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Don't miss Smoke Sessions Barbecue -- new joint east of DFW

Pitmaster/owner Chad Sessions at Smoke Sessions Barbecue. (Photo ©Jim Rossman/Texas BBQ Posse) A new BBQ joint flashed up on my Facebook feed last week. My nephew’s mother-in-law tagged her daughter to mention Smoke Sessions Barbecue, a new trailer on State Highway 66 between Rockwall and Royse City in the small town of Fate. I was free for lunch the next day, so I drove the half hour east on I-30 and found Chad and Jessica Sessions manning a very sharp-looking smoker/trailer parked in front of a feed store. The right half of the trailer houses the offset pit and a…

Joints - 09/08/2017

Bartley's BBQ popular with the locals, not so much with the Posse.

Bartley's BBQ is located in a strip mall on E. Northwest Hwy. in Grapevine. (Photo©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) Friday brought the Texas BBQ Posse to Grapevine to eat at Bartley’s BBQ, a joint that none of us had heard of before it made the 2013 Texas Monthly Top 50 list. After one visit, we’re wondering how they made the list. It was crowded and the line remained a steady 15-20 during the lunch hour. Service is cafeteria line-style with self-serve sides that were mostly very good. As for the meat, we sampled the brisket, pork loin, pork ribs, turkey, hot…

Joints - 06/07/2013

Lockhart Smokehouse owner wants to add another pit to keep up with demand at his Oak Cliff joint

Our Shiner Platter lunch at Lockhart Smokehouse. Yes, it was a good as it looks. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins) During an anything-but-light lunch Thursday at Lockhart Smokehouse in Dallas, owner Jeff Bergus said business has been so strong -- up more than 25 percent this year -- that he's thinking of adding a second pit to the big Bewley that the joint has used since opening in early 2011. Where would it go? Bergus said he wasn't sure, but pointed out that there is a small, vacant storefront adjacent to the back of his place, which would be one possibility. Lockhart…

Equipment / Joints - 04/12/2013

Catching up with pitmaster Travis Mayes at Meshack's Bar-Be-Que Shack in Garland

The Tuesday lunch crowd at MeShack's Bar-Be-Que Shack in Garland. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) It had been too long, so I went out to visit old BBQ friends in Garland on Tuesday. Travis and Donna Mayes opened the now legendary Meshack's Bar-Be-Que Shack in May 2009. They led the way to a renaissance of Dallas barbecue that has been exhilarating, including the opening of Pecan Lodge and Lockhart Smokehouse. New joints continue to open in the D/FW area almost monthly now, some good, some bad. BBQ snob Daniel Vaughn put MeShack's on the map in late 2009, giving them…

Joints - 04/03/2013

Two little known facts about Slow Bone BBQ, the newest joint in Dallas

One of these places sells BBQ & one doesn't. Can you guess which is which? (Photo ©Chris Wilkins) Every couple of weeks I've been cruising by the new location of Slow Bone BBQ, checking for signs of life. This is the joint started up by Maple & Motor owner Jack Perkins, located on the corner of Wycliff and Irving Blvd. When word of the opening came out via CultureMap's Teresa Gubbins on January 1st, the Dallas food blogosphere lit up. After his highly successful run at the celebrated burger restaurant, Perkins was ready to take on the steadily improving Dallas…

Joints - 03/28/2013

Pecan Lodge of Dallas wins best ribs in the Posse's Best of Texas BBQ Tour

Order of award-winning ribs at Pecan Lodge in the Dallas Farmer's Market. (Tom Fox/DMN) While we wait for the full results of the Posse's recent Best of Texas barbecue tour to be published in The Dallas Morning News this weekend, we can reveal one more detail: Pecan Lodge in Dallas won the pork rib category. Five of our six judges rated pitmaster Justin Fourton's ribs a perfect 10. The sixth judge scored a 9. We reported earlier here that Snow's BBQ in Lexington had the highest scoring brisket. It received a 10 from every judge, the only meat to achieve…

Joints - 03/06/2013

First trip to 3 Stacks Smoke & Tap House in Frisco

Diners leave 3 Stacks Smoke and Tap House in Frisco. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) It's a pretty well-known fact among meat lovers that Collin County has historically been a barbecue wasteland. There are numerous places, but mostly gasser joints cooking unmemorable fare. Nothing remotely approaching the level of Pecan Lodge, MeShack's or Lockhart Smokehouse, all located south in Dallas County. The folks who just opened 3 Stacks Smoke and Tap House in Frisco hope to change the BBQ landscape in the land of strip malls and restaurant chains. As a resident of Plano, I have high hopes after eating…

Joints - 02/18/2013

Babb Bros. BBQ & Blues, the new joint in town

Posse members Jim Rossman and Gary Jacobson paid a visit to the newest BBQ joint in town, Babb Bros. BBQ & Blues, located just west of downtown. Jim shares his thoughts on the two-day old restaurant, as follows: We timed it just right at 11:45 am for beating the line at Babb Bros. BBQ & Blues, which was about 20 people deep by noon. The serving line was well staffed. I counted at least a dozen employees on the floor. I got the three-meat plate (brisket, ribs, spicy (cheese) sausage) with two sides for $11. Iced Tea added $2 and…

Joints - 12/01/2012

At Pecan Lodge, the Franklin-esque lines for BBQ begin to form at about 10:15 a.m. weekends

Just the other day, a barbecue friend asked me when the lines begin to form for the Pecan Lodge, open Thursday through Sunday for lunch at the Dallas Farmers Market. We have both tried to eat there on a work day since the Lodge was featured on the popular TV show, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and been discouraged by long lines and gone elsewhere. This morning, I ran into my Oak Cliff neighbor and Pecan Lodge pitmaster Justin Fourton. He said business has continued to build since the show first aired in late May. On Thursdays and Fridays, he said,…

Joints - 06/20/2012

Katy Trail Ice House: The new kid on the BBQ block

We had the pleasure of checking out the latest serious BBQ player in Dallas on Friday. The Katy Trail Ice House, located on the trail near Reverchon Park, has been cooking BBQ on a huge custom-built smoker for the past two months. The results are quite impressive, especially given the short time they've been smoking meats. Alerted by a recent blog post on written by Stephen Doyle on cravedfw, we rounded up a group and headed there for lunch. BBQ Snob Daniel Vaughn also rounded up a posse of five from nearby Good Fulton & Farrell, the architecture firm where…

Joints - 05/05/2012

BBQ trip to Uncle Willie's and Mama E's in east Fort Worth

In our never ending quest to find the best BBQ joints in Texas, Posse pitmaster Marshall Cooper and I recently headed west to Fort Worth to check out a couple of places we hadn't been yet. Both joints, Uncle Willie's BBQ and Mama E’s Bar-B-Q & Homestyle Cooking, are on the east side of town on Rosedale Ave., located about ten minutes apart. The Posse went on a Fort Worth BBQ tour in spring 2010, but we were trying to find a new stop or two beyond our two favorites from that tour. After that trip, Off the Bone in…

Joints - 02/22/2012

Dropping in on Longoria's BBQ in Everman

Brisket sausage at Longoria's BBQ in Everman. On a recent weekday afternoon, Marshall Cooper and I dropped in at Longoria's BBQ in Everman, one of our favorite DFW joints. We met pitmaster David Longoria at the cash registers and started to talk BBQ. The lunch rush was over and were back in the pit area in no time. The trip was nothing big, we'd already eaten at two BBQ joints in east Fort Worth that day, Uncle Willie's & Mama E's. But we still had room, if you know what I mean. Longoria's pitmaster David Longoria meets Posse pitmaster Marshall…

Joints - 02/20/2012

Happy anniversary to our friends at Lockhart Smokehouse

Texas BBQ royalty were on hand as friends and family of Lockhart Smokehouse joined together on Sunday evening to celebrate their first anniversary. We were all there to congratulate Jill Bergus, husband Jeff and pitmaster Tim McLaughlin on their success. Lockhart Smokehouse has played a major role in the renaissance of Dallas barbecue, along with Pecan Lodge in the Dallas Farmer's Market. It's only fitting that a group of Jill's family came up from Lockhart to help them celebrate, including Kreuz Market owner Keith Schmidt and her grandmother Alma Schmidt. Jill grew up surrounded by the legacy of great BBQ.…

Joints - 01/30/2012

Where's the smoke? the Posse asks after visiting historic Dallas joints

The wooden sign on the wall at the original Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse on Inwood Road says "Real Texas Bar-B-Que." It's next to a large black and white photo of Sonny himself. The late Dallas BBQ patriarch, dressed in a white shirt, white apron and white chef's hat, has a gentle smile on his face and a big carving knife in his hand. Once upon a time, that sign might have been accurate. Not anymore. The same goes for all four of the joints the Posse visited on a recent Saturday during its Roots of Dallas BBQ Tour, which included the…

Joints - 01/19/2012

Roots of Dallas BBQ Tour

For our first BBQ tour of new year, a dozen Posse members met this morning to retrace some Dallas BBQ history. We started at the original Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse BBQ on Inwood, followed by stops at Odom’s Bar-B-Que, the original Dickey's Barbecue Pit and ending at Peggy Sue BBQ in Snider Plaza. Our past tours have averaged anywhere from 200 to 600 miles of driving. This one was 16 miles from the first stop to the last. None of the places came close to the elite BBQ in the area or the state, but it was fun to get together…

Joints - 01/14/2012

Goodbye Luckie's Smokehouse, hello OC Smokehouse & Bar

UPDATE: OC Smokehouse went out of business within a few months. Stay tuned to see what opens there next! 12/2011 When one door closes, another one opens. Such is the case of Luckie's Smokehouse on Davis Street in Oak Cliff. The new OC Smokehouse & Bar will be opening for business there tomorrow. As predicted by the Dallas Observer's City of Ate food blog two weeks ago, Luckie's closed due to disputes between co-owners Nhat Ngo and Charles "Lucky" Johnson. Speculation was running rampant as to who would move into the building in the upcoming and trendy north Oak Cliff…

Joints - 09/02/2011

Good news for Off the Bone fans.....

It looks like Off the Bone in Forest Hills is expanding to a second location. The acclaimed joint run by Eddie Brown is a DFW favorite of many of the Posse members. Got this from Mansfield resident Joanne Reynolds, mom of Posse member Guy Reynolds: "An article in today's Mansfield newspaper about new businesses opening soon includes news of Off the Bone. It is a second location for the one in Forest Hill and is scheduled to open in early September. They also leased the adjacent space that formerly housed a Subway restaurant. Owners say there will be seating space…

Joints - 07/28/2011

The Pecan Lodge gets some advice from a pro on its new pulled pork sandwich

We were about to leave the Pecan Lodge during our impromptu Best-of-Dallas barbecue tour Saturday when owner Diane Fourton popped the question. "Do you guys want to sample the pulled pork?" We felt a little sheepish. BBQ Snob Daniel Vaughn had raved about the dish when he stopped by our table earlier. But none of us had ordered it. We had been committed to the hard core staples of Texas barbecue. Nothing but brisket, ribs and sausage. (All right, a couple of us also got the fried chicken.) Pulled pork is a new menu item for the Pecan Lodge. Diane…

Joints - 06/15/2011

Lockhart Smokehouse shrugs off review, smokes 3,000 pounds of meat a week

Lockhart Smokehouse owner Jeff Bergus was working the front of the house during the Posse's visit to his Oak Cliff joint Saturday afternoon. When new customers arrived, he asked if they had ever been to his place before. If no, he immediately escorted them to the meat-ordering counter in the back. After a while, he sat down at the Posse's table and chatted. We asked how business has been since his place received a one-star food review from The Dallas Morning News a few weeks ago. A framed copy of the review hangs on one wall, along with copies of…

Joints - 06/14/2011

Dallas is raising its BBQ game

We've commented in the past about the lack of great Texas style -- real wood-fired -- barbecue in Dallas. But during the Posse's "Impromptu Best of Dallas BBQ Mini-Tour" Saturday, one conclusion was clear: Big D is raising its game. Over a period of about four hours, we ate at three joints. Each smokes with a different kind of wood. The Pecan Lodge at the Dallas Farmers' Market uses mesquite. Meshack's Bar-B-Que (OK, it's in Garland but we're counting it as Dallas) uses pecan. And Lockhart Smokehouse in Oak Cliff uses post oak. Admittedly, these three places were already our…

Joints - 06/13/2011

See the photos: Celebrating the return of BBQ today at Pecan Lodge

After a couple of months absence, barbecue is back at Pecan Lodge. Eight members of the Posse gathered at Farmers Market shed no. 2 this morning to test samples hot off the pit. BBQ Snob Daniel Vaughan and his family joined in the action as well. This was the first stop of what we called the "Impromptu Best of Dallas BBQ Mini-Tour." Stops followed at Meshack's Bar-B-Que in Garland and then back down to Lockhart Smokehouse in Dallas. Pecan Lodge owners Dianne and Justin Fourton have added several new menu items, including pulled pork, homemade sausage and fried chicken. More…

Joints - 06/11/2011

Meshack's Bar-B-Que in Garland named as one of the best in the country

The honors continue for one of the Possse's favorite BBQ joints in the state. Meshack's Bar-B-Que Shack in Garland has been named in the list of Top 21 BBQ Sandwiches in this month's Garden & Gun magazine. The slick looking national magazine describes itself as, "A Southern lifestyle magazine that's all about the magic of the new South - sporting culture, food, music, art, literature, people, and ideas." Meshack's owners Donna and Travis Mayes got a visit yesterday from the city of Garland, who will be honoring them with a proclamation at the next Garland City Council meeting. Congrats to…

Joints - 06/09/2011

Posse favorites: Beef ribs at Lockhart Smokehouse

Beefed Up Wednesday is something you're going to want to check out at Lockhart Smokehouse in Oak Cliff. Posse member Jim Rossman came back after a recent lunch raving about the beef ribs, a menu item available only on Wednesdays. And Jim eats there one or two times a week. Not a lot of joints serve beef ribs, though I've tried them at several places including Louie Mueller BBQ, Gonzales Food Market and Smoke in Dallas. The ribs from Louie Mueller have been amazing every time I tried them and Gonzales was really good as well. I probably won't order…

Joints - 05/17/2011

See the photos: First trip (of many) to Lockhart Smokehouse

After waiting several months for Lockhart Smokehouse's opening day, the Posse made its way across the ice-packed Houston Street viaduct today for lunch in the OC. We were not disappointed. Posse pitmaster Marshall Cooper, his son Mark & I sampled the meat spread shown above. We ordered brisket, shoulder clod, a pork chop and Kreuz jalapeno sausage. Jim Rossman and Gary Barber joined in on the meatfest as well. There was nothing left but grease-soaked butcher paper when we were done. It was their second day of business, unfortunately we were too jammed at work to get away on opening…

Joints - 02/04/2011

Papa Joe's Backyard BBQ: It's a family affair

Editors note: This BBQ joint s now closed. The first of Oak Cliff's three new BBQ joints, Papa Joe's Backyard BBQ, opened today with an 11am ribbon cutting. Friends and family were on hand to see Lee and Beverly Alvarez's two-year labor of love come to life. Lockhart Smokehouse, located in the Bishop Arts district, will open next Wednesday. Luckie's Smokehouse BBQ, located at 1300 W. Davis across from the Kessler Theater, is also opening very soon. Papa Joe's is located in Oak Cliff's Elmwood neighborhood, near Edgefield and Illinois Aves. and also close to the Alvarez's home. The restaurant…

Joints - 01/29/2011

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