Barbecue Joint Perks A Guide To Free Food And Veteran Discounts

The provided source material is insufficient to produce a 2000-word article covering the full spectrum of free samples, promotional offers, no-cost product trials, brand freebies, and mail-in sample programs across categories like beauty, baby care, pet products, health, food, and household goods. Below is a factual summary based on available data.

Barbecue Joint Freebies: Traditional Complimentary Items

Barbecue restaurants across the United States have a long-standing tradition of offering complimentary items with meals, particularly in the Southern regions. These freebies serve multiple purposes: they provide hospitality, complement the rich flavors of smoked meats, and often reflect regional barbecue customs.

Common Complimentary Items

Pickles and Onions Sliced dill pickles and white onions are frequently offered free of charge at many barbecue establishments, with Texas joints being particularly known for this practice. Some locations expand this offering to include pickled jalapenos, while others set up entire pickle bars allowing customers to help themselves. These items provide a crisp, acidic counterpoint to rich, smoky barbecue without the filling properties of heavier side dishes like potato salad or beans.

Bread Varieties Bread represents another almost universal freebie in barbecue establishments, though the form varies significantly by region. In Florida's rib and chicken joints, thick slices of garlic bread soaked in melted butter and toasted golden brown are common staples. Cornbread appears throughout barbecue country, sometimes cut in squares, baked as muffins, or in distinctive regional forms. In eastern North Carolina, the batter is baked in long molds to create corn sticks, while further west in the state, it is piped into deep fryers to make hushpuppies.

Plain white bread, the soft, pre-sliced, store-bought variety, serves as the simplest option. At barbecue buffets in the lower half of South Carolina, operators often place entire loaves, still in their plastic bags, on each table. At Cozy Corner in Memphis, two slices are positioned vertically between cups of slaw and beans, while at the original Dreamland in Tuscaloosa, white bread with warm barbecue sauce arrives before the order is even taken.

Regional Specialties and Unique Offerings

Bessinger Onion Rings Across the river in Mount Pleasant, Melvin's Barbecue (founded by another Bessinger brother) offers free onion rings with sandwich combos rather than platters. These aren't ordinary onion rings but two-inch slices coated in thick, sweet batter that puffs up big and golden brown in the fryer, essentially creating giant vegetable donuts. While additional onion rings can be ordered as a side dish, many customers find the complimentary portion sufficient.

Snow's BBQ Beans Among all barbecue joint freebies, the beans at Snow's BBQ in Lexington, Texas, stand out as particularly noteworthy. While customers pay $1.50 for a four-ounce cup of potato salad or coleslaw, the beans await free for all comers in a steam tray next to the sliced pickles, onions, and white bread. These beans are praised as potentially the best-tasting barbecue beans in the country, featuring a simple recipe of pinto beans with salt, bacon ends, and chili powder, resulting in tender beans enveloped in a smoky, savory broth without unwanted sweetness.

Germantown Commissary Deviled Eggs Recent years have seen gussied-up deviled eggs become staples on Southern-themed menus, often garnished with premium items like aged country ham or trout roe, sometimes costing eight dollars for three halves. At Commissary in Germantown, Tennessee, one deviled egg is included free with every barbecue sandwich plate or combination platter, positioned atop the small plastic cup of coleslaw.

Historical Context: From Free to Paid

Burnt Ends Tradition Kansas City holds historical significance as the birthplace of burnt ends, the thin, crisp edges of beef trimmed from brisket, doused in thick sauce, and served atop slices of white bread. Originally, these were given away for free. In 1972, Calvin Trillin noted his favorite thing to eat at Arthur Bryant's Barbeque was "something that is given away for free—the burned edges of the brisket. The counterman just pushes them over to the side and anyone who wants them helps themselves."

However, as the delicacy gained popularity, Kansas City restaurateurs recognized their commercial value. Today, customers pay $15 a pound for burnt ends at Bryant's, and no Kansas City joint is known to still offer them free of charge. This tradition has been maintained in Texas, where meat cutters at Franklin Barbecue in Austin and Louie Mueller in Taylor are known to slip customers sample slices while carving brisket. John Lewis Barbecue has brought this practice east to Charleston, South Carolina.

Lone Star Beer at Tejas Chocolate The tradition of complimentary items extends to beverages, with Tejas Chocolate & Craftory in Texas offering Lone Star Beer as a free addition to meals, though specific details of this offering require further verification from additional sources.

Veterans Day Free Meals and Discounts

Contemporary Promotional Programs

Many restaurants and food establishments participate in Veterans Day promotional programs, offering complimentary meals or significant discounts to active military personnel and veterans as a gesture of appreciation for their service.

Feges BBQ Veterans Day Initiative Feges BBQ demonstrates this commitment by serving free meals for veterans on November 11 at both Feges BBQ locations. The company has set an ambitious goal of serving 400 plates by November 10, encouraging community support to help meet this target. This initiative represents a direct way restaurants can honor veterans while also fostering community engagement.

Chain Restaurant Participation Multiple national and regional restaurant chains participate in Veterans Day promotional programs, offering various complimentary options:

• Beef O'Brady's: Provides a free Build-Your-Own-Angus Burger & Fries on November 11 at participating locations to active military and veterans with valid military ID.

• Benihana: Offers veterans and active-duty military personnel a complimentary entrée valued up to $59 on Veterans Day.

• Blaze Pizza: Serves free one-topping pizzas to veterans and active-duty military personnel on November 11. Additionally, the company donates $1 from every pizza sold that day to Folds of Honor, which provides educational scholarships to military families.

• Bob Evans: Provides complimentary breakfast options to veterans and active-duty military personnel with valid military ID at participating locations, with dine-in only restrictions. Menu options include various breakfast items such as Country Biscuit Breakfast, The Classic Breakfast, Banana Berry Oatmeal, and Buttermilk Hotcakes.

• Bruegger's Bagels: Offers free coffee to veterans and active-duty military personnel on Veterans Day.

Geographic Distribution and Accessibility

Veterans Day promotional programs are distributed across various restaurant categories, from quick-service establishments to family dining restaurants and specialty cuisine venues. The geographic distribution of participating locations can typically be found through official company websites, allowing veterans to locate nearby participating restaurants.

Verification and Eligibility

Most promotional programs require valid military identification for participation, including military ID cards, DD-214 forms, or other official documentation confirming veteran or active-duty status. Some programs may have additional restrictions such as dine-in only requirements or specific menu item limitations.

Conclusion

The tradition of complimentary items in barbecue establishments reflects the hospitality and community-focused nature of these restaurants, offering everything from basic staples like bread and pickles to regionally distinctive items like corn sticks and burnt ends. These practices have evolved over time, with some items that were once free becoming premium offerings, while others remain complimentary as a matter of tradition and customer appreciation.

The contemporary practice of offering Veterans Day free meals and discounts represents an extension of this spirit of giving, with numerous restaurants across the country participating in programs that honor military service members. These initiatives not only provide tangible benefits to veterans and active military personnel but also foster community recognition and appreciation for their service.

For consumers interested in taking advantage of these complimentary items and promotional offers, it is important to verify current offerings and participating locations through official sources, as these programs may change annually and often have specific eligibility requirements or limitations.

Sources

1. South's Top Barbecue Freebies
2. Barbecue Joint Freebies Crossword Clue
3. Feges BBQ
4. Veterans Day Holiday Free Meals 2025