Daddy Sam’s Bbq & Catfish

It’s good… expect to pay. I love the food here. But am I getting what I pay for? I don’t so.

Sadly Daddy Sam’s has been sold to someone named Comer.
Lived in Carthage about 16 years ago and this was the place for great BBQ and chopped beef sandwich. Was in the area several months ago and stopped in for some good food, it was still the same as it was 16 years ago. Unfortunately stopped by again today and see that the name is no longer Daddy Sam’s. About 5 weeks ago someone bought it and changed the name as well as the quality of the meat. Had the ribs and sausage links. Sausage was way better then the ribs. No good BBQ or smoke flavor to the ribs and the amount of fat on them was terrible. When we left we both had to eat a Pepto and have been belching nasty fat flavor since.
Very sad. Won’t be going back!
The people were very friendly. The young lady at register and the two fellows at the meat station were great.
The price is however crazy high. $ 15.99 per pound.
Wish the new owners well but sad that it has changed.

VEry friendly service, in town for a softball tournament, so I UnilocalED it… Bar b que looked amazing but I opted for the whole fish!, excellent… Hush puppies were frozen so not a fan but fish was fresh… Will eat here again if I’m in town

A staple in our community, Great BBQ! Love the chopper station. If you have been here you know what I am talking about if not I won’t ruin it by telling you.
Ribs, ribs and more ribs eat the ribs. I also have had the chicken fried steak sandwich and cheeseburger which are always cooked fresh.
One draw back is you will pay for what you get. So bring an appetite and your wallet. Hehehe

Pulled pork sandwich, dirty rice, baked beans, and a Dr Pepper. Pork was tender but no smoke flavor at all. Dirty rice was just spicy mush. Baked beans was just ranch style beans with honey BBQ. Too many employees for such a small place. Probably why the «special» was so expensive. They were polite and helpful. Just not worth the price they charge

Delicious potato salad and great chopped beef sandwiches! This is a favorite spot. On Thursday there is a sloppy joe special. I have only tried the great BBQ, but I plan on trying other menu items like the catfish. Great service!!!
I am disappointed they do not offer boudin! :(

Traveling through Texas and searching for a BBQ joint, my friend and I found this place. Promising sign… the lot had cars in it on a Friday night. When you go in, you go to the counter and the man slices up some BBQ for you. I went with ribs, brisket, and sausage. They only do pulled pork on Tuesdays: (. This is Texas after all. I added some beans and potato salad. First of all, the guy who I think was the owner was a really, great guy. He made us feel at home and asked about our trip. He reminded me of my dad. Anyway, the BBQ was satisfactory. Not spectacular, but good. The ribs were not fall off the bone tender but we’re not overcooked or hard. There were some burnt ends to it. The sausage was a good sausage and the brisket was the best out of the deal… tender and smoky. The sauce was ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, and pepper mixed together. It went really well with the meats. The beans were definitely TEXAS –ranch style… bigger beans in a chili kind of syrup. Nothing like baked beans out of a can. Potato salad was your basic mustard potato salad. Sweet tea wasn’t as sweet as I liked it but still refreshing. If you are in Carthage, you should give Daddy Sam’s a try.

If you’re looking for some real-​deal barbecue in East Texas, this is the spot. The lot’s usually full, so that’s a good sign.
Restaurant is laid out kind of cafeteria-​style. You take a tray, the guy cutting the meat in front of you asks what you want, and he puts it on a plate. You have options for the sides, and they’ll put those on, too. The condiments are up to you, you pay, and then find yourself a seat. They do have someone that floats around and will get you refills on your drink.
I like the brisket, and the beans were good, too. Make sure you get the sauce, it’s good. Spicy rice was also a nice touch.
Overall, this is a great spot. It’s very authentic, and you can tell why people like it so much. If you like barbecue you owe it to yourself to pop in here.

This is some of the best food I’ve ever eaten. Brisket, rice, beans, peach cobbler… Heaven. Top notch service, too.

Our first visit thanks to Unilocal.The brisket was melt in your mouth good and the catfish perfectly spiced and fresh. Beans and cole slaw not just the usual. Too full for dessert, sad to say. We will come back on our way home to SC.

My favorite BBQ … (still). MAN I miss this place. Friendly staff. Packed at lunchtime with locals of course. If you get a chance to try this place DO NOT pass it up. I live in the Houston area now and finding good olé BBQ like this has been a real challenge. In my opinion it represents authentic Texas BBQ at it’s best.

Daddy Sam’s, in my opinion, is not as good as it used to be. That being said, it is still better than a lot of places in the area. Good ribs and catfish, and great sides (try the beans and Mac and cheese) are the highlights. The rest of the BBQ there is average. Definitely worth a try, but there are better BBQ places within driving range.

Traveling 3.5 hours north of Houston on 59 I really didn’t give a second thought about where I would stop for lunch. Well the further I drove the more I realized the choices were getting slimmer by the mile. When I arrived in Carthage I felt I had past the best options miles back and then I saw Daddy Sam’s with it’s parking lot filled, people crossing the street to get here and people lining the wall to place their order at the counter so I grabbed my orange cafeteria tray as instructed by the sign and proceed to the spot where everyone was dying to get to.
A friendly member of the establishment asked me what I was hungry for today like she has known me all my life. She proudly made her recommendations «everything here is good» and waited for me to choose. The piles of freshly cooked meats stared at me and I really wanted a taste of everything. I had plenty of opportunity to observe what the locals were eating as the line inched toward the counter I think I changed my mind as I pasted each table now it was my turn to blurt out my order so I did «I’ll take the (3) meat and (2) sides without missing a beat she grab her electric knife and a 3 pound chunk of brisket and started cutting then she grabbed a link of sausage and made short order of slicing it into bite size pieces, now for the turkey which was sliced on a mechanical slicer paper thin I just couldn’t believe it, all this beautiful BBQ and the turkey looked like something from a «Healthy Choice» pack for lunch meat (it wasn’t but appearance and texture mean something to me)
Let me say upfront the mechanical sliced turkey prevents them from earning the 5^th star.
The setting is old and crowded like any old school family owned small town diner. The employees are super nice people and the owner positioned at the end of the counter taking money and giving «sauce» advice like «grab a bottle of that sauce before leaving the counter it’s warm and pours out real fast»
— Brisket thick cut not too heavy of a smoke taste but tender and lean.
— Sausage I tried the hot link but there are (3j sausage choices. This one was just a little spicy but lean no to shabby,
— Turkey it was pit smoked lightly but my lest favorite (use a real knife)
— BBQ Beans solid choice very good homemade like I’ve never tried before yummy!
— Dirty a Rice not my grandmothers but pretty darn good in it’s own right.
— BBQ Sauce this is a great sauce
Yeah I recommend these folks and I will stop again no doubt :-)

Awesome staff and awesome catfish. BBQ? I’ve had better elsewhere. I’ll be back to see if they can earn that last star though.

I eat here almost every time I come to Carthage. The food is always good and the people are friendly. The prices are good too. The BBQ isn’t quite as good as Lockhart BBQ places but no one really is. Last night I got the 3 meat plate with Sliced Beef, Sausage & Hot Link. I wish they had brisket and the were out of ribs, (which is why they got 4 stars instead of 5). I love their desserts. Last night I got the German Chocolate Cake. Soo rich and good it was. The prices are goo. My complete meal came to about 18 dollars. Their sides are about average portion but I am there more for the meat than the sides. I am not sure if they make or buy their sauce but it is pretty awesome too.

First time here, got a sandwich which it was very good. Loved the rice. Found a small hair at the end of my rice… But if I’m passing through Carthage again, I would definitely stop here again.

Actually found this place last year when returning from Arkansas; just loved it! When planning our trip to Louisiana this year we already knew where we’d be stopping for lunch. We were not disappointed as it was even better than we remembered. Parking can be a little difficult, for a minute, but the service is quick yet attentive. There was a lot of takeout customers coming and going while we ate-​in. I think that in itself says a lot.
On second thought STAY AWAY! I’ll probably need that parking spot.

I’m from NY and my first time in TX was visiting my then boyfriend’s (now husband) family in Carthage and he brought me here for my first BBQ lunch. Wow! It has great ribs and brisket, this coming from a Yankee, so take that as you will. The pulled pork sandwiches are also very tasty.
While I’m not a huge fan of the meat n two idea, I guess its quintessentially Southern and Daddy Sam’s does it well.
Go for the strawberry cake, I make a special stop by Sam’s every time we’re in Carthage specifically for the cake.
In the words of my hubby: «we’re fixin to head back to Sam’s for a whole mess of ribs.»

This place has great, authentic East Texas BBQ. Excellent service. Good place to go after visiting the Tex Ritter Museum!

Well I was waiting for some great BBQ as I’m in TX.
Didn’t find it here.
Based on the other reviews I called an order to go of ribs, dirty rice and coleslaw.
Phone and counter service:1 star (never felt so unwanted in my life)
Ribs: 2 stars — chewy and kinda fatty, and I really didn’t care for the sauce
Coleslaw: 3 stars — pretty good, but certainly not the best I’ve had
Dirty rice: 5 stars — this was awesome!
So average 2.75 stars, but I’ll go 3 for the dirty rice and that maybe other things are better.