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Will Texas Monthly's Top 5 BBQ joints be same as those named by its new BBQ editor?

During our live online barbecue chat Monday on DallasNews.com, a reader asked us to predict the Top 5 ranked joints in Texas Monthly's 2013 BBQ issue, which should be available soon. There was considerable agreement among the four Posse members participating. We each put Franklin Barbecue in Austin No. 1. The next three spots were occupied by the same three joints, although the orders differed: Snow's BBQ in Lexington, La Barbecue in Austin and Pecan Lodge in Dallas. The fifth spot, depending upon the Posse member, went to either Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor or Kreuz Market in Lockhart. A…

Joints - 04/30/2013

It's not just Austin, something big is happening in Dallas BBQ, too

These five joints are leading a BBQ renaissance in the Dallas area. (Photos ©Chris Wilkins and Jim Rossman) Reader interaction is terrific. On our story in The Dallas Morning News about Austin's barbecue renaissance, one online reader -- going by the moniker "J" -- wrote: "Too bad the BBQ scene in DFW stinks." I responded to "J" that the sentiment is wrong. There's a barbecue renaissance in Dallas, too. From the Posse's extensive touring, we put Pecan Lodge at the Farmers Market among the top two or three joints in the state. If Texas Monthly's new rankings (the June issue) don't…

Joints - 04/30/2013

Today in the Dallas Morning News: The BBQ Posse's Austin BBQ Tour

Here's a look at our Austin BBQ Tour story in today's Dallas Morning News travel section. This is the Posse's second installment from the Texas BBQ trail in the DMN this year. Our Best of Texas BBQ project was published in early March. The tour grew out of a growing suspicion that Austin might be quickly replacing Lockhart as the state's barbecue capital. And nothing we experienced on that day disproved the theory, every stop on the tour was nothing short of sensational. Click here to see the story, slideshow and video links on the DMN Travel section of dallasnews.com. Also, you can join us…

Joints - 04/28/2013

See the photos from the Posse's Austin BBQ Tour - The Fantastic Mr. Fox strikes again

Dallas Morning News staff photographer Tom Fox at work on the Austin BBQ Tour. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) When you're on the road with the Texas BBQ Posse, it's kind of like being in the middle of a media storm. The Posse is mainly made up of Dallas Morning News writers, editors, photojournalists and their friends. Yes, we have been accused before of being the BBQ paparazzi. On the recent Austin BBQ Tour we had nine journalists and artists in the group, including five photographers. One of those was award-winning DMN staff photographer Tom Fox. Tom has captured numerous…

Joints / People - 04/27/2013

The Posse's Austin BBQ Tour: Is Austin poised to overtake Lockhart as the barbecue capital of Texas?

Stops on the Austin BBQ Tour, clockwise from top left: John Mueller Meat Co., Franklin Barbecue, La Barbecue and Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew. (Photos by Tom Fox/DMN) The Dallas Morning News just posted Gary Jacobson's story on our recent Austin BBQ Tour on both dallasnews.com and the DMN iPad app. The print story will appear on the in the newspaper's travel section on Sunday. This may have been the best single day of barbecue we've ever had on tour, sampling four meats from each joint visited. As a collective group, the brisket, ribs, sausage and turkey from La Barbecue,…

Joints - 04/27/2013

BBQ is..... A photo project by Posse member Daniel Goncalves

Lance Kirkpatrick, pitmaster at Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew. (Photo ©Daniel Goncalves) Here's a sneak peek at the beginning of an extraordinary photo project by Dallas-based editorial and commercial photographer Daniel Goncalves. As most of you know by now, the Posse is a pretty creative group, made up of Dallas Morning News photojournalists, writers, editors and their friends. With this project, Daniel has raised the creative bar for the Posse. Daniel writes about the concept: I love people as much as I love food. The Posse has introduced me to great people and incredible BBQ. While on tour I've been…

Joints / People - 04/22/2013

In very stout BBQ company, Stiles Switch takes the day in ribs during the Posse's Austin tour

Posse members enter Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew for our fourth tour stop. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) We had a few surprises on our lightning BBQ tour -- 400 miles in 13 hours -- to Austin and back Wednesday. Among them, the great pork ribs we had at Stiles Switch BBQ and Brew. "That was the best rib I've had in a long time," Posse member Bryan Gooding said. He said the rub had a "wonderful" flavor and the meat was juicy, firm and cooked perfectly. Several other Posse members agreed. Located in a small shopping center about 5…

Joints - 04/18/2013

Sneak peek at our Austin BBQ Tour

Lunch no. 1 at Franklin Barbecue. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) The Posse was wheels up from Dallas early this morning to check out the growing Austin barbecue scene, which we believe could be overtaking Lockhart as the capital of Texas BBQ. This trip was a chance to test that theory. Stay tuned to the Texas BBQ Posse blog for stories and snippets from the trip. Our reporting will culminate at the end of April with a story in The Dallas Morning News and multimedia on dallasnews.com. Here's the trip itinerary: Austin BBQ Tour 6:30am: Leave Dallas 9:30am: Franklin Barbecue,…

Joints - 04/17/2013

First Look: The Slow Bone Barbeque in Dallas

All photos by Jim Rossman It's a great day when I get to eat at a new place. Today, Jack Perkins, owner of local burger joint Maple and Motor, opened the doors to The Slow Bone Barbeque, his new barbecue restaurant at 2234 Irving Blvd. at the base of the new Sylvan Ave. bridge near the Design District in Dallas. Jack won the brisket competition at last year's Meat Fight and announced his plans to open Slow Bone late last year. Well, today was the day. I was tenth in line when the doors opened this morning and the line…

Joints - 04/16/2013

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

First visit to Opie's Barbecue in Spicewood

Opie's Barbecue in Spicewood had been on the "must visit" list for a while. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) The timing could have been better for my first visit to Opie's Barbecue in Spicewood. I was following a hungry Easter crowd, arriving at 2 p.m. and there wasn't a lot of meat left in the large black warming pit that greets you as you walk in the front door. This joint has been on the Posse's "must visit" list for a while, but unfortunately Spicewood is a little off the beaten path. They've been named a Texas Monthly Top 50…

Joints - 04/10/2013

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

BBQ Signs of Our Times is back

Country Kitchen, Lampasas. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) A Posse rule of thumb: The cooler the sign, the better the barbecue. Nine times out of ten this has proved true. BBQ Signs of our Times is back once again,with some memorable signs from our last trip to the Hill Country and points in between. This is our seventh blog post on classic BBQ signs. You can use the search box in the upper right of the Posse blog homepage if you'd like to see some other sign posts, just search "BBQ Signs of Our TImes". If you happen to see a…

Joints / People - 04/02/2013

Miller's Smokehouse in Belton, one of the best-kept secrets in Texas BBQ

Dirk Miller chats with a customer outside Miller's Smokehouse in downtown Belton. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins) One of the best-kept secrets in Texas BBQ is located just a stone's throw from Interstate 35 in downtown Belton. The next time you're speeding down the freeway on your way to stand in line for two hours to get BBQ in Austin, you might want to take the Main Street exit in Belton to 208 N Penelope St., the home of Miller's Smokehouse. I dropped in for a late lunch at Miller's on my way to Austin on Friday. This was my third visit…

Joints - 04/01/2013

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

A disappointing visit to Casstevens Cash & Carry barbecue in Lillian

A customer walks into Casstevens Cash and Carry BBQ in Lillian. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) Casstevens Cash and Carry is a BBQ joint I had been wanting to visit for several years. Located in an old Diamond Shamrock gas station in the tiny unincorporated town of Lillian, Casstevens made the Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ list in 2008. That's as good as it gets for Texas barbecue restaurants, unless of course you make their prestigious top 5. Just ask Kerry Bexley at Snow's BBQ in Lexington. Once they were named top joint in Texas in 2008, life was never…

Joints - 03/27/2013

What the Posse looks for in great Texas BBQ

A diner eats his lunch at City Meat Market in Giddings. (Photo ©Guy Reynolds) Here's the third video from our Best of Texas BBQ Tour multimedia package on dallasnews.com. In this piece, Gary Jacobson, Jim Rossman, Bruce Tomaso and me talk about what we look for in great Texas barbecue. When we sit down to a plate of brisket, ribs and sausage, here are the basic criteria used to judge what we're eating: Taste, tenderness, appearance, texture and smokiness. Click the video below to see more of our tips on judging great Texas BBQ.

Cooking / Joints - 03/25/2013

The 10 top posts of all-time on the Texas BBQ Posse blog

Posse members toast at Loco Coyote Grill in Glen Rose during our Brazos & Beyond BBQ Tour. (Photo©R.J. Hinkle) We missed a couple of important Posse milestones recently. So, forgive us a few moments of backslapping as we catch up. The very first item on this blog was posted March 7, 2010, just over three years ago. It likely will never be a trivia question, like "what was the first video played on MTV?" (Answer: Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles.) But, still, it's kinda sentimental to us. The item was about our first trip to the Central…

Joints / People - 03/22/2013

How to plan your own Texas BBQ Tour

The posse samples meats during our first trip to Franklin BBQ. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/The Texas BBQ Posse) When it comes to Texas BBQ tours, the Posse has a few tips to share with our readers. We've had 12 BBQ tours since 2009, covering around 5,000 miles. Our last trip, the Best of Texas BBQ Tour, covered 700 miles and 10 top Texas BBQ joints over 48 hours. Tip no. 1: Do your research and planning, have an agenda. Check out website's like Daniel Vaughn's Full Custom Gospel BBQ blog. Daniel has been to every BBQ joint in Texas and…

Joints - 03/20/2013

When sausage links cost just 10 cents apiece at Louie Mueller Barbecue in Taylor

Diners order off the butcher paper menu at the famed Louie Mueller Barbecue. (Photo by Tom Fox/DMN) A reader, Don Peck from Longview, saw our Best of Texas BBQ story in The Dallas Morning News and it jogged some memories from his more than 60 years as a customer at Louie Mueller's in Taylor. He remembers his grandfather taking him to Mueller's when sausage links cost just 10 cents apiece. "I was there a couple of months ago and bought 50 links at $3 apiece," Don wrote. "I've probably eaten a 1,000 links from Mueller's, and the…

Joints - 03/14/2013

Checking in with Fatboy's BBQ in Cooper

A customer waits for his order at Fatboy's BBQ in Cooper. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) You meet some great folks as you travel the blue highways of Texas BBQ. Shannon Bankston and Heather Hoff of Fatboy's BBQ in Cooper are those kind of people. A year ago, Marshall Cooper and I met Shannon and Heather at Fatboy's, then located in the tiny town of Ladonia in northeast Texas. It was a slow day in the town of 613 residents, so we talked BBQ for half of the afternoon, which of course is one of our favorite things to do. Fatboy's had…

Joints - 03/13/2013

Indeed, Lockhart is no longer the BBQ capital of Texas, and other things we learned from the Posse's Best of Texas Tour

A customer eats lunch at Stanley's Famous Pit Bar-B-Q in Tyler. (Photo ©Daniel Goncalves) A few things we think we learned from our recent Best of Texas BBQ Tour: --In a post here a while back, we pondered whether Lockhart was losing its distinction as the BBQ capital of Texas. Upon more reflection, we're ready to say, yes, it definitely has lost the crown. With Franklin Barbecue and a host of start-up joints, we're declaring Austin the new capital. To us, Lockhart is going stale. In Texas barbecue, you can't take success for granted. --Related to that, newcomers are making a…

Joints - 03/12/2013

Today in the Dallas Morning News: The BBQ Posse's Best of Texas picks

Here's a look at our three-page spread in today's Dallas Morning News travel section. The Best of Texas BBQ project was published in print and online on dallasnews.com and the DMN iPad app. Dallas Morning News editor Bob Mong shared his thoughts on the Posse in his weekly note to the readers published in today's paper: I can always stop by photo editor Chris Wilkins’ desk and catch up on the top visual journalism of the day. On many weekends, though, Chris joins the posse — the Texas BBQ Posse, that is. For years, Chris and a group of Dallas…

Joints - 03/10/2013

The Posse's best of the best BBQ joints in Texas: Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Pecan Lodge in Dallas and Snow's BBQ in Lexington

The faces behind our top six BBQ joints, clockwise from top left: Aaron Franklin of Franklin BBQ, Justin Fourton of Pecan Lodge, Tootsie Tomanetz of Snow's BBQ, Roy Perez of Kreuz Market, Wayne Mueller of Louie Mueller Barbecue, Belender Wells & Alan Caldwell of Fargo's Pit BBQ. (Photos by Tom Fox/DMN) The Dallas Morning News posted the results of the Posse's Best of Texas BBQ Tour today on its Web site. The results will appear on the paper's iPad's application this weekend and in the newspaper's travel section on Sunday. It was an exceedingly close finish. With 30 being the…

Joints - 03/08/2013

A short, philosophical meditation on our Best of Texas BBQ Tour

Posse BBQ judges (L-R) Jim Rossman, Bruce Tomaso and Gary Jacobson sample the meats at Fargo's Pit BBQ in Bryan. (Photo by Tom Fox/DMN) In some respects, our recent Best of Texas barbecue tour was like a cookoff. Only the food didn't come to the judges, we went to the food. Eating at 10 places over 48 hours and scoring each joint's brisket, pork ribs and sausage -- the three foundation meats of Texas BBQ -- gave us a good framework for comparison. It also focused our attention entirely on the basics. Yes, side dishes are important. And so are…

Joints - 03/07/2013

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