(re : Pecan Lodge) I've had co-workers go there and say it was great bbq and I had been waiting at least 2 or 3 years to try it. Maybe it was an off day. The brisket was kind of dry, yet really fatty and for some oddball reason didn't have much flavor. I was dumping a couple of their sauces on it to save it. lol. I drove from Dallas down there and got there around 6-7 in the morning on a Saturday to hit that place up. The reason (and this was about 2 or so years ago, I think) : they were only open on Saturdays, and they started serving around 8-9am. By 11am on most days back then, they were out of meat. There are 2 briskets I've tried at bbq joints I put on a level to themselves and those are Franklin and Snow's. If the brisket I tried at Franklin was a 9.9, Snow's would be a 9.5 and only because there was too much salt on the cuts I had. Snow's was one of the first places that broke the "Lockhart barrier" and really started getting bbq noticed nationwide. The pit boss, Tootsie Tomanetz is a sweet ol' lady, too. Took the time to take a pic with a lot of people when she had some time from working her tail off around the multiple pits. (re : Pecan Lodge) Good point because if I looked at the brisket, except for one slice (which seemed like a piece of blubber), it looked like Snow's with that "crust". But biting into it... lack of flavor and oddly dry. I always wanted to try them when they were at the Farmers Market, but never got to. I tried clod at Lockhart Smokehouse here in the DFW area and didn't like it. Way too dry. But it was probably how it was made. Lockhart Smokehouse is run by family members that founded/run Kreuz, btw. They sell Kreuz sausage there, too. Anyway, clod is naturally supposed to be leaner than brisket, but this was like shoe leather. I was kind of sad I wasted my money on it. I was going to recommend Fargo's. Daniel Vaughan gave this place a "6 star" rating and I think he only gave that to about 4 places among the hundreds he's probably gone to (lol). I wonder if, like most bbq places, it was an off day or it was because they moved to larger digs. I think they used to be in a little shack or trailer on the side of the road or something. Did you go to a place that looks like an old fried chicken joint? I could've sworn they moved to an old Popeye's/fried chicken building a year or two ago.
That's a great piece of bbq'ing meat that is often overlooked. Props to you for using the word "clod".
We need a Houston BBQ thread. All these great places that are 2-3 hours away aren't helping my lunch hunger. In Houston (area), best I've had is Corkscrew BBQ in their old trailer. I haven't been to the new store yet in Spring. But wow was that some damn good BBQ. I liked it even more than Blacks in Lockhart. I tried Gatlins BBQ at their new location -- thought it was good but I also had to wait 2+ hours for it so that might have ruined the experience for me. Did not think it was better than Corkscrew. I have not tried Killens BBQ.. one of these weekends when I have some time to kill on a Saturday. Any others in Houston area you might recommend? Preferably some without a 2 hour wait like Gatlins...
I took a half day from work a while back to go on a weekday. It was a Tuesday and I got there a little after 11 just to find the line out the door and down the sidewalk. I went back to work. Maybe the line moved quickly, but I just didn't fell like waiting to find out. I'm terribly impatient when it comes to lines. I took the time off from work to go home afterwards and fall into a meat induced coma, not wait in a line. I'll have to make it happen one of these days though. And Tuesday was probably not the best day to go.
It's next.. it is just Saturday or bust for me. That's too long of a lunch break to get away with at my office. Actually ended up having Gatlins again today -- virtually no line and got my food very quickly. Corkscrew is still way better..
I would think most good BBQ places would have a line. I can't speak to their current operation (new store), but in my experience if you got to their trailer at 11AM when they opened, it would be about 45 minutes until you had your food. That was one of the few lines that I thought was worth the wait.
Yeah, it should probably be expected. But there are few things that I hate more than lines. I'll give it a go soon enough.
From what i hear, Killens is easily the best bbq in the Houston area. I've been there, but i never tried the other places like gatlins.
spent the past several days in KC, and, let's just say, they think they know bbq, but they don't. it doesn't hold a candle to texas, and that's not just me being biased. joe's had pretty good pork ribs, arthur bryant's had pretty good burnt ends. other than that, it was all mediocre. their regular brisket is about pappa's bbq quality.
I wnt to Snows back when Texas Monthly first made their BBQ list before Franklin BBQ existed. Until I had Franklin it was by far the best brisket I had ever had. Franklin ended up beating them out in my opinion, but Snows is the only place that is really close. But, that has been years now - so I can't say if it is still that good.
Is Joe`s the BBQ joint that's in the old gas station? I was there a few years ago and it was pretty good. Here in Omaha we have squat for BBQ, we did get a Dickey`s up here but its not very good. I miss Htown when it comes to BBQ
