unfortunately i'm not all that familiar with the top BBQ places in houston (outside of pappa's), but let me tell you, i just got re-acquainted with Cooper's out in Llano and hot damn! i forgot how great that place was.... the brisket, ribs, and chicken are absolutely incredible. the pork loin is solid too, plus they have the best potato salad ever. add to that good sauce, sweet tea, pinto beans with whole jalapenos in it, and ice cold shiner...... it jumped to the top of my list.
(I only know inner-loop places) My top two: Goode Company and Luling City Market Best Ribs: Pizatolas
i know this isnt in houston, but have u guys been here? http://www.kreuzmarket.com/about.shtml they dont serve sauce! Kreuz Market was started in 1900 by Charles Kreuz as a meat market and grocery store. To prevent wasting meat by letting it spoil, most markets would cook the better cuts on barbecue pits and use the lesser cuts to make sausage. Customers would buy their barbecue and sausage (which was wrapped in butcher paper), then buy some items from the grocery store to go along with it, and eat it off the butcher paper with their hands and a pocket knife with NO SAUCE. Charles passed the business along to his sons and son-in-law who ran it until 1948, when Edgar Schmidt, who had worked there since 1936, bought the market from the Kreuz's. In the 1960's, Edgar closed the grocery store and kept some of the more popular "side items" for the barbecue restaurant, such as crackers, bread, pickles, onions, cheese, and other familiar items on the Kreuz menu today In 1984, Edgar sold the business to his sons, Rick and Don Schmidt, and they ran the increasingly popular restaurant until Don's retirement in 1997. In 1999, Rick was forced to move the popular barbecue business from its original home of 99 years to a newer and bigger facility a quarter mile north of the old location. Along with the new building came some new items on the Kreuz menu, most notably: pork spare ribs, beans, German potato salad, sauerkraut, and a new jalapeno cheese sausage, but don't look for any barbecue sauce or forks as they are still missing in action from Kreuz Market to this day! We still rely on our cooking methods and choice cuts of meat to achieve the flavor that so many have come to expect from Kreuz Market.
I like Thelma's, Goode Company and Lyndon's (off 290 - the only place to get East of the Mississippi style BBQ in town). Thelma's is the best for the money - a $4.50 sandwich is equal to 2 full dinners anywhere else - and I like their sauce alot as well (sweet with cloves).
Wiliams Bros Smokehouse as noted in my post and RocketMan Tex's as best ribs in Houston is on Wheatly (Ella turns into Wheatly) and is closed on Sunday and Monday and they take cash only. Best Ribs in the city. I don't know about the other joint but I'll give it a whirl and report back.
i love it how you bold the butcher paper and no sauce part. let me drop some knowledge on you...... if you've never eaten BBQ on nothing but butchers paper without any sauce, you've never had real Texan BBQ. that's why i love central Texas so much.... so many authentic BBQ establishments like City Market in Luling, Kreuz Market and Black's in Lockhart, Coopers in Llano. the list goes on and on.
Lyndon's is excellent - I didn't know it was Carolina style BBQ, I just knew it was damn tasty. I'm also a fan of Harris County Smokehouse, on 290 and Highway 6
Xach's in Galena Park was my fave. But its now defunct. Too bad...they had ribs you could crush the bone between your thumb and forefinger with a tiny amount of pressure. Brother In Laws in East Houston is pretty darn good.
