Rib Ends

Overall Rating and is it worth a visit: 8.5/10. They are worth a visit, especially if you’re already in the neighborhood. Burns has some solid ribs for very reasonable prices. Besides being mentioned on several barbecue blogs and rankings as a Houston institution, I was particularly drawn to this location as Anthony Bourdain had made several visits here as well, starting back in June 2003 when he hit the BBQ Triangle of Houston, Kansas City, & North Carolina and again when we revisited with rapper Slim Thug in June 2016 on his last show Parts Unknown. Once again, Tony didn’t disappoint with his recommendations, as this place is everything you would expect from an old-school historic rib joint. Admittedly, this was my last stop along my BBQ tour of Texas, and I was starting to get a little burnt out after 8 visits over 3 days, so I only kept my order to the ribs, but I will be back to try the other offerings as soon as I can

Date Visited: 1/30/2021

Address: 8307 De Priest St, Houston, TX 77088

Day of the Week: Saturday

Time of Day: 4:30 PM. Open at 10:30 AM

Owner: Cory and Carl Crawford (Grandsons of Ray Burns Sr. Ray’s sons, Gary & Steve, work the pits out back keeping the family business going strong)

Website: https://burnsoriginalbbq.com/

Number of Years in Business: Opened in 1973 (48 years)

Number of People in Line: 8 with another 10 that came up to order right after us

Regional Style of BBQ: Central Texas

Total Cost: $27

Type of Wood: Oak

Type of Smoker: Offset smoker

Type of Seasoning: Salt & pepper

Best Dish: Spare Ribs

Best Sauce: Didn’t try any, stlll needs a review

Best Side: Didn’t try any, still needs a review

Interior Description: Small interior with no seating indoors. This being Houston, all of the seating is outdoors on a deck and next door, combined with their burger shack. A Laidback neighborhood vibe where you could drive right by the restaurant and miss it if you aren’t looking. You can tell they added onto the original building several times over the years to keep up with growing demand

Pro Tip: Ribs are the specialty here, so if you’re on your own BBQ tour, skip the brisket here and save yourself the stomach space. Was told by a couple of locals to try the chopped beef and pork the next time I come in as well

Pork Spare Ribs

0/10 Ranking: 8/10

Seasoning: Salt & pepper

Description: The ribs were tasty and tender overall, but not quite fall-off-the-bone. They had a good smoke flavor running through them as well, but nothing really beyond that to make them stand out as something special