“This world needs to have a little more Mercy and Grace.” That’s how David O’Brian, from Have Mercy BBQ in Cypress, Texas, sees it anyway.
David began his barbeque obsession at 13 years old. He grew up in Alvin, Texas and he and his family ate at Joe’s Barbeque frequently. David watched how Joe interacted with the customers; like they were all old friends. “Everyone knew Joe and they all wanted to shake his hand and talk to him.” David quickly fell in love with how Joe operated his barbeque restaurant and decided he wanted to follow down the same path. By his late teens, he was not only barbequing but also building and selling smokers to local restaurants.
As a young man, David discovered he had the gift of gab, and as life often does, it took him in a different direction that left his barbeque dreams up in smoke. (See what I did there? HAH!) It led him to a successful career in sales. Where he walked into a customer’s office, visited with them, and earned their business; much like Joe.
In 2020, while working from home due to COVID, he came up with the idea to sell barbeque out of his house and did incredibly well. Soon he and his wife Jen, decided to expand; they bought a food trailer and began catering. That trailer is now located outside the Country Corner Ice House in Cypress, Texas, and is open four days a week.
I’d say that David has brought his dream to life. As I sat there a steady stream of people flowed to the window. Some had been there before and discussed their favorites, some had never been but had come on someone’s recommendation. There wasn’t a single customer that walked away without a personal interaction, a handshake, a conversation, a “how’s your Momma and ‘dem?” kind of feeling, from either David or Jen.
They loaded me up on delicious things to taste, and as I sat there, I pondered where to start. Just kidding, I had to go in for the moist brisket first. Oh lord, it was amazing. Perfectly seasoned, juicy, with that buttery fat that just melted as I bit into it. This was a brisket that I preferred without sauce because it was so flavorful. Y’all know that takes a lot for me to admit that because I’m a saucy kind of girl.
I moved on to the St. Louis style pork rib next, and it continued the trend of amazing. The meat pulled off the bone with ease and had a wonderful bite. That’s the kind of rib that I have a hard time putting down.
The trailer is parked in a bar parking lot now, and he has customers who want more than just bbq; so he adapted, with a spin.
He served up a stack of smoked chicken wings, glazed with a honey garlic sauce. Smoking the wings added a depth of flavor that I appreciated, and I loved that they’re nekkid (no breading). They’re tender and packed with deliciousness.
Another item that’s relatively new due to requests was one of my favorites of the day - the smash burger. A double meat, all ground brisket burger with cheese melted and gooey on both patties, stacked in a soft, buttery bun. If that don’t excite you, then I don't know what to say.
The chopped beef sandwich came on the same buttery bun, piled high with a stack of moist brisket and drizzled with sauce. I added sliced pickles and onions, to make the perfect bite.
Can there ever be too much garlic? The correct answer is no, and the garlic pork sausage brought the perfect punch; a coarse grind on the meat, plenty of moisture, and all of that garlicky goodness.
Have you ever had a brisket, bean, and cheese chimichanga? If not, run, don’t walk, to get this one. A crispy fried tortilla as the shell, stuffed with moist brisket, house-made charro beans, and melted cheese, then topped with a tomatillo sauce. First, it was incredibly flavorful, and a fun new way for me to eat barbeque. Second, I did tell David that the only thing that I would like to add would be queso on top, but if you know me, you know queso is lifeblood. So if you try it out and think this way too, maybe we can get him on the queso train. Choo Choo!!
The homemade sides are the perfect complement to all of this meaty heaven.
The potato salad is cool and creamy. A simple potato salad without all of the extras in it, so that the star of the show (the meat) can shine.
The cole slaw had a fun twist, that makes it one of their most popular sides. It’s a jalapeno slaw, with crunchy cabbage, lightly dressed with a bright and refreshing dressing that packed a little jalapeno punch.
The charro beans are an authentic Mexican recipe that was handed down to David and he still makes them the same way. Keeping to that tradition has brought followers to his place to buy them in large batches.
His most popular side, which also can be purchased in large quantities, is the brisket dirty rice. As we sat and talked he told me about growing up in Alvin. His Grandpa was a rice farmer, his Momma was a single mom, with three kids, and they were poor. They ate a lot of dirty rice, and she made it with whatever meat she had available. Today he still uses her recipe, but he fills his with ground brisket, chopped brisket, and breakfast sausage. He calls this a side dish, but I could make a full meal of it and be perfectly happy.
I know I’m always partial to burnt ends, so I impatiently waited to taste them last knowing that I wouldn’t want to move past them - if they were good. Like everything else, they were perfection. They were sticky and slightly sweet, savory and smoky, with that perfect charred bark on the outside. David gave me both the pork belly and the brisket burnt ends to try, and I honestly wouldn’t be able to tell you which I liked the most. I loved how the fat of brisket has that buttery flavor, but I also loved how the sauce on the pork belly complimented it so perfectly.
Next time, I’ll just have to order a big ‘ole combo plate of both and see if I can figure out which I like better.
If you’re looking for a place where you feel like you’ve always belonged and has some of the best barbeque around, make sure you take the backroads on over to Have Mercy BBQ in Cypress, Texas. Tell David and the crew I said hi, and make sure you order extra to take home. You’ll be glad you did!
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17943 Grant Rd. Cypress, TX 77429
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