My name is Matthew Brown and I have a delicious problem!

June 20, 2012

Killeen, Texas

I should probably be looking for a substance abuse check-in program right about now seeing as how I can't stop thinking about my last greatest fix: Maurice's Real Pit Bar-B-Que. I walked in to the place knowing I was leaving behind the gorgeous waitresses in skimpy clothing, the annoying neon signs guaranteeing mediocre food, and even better: the standard food made as quickly and cheaply as possible designed to get dinners in and out in no time flat. From the outside of Maurice's you know you're entering a dive, and as soon as you enter your feelings are confirmed as you can tell by the picture. A sign on the wall promises its loyal customers that “This is not a restaurant, it's an experience” and oh how right they are (holding back some tears now).

Asking the disheveled woman behind the counter (no waitresses here!) what was the best they had to offer without hesitation she pointed me to the BBQ brisket dinner. In my world of underprivileged BBQ'ing experience my favorite is the ribs surprisingly not on the menu, so I left my choice up to the woman who seemed to know best and crossed my fingers.

After getting our own sodas and finding a table the food eventually arrived on Styrofoam plates. “Let me get you some plastic utensils” the woman cheerfully told us only heightening our desire to find out what was so special about the food. In one word (PG13 PG13....) it was increible! I ordered the beef brisket with a side of mac and cheese and coleslaw. For anyone familiar with where I'm from we have the sacred Dinosaur Barbeque Pit and my favorite in Buffalo called Fat Bobs, both excellent places for Northerners trying to discover what southern BBQ is like. However, unfortunately at this point I have to say Maurice's was hands down better and I later found out why.

It turns out Maurice's had first opened shop up the road in 1950! So for the last 60 years the owners had been nothing except changing locations after a fire, and perfect their recipe and without a doubt it showed. Between the owners and their sons they had seemed to have met everyone famous as proven by the vast amount of pictures on the wall from the local sheriff of the town to Presidents Clinton and Obama.

I'm not going to sugar coat things either, in a few spots the brisket was a little dry, but its perfectly blended spicy hotness with its sugar sweet but not overpowering sauce made it one of those meals that our sounds of pleasure would have gotten us strange looks and probably shown to the door at any other place.

Halfway through the meal I noticed with a bit of curiosity that the woman had brought out some plain pieces of white bread and I got an idea. With bravado, hunger, and curiosity lighting the way I filled a piece of bread with all three ingredients: absolute perfection! It was like a perfected Southern style garbage plate but so much better. After finishing my plate finding myself unable to save some for lunch the next day I managed to finish my little brothers plate as well.

Perfection on a Styrofoam plate! That's the only way I can describe what I ate last night and all I can think about is getting more. While I've always known this to be true, finding the best food so many times requires travelers to get off the beaten path and step outside our comfort zones, but the rewards are memorable and worth it. All together both meals and drinks cost $20, and being a million times better then the $50 meal at the chain BBQ place I can't tell enough people: TRY MAURICE'S REAL PIT BAR-B-QUE!