointed if you expect a full service experience.
FOOD:
It isn’t unusual for me to eat only sides at a BBQ joint and so I pay attention to them. We thought our sides were great.
The cole slaw is made by a guy who hails from NC and the apparently fresh grated cabbage based slaw had a just right amount of tart-​sweet dressing that had both mayo and vinegar in it.
The potato salad was deeelicious. Cubed potatoes cooked to perfect toothsomeness with chopped dill pickles and just a little mustard and dill in the mayo based dressing. My husband normally thinks potato salad is ‘wasted calories’ and avoids it, but he ate every bite and said he’d order it again. It was that good.
The beans have beef in them. We don’t eat beef, so it was good we thought to ask. I pass it along so you know.
As I recall the ribs were listed as baby back, but they seemed too thick and meaty to me to be that. More like a St. Louis rib. Then again, take it with the grain of salt of how little I know about this. The rub on them was excellent, they were expertly smoked and served dry (my hubby’s strong preference) with the sauce on the side. They also had more fat on them than I would normally choose to eat but pork fat cooked on ribs like this is a delicacy to many, I know, and these are expertly smoked.
Although the menu doesn’t list chicken, as one of the nice women came out of the trailer to do the hard work of attending to the smoker (pretty well loved and well attended in appearance), I’m almost certain I saw chicken ready to come out. I eat poultry even less often than other animal meats, but this could be on my ‘take out’ list in the future and had I known to ask if it was available, it would have been on my take out list today. Now you know to ask.
STAYING OPEN ALL YEAR:
They hope to at least, the nice woman said, when I asked how much longer they’d be open this season.
THIS N THAT:
1) PARKING: In the lot.
2) ACCESSIBILITY: This is not accessible. The path to the trailer and to seating is gravel. The order window is up high. I noted a sign that said «curb side delivery available with advance orders». That means, I think, if you call ahead and place your order they would deliver it to the car window.

Excellent bbq and I tried everything! Worth the trip just for the sweet tea as well! I’m from SD where we have 4 top national competitors and this is right up there with the best! Keep up the amazing Q!

Run by a very nice couple, this bbq stand is a full service location. Covered, enclosed dining area, full sized smokers and a great variety of smoked and bbqd meat.
Regular or kicked up bbq sauce and if you stop by, do NOT forget their signature «smashed potatoes»!
I think word is getting out because they are busy today! We love this spot!

This is the best BBQ in Boise! Stopped here for lunch today for the first time, The pulled pork (The Lonestar), My friend had the brisket (Big Tex) both were amazing sandwiches! Bob & crew don’t skimp on the meat portions. Fast & friendly service.

Stopped by for a first timer stop — 25Jul2015. Well worth giving it a shot. I was impressed.
Wife and I went with the Cowboy combo including 2 pork ribs, some chopped beef, some pulled pork, and two sides. Cost was about seventeen bucks with tax. Paid with CCard via Square — no issues.
The helpful young lady taking the orders at the window was very pleasant.
She recommended going with the Cowboy combo because it gives you three meats. By far the best was the two meaty pork ribs. They fell right off the bone. Good amount of smoke, and BBQ flavor. Very near the top of the ribs I have eaten over the years. Beef was very tasty. Sort of peppery, with good amount of bark. Moist. The pulled pork was delicious as well. Really, only great things to say about this meal. Each bite was followed by — «Oh man, this is good stuff!» I give this spot 2 thumbs way up, five stars.
Other Details:
Their ranch beans are not my favorite. Not your sweet, over-​sugared beans that are typical — but just not my cup of tea either. I tried a sample, and was glad cuz I would have been disappointed to spend one of my side choices there.
The smashed potatoes are very very very tasty. They reminded me of dutch-​oven potatoes from back on the campfire. So good, next time I get the Cowboy combo with two sides — I’m getting two of the smashed potatoes. They are that good.
The potato salad is good, but mainly ordinary. Reminded me of deli potato salad with some diced dill pickles in it. Very good, but just not my favorite. I may give their coleslaw a shot next time.
The Texas toast is simply thick sliced white bread. Tasty. Not toasted. Not buttered, nor seasoned in any way. I think that is to be expected though with Texas style BBQ.
We asked for dill pickles and onions on the side. They gave us plenty and they added to the flavor.
We were provided our choice of regular or spicy BBQ sauce on the side. We went with the spicy — it was not overly hot, and very good. It was nice to have the meat naked, and I could add as much or as little sauce as I deemed the most tasty.
It was a hot day, so we took the order to go, and enjoyed it around our kitchen table at home. Everything was wrapped nicely. Dry stuff stayed dry. Meats stayed moist. Potato sides remained cool and warm. All in all, a VERY delicious meal for us both. We still had about one serving left, which I ate the following afternoon.
All in all — a very positive dining experience. We will be going back again. Nice job, Bob’s.

Bob’s Texas BBQ reopened this Thursday, June 11, 2015 at 11 AM. Yum-​yum!
The ribs and pulled pork are as good as it gets. They were a little disorganized this first day, but I expect that can only get better after an eighteen month hiatus. Take home or sit outdoors in a screened in «porch» with picnic tables.

AWESOME BBQ! Bob’s is the best bbq in Boise. I was raised in Texas, as well as my family, and we love it here! Awesome food. The beef brisket is the best! And they have sweet tea, so it’s instantly a winner.

Ordered 1lb of chopped brisket. Wonderful smoke flavor and the bark is nice. Not overly rubbed with spices which allowed the smoke flavor to shine.
Sauce comes in 2 varieties, regular and a spicy version served on the side.
While I couldn’t weigh my brisket I do believe I was provided more than 1 lb, so a generous portion on this order.
Credit cards accepted, the use Square as their credit card processor which is a device used on cell phones.
Served quickly and payment via Square was smooth and quick.

So let me start this review out by first stating my hometown is Kansas City, Missouri and in case you had not heard KC is known for it’s BBQ. So even though I am not a huge BBQ fan when ever I visit a new place in a city other than KC I am always a little skeptical on what the quality will be.
Bob’s is roadside BBQ served from a cool trailer with a couple of smokers out front and a few picnic tables set up for seating, it’s really more of a take out place. It had been recommended by a few of the husbands coworkers and after passing it several times and thinking «hmmm BBQ» we decided to stop one afternoon.
Next let me say that the meat was great, capital GREAT. The brisket was awesome, it was smoked, really flavorful and the BBQ sauce was perfect, we were not disappointed. So why only 3 stars? (Besides the fact that the state of Texas is mentioned in their name and that they reference St Louis style ribs, really, St Louis?) The sides, so often the sides are neglected, an after thought and for me the sides are what makes a perfect BBQ meal. Good beans are the key, and Bob’s beans just seemed like an after thought, no depth, they had no flavor, if there was any brown sugar or molasses I could not detect it, there was no tang or meatiness to them. Put them in a aluminum pan and put it under the meat while it cooks. The coleslaw was okay, a little on the watery side, really nothing to talk about. The staff was great though, super sweet ladies rockin the back of that trailer getting us our food.
As I said in the beginning I’m from KC, I do and always will compare my BBQ to Oklahoma Joe’s, Gates, and Arthur Bryant’s but Bob’s I will be back, because I want to get my hands on your pork but work on those beans, please.

Try BBQ in Texas and then move to Idaho. It’s as close are you’re going to get here, boys and girls. Perhaps a little East Texas in origin? Great ribs. Like «okay that I just dropped $ 20 ribs». Decent brisket. Lovely pulled pork. Beans aren’t bad. We had friends in and my SO sent me 15 miles out of my way to pick up dinner here…

Somewhere between OK and good. Been meaning to visit this place for quite awhile as I’d rather support the small independent BBQ places in town. I ordered my rack of ribs naked so I could taste the rub. The rub had a nice little kick to it, but I wish it was used more liberally on the meat. My meat was just a tad dry. It didn’t make it a bad meal or anything, but a reminder that it could’ve been better. I used their accompanying spicy BBQ sauce, and I did a double take when I first tasted it. I wanted to ask one of the girls working there if they accidentally put the regular sauce in the bottle with the spicy label. The spicy sauce isn’t even remotely spicy. I failed to see much difference between the two. Another place in Boise playing it safe with the spice level unfortunately. They need a third sauce available that says something to the extent of «Actually Spicy.»
Like the prior reviewer, I was also nonplussed with my sides. My potato salad was blander than bland. Even salt and pepper couldn’t rescue it. And my beans looked to be more chili-​based as well. Not what I was expecting when I expected ranch beans, but it was better than the potato salad.
I may or may not go back to try the brisket, depending on how much I like Cutter’s BBQ on Glenwood/​Chinden when I try them. If I do go back, I’m bringing my own hot sauce along with me.

Bob’s is a solid place to get some BBQ. Bob’s is on State street in a gravel parking lot. There are some signs posted out front and it’s not too hard to find. To order, go up to the window and ask for a menu from the friendly people in the BBQ trailer. They have individual and group meals and there is a picnic table under a carport for eating in. The brisket and ribs are top notch. In fact, I don’t know how brisket could get much better (tender, right amount of smoke). It’s the other things that knock Bob’s down to a 3. The coleslaw was average. I’m guessing the beans started life in a can (I would describe them as chili style, not so much ranch style). The smoked potatoes were good, but didn’t have any smoke, just cheese. And, the sauce was good, but wasn’t as flavorful as I would expect. I’m happy we tried this place out, but I don’t know if I would order the family meal again. Although, they did mention that they do a burnt ends meal occasionally (with plenty of bark). I think I may need that.
TL;DR This is a good place to buy BBQ meat by the pound, skip the other stuff.