Michna's Bar-B-Que

1 star

Years ago families would flock around buffets such as Furr's, Luby's and Golden Corral in joyous gatherings. Fast forward to now and they've bad reps for "how long has the food been sitting here, touched by multiple dirty hands and...is that a cockroach swimming with the beans?" This is no different when it comes to one of the worst anomalies known to man-kind. The buffet BBQ.

I've been hitting up Texas BBQ joints since 2006 and have never been to a buffet BBQ until I walked into Michna's (Dickey's doesn't count). I've read of this place for a few years in articles here and there on Texas BBQ and with Waco not being widely known for any great BBQ...I figured why not. The night before I had some unique product at Mama and Pappa B's and had high hopes for Michna's to live up to it's years of experience from Bob Michna in the Texas BBQ scene.

It wasn't awfully crowded inside and the clientele were mostly blue collar type. Some elderly here and there with oxygen tanks as their hip. I walked up to the nice ladies behind the counter and they immediately suggested the buffet because it's "All-you-can-eat". I looked at the buffet with false interest, noticed ribs sadly decaying in a pan and decided my life was more important. As I ordered my standard, the lady started laughing when I asked for fatty brisket with bark. Was this a sign of the outcome? 

I got my plate and ordered a side of slaw just in case I needed some saving grace. I chose possibly the worst seat there...right in front of the ladies who worked there and the meat cutter. The sausage was really the only notable product on my plate. Ribs lacked in flavor and seemed a bit dry. Brisket was tough to the point I'm slightly struggling to pull it apart. It all lacked smoke. As their watchful eyes begin to cause an uneasy feeling...I just kept hoping one bite would change the doomed look upon my face. Not even the sauce could save this meat. Highlights were the Big Red and John Wayne life-size cutout.

I found out when I returned home that Bob Michna, who had worked and learned from some of the greats, had passed in early January. I would like to think that may have something to do with the meat quality as they were voted best BBQ in Waco for 2011. Buffet BBQ can sometimes do injustice to your product.