But we are also in Austin, and that means that when you’re feeding a large group, some of those people are going to need something other than some delicious smoked meats, and some can’t have the bread that goes along with it. That’s right, we’re talking about vegetarians and gluten free folks. And even if we are a meat company, we welcome you at our events, herbivores. Come on over to our buffet, gluten-be-goners. We’re going to take care of you.
Our most popular vegetarian entree item is our smoked veggie skewers (pictured above). These are seasonal vegetables that we skewer up, marinate, and smoke until they’re so tasty that your meat eaters will be trying to swipe them. We often do these as a straight swap for the meat portion for your vegetarian guests, making it really easy to get your order in. Just tell us how many people in your group are vegetarians, and we take it from there.
Want to go a different direction than the skewers for your vegetarians? We can hit you with our house made quinoa salad. This item has been a favorite on weddings and full service events, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it for your office. Just make the request when you place your order and you’ll see why we’re so proud of this one.
Want to do salads for your vegetarians? We got you. How about baked potatoes? Sure thing. They just want a bunch of our sides? We don’t blame them, they’re great. The point is, vegetarians have options with us. And we’re a BBQ place. Boom.
If you have gluten free members of your crowd, we make things easy on you too. Our meats are gluten free, our BBQ sauce is gluten free, and 7 of our 13 sides are gluten free, so you have lots of great options to keep your gluten free friends/co-workers/guests fed and happy.
We just want you to remember, no matter the diet restrictions you have in your group, we can help you out, and make it easy on you to boot! No need to call multiple places and deal with multiple vendors; Pok-e-Jo’s is here for you, vegetarians, those who are gluten free.
12 THINGS YOU HAVE TIME TO DO WHEN YOU ORDER POK-E-JO’S CATERING
12. Read the first chapter of War and Peace and then download the Cliffnotes version
11. Work on your dance moves
10. Build that IKEA furniture you bought 3 months ago
9. Grow out your moustache?
8. Do some Pok-e-Fit workouts
7. Take a power nap, you deserve it
6. Listen to the entire “Thriller” album. Twice.
5. Fill out your TPS report (don’t forget to use the new cover sheets)
4. Get a head start on dinner and order a Pok-e-Jo’s family pack for a 6 o’clock pick up
3. Watch Smokey and the Bandit
2. Look at roughly 1800 hilarious cat pictures
1. Worry about anything else but the food–because we’ve got you covered
That’s right everyone. The company that has always been #1 in your hearts is actually the #1 BBQ caterer here in Central Texas! And, in case you were wondering, #1 when you google “bbq catering austin TX” 🙂
Catering means different things to different people, and at Pok-e-Jo’s, catering means… a lot of different things. It can mean picking up food at one of our stores. It can mean we deliver and set up a buffet for you. Our staff could be on site to give you the “full service” experience. We can even class it up for a wedding, banquet, or upscale event.
While we do offer different menus for catering, what we’re most known for are our BBQ packages, and if you remember one word when you think of our catering, we want it to be this: Easy. With our BBQ packages, picking out your menu is nice and easy. Pick two or three meats. That’s right, any two or three meats on our menu. Pick three sides. We don’t limit you to just the classics potato salad, coleslaw, and beans (admittedly, with all these options it can be tough to narrow it down to just three sides). Then we include some of our home-brewed iced tea to wash it all down, cookies for dessert (ask about our peach cobbler, too), and all the stuff that tastes good with BBQ. That would be pickles, onions, jalapenos, and bread to those that may be BBQ newbies. With all of these delicious foods and tasty beverages you might think “what am i gonna put all in this in or serve it on?” Don’t fret partner, we have you covered there too. Every Pok-e-Jo’s catering package comes with plenty of plates, cups, eating ware, and serving ware to serve your entire group. You provide the people, and we’ll do the rest!
We also make it easy to order when you call our catering hotline. You’re not going to get someone who is doing three things at once; we have dedicated catering staff ready to answer your call, answer your questions, and help you pick out the food that’s best for your group. Is the event a potluck you’re providing meat for? Are you feeding “ballerinas or linebackers”? Are you just looking for sides? We know there are a lot of variables that go into feeding a group, and we can help you work through all of them.
The “real” Academy Awards? Those are a total joke. Why would anyone care about those when you could instead care about the same thing, except with more BBQ.
The BBQ Oscars, or Pok-e-jOscars have a long tradition of excellent and delicious films that has continued this year with the four nominees for best picture. Here are those four best picture nominees for this year’s Pok-e-jOscars:
Hey there sports fans. Or commercial fans, we won’t judge. Really, as long as you’re fans of barbecue, you’re good in our book. The Super Bowl is just around the corner, and you know what that means…… well it means something. What’s important though, is that Pok-e-Jo’s is always serving up those fan-favorite football finger foods. (Try saying THAT 5 times fast!)
Whether you are throwing down the full BBQ buffet, or just need some Mac n Cheese for that pot luck you forgot to make something for, Pok-e-Jo’s is here for you. Call us early or place an order online to guarantee you get what you want, and we will see you this Sunday!
As a celebration of the year that was, here are 10 landmark things that we can look back and remember 2015 by.
New Menu Items!
1. Texas-Style Pulled Pork (pictured left)
This new delicious menu item made its debut to the Pok-e-Jo’s menu in 2015
2. Green Chile Pork Sausage as a seasonal special
During green chile season this year, our pork sausage brought a new kind of spice to our menu.
3. Peach Habanero BBQ Sauce
BBQ is about the meat, but its also about the sauce. Our newest addition to our BBQ sauce options, the Peach Habanero sauce, brings a new sweet and spicy flavor that goes great with some slow smoked BBQ.
4. Creamed Corn
After years of serving buttered corn, we decided it was time to step up our corn game. So cometh creamed corn! If you haven’t tried it, you’re welcome.
5. BBQ Nachos
Our BBQ nachos are an in-stadium only item at DKR, and those that got them had one of the best food deals in the whole stadium. Look for them again next season!
A few catering stats from 2015 to ring in the new year…
6. We catered over 350 weddings in 2015
7. We catered over 800 full service events
8. Across our 5 stores, we did over 4,000 delivery events
9. In total, we did over 10,000 catered meals between pick up, delivery, and full service
10. On the day before Thanksgiving alone, we did almost 1,000 pick up orders across our 5 locations
We look forward to another great year in 2016, Happy New Year everyone!
Gift Cards: Even Better Than the Jelly of the Month Club
\Finding the right gift can always be a challenge. Having received more than my fair share of socks in my days, I can personally attest to this. But have no fear, Christmas shoppers, You live in Central Texas, which means that the person you’re buying a gift for loves BBQ. It’s written in the contract we all sign when we take up residence here. So to buy that perfect gift, you don’t have to think any more, or even leave that chair you’re sitting in. Because Pok-e-Jo’s gift cards aren’t just available in our stores, you can get them online too. I know what you’re thinking; it’s like Christmas come early. I mean, not that early, because it is December, but at least a little early. Anyway, trust us, they’ll love it. And this gift never gets old. Because Pok-e-Jo’s gift cards never expire.
Catering Heroes: Saving the Day and Just A Phone Call Away
In a world, where the need for catered meals is at its greatest, where unexpected guests arrive…unexpectedly and quality takes a back seat to fast food, there comes the need for the greatest among us to rise…we call them Catering Heroes!
Just a few weeks ago, we received a call from a person who was clearly distressed. They had hired another catering company to provide a dinner for 50 people that evening, and the caterer never showed! Luckily, this person, we will call her “Bernadette,” picked up the phone and called Pok-e-Jo’s catering hotline at 512-388-7578. Within an hour of her call, we arrived with a meal of Brisket, Sausage, 4 sides, iced tea, cookies, and all the fixings. Not only were “Bernadette’s” guests fed, but once she placed her order, “Bernadette” was able to sit back and relax, knowing that we would take care of her.
So the next time that you’ve got to feed a hungry horde of board members, a gaggle of guests, or even a plethora of partiers, know that Pok-e-Jo’s is only a phone call away from saving your bacon with a delicious, worry free catered meal of barbecue or fajitas!
Alright barbecue fans, time for a hard truth: Halloween is over. So you know what time it is now. No, not time for putting up your Christmas decorations. It’s time to start planning your Thanksgiving meal.
Hey! Where are you going? Come back! Don’t look so panicked, it’ll be okay. No, no, you don’t need to go find a bigger oven. No, you can’t have more time. It’s here, and it’s happening. But don’t worry, Pok-e-Jo’s is here to make Thanksgiving as easy as pie. Oh, that reminds me, no, we don’t sell pies.
Whether you’re just trying to feed a couple of pilgrims or the entire Griswold family, we have a holiday catering package that’s right for you! Now, I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is, “Yes, we are closed on Thanksgiving Day.” But that doesn’t stop us from helping over 1,000 customers fulfill their holiday wishes each year with a delicious smoked turkey holiday meal. Shouldn’t you be one of those customers this year? We think yes.
Check out our Holiday catering menu below and call our Turkey Hotline at 512-388-7578 so that we can answer any questions you have!
We’re under no illusions or false pretenses. Pok-e-Jo’s is kind of a weird name. And some of the origin of the name remains a mystery, even to our owners! For instance, why is there no second ‘e’ after the ‘Jo’? What is with all of the dashes? I’m not sure we’ll ever know.
Here is what we do know: of the three original Pok-e-Jo’s owners, Porky Haberman, Joe Slaton, and Doug Bohne, only Porky and Joe’s names were used in forming the restaurant name. It stands to reason that Pok-e-Jo-Dug’s just didn’t sound good to them. I can’t imagine why.
To help us make sense of it all, our current owner Danny Haberman, son of original Pok-e-Jo’s owner Porky Haberman, had this to say about where the origin of one of the most recognizable and unique names in Central Texas BBQ:
“If I recall I believe there were some cold beers involved, but after some serious debate, Porky-Jo’s just didn’t roll off the tongue quite like Pok-e-Jo’s”
Shortening names by one letter. Adding in dashes. Sounds like “some cold beers” may have been an understatement! But regardless, our funky name has worked for us, and has led to a lot of happy and satisfied stomachs since 1979.
So here’s to the original owners; long live Pok-e-Jo-Dug‘s!
