Here's a letter I sent John. I never received a reply.
John Mueller
Owner
John Mueller’s BBQ
1917 Manor Road
Austin, Texas 78722
Dear John:
On November 17 of 2005, I walked into your restaurant at approximately 11:00 AM for a plate of barbeque.
(The reason it has taken me this long to write this letter: the day after I was in your establishment I fractured my arm and was unable to type, and then there were other things that kept me busy over the holidays.)
I ordered some brisket, a link of sausage, green bean salad, and potato salad. Instead of having some thick butcher paper to place these items on, the man running the counter put the food (except the beans) down on thin, brown industrial paper towels. (I did not get the gentleman’s name but he was Hispanic, about 6 feet 2, and built solidly.)
I could tell that the moisture from the potato salad was going to seem through the thin paper, and wondered about the bacterial risk caused by such seepage. Moreover, the sausage link looked dried out just sitting there on the paper napkin, and I had not even touched it yet; I had apprehensions before I left the counter.
I took a seat and bit into the sausage. It was very dried out – with absolutely zero juice in it. I went over to the counter and asked the man running the counter if I could get my money back, and I explained why.
His reply: “They’re all that way.” In other words, he was implying that all the sausage that day was the same in terms of quality. He took money out of the register and slapped it on the counter giving me my money back for the price of the sausage link. He did not apologize and was rather gruff. I left the sausage in a paper towel on the counter, and went back to finish my brisket. About five minutes later a woman silently crept over, placed a new sausage link on my tray, and apologized for the dried-out sausage.
The sausage she gave me was perfect: juicy, spicy, and delicious. However, of course, it proved that the man at the counter was making a bald-faced lie when he told me that all the sausage was the same. Anyway, I knew better because I had had great brisket, ribs, and sausage many times during the last two years I had been patronizing your restaurant, and I could only assume that the man at the counter was trying to get rid of the sausage that was leftover from the previous day.
John, I have sung the praises of your place for years, telling all my co-workers to avoid Rudy’s and to make the trek over to Mueller’s. Furthermore, as a fifth generation Texan with an affinity for most red meat and pork, I know something about good barbeque. I even worked as an “apprentice pit boss” at Black’s BBQ in Lockhart while at Southwest Texas State in the late 1970’s.
A friend of mine that comes with me into your place has had at least three bad experiences there – typically relative to consistency issues caused by meat that was too dry. I can understand that it is difficult to stay on top of consistency 24/7, but to have one of your employees flat out lie to me about not having the “good sausage” around is abominable and inexcusable.
I have been going to Rudy’s and Ruby’s lately, and while they aren’t nearly as top-notch as John Mueller’s on its stellar days, or as fantastic as the great places in Lockhart, these two BBQ joints are at least consistent.
I have four options. Option one: never go back to John Mueller’s. Option two, to wait a couple of months to see if things are corrected in terms of service and consistency, then go back to Mueller’s to test the water. Option three, you can write me back and tell me that you could care less about my complaint, and state that my shadow should never fall upon your front door on Manor Road because you do not care about getting my business. Or four, you can write me back stating that you do care about my business, and I will accept your good wishes and I will be back in your establishment in the near future.
