I realized that J. Cody’s was right next to Chicken Oil. I figure they must be on good terms with each other if they share a parking lot with their trailers.
When you walk up to the restaurant it has a more rustic feel. It’s like Cracker Barrel in a way. The main difference is there’s not a bunch of rockers and other stuff out front that they are trying to sell you.
The inside also has a rustic feel to it. In many ways it’s a lot like Chicken Oil but with less stuff on the walls. There’s also a noticeable difference between a burger joint and a BBQ and steak joint.
You may have noticed a few Texas A&M things in the above pictures. J. Cody’s is very proud of its Aggie roots. On the wall are also a bunch of helmets (aka “pots”). Victoria told me these helmets are worn by students preparing the logs for the Aggie Bonfire. The helmets colors indicate the different hierarchy. The elaborate helmets are the leaders’ and are often passed to the next year’s leaders.
For food, there is a lot to choose from.
You order and then get a number. It’s engraved in a wooden block.
They will bring your plate out with the meat on it. In my case, I got brisket.
As you can see by the last picture, there’s no sides on the plate. No fear. There’s a side bar with unlimited sides!
My plate looked much better after hitting up the side bar.
The brisket was a little drier and had a good amount of smoke taste to it. It went well with the BBQ sauce that was provided. I could tell I was a bit further east with the amount of sweetness that was present in the BBQ sauce. There was a subtle hint of it and it balanced well with the tanginess. The brisket drenched in the sauce made a great combination. For sides I had the creamy potato salad. They don’t skip on the creaminess! It was very smooth and creamy to the max. I really liked this side! I also got some baked beans. These were more savory and not sweet. To be honest, I’ve never eaten baked beans like this. I’ve only really had the canned ones so this was definitely a much different taste for me. I’m not the biggest fan of these style of beans, but Victoria absolutely loved them. Another side I got was the jalapeño corn bread. You’re know it’s a good Southern meal when there’s cornbread. This cornbread was warm and chewy. It had a slight spice to it. It was very good! The last side I got was the potato with onions. Victoria avoided the onions with hers and I made sure to get a bunch extra. The potato was firm and with the onions tasted great! Something I also found great about the meal is nothing was overly salty. Too many places use too much salt and I didn’t get this vibe on anything I ate. I had to add a little salt to stuff, which in my opinion is good. You definitely know less salty food is a bit healthier. One side I did miss was the corn. Multiple people told me I should have tried the corn. I guess my tray was full. J. Cody’s does a good job and I visit the Bryan area on a regular basis, so next time I’ll definitely have to get the corn!