Nah. Been there once a very long time ago and don't even remember if I had barbecue. To be clear, there are a several places here you can find great bbq, but there are so many spots I've had people tell me were great where it was average to terrible. My #1 rule for bbq: If it requires sauce to taste good, it's junk. #2 rule: I'm the most negative bbq sauce taste tester ever. Takes a whole lot to impress me. If you brag about a bbq joint/restaurant and the first thing you mention is how great the sauce is, you are DEAD! to me.
I remember both of those places- T Bone Tom's is still there. I mean, yeah, I could do the cooking myself. Just curious about BBQ joints going under.
Is your entire Texas BBQ experience Pappa's BBQ or Rudy's? Then yeah, you'll need the sauce to make it edible. But if you go to Truth, Corkscrew, Tejas, etc., only way you're getting sauce is if you ask for it. I'm not sure how you say Texas BBQ is overrated and then proceed to use the reasoning for something that is inherently not TX BBQ.
I've had very good bbq since moving here. A lot of it in backyards and some in great restaurants that know their stuff. But I have found most people here have very low standards for what constitutes good bbq. The chain restaurants, the infinite number of bbq joints and bbq trucks that I've tried because others told me they were "great" (but were average or awful) is why I say bbq in Houston is overrated. Oh, and the bragging about the sauce! Over the years, I've been vocal enough that everyone now knows not to even mention sauce to me. Bottom line: If most people in Houston had similar standards to the folks in this thread and most bbq restaurants here were like the ones specifically mentioned in yours and earlier posts, I would have a different opinion. On the brighter side, the most underrated thing about Houston is the seafood. This midwestern boy had no earthly idea before arriving in the 80s. But when friends come to visit, they always want to hit a Tex Mex or bbq restaurant (or two) while here. I have to talk them into seafood.
LMAO... I find this type pretentious opinion quite funny when it comes to sauce. "If it requires sauce, then it sucks!" When the fck did this type of thinking start? You might as well go to London and eat some fcking mash and eel pie.
Has anyone here had Briskit and Rice? They appeared in Southern Living, Texas Monthley, NY Times etc. They just moved locations to something bigger. Now located on 6166 Hwy 6 N. Their reopening date is Sept 6th. The owners are old friends of mine and it's great food!
Ate their plenty of times. I remember when they first opened after that chinese restaurant failed. They got popular quick
Prices are high for restaurant input...there's only so much you can raise the prices for the consumer. I could be wrong but one of the biggest things is the total oversaturation of the market. BBQ used to be something you had to go a bit out of your way to get...now it's everywhere. Just like we've been seeing "craft breweries" and "bourbon distilleries" going out of business left-and-right recently. Tastes change. The best will hopefully stay standing.
Is it tastes or prices? You would think if there are tons of BBQ restaurants everywhere, it would incite competition and competitive prices, but prices haven't come down in years. At least not that I can see. I do agree on the good BBQ being around more, though, and that's a good thing, but if people can't afford the prices, then the excess joints are going to go bye-bye. People are cutting back everywhere. I remember I used to stop at Buc-ee's or Woody's to grab some jerky way back in the day. I don't even know what jerky costs at Woody's, but it's $30/lb at Buc-ee's. Say what? lol. I haven't bought it in forever. I remember a few years ago brisket was $12/lb or less at restaurants. Now, I think at a lot of places it's over $30/lb. Some places are approaching $40/lb. Nutty. I think you can go to HEB and get a prime ribeye for around $23. Yeah, you have to cook it, but wooptie doo. Layoffs are starting to hit in combination with inflation, too. I just heard ConocoPhillips was laying off 25% of its workforce. Things like that across the city will definitely impact restaurants.
At current prices, there isn't much incentive for companies to spend heavily in the Exploration & Production part of the business. Energy Futures For 2025, the layoffs could have been worse than they have been. If prices remain low for the rest of the year, then Budgets for 2026 will be conservative and bring more layoffs. ConocoPhillips layoffs an alarm bell for energy industry Persistently low oil prices and rising costs have forced ConocoPhillips into laying off a bunch of employees, which Odessa oilman Kirk Edwards says should not surprise anyone. He said the Houston-based company, which has a big presence in the Permian Basin, just announced a 25% workforce reduction that will affect roughly 3,000 employees by the end of the year. “CEO Ryan Lance cited a $2 per barrel increase in costs since 2021 with controllable expenses rising from $11 to $13 per barrel,” Edwards said. “This isn’t just a Conoco problem, it’s a flashing red warning light for the entire U.S. oil and gas industry. “To me this is proof positive that a combination of high tariffs, regulatory drag and artificially low oil prices are taking a heavy toll on U.S.-based producers.” He said rig counts and frac crew counts are falling and despite all this the industry keeps hearing from the Trump Administration about how ‘great’ it is that gasoline prices are low at the pump. “Yes, consumers benefit in the short term, but at what long-term cost?” Edwards asked. “The 3,000 ConocoPhillips employees are just the tip of the iceberg. “Thousands more drilling rig hands, equipment operators, service company employees and other skilled workers are being laid off quietly across the country. These are high-paying, high-skilled jobs that support families and communities across energy-producing regions. “And here’s the real tragedy: when these workers leave oil and gas, many don’t come back. They diversify their careers, move into less cyclical industries and are lost to the sector forever.” Edwards said that institutional knowledge and expertise, productivity, innovation and human capital are thereby gone. “This isn’t just about one company,” he said. “Conoco is a bellwether. “When a major like this is forced to make deep cuts, it signals what may soon be coming for other large independents and super majors. Let’s hope that’s not the case, but hope is not a strategy. “We need to be asking harder questions about the policy direction we’re headed in. Energy independence, economic stability and national security all depend on a healthy domestic energy sector. “It’s a sad day for the folks at ConocoPhillips and a warning for us all.” Referring to one of President Trump’s campaign slogans last year, Edwards said, “So much for ‘drill, baby, drill.’”
