Its really not. For some reason people in Houston think Goode Co is good and I thought it was absolutely horrible! One thing to keep in mind though, is even the best places like Snows and Franklins can have off days. For instance a bunch of us went to Snows. I had been there a few times already and bragged to all my friends. Well we get there and get brisket and it was good, but not great and definitely not legendary. We decided to get another batch after half an hour and this one turned out to be absolutely amazing! Weird.
It's impossible to get perfect cuts of meat all the time. When I'm at home, I can pick out the best cut from the store. Restaurants cook what ever gets delivered to them. Sometimes it great, sometimes it's not so great. I find places like Rudy's amazing, not because they have the best brisket. It's because you get decent stuff regardless of what time of the day or store you show up to. They're amazingly consistent.
I think it's pretty well known that coopers took a significant downtown when they began expanding. Damn shame bc the one in llano was awesome. La is VERY pricey. Walked out of there spending $55 also agree that city market in lulling is fantastic. Overall may be my favorite assuming the downfall of smittys is true
Ok summary since EVERYONE cares so much... LA BBQ... 9/10, excellent. Talked with John Lewis, totally friendly guy gave me some of his rub and offered techniques. Only reason I wouldn't say 10/10 is bc it is reserved for the best ever!! Kruetz 9/10... a little bit saltier? Fantastic. I love the small town atmosphere. Blacks 8/10... maybe biased bc it wasn't fresh bc it was reheated very good. grabbed a bottle of rub, habanero sauce, ghost chili sauce, very cool place Smittys 6/10 came out more dry... again reheated. Lacked the pop of flavor I would like, City market 9/10. Very flavorful, even reheated was great. Just the right amount of salt , more garlicy which i enjoyed. In the end every place was great. I feel I could replicate Smitty's and Blacks with my own brisket but LA BBQ and Kruetz have an edge on my own that would take years. Hopefully one day I can wait in line at Franklin to try the apparent master! Would not be mad at ANY of the above places if I payed for their food!
