Harlon’s Bar-B-Que Airport Concession Store No 4

Running between planes one morning and had about a 30 minute wait period. I looked around and the standard fast food places were knee deep in lines. Harlon’s had no one at its counter. BBQ for breakfast??? They have a standard platter with a biscuit, scrambled egg, bacon strips and grits. It wasn’t overly expensive (I think around $ 9 with a bottle of soda). It was hot as it should be. It was filling and tasted as good as maybe better than most fast food joints do for breakfast. The grits were the highlight of the meal. I hadn’t had grits for a while. These had butter mixed in to just the right level. Ahhhh…
I’d be willing to stop in here at a later time in the day and try out their BBQ. Definitely a return to restaurant at an airport.

Not the best but for a quick fix at a busy airport was not bad.

Best turkey I’ve ever had it literally melted in your mouth and the bbq sauce was very good. The only thing I disliked was the mustard greens they were extremely salty and I mean VERY and I’m salt fanatic. The price is high too but would I return? Yes.

The food was blah and the staff was rude. I would suggest trying a different place for a bite to eat at the airport!

Rude and nasty!!! Don’t waste your money !!

Houston Airport is not exactly a food mecca. I will freely admit that I’m spoiled by Portland’s airport though.
That being said, Harlon’s is the best choice of a lot of bad choices. It’s fast, it doesn’t screw with my stomach that is already not happy to be flying. Eating at Harlon’s is basically a matter of desperation vs. actual palatibility.
For BBQ, the meats are OK. The sauce is OK. My biggest gripe is that they need more choices in sides. The ones they have tend to go to waste on my plate after a nibble or two. Even then they’re all obviously from a can and just dumped into the container to «cook» at the steam table.
The second gripe is that the price is high for quantity and quality, even considering airport concession fees added in to the price.
About the best I can really say about Harlon’s is «At least it’s not real fast food.»

I was walking around the terminal trying to decide between everything that was offered. I narrowed it down to the mexician place and harlons bbq. I was actually surprised to a see bbq place in the airport terminal, regardless thank you texas for airport bbq. I went with harlons because the smell and look of the brisket and meats in the window looked tasty. I always try new bbq when I get a chance. Having tried bbq from florida, georgia, south carolina and texas, i always try to see how others do it.
I ordered the chopped beef sandwich, green beans, and a budweiser. The chopped beef and green beans were bland. At least I had a bud to help me feel better about the mediocre bbq. The sauce was pretty runny and uneventful. The fresh bbq ribs, links and brisket all look very delicious behind the counter, maybe I should have tried those. There is so much better bbq out there. At the least dont get the chipped BBQ sandwich. They also do offer dessert and a various range of sides.

The food is great but the service is not. Walking up to this place, I went to the cashier to order. I didn’t see a sign on the other end that said «ORDER HERE.» I stood at the cashier for a good 3 minutes or so. The ladies standing at the counter just looked at me but never said anything. It wasn’t until I saw other people walk up to order that I realized they were just letting me waste my time.
When I did order, I ordered the chopped beef sandwich. Good stuff, although the BBQ sauce was a bit watered down. But as far as airport food goes, it was a nice change to going to McDonald’s or whatever.

This place sucks. I know real que, and this ain’t it. Don’t waste your time or money. There’s a place in the C terminal that’s much better. The que here is cold, tasteless, and fatty. To me, that’s not good que.

I wanted to try out some Texas Q during my layover in Houston, so I made a point to drop by Harlon’s when I saw it in the airport directory. Naturally, I got the mixed plate (sausage, brisket, and ribs) so I could get a little taste of everything.
A deep smoke ring was definitely there, but the ribs were super dry on the outside and near inedible. The brisket on the other hand was much juicier and tastier. The sausage was well… sausage. Not much Q flavor in that.
And the sides were tasteless. I think they just boiled the beans and cabbage and put them on a plate. No salt, no Q sauce, no meat in the beans… just boiled beans ‘n cabbage.
Overall, I think I just caught them on a bad day because the place looked pretty legit and I was able to smell the aroma of the Q before I saw the place. Next time I’m back I’ll drop by again and see if things have improved…

I had a layover in houston for a couple of hours, so i had some time to do my due diligence when deciding what I was going to eat before my final flight leg. I walked into the food court and saw them choppin up the meat. Screw mcdee’s, this looked like real food. I ended up grabbing just a chopped beef sandwich with a potato salad. It was tendor and full of flavor. If you have a connection in Houston, i highly recommend grabbing some bbq here.

Considering this is Airport BBQ, I was hapily suprised. Excellent ribs and sausage, they also have turkey, brisket, and a few other items. The meat was great, but the sides were not anything special — not bad, but not worth mentioning.

Hadn’t had the chance to get any BBQ during my trip to TX. Figured I would give Harlon’s a shot. I opted for the 3 meat 2 side dish. I had the ribs, brisket and sausage, ribs and brisket were great. The sausage was just average and generic and that is being kind. Coleslaw and beans were very good too. I am sure Houston has better BBQ but for the airport it wasn’t bad.

For a quick sandwich during a short layover, I found Harlon’s. Certainly, BBQ is going to be difficult and challenging in a security environment, what with the limitations for knives and such.
The chopped beef sandwich was flavorful and very meaty, but it was overly fatty. The potato salad was good, but the cole slaw tasted like it was machine processed at least a day prior.
Lastly, at $ 13 for two small sandwiches each with a side, it seemed rather expensive. I chose not to go with the domestic bottled beer at $ 4.25 each.
I’ve had much better BBQ, but considering the location, it was decent. Harlon’s is certainly a more «local» choice than the McDonald’s or Chili’s. I’d have it again, though perhaps one of the sliced meats rather than the chopped.

Considering the constraints inherent in serving authentic barbecue in an airport terminal, Harlon’s pulls off a master stroke. If you never get the chance to explore Texas barbecue first-​hand, chances are that you will find yourself on a layover in Houston sometime in the future. Find the directory, look for the closest Harlon’s and order a little bit of everything. Though I will feel badly for the person who will be sitting next to you on your connecting flight, I can say with confidence that this little airport concession serves better «Q» than any place in the town in which you reside. I’ve tried just about all of their basic meats and everything has been exceptional.