Howling Coyote BBQ Co.
Howling Coyote BBQ Co.
3264 Gateway St
Springfield, OR 97477
(541) 746-8043
Eugenified.com rating: 
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Update Feb 13, 2010: Howling Coyote BBQ appears to be out of business. I drove by yesterday, and it looks completely shut down, and the phone number is disconnected also. If you are still desperate for great BBQ, check out the newly crowned king, Wagon Yard BBQ.
Break out them apostrophes, today we’s writin’ a review of a good ol’ Texas BBQ restaurant located righ’ chere in Sprangfield!
But first: ATTENTION ALL BBQ RESTAURANT OWNERS IN EUGENE/SPRINGFIELD. THE COMPETITION IS NOW OVER. PLEASE CLOSE UP SHOP AND MOVE TOWARDS THE CITY EXITS IN AN ORDERLY FASHION. HOWLING COYOTE BBQ CO HAS BEEN DECLARED THE WINNER. NO, NOT JUST THE WINNER, THE KING. NOW ALL THE REST OF YOU CLOWNS SHOULD JUST SHUT UP AND LEAVE. AM I SHOUTING TOO LOUDLY?
Yes, you heard right, Howling Coyote is the winner. But before I tell you about the excellent food at Howling Coyote, allow me to first say somethin’ about smoked meats: Howling Coyote specializes in smoked meats. Since the smokin’ process takes ten or more hours, you know that they’re not cookin’ your food to order. Everythin’ smoked is made far in advance and warmed up when you order. So there you have it: one of the least attractive sounding food preparation methods used in any restaurant today. But it sure makes fer good eatin’! Just know that most of the food will not be pipin’ hot when it hits your table. And don’t expect it to be drippin’ in pre-slathered BBQ sauce a la Tony Romas. Real smoked meats are just moist and have a nice slightly crunchy bark on the outside. Sauce (BBQ sauce that is, red gold, Texas tea) is added by the end consumer.
OK, so we’re all clear now, right? This ain’t no Tony Romas so don’t give me any of your trash talkin’ and/or whinin’ about “Tony Roma’s ribs are covered with sauce” or “Tony Roma’s ribs are pipin’ hot from the microwave” or “Tony Roma’s is an Italian name so what the hell do they know about BBQ ribs?”
Now a few words about marketing skills: In a nutshell, the owner of Howling Coyote is long on cookin’ skills and short on marketin’ skills. Aside from the beautiful smokish aroma that hits you when you open the door to this place (A+), just about everythin’ else is a marketin’ miss. The outside looks to be a bankrupt old-school Taco Bell (C-). Neon signs in the window, cheesy as they may be, are just ’bout the only thing that indicates this place is actually open for business (C). Inside, you’re faced with a somewhat confusin’ menu up on the wall, plus some white boards with colorful felt pen announcements of specials (C-). Good ol’ blackboards and chalk would have been much more suitable for the correct Texas feelin’. Even a big sheet of butcher paper with grease pencil writin’ woulda done the job better. The seating booths are somewhat Texas-y feelin’, and there is a roll of papertowels on the table, so at least that’s not too bad (although the papertowels-on-the-table thing has been done to death in so many places, it is almost a cliche now). Last but not least, why is Howling spelled with a g when it coulda been easily replaced with an apostrophe? Come on! That’s just plain ol’ obvious…So, again in a nutshell, marketin’ is not the strong suit of the owner of HowlinG Coyote. (Have you ever noticed that the spelling of “coyote” is totally different from the pronounciation? What’s up with that?)
And finally, a few words about the food: It’s excellent. No, seriously, it’s really really good. The ribs are moist inside and have a nice section of “bark”, the crispy stuff that grows during the smokin’ process. Don’t go near the BBQ sauce on your first bite. Try it without a drop of sauce to really taste the scrumdelyicious smoked flavor. Yum! Brisket (cuts o’ beef with only a little fat along the edge) also have that wonderful smoky flavor, but may be a bit on the dry side for straight eatin’. Not to worry. Slather on some o’ dat BBQ sauce (4 kinds to choose from; all are winners in their own way; mustard sauce is also shockingly good tastin’) and you’ll quickly arrive at food heaven. They also have pulled pork this and that. Again, really great taste, but slightly dry (as it should be), so go for a little BBQ sauce. The sides are all excellent as well. Great BBQ beans, tremendous fries, wonderful corn bread, crispy onion rings, rich potato salad, etc. etc. I have nearly used up all of my positive descriptive word quota for the next month of reviews, otherwise I would keep going on and on about the food at this place. Trust me. It’s the opposite of terrible.
Final ratings: 3 stars for decor, 7 stars for food. Adding them together and dividing by two gives Howling Coyote a 5 star rating. Yeehaw!
Eugenified.com rating:
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August 23rd, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Are you kidding me ? The few times i have eaten there (which i never will again) i got sick with food poisoning..I think you need a new person in charge of reviewing restuarants…one with taste!
August 23rd, 2009 at 4:03 pm
I have eaten there many times with no problems at all with food poisoning. Perhaps you should wash your hands better next time.
January 12th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
I have eaten at the one that was in Eugene and it was WAY to smoky inside. (Maybe a bad day with the exhaust system). The ribs were mediocre at best, potato salad wasn’t too bad, pretty good beans, but the sausage was the best of what we got. I lived in the mid-west for a while where I tasted the best ribs I’ve ever had. (If I could figure out what that guy did I would never eat ribs out again!) For people that haven’t had what I would consider “top notch” bbq, Howlin Coyote will probably be wonderful! Granted I only ate there once; but it was enough to make me not want to go back.
January 12th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
I have not had better bbq ribs anywhere, but that’s not saying much. At least in Eugene, Howling Coyote is the best in my book. I am going to give Hole in The Wall another chance soon. We’ll see if the rankings change then.
March 14th, 2010 at 9:55 pm
I visited the old Howling Coyote location today to try out Taco Time (the new tenant). It still smells very strongly of Howling Coyote inside that place. Unfortunately, that did not improve the quality of the food served by Taco Time…See quick review here: http://eugenified.com/reviews/taco-time/
May 22nd, 2010 at 11:26 am
The Eugene store closed, but there are 2 locations in Springfield (the other side of I-5).
Everyone has their own definition of proper Q, but I think this is very good, the best I’ve had in Oregon so far. (Still exploring Portland.)
WARNING!! You and your clothes will reek of BBQ when you leave, even if you are there only long enough to pick up an order to go. Plan to shower and change clothes before doing anything else. Consider using the drive-thru if this is a problem.
Sides are secondary considerations for me, edible potato salad is rare so I don’t bother. I usually go with slaw and beans, both are acceptable at HC, although I think the amount of meat in the beans is overkill (it needs only to add flavor). I wish HC and other Q joints would serve greens: traditional, easy, cheap, healthy and so damn good. The cornbread muffins are sweet with a few whole kernels baked in. Most people like them, but they are too sweet for my taste and the kernels are rubbery.
Hefewiesen is on tap – a good complement.
If you’re into BBQ, you should definitely give it a try.
May 22nd, 2010 at 12:37 pm
Where are they located now? I know the Eugene location closed a long time ago, but the Gateway location also is closed now. So what is the other Springfield location???
Totally true how walking into Howling Coyote makes you clothes reek for hours!
I also love their fries.
Greens? Yuk! I ate them at Popa’s Soul Food Kitchen and will never make that mistake again. I have no idea why any humans like the taste of greens.
By the way, Popa’s Soul Food Kitchen brisket is the fattiest and most disgusting piece of undercooked meat I have ever eaten…or rather I should say I ate 20% of it and then could go no further. It’s doused in a terrible sauce also. Really really bad despite the good reviews that place gets on yelp.