Brothers-in-Laws BBQ — Houston

EXPERIENCE

Wednesday is rib night at Brothers-in-Laws BBQ, where a dine-in all-you-can-eat special gives Houston barbecue fans a standing midweek invitation. The restaurant has served Houston since 1981, with barbecue plates, sandwiches and loaded potatoes on its regular menu. Ribs are the reason to put Wednesday on the calendar; the long-running Freeport Street joint is part of the attraction, too.

A shaded wooden porch leads into a casual, wood-paneled dining room filled with Texas keepsakes. It looks like the kind of neighborhood barbecue place that has collected a few stories along with its regulars.

The rib special fits that setting: an uncomplicated reason to get a few people together for dinner. It also leaves companions free to order from the regular menu. Someone intent on ribs can share a table with a sliced-beef loyalist or a person who came specifically for a loaded baked potato. That makes this a useful gathering place when the invitation says barbecue but everyone has a different order in mind.

For the unlimited meal, plan around Wednesday dinner and a rib appetite. Brothers-in-Laws keeps the occasion specific, in a restaurant with decades of ordinary Houston meals behind it. A weekly special doesn’t have to become an elaborate event. Sometimes knowing which night your rib-loving friend will say yes is enough.