Terrell’s Bar-B Que

Just had it a few hours ago. I was speaking with the nicest people and they ended up giving me a free plate. Not only that, but this is hands down the best bbq I’ve had in Gainesville. It’s authentic and brings you back to simpler times. I will DEFINITELY be eating here again.

Terrell’s BBQ is a walk-​up BBQ trailer that’s been doing it right for years. Terrell and Lesia have great taste in food and love the people they serve. Some of my favorites are the slab of ribs and BBQ chicken. The meat is doused in sauce and even have that slice of white bread at the bottom that soaks up all the juicy goodness. It’s a delicious treat and as lucky as finding the baby in a King cake! The chicken is simple and tasty as well. Some of the sides include green beans and coleslaw. Great compliments to the tender meat prepared on site. Bottom line is if you’re looking for an amazing BBQ experience come to Terrell’s. You won’t regret it.

Oh how I’ve missed Terrell’s! After leaving Gainesville for 10 years and recently coming back I was glad to find the Terrell’s wagon «parked» on Waldo Rd.
Falling off the bone ribs, awesome sauce, and that every so tasty piece of bread that soaks all of the goodness in at the bottom. You can’t beat the price for a pile of Terrell’s ribs…

Ask anyone from North Carolina and they will tell you, pulled pork should NEVER be covered in sauce. I want to taste the pork you just smoked for 12 hours not a bunch of bottle sauce you bought at the Sam’s Club.

Yes yes yes!
When I think of good BBQ, I automatically think of Terrell’s. What’s not to love about it? The fall off the bone meat? The generous portions? The super affordable prices? Definitely all the above.
Mmm-​mmm! Terrell’s is a food truck located off Waldo and is a hidden gem. How many times have I driven past this place to go to WalMart? I didn’t know what I was missing out on.
I came here for lunch with friends and was amazed at how affordable it all seemed. Sonny’s couldn’t compare. I got the Combination Dinner with had half a chicken and half a rack of ribs, plus two sides. I couldn’t even finish it all; pretty good deal for $ 11. lol.
The only downside? There’s no seating. No benches, chairs, etc. So we just went to the park on 8^th Street.

I like my ribs the way I like my balls… clean!
When I go to Terrell’s I get ribs with no sauce and no bread. Good smoked meat doesn’t need anything other than a good rub and the right wood. These ribs hit on all of those and then some. These ribs are delicious.
I take my ribs seriously. Kung-​Fu fighting Bruce Lee for the last rib, type of serious.
This place does ribs right.

Best ribs I’ve ever had? No, that would still go to a rack I had the pleasure of meeting at Smitty’s in Lockhart several years ago. However, these are damned fine if you like wet style ribs. Generally, I prefer dry rubs, but I like to judge things based on what they are trying to be, not what I want them to be when I know what I am getting into before I even order.
So what was I expecting? Terrell’s offers chicken, beef, pork, and spare ribs. First off, as far as I am concerned, in the world of barbecue, chicken is a vegetable. I like smoked chicken a lot, but there isn’t a whole lot to doing it well, and no barbecue joint that I know of ever got famous because of its smoked chicken. I also don’t worry much about beef east of the Mississippi. Texas has brisket on lock-​down, and I have never had anything anywhere else that was in the same league or even sport as a place like Black’s or Cooper’s when they are on. (That door swings both ways — finding good pulled pork in Texas is akin to searching for the Holy Grail.)
That leaves the pork, and this place is known for its ribs — ribs drenched in sauce. So what I was looking for was a damned fine rib swimming in BBQ sauce. I wasn’t disappointed. The ribs were fall-​off-​the-​bone tender while still maintaining enough texture to not feel like you were eating meat pudding. The sauce was abundant, but I liked it. It wasn’t overly sweet, a bit of a vinegar tang, and complimented the smoke on the ribs nicely. It reminded me somewhat of the BBQ sauce they give you on the side at the County Line in Austin, TX.
Sides — well, I didn’t worry much about that. To me sides are like the halftime show at a football game when you’re at a barbecue restaurant. It’s great when it’s great, but at the end of the day, I didn’t show up for that. In a lot of my favorite places, the only sides you are offered are pickles, jalapeño, raw onion, and bread, and I kind of agree with this approach. It would be different if I ate smoked meats everyday as part of a round meal, but I don’t. When I am getting barbecue, it is all about the meat.
The only downside here is that you are buying the food out of a trailer. There are some benches across Waldo Road, but other than that, you better have a tailgate handy. Otherwise, it is takeout. This wasn’t a big deal to me, but for some it might be.
Overall, this is the best barbecue I’ve had in Gainesville so far.

Best BBQ in Gainesville? I didn’t think so. It’s decent.
Terrell’s BBQ is a BBQ truck that stations itself in the middle of nowhere (NE 16^th Ave and Far from UF St.) It seems to be run by a local family that smokes their meat in the giant smokehouse located next to the trailer. The service is alright. They’re down to business which is good. There is no seating. (Unless you count the hood of your car or the bed of your truck as seating)
The menu is limited to certain items which is normally a good indicator (specialty items). I tried the pulled pork sandwich. My friend got the beef brisket sandwich, and we shared a pile of ribs. The line can get long and the wait can get even longer. We weren’t in any hurry so it was fine.
When the food was ready, it smelled wonderful. The smell instantly made me salivate (like Pavlov’s dog). The pulled pork sandwich was meh… alright. Nothing special. The beef brisket sandwich was chopped beef and it is pretty much the same as the pulled pork. They drowned the meat in their BBQ sauce which (if you’ve had it) isn’t that great. Then that meat is sandwiched between two normal Publix hamburger buns.
The ribs were good though. They were tender and fell off the bone which is great. But again… that sauce. It’s very tomato-​ey, which I’m not a huge fan of. Maybe some of you are, and if so, this may be the place for you. The ribs were drenched in it, so I found myself picking off the ones from the top, cause the bottom ones were swimming in it.
Overall, it’s not that bad a place. The ribs are great, they could just use a little less sauce. As far as the sandwiches go, I think I would have enjoyed them more if the sauce didn’t overpower the meat. Still not a bad joint though.

Personally I don’t see what all the hubbub is all about.
When I’ve had Terrell’s it’s been OK but not great. Actually the ribs I had last time were a little tough.
I’ve experienced better BBQ in the area… but Gainesville is definitely hurting for a good BBQ joint.
I just don’t think Terrell’s is that good in comparison to what’s out there.

I stopped eating meat about eight years ago and if I ever come across Terrell’s again, I will chomp that sh*t in a heartbeat!
It’s probably been at least 10 years since I’ve had Terrell’s and I still sometimes dream about it before I go to bed at night. I don’t know if it’s the perfectly cooked falling off the bone ribs, or the perfectly soaked piece of white bread on the bottom of all this goodness, but it is seriously the best thing ever.
Run, don’t walk, to get there!

I was looking for the best ribs place in gainesville and I’ve been told that Terrell’s is what I am looking for. Unfortunately when I went to check it out, it was closed, and there is a different place instead of it called long bone sth … I tried to call the phone number for the 2 sites and they are both out of service. it was very unfortunate. I had to go and check the second best place every one was talking about (Adam’s ribs) and I was totally unimpressed.

NOM NOM NOM!
I went here for lunch today and fell in love. My friend and I each got «The Pile» of ribs and a few side dishes to share… as a well as a pulled pork sandwich. You know, because we were curious, and in case we got hungry!
The Pile was amazing — so flavorful and so much better than any other ribs I’ve had in town that I can’t even compare them to anything. The green beans were great — soft but not overly mushy with a wonderful meaty flavor. The potato salad, while delicious, tasted like it may have come straight from the Publix deli. The mac ‘n’ cheese was baked, but extremely salty and probably my least favorite part of the meal. I was also disappointed that they didn’t have any iced tea, but that was quickly remedied by a stop to Wendy’s around the corner. I would review the sandwich, but I never made it that far. I got lost somewhere in the ribs and never looked back!
Despite these criticisms, I loved this place. The ribs, oh, the ribs! Simply delicious. As can be expected from a trailer joint, this is cash only, but I’ll make a dedicated stop to an ATM any day as long as the next stop is to get more of this yummy barbecue.

This would probably be my favorite BBQ place around if it was not for Chunky T’s. The ribs are darn good, but I am not a big fan of the sauce and as April O. says what up with the white peace of bread that is soaking in the sauce. The baked beans were really good also. I would probably eat here more often if I did not have to pass Chunky T’s to get there.

Ribs are still yummy, sauce is still unmemorable – but since they closed down the storefront on Main and 16^th, the trailer on NE 16^th is significantly closer to my job. And since the trailer only does business from Thursday through Saturday, that means I can make Terrell’s a regular stop on Fridays for lunch instead of a «once in a blue moon» indulgence. Awright!
I would dock them for the crappy slice of plain Sunbeam, but that’s like complaining about the glove compartment in a convertible … completely pointless.
Cash only, like most road side food trailers.

Service is quick and easy, food is good and cheap. Feels like a real BBQ place, unlike Sonny’s or Bono’s.

Great Barbeque: The pork dinner is very good. Moist, with a great sauce. Makes an excellent sandwich. I would say go there for lunch before they run out of your favorite side (Mac N’ Cheese or Corn on the cob are mine).

Terrell’s is the best bar-​b-​q in Gainesville. I go to the one on NE 16^th Avenue in the trailer, yeah I know how the sounds, but trust me, go there! I have tried the pork, chicken and ribs and they are all good. The bar-​b-​q sauce they put on everything is the best sauce in the county. The only thing I don’t like about Terrell’s is the choice of sides. They don’t have any hot sides at this location, besides bar-​b-​q beans. Also, the bread, is just white bread laid on the bottom of the box so it sits in the sauce which does make it better, but it’s still just white bread. I prefer garlic bread with my bar-​b-​q. Ok, that was my only complaint, anyways when you go for bar-​b-​q, you’re going for the meat, and they have the best.

Excellent BBQ from one of Gainesville’s many trailer BBQs. Make sure to try this one and all the others!
I usually get the rib dinner, and it is absolutely delicious. Going to Terrell’s is a weekend tradition.

Steve talked about trying Terrell’s FOREVER… I finally caved and agreed to give it a try one night and I was immediately sad that I hadn’t caved sooner. He got the rib sandwich and I got the rib dinner. The ribs in my dinner were tender and drenched in the most amazing sauce and the best part (in my opinion) was that when I got to the bottom of the ribs, there was a piece of white Sunbeam bread soaking up the sauce and just waiting to be eaten! Steve says that he didn’t like the green beans because they were too cooked, but he likes his green beans fresh out of the can and I prefer them the way Terrell’s cooks them. You can tell they cook them like my grandmother did… all day until they are soft and probably with some ham or fat-​back.
That’s right… I said fat-​back!

Their ribs are amazing, fall-​off-​the-​bone, finger-​licking sticks of yum — and I don’t really even like ribs! Sold out of a trailer in the Dollar General parking lot, Terrell’s is only open Thursday-​Saturday. DO NOT let this deter you! I used to try to explain to folks where I moved until I figured out it was easier to say, «I’m right down the street from Terrell’s.» It’s quite simply an eastside landmark (for good reason).