Corky's Ribs & BBQ

Well-known Memphis barbecue chain, Corky's BBQ, has made its way to Texas - and their first location in the Lone Star State is in Katy. I can imagine how challenging it will be to compete with all the top-notch Texas barbecue that can be found in the Lone Star state. Everything is smoked over hickory and charcoal. They use a Southern Pride rotisserie pit. However, the charcoal and hickory are just to imbue the smokiness to the meat – and the temperature is maintained through natural gas. My barbecue buddy, Matt, and I tried most of the menu, including all four of their main meats -- pork ribs, pulled pork, brisket and chicken. - Pork ribs - The St. Louis trim spareribs were generally very good. Their pork ribs come three different ways; 1) dry, 2) wet, and 3) muddy. Dry ribs are a Memphis tradition - the ribs are basted with a barbecue sauce and then covered in a good amount of dry rub. Wet ribs are a more traditional style rib, basted with a barbecue sauce as they cook. Muddy ribs are a combination of wet and dry. As Corky's describes muddy: "...slowly basted in Corky's Original BBQ sauce, sprinkled with our dry rub seasoning, then covered in Corky's Original BBQ sauce." The flavor was very good on all three different styles of ribs. I wondered about the texture of the muddy ribs, but was not disappointed. The dry rub used in the dry and muddy ribs is very heavy on paprika. The meat was moist, and pulled cleanly away from the bone without falling off. - Pulled pork - The pulled pork had good flavor. It was a little bit dry for my liking, but that was easily remedied by a few squirts of their standard barbecue sauce (they also have a spicy sauce, which was also very good). - Barbecued chicken - The barbecued chicken had great flavor. It did not have a crispy skin. But it was very tasty just the same, covered in their standard barbecue sauce. The meat was moist and flavorful, and was very delicious. - Brisket - I was honestly surprised by how good the brisket was. Happily it had an excellent bark and decent smoke ring. We got some slices of fatty brisket and it was very moist indeed, with well-rendered fat and good smoky flavor. - Sides - We had to try a number of their sides - coleslaw, green bean casserole, southern skillet corn, and twice baked potato salad. The coleslaw was excellent - it just needed a bit of cracked black pepper (but I am a nut for cracked black pepper). The green bean casserole was a disappointment. I couldn't put my finger on what was wrong, but it was definitely not right. The southern skillet corn and twice baked potato were both outstanding. The corn was creamy and delicious mixed together with cream cheese/sour cream and sauteed onions and peppers. Nothing bad about that combination at all. And the twice baked potato was so tasty - it had just the right amount of creaminess, with thinly-sliced potatoes rather than cubed. It just delicious. All in all, my first-ever experience with Corky's and Memphis barbecue was great. They had good service and friendly people, and the space is plenty open and comfortable. We even got to talk with marketing director for a few minutes. I'm not sure I'll drive all the way from Tomball to Katy again for Memphis 'cue. But once they have a branch open in Tomball, I certainly would not hesitate to go again. And next time I'll have to try the Texas-based sausage.

Food was amazing! Anyone that says they don’t like It is nuts and just Texas biased. I’ve been to a ton of bbq places here. And they all mostly suck. It’s food that’s sitting under a heat lamp. This place is made to order and the sides are amazing! Fried pickles were delicious and I don’t like pickles!! And the ribs ordered muddy were soo good!!!!! Soft but still a chews. Fall off the bone enough to not even need my hands to eat them! :)

Stopped by for lunch today for the first time. Place is really nice for a bbq place. Had the pulled pork sandwich which is what they are known for. It was excellent (got it without the coleslaw). Very moist and flavorful. A little different than Texas bbq, but still good. My kids liked the ribs, but not the Mac and cheese. Will go back again.

First time here. My wife and I shared the half ribs and BBQ chicken. My boys had pulled pork sliders and mac n cheese with okra. For dessert we split key lime pie, banana pudding and peach cobbler. All of the food was good. We thought the ribs and sauce was a little salty. The tea was very good. We liked the cole slaw, chicken, hush puppies, okra and all of the desserts. Staff was friendly...they had a elvis impersonator singing. Clean bathrooms, nice and bright...I am sure we will be back.

We ate like kings!!! Sat at the bar and our bartender, Evan, did an amazing job of feeding us delicious bbq and ice cold beer....Everything was great had alot of variety for the price. Would highly recommend the dry ribs they are a taste of Memphis. Cant wait to go back! If you are on the fence about trying this place out just pull the trigger already it is all good...Delgado approved!

Corky's is the BRISKET and potatoe salad spot in Katy! Ms. Lisa, our waitress, was super friendly and treated all of us with the best hospitality waiting staff provides. The live music is great, and the atmosphere is conducive to an overall GOOD TIME! EASY ACCESS off of I-10. Plenty of parking. There is a drive thru as well here! Overall, the food is good, I'm not sure why people are writing such bad reviews. Try for yourself! Side note: Corky's Management, please have lights installed on your parking lot. Also...keep the thermostat at a comfortable setting. The temperature was dropping outside and in the restaurant! It was very cold, and we were not dining on the patio.

New restaurant where outback (I think) was. Couldn't tell it was something else before. Hostess, waitress, manager all very nice and pleasant to talk to. Food is Memphis bbq, not my first preference but still pretty darn good. They have a drive thru! Next visit likely will be via drive thru, too close to home to skip at home environment. The drink menu indicates live music, everyday of week I think. Glad that we were not subjected to it. Only annoyance was busser standing at station in front of bathrooms. Drumming his fingers along with (decent) background music. The feeling that somebody was behind and to the side of me kept me on edge most of the time. Kept seeing movement out of corner of my eye. Will go back inside again sometime, but certainly will be avoiding last tables on east side of restaurant near rest rooms. Almost forgot. Food is served in aluminum trays, lined with paper. I absolutely hate that. Would rather dine at Rudy's with everything on/in paper than do that again. I had the brisket potato "dinner", but doesnt come with any sides or even a roll. It was about a 3*, I have had better and worse in the area. She had the half/quarter chicken. Hushies left a lot to be desired, and really didn't care for mac & cheese. Chicken was quite moist, at least was what I was told. Looked like it was cooked twice though. Fried then put on pit? Still was good. We decided not to check out deserts as portions were large (esp potato) and just couldn't fit it.

What a fantastic venue! The service was AMAZING! The food was great! The live music was the bomb! I would love to eat here again. The atmosphere is inviting and comforting. Goes well with comfort food. Best bbq I have had in a long time! The waiters are all attentive and happy. They are helpful , kind and friendly. 5 star service!!