From: The New York Times

September 8, 2007, 3:30 pm

Great Grub: Willy Ray's Bar-B-Q Co.
By Thayer Evans

Tags: barbeque, Baton Rouge, Beaumont, Carrot Soufflé, Colt McCoy, Esquire, Heisman Trophy, Nick, Texas, Texas Monthly, The Rosengarten Report, Today Show, Willy Ray's Bar B Q Co.

From time to time, we at The Quad like to highlight eateries that we come across during our college football travels. Today, Thayer Evans tells us all about a famed BBQ joint in Texas.

Any restaurant that advertises "ALL YOU CAN EAT RIBS" on its marquee is sure to be worshipped by college football fans.

When a Texas fan named Nick suggested that I eat at Willy Ray' s Bar-B-Q Co. in Beaumont, Tex.,, during my drive to Baton Rouge yesterday, there was scant reason to doubt his recommendation, despite him once actually believing that Longhorn quarterback Colt McCoy would win the Heisman Trophy this season.

Willy Ray's Bar-B-Q lived up to its marquee hype with an $11.99 buffet that included seven types of meat and countless side dishes. I had the beef brisket, St. Louis pork spare ribs, Cajun chicken, smoked pepper turkey, pork roast, pit-smoked ham and the Cajun pork sausage, all topped with Willy's sweet barbeque sauce.

My favorites were the St. Louis pork spare ribs, the creamy macaroni and cheese and the carrot soufflé. Willy Ray's Bar-B-Q is famed in Texas for its food. It was nominated by Texas Monthly as of the top 50 barbeque restaurants in the state, mentioned in Esquire, and was "raved" about by NBC's Today Show, according to its menu.

The family-owned and operated restaurant was a grand prize winner of The Rosengarten Report in 2003 and was also honored in 2005 by the gourmet newsletter. It was established in 1997.

All of its side dishes are made from scratch, the manager, Sandi Grantham, said. The brisket is smoked for 12 hours over red oak and its specialty is the carrot soufflé, she said.

Willy Ray's Bar-B-Q's most popular order is the buffet, which is always available, an employee, Ginger Srader, said.

"It's great," Srader said.

Willy Ray's Bar-B-Q is also a frequent stop for Texas fans, Grantham said.

"There's a lot of them," she said.

That explains why Nick recommended Willy Ray's Bar-B-Q Co. After all, the restaurant's logo is a Longhorn skull .