Moonie's Texas Bbq - Flowery Branch

We’ve been visiting this restaurant since it first opened, and the food has consistently been good. However, during my most recent visit, I noticed that the restaurant was quite dirty. Both the floors and the ice/soda machine were in need of cleaning. Additionally, there seems to be a high turnover rate among the staff.

I’ve lived in Buford for several years now, and one of the great advantages is being so close to Moonies. It’s our go-to place for sides when we’re grilling and smoking our homemade ribs. Their sides are delicious and usually ready in just a few minutes after we place a call-in order. We really enjoy the ribs and brisket here, but lately, we’ve been smoking our own ribs, so we’ve been consistently getting our sides from Moonies for family meals. The prices are a bit on the higher side, but the quality definitely justifies it. The service and ambiance of the restaurant are excellent, and it’s always a pleasure to visit. I give it 5 stars and two thumbs up!

Once I got home, I set everything up for dinner. I was hugely disappointed! The bun was so greasy that it became soggy, and the brisket was incredibly tough. The baked beans were just Bush's beans with added pears, while the Brunswick stew had a ketchup base. The potato salad was bland and tasted simply like plain potatoes. The coleslaw was the only thing that was somewhat tasty, but it seemed store-bought. Overall, this $28 meal was a lesson learned, and I wouldn’t recommend this place if you're searching for authentic BBQ—it just doesn’t deliver. They also make their sauce in-house, but that wasn’t impressive either.

We had takeout. BBQ is solid, the pork sandwich was alright, ribs were the highlight (some of the best around) and the brisket was great. Sides were a little bland and Jalapeño Mac and cheese was surprisingly bland. The beans and the creamed corn were okay. The cost was rather high for the portion sizes, which were smaller than expected, $50 (including tip). The sad part for us was that they forgot to pack our banana pudding, which was really disappointing considering the price point and that we live 25 minutes away. Meat was 4 stars, but the sides and forgetting to pack our dessert made this a 3 star experience overall. Really, really sad about the pudding.

Great brisket and I have referred many people to this place that I stumbled onto working in the area a few years ago! The section of Spout Springs Road west of I-985 is also known as Phil Niekro Parkway!