Buster’s Texas Style Barbecue

The BBQ is very good! Three of us shared a whole rack of baby back ribs, was just the right amount of food. The baked beans were also great! The only thing that wasn’t great to me was the coleslaw. I like the cafeteria style. No waiting for waitresses and you’re already paid before you start eating, so once you’re ready to go, you’re all set.

The meat is extremely dry, the sides are mediocre. The people who work here aren’t very accommodating either. I would never come back.

This is some real deal barbecue in Portland and worth a visit if you are in the Pacific Highway area. Hubby and I always visit Super H Mart down the street whenever we visit Portland, and instead of getting dim sum, which is my usual choice, we decided on some serious meat for lunch. Hubby got a brisket sandwich and I decided to pig out on a 2-​meat combo: 2 huge, meaty beef ribs and a quarter of a smoked chicken, sauces on the side of course.
Their sauces are very good, ranging from a tangy regular sauce to a mustard-​based sauce and an extra-​spicy variety. I enjoyed the regular sauce the most, but my husband like the mustard best. I had a bowl of beef barley soup and the mac-​n-​cheese as my sides and both were quite good. I ended up taking half of my meat home and it made for a delicious Brunswick stew once I added some broth, crushed tomatoes and vegetables. There are lots of places to have lunch before or after hitting the Asian market on this highway, and this one is just slightly better than average, but I still probably would have rather had dim sum. What can I say? I’m an addict, and I can’t get dim sum in Eugene, so I count on getting my fix when I’m in Portland.

My husband and I were craving a meaty meal, so we decided to try Buster’s out. The customer service was great with the exception of the younger female at the cafeteria-​style food line. She was quite the opposite of friendly to both of us, whereas all of the guys were super nice when plating our food.
I tried the «Hot» BBQ sauce and not only was it not spicy or hot, but it was also disgusting. I’m so disappointed because I’ve never had this bad of BBQ sauce in my life. It pretty much ruined our meal. The brisket wasn’t great either — and I mean we were there for the meat! The sides are good if you like Mac and cheese + mashed potatoes and gravy.

It’s not bad, brisket was dry, Mac n cheese and green beans bland. I don’t like my ribs chewy I prefer fall off the bone but they weren’t bad. Decent atmosphere.

It’s okay BBQ, the brisket was a bit overdone for my taste. The pork ribs were actually phenomenal, and stood alone wit just rub and smoke. Was also pleasantly surprised by the mustard chipolte BBQ sauce that no one else was using in my party. Personally, best of their offered sauces I think. Beans were beans an will eventually make one flatulate. Cole slaw was rich and creamy, and made a nice accompaniment to my mixed meat plate.

I’m from Texas so I’m pretty experienced and picky when it comes to BBQ. My relatives took me to Buster’s and it was pretty good. I had no complaint as about the meat. I didn’t personally care for the Cole slaw and felt the baked beans weren’t up to snuff, but again I’m very picky! I did enjoy the actual BBQ and I also liked the restaurant itself. The space is nice and clean. The people were nice and the portions were pretty decently sized as well.

I really don’t even know how someone could say that their Chicken was dry *I ripped into mine with my hands, a bit barbaric I admit, and it squirted the person on the other end of the table!!!* IT was AMAZING… I am drooling thinking about it… The sides are a bit small, you will want to get two helpings of the Mac N Cheese… Hold this review I need to run over there now!
In all seriousness, great service, interesting cafeteria serving style, DELICIOUS food, :) I would go again.

Pretty good. Brisket was better than pork ribs. Cole slaw was good. I think the BBQ sauces aren’t as tasty as other places we’ve been. Definitely ain’t no Dinosaur BBQ! Would eat here again. Good price and quantity. Not over packed on a Saturday night.

Let’s start off with what we did like… The mac and cheese is freaking amazing, however the portions of the side items are way too small. We also thought they had great service because one of the employees offered to carry our trays so that we could carry our baby.
However there was a lot to dislike. We payed almost 40 dollars for a meal, you would expect that meal to be good. I ordered ribs and my husband ordered brisket. The ribs were super greasy, flavorless, mainly fat and bone. The brisket was all fat, my husband couldn’t even eat it and he is a big eater so that says something. The side portions were too small for either of us to be satisfied with. The menu is kind of hard to understand and when my husband asked for clarification on it the employee who answered basically just pointed to the menu behind him. The experience wasn’t horrible, but it could have been a lot better. Also if you want any sauce foe your meat they keep it in a spot where it is almost hidden.

Knowing service is cafeteria style, I didn’t have high expectations. But even my low expectations were too high.
The pulled pork was dry.
The BBQ baked beans tasted like beans dumped into BBQ sauce.
The green beans still tasted like the can the came out of.. No seasoning.
The pecan pie on the menu was a globby mess crushed by saran wrap.
Two stars because the staff was friendly and the décor was pleasant.

I’ve been eating at this Buster’s for years and have found it to be a viable quick and easy fix for BBQ. It’s not the very best ‘Q around but it’s far from the worst and very acceptable as are the sides. The service is always efficient and overall Buster’s is a good value in a relaxed environment.
I recommend them next time you’re in the mood.

Mostly this is good but they tend to get a little to much «char» on the ribs for my liking. I like tender ribs that are moist and not too crunchy and blackened. Briskit and Turkey are probably my favorites. Sides here are pretty sparse but are tasty but nothing to write home about. Nice atmosphere for a lunch meeting with co workers.

Some born and bred, bonafide Oregonian coworkers recommended this place. It was average food at best. Without the flavorful barbecue sauces it would be very bland food.
We sampled the chicken, spicy sausage and pork ribs. All were smoked nicely and extremely tender. However, the sausage was not spicy at all and the casing had more of a chewy thing going on instead of the crisp snap I prefer.
For sides we sampled the mac and cheese, coleslaw, French fries and barbecue beans. The mac was a white colored version of the Kraft dinner in the blue box. Although the familiar pasty overdone consistency was a trip down memory lane, that doesn’t mean I want it at a restaurant (even if it is a glorified cafeteria). The barbecue beans were delicious and seasoned well. The coleslaw was solid with the crowning glory, and my favorite, celery seeds. The fries were of the crinkle cut variety slightly on the thicker side. They were cooked to order and very satisfying.
Over all it was good but nothing knocked me out and I doubt we’d return. There’s nothing on the menu that would force me to order it again.
One thing that deserves mention is the service. Rene and the other employees are very warm and welcoming. They patiently wait until you’re ready to order and answer those same questions they’ve heard millions of times as if it were the first time. Awesome customer service!

We’ve been talking about going to Buster’s for quite about a year. I wish that we would have continued to wait. We hit up Busters last Friday.
It’s a walk up order/​fill your tray/​pay/​find your table kind of place. Highlight: I have to say that my ribs were good. That was it. I had the mac and cheese and baked beans as my side dishes. The mac and cheese was literally runny with no flavor. The beans had a funky taste. I couldn’t eat either one of them.
The Hubbs had pulled pork and he said it was good. They also had bottled root beer.
We won’t be returning. There are too many good BBQ places to frequent.

No, it ain’t Texas, but for 2,000 miles away, it’s pretty close. It reminds me a little of going to a Rudy’s… and it beats the heck out of a Bill Miller’s any day.
All right, enough Texas talk. It’s just good here. Good bbq beans, good sauce, good ribs. The brisket is even allllmooooosst right, which is a pretty big compliment coming from me.
Skip the sad green beans, have a beer, enjoy your Texas toast, and don’t forget your doggie bag.

Reviews such as this bring me utterly no joy.
On one hand, I cannot regret my lifelong quest to find the greatest bbq in the universe. I have learned so much, my knowledge base, so much better informed, and my tummy, forever grateful for the better parts of that journey.
On the other hand, an inevitable off-​shoot of such quests is that it renders previously perfectly passable fare, such as one can reliably find at Buster’s, completely unacceptable. If this makes me a bbq snob, so be it. I will confess, for a time, in the late 89s-​early 90s, Buster’s seemed like really good bbq to me. The more I ate of the q’ elsewhere, both locally and abroad, the less I was able to reconcile that early magic.
There is good to even approaching GREAT BBQ to be had in the PNW. Podnah’s gets the all-​around gold medal, w/​particular emphasis on the Thursday-​eve-​only Lamb rack. Ox has an AMAZING steak, Goldy’s in the Couve’s got the Pork Ribs, Screen Door has the chicken and the sides (and some pretty damn good Catfish, for fans of the genre).
Buster’s brisket is dry to the point of approaching jerky. Same with the chicken, same with the turkey (ESPECIALLY the turkey). The hot links suffer in comparison to AM-​PM or Chevron mini-​mart spicy dogs. The pulled pork — -well, I’ll put it this way: Our server (who was unfailingly attentive, friendly, and on-​the-​ball) recommended that we NOT order it, b/​c it just wasn’t very good.
Buster’s, I almost feel guilty about this review. Almost! Then I remember that you charged me nearly $ 100 for our small group’s very mediocre offerings, and you can’t blame it on being too busy– we were practically the only ones there, in the saloon. I’ve long held a firm anti «COMP ME» attitude, when it comes to dining out, I absolutely loathe the sense of spoiled entitlement and self-​aggrandizement of the sort of customers that usually go that route. But sometimes, Buster’s, sometimes, boy. You really should offer a money back guarantee sometimes, or something, b/​c this food absolutely SUCKED.

Really interesting environment, feels like I stepped onto Texas land! You get the food right away kind of buffet style. We got some baby back ribs and the brisket and it tasted very good! The environment is pretty busy and is full of interesting people. The only turn off I would say about this place is the price. A family of 5 for us came out to about $ 60, not too bad considering it’s like $ 13 a person but definitely not money we’d spend often.

Having lived in the south for some time, I was dismayed at the utter lack of quality barbecue joints around Portland. I was weary of Buster’s, but decided it couldn’t be any worse than the other places I’d been. The pulled pork sandwich blew me away.
Not only are the sandwiches huge for the price, but the side selection (this is very important) is way better than anywhere else I’d been. I also love the amount of sauce selections, you can tailor it exactly how you like, and no stupid cole slaw slopped on top of the sandwich (Portland seriously why the F do you put cole slaw on the sandwich, it’s supposed to be served as a side).
The atmosphere is pretty generic country western, which isn’t really my cup of tea but it doesn’t bother me either.
I leave here satisfied every time. Good quality meats, good sides, fair prices, and large portions. I can grab lunch here and not be hungry for 7+ hours. It is my go-​to for proper barbecue, something Portland restaurants severely lack.

The family has been coming to Buster’s Texas Style Barbecue, at one store or another, since 1995. It is a hike for us, because we drive up from South Salem, but the drive is more than worth it. (Buster’s had a store in Salem for five years, and let me tell you, it was a dark day in Salem when it closed, a victim of the economy.) We make the pilgrimage to Tigard about twice a month, and are never disappointed.
Our favorite is a moist Beef Brisket PoBoy ($ 8.50) and a cup of Authentic Texas Chile ($ 3.95 — which is really a cup-​o-​meat /​no beans). When they have them — they sell out quick — I love to get a couple of Pork Munchies ($ 1.50 each), which are concentrated Bark and Bone and Cartilage crunchy goodness. Be warned, these are not meaty, but «gnaw-​on-​the-​bone» grinding goodness. The family also loves the Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner! ($ 11.75), one/​half BBQ chicken and a side.
Buster’s sells $ 50.00 gift cards for $ 45.00, so we always buy or reload a gift card, and then use the gift card to pay for lunch … an immediate ten-​percent savings. A lot of other places have rules against this practice, so Thank You, Buster!
The employees are great, especially the Tigard Store Manager, Sean, who does an outstanding job, and our favorite carver, Rene Melgar, who has been working for Buster’s since 1993. Wow!
I noticed that Buster’s has three, top-​of-​the-​line, David Klose mobile barbecue catering rigs, which just goes to show that Buster takes barbecue, and catering, really seriously.