COMSTOCK, Texas – Drifting down the desolate drive of U.S. 90 towards Big Bend will leave you breathless. Finding a place to get a bit to eat? That’s another story.
Fortunately, we found this not so flashy eatery that gets a worldwide clientele, J&P Bar and Grill.
Duke Gould’s parents purchased this place back in 1986 and after trying out a few businesses. Nothing really latched on at the location, so Duke turned it into a man cave.
Duke’s friends would frequent the new found fun zone but they never helped front the funds for the food.
“That’s what kind of gave me the idea,” Duke explained. “I’d have parties and cook and barbeque and everybody would come and eat and all this stuff. I was like why am I doing this for free?”
So the former mechanic opened the J&P with the help of his parents Pete and Jodi, who can make a mean margarita!
What’s the secret to their success? Taking their time with making the meal, because the one thing you’ve got in Comstock is time.
We prepared out palate for a precarious popular dish, the Devil’s Burger. It starts with Pop grinding up some brisket. Since it’s not ground chuck, it is hard to really figure out the fat to lean ratio.
As the half pound patties cook, some unique buns are toasted. It’s not every day you eat a burger topped with an onion poppy seed bun. Grilled jalapenos and pepper jack cheese top the burger while a homemade sauce made of mayonnaise, sour cream, fresh jalapenos, cilantro, and ranch dressing mix gets spread on the buns. The regular garnishments are added and we’re off on the highway to happiness.
People say the Devil’s River is pretty, but I think the devil’s burger is pretty gorgeous myself.
After taking a bite of this burger, somehow the heat got turned up in Texas. The meaty treat’s name suddenly made a lot of sense. It’s safe to say this burger is wrong in all the right ways.
“The food is outstanding,” J&P regular, Lee said. “It is more than worth the 16 mile drive for us to come up here.”
That onion poppy seed ciabatta bun mixes in so well with the meat, and the meat has definitely got that jalapeno pop to it. The jalapeno mayo, that specialty sauce, made here in house is an incredible, creamy, cooling, yet spicy flavor you expect to find here in southwest Texas.
“I think you can put it on a flip flop and eat it and it will be good,” Duke says.
If you’re craving something a little crazy in southwest Texas the devil’s burger at the J&P Bar and Grill in Comstock is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List.
“I get told three or four times a week they’re the best burgers people ever had,” Duke shared.