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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

The secret to avoiding those long lines at Franklin Barbecue in Austin

The line was over 100 deep at Franklin BBQ on a recent Saturday. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) Even now, four weeks later, we're still complimenting ourselves for our nifty navigation of the long lines at Franklin Barbecue in Austin during the Posse's Best of Texas Tour. People can begin queuing up two hours before the joint opens and the number can quickly grow to a hundred or more. We took advantage of Franklin's advance-order service and had Posse members and Austin residents Libby Jacobson and Mike Gagne pick up our food before the place opened for regular business.…

Joints - 03/05/2013

A readers' guide to The Barbecue Chronicles, the journeys of the Texas BBQ Posse

Since November 2009, members of the Texas BBQ Posse have traveled nearly 5,000 miles searching for the best barbecue in the state. True sojourners of smoked meat, BBQ Snob and prolific blogger Daniel Vaughn once called us. Back at you, Daniel. As we await publication in The Dallas Morning News of our recent Best of Texas Tour, here's an annotated readers' guide, with links, to the first 11 chapters of our barbecue chronicles. Chapter 1: Original Central Texas Tour After our first breakfast of brisket at Snow's, we learn that, before that moment, we knew nothing at all about great…

Joints - 03/04/2013

Kreuz Market wins best sausage in BBQ Posse's Best of Texas Tour

Jalapeño cheese sausage at Kreuz Market in Lockhart. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) Regular readers know we had some internal Posse conflict before our recent Best of Texas Tour. Should sausage count equally with brisket and pork ribs when trying to rate the best joints in the state? Initially, we decided, no, sausage should count less. Then we got an impassioned defense of the sausage maker's art from Posse member Bryan Gooding, the sausage king of Oak Cliff after his victory last fall in the Blues, Bandits and BBQ cookoff. So, we switched. All three meats, rated on a 1 to…

Joints - 02/21/2013

Classic BBQ signs from the Best Of Texas tour

Stanley's Famous Pit Bar-B-Q, Tyler. (Photo ©Daniel Goncalves) A Posse rule of thumb: The more homemade the sign, the more down home the barbecue. BBQ Signs of our Times is back again, this time with a mix of new and historic photos. This is our sixth blog post on classic BBQ signs. If you happen to see a cool sign while you're out on the Texas BBQ Trail, please snap a photo and keep us in mind. If you're a fan of our Texas BBQ Posse Facebook or Twitter page, you can upload a photo for us to include on…

Joints / People - 02/19/2013

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

For sale: A piece of Texas BBQ history

For sale: Snow's BBQ original catering smoker and trailer. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) Want to buy a serious piece of Texas barbecue history? Snow's BBQ owner Kerry Bexley has a deal for you. One of the fringe benefits of having breakfast at Snow's on a Saturday morning is talking barbecue with Kerry. From our first visit in Nov. 2009, he's treated us like family as we've caught up on all the Central Texas BBQ gossip. During our trip a week ago he casually mentioned that his original catering rig was for sale, priced at $2750 or best offer. Several…

Joints - 02/17/2013

Is Lockhart losing its title as the BBQ Capital of Texas?

Smitty's Market oak wood pile & Caldwell County courthouse. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) At the Posse, we're ready to declare State Highway 130, the high-speed tollway that skirts Austin, the Barbecue Super Expressway. However, we're beginning to wonder whether Lockhart, one of the main stops on that highway, still deserves its title as the BBQ capital of Texas. Yes, we know that's borderline smoked-meat heresy. But on our recent Best of Texas Tour, we ate at three Lockhart joints and only one -- Kreuz Market -- made our top tier of six. The others -- Smitty's Market and Chisholm…

Joints - 02/14/2013

Lines, lines, everywhere we go there are BBQ lines

Long lines at Franklin BBQ in Austin, top, and Pecan Lodge in Dallas. (Photos © Daniel Goncalves) Aaron Franklin has made it cool to stand in a long line for barbecue. That has been the norm at his joint in Austin going back to its trailer days in 2009. Now, the phenomenon appears to be spreading, as we discovered on our recent Best of Texas BBQ Tour. When we left Stanley's Famous Pit Bar-B-Que in Tyler about noon last Friday, three dozen people were in line and more appeared to be walking down the sidewalk to join the queue. This…

Joints - 02/13/2013

A respite from brisket, ribs and sausage on the Best of Texas BBQ tour

The Posse digs into a Brother-in-Law sandwich at Stanley's. (Photo ©Daniel Goncalves) Discipline and portion control were the guiding principles of our recent Best of Texas BBQ Tour. They have to be when you eat at 10 places over a period of about 48 hours. But while we focused on -- and scored -- only brisket, pork ribs and sausage, we did manage to sample other fare on the first day of the tour, when we visited only 3 places. At Stanley's Famous Pit Bar-B-Que in Tyler, we loved the smoked turkey breast and the Brother-In-Law sandwich, made of chopped…

Joints - 02/12/2013

Snow's brisket is only meat to score a perfect 10 on Posse's Best of Texas BBQ Tour

Our perfect 10 brisket from Snow's BBQ in Lexington. (Photo by Tom Fox/DMN) During our recent Best of Texas BBQ Tour, we traveled nearly 700 miles over three days and tasted brisket, pork ribs and sausage at 10 top places in the state. Each meat was scored on a scale of 1 to 10 (best) by 6 members of Texas BBQ Posse. Just one received a perfect score: the brisket at Snow's BBQ in Lexington. "The taste almost explodes in your mouth," said Posse co-founder Chris Wilkins as he savored a bite. In 2008, Texas Monthly crowned Snow's, which is…

Joints - 02/11/2013

Fargo's BBQ - New digs, same great BBQ

Fargo's BBQ co-owners Belender Wells & Alan Caldwell in front of their new sign on 720 N. Texas in Bryan. We dropped in on Fargo's BBQ's new location in Bryan as our third of 10 stops of the Top 5 BBQ Tour. They were in their old location five blocks north for 13 years, which didn't have a dining room. Co-owner Alan Caldwell says the move went smoothly, including moving the original brick pit from the old location, which got broken but was put back together with a little masonry work. Their new location is a former Popeye's Chicken and…

Joints - 02/09/2013

It’s the Super Bowl of BBQ tours for the Posse

As we prepared for our biggest tour ever this weekend, members of the Texas BBQ Posse faced their biggest controversy yet: Should sausage count as much as brisket in determining the best barbecue joint in the state? On our organized tours and smaller excursions over the past 4 years, members of the Posse have visited hundreds of places in search of the best smoked meats in Texas. Now, to determine the very best – at least for this one trip -- we plan to visit our 10 favorites over three days, covering nearly 700 miles. Then, we’ll rank the top…

Joints - 02/04/2013

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

Big BBQ beef ribs coming soon to Pecan Lodge in Dallas

Posse veteran Jim Rossman and I went to lunch at the Pecan Lodge on Thursday. For us, it was our first time to eat at the popular Dallas Farmers Market barbecue location since it was featured on the TV show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives at the end of May. The lines have just been too long. But when we arrived just before the 11 a.m. opening, only 15 or so people were ahead of us and it took only about 10 minutes to work our way to the cash register where we ordered. We both got 3-meat platters. And neither…

Joints - 09/14/2012

Tuel's M&ET Barbeque - Doing it right in Gilmer

On our way to Jefferson to last Saturday, we discovered an interesting new BBQ joint on Hwy. 154 about three miles west of Gilmer in the Kelsey bottom. Tuel's M&ET Barbeque was just about to finish their fourth week in business the following Tuesday. Over the past six months, several people had messaged me desperately looking for good BBQ in the area. I didn't have first-hand knowledge to help relieve their suffering. That might be changing. Tuel's is a family affair, run by pitmaster Ryan Tuel and his folks, Linda and Ronnie. They built an impressive facility in the woods…

Joints - 07/03/2012

Rebuilt from the ground up, Jospeh's Riverport BBQ is back in a big way

There were smiles all around on Saturday at Joseph's Riverport Bar-B-Cue in historic downtown Jefferson. Five and a half months after a devastating fire that completely destroyed the building, owner and pitmaster Stephen Joseph reopened on Thursday to swarms of old friends and townsfolk who appreciate some of the best BBQ on this side the state. "We can't live without Joseph's," said longtime customer Misty Baldwin of Jefferson. "When it burned, it was like losing someone in your family. It's all new, but it's just as good as ever" Around midnight on January 15, Stephen got the phone call that…

Joints - 07/02/2012

Joseph's Riverport BBQ in Jefferson reopens tomorrow

Here's the news we've been waiting for. Joseph's Riverport Bar-B-Que is reopening tomorrow, Thursday June 28, after a fire that totaled the restaurant last January. Owner/pitmaster Stephen Joseph sends these photos of his new joint, which was rebuilt from the ground up on the original location at 201 N Polk Street in downtown Jefferson. He installed a new Bewley pit, which he has been breaking in for the past couple of months. My wife Michele and I will be heading over for a return visit this Saturday. We had some great BBQ during our last trip there, ranking Joseph's Riverport…

Joints - 06/27/2012

The Barbecue Chronicles: Houston, we have a barbecue problem

The eight stops on the Texas BBQ Posse's Gulf Coast BBQ Tour. (Photo ©Chris Wilkins/Texas BBQ Posse) Houston is a wasteland for good barbecue, but Galveston and Bryan aren’t. The main mission on the BBQ Posse’s recent 35-hour, 700-mile barbecue tour to the Texas Gulf Coast and back was to find good smoked meat in Houston. We didn’t. But an hour south, on Galveston Island, we met Leon O’Neal and learned again about the true power of barbecue. O’Neal, who runs Leon’s World Finest In & Out Bar-B-Que House at Broadway and 55th, told us about the cleanup after Hurricane…

Joints - 06/24/2012

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

Just in time for Father's Day - Here's an updated list of our favorites

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from Dallas Morning News food and travel editor Cathy Barber, who I work with as a photo editor at the paper. The dallasnews.com web team was looking for Father's Day content and wanted to rerun our list of favorite joints that ran in the DMN travel section and online last fall. "Do you think this story is still pretty solid, or have you guys changed your mind about some of them?," Cathy asked. Our original list of 12 joints had stirred up a little dust in the BBQ blogosphere. We had intended…

Joints - 06/14/2012

On a barbecue tour, Facebook is your friend

From the accompanying video (* the video was removed a while after we wrote about it), it would appear that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is a barbecue fan. Though it's hard to think that Silicon Valley's apparent taste for fish eyes would ever catch on in Texas. Anyway, real barbecue aficionado or not, the Posse wants to thank Zuck for developing the best tool ever for keeping barbecue fans informed and connected, especially when they are on a tour. Witness our recent 700-mile, 35-hour run to the Texas Gulf Coast and back. Posse co-founder and ace photographer Chris Wilkins regularly…

Joints - 06/13/2012

Houston BBQ king Jerry Pizzitola's epiphany: His brisket isn't in the same league as Snow's

WARNING: This post contains some gloating, but we hope it stops well short of excessive celebration. A few weeks ago, we wrote about our latest BBQ tour, in search of good smoked meat in Houston. We didn't find any. And we quoted Houston Chronicle photographer Smiley Pool, who shared a Pulitzer Prize while at The Dallas Morning News, saying if you wanted good BBQ in Houston, then you had to get in a car and drive two hours. Several readers chided our taste and challenged our BBQ expertise. One even took at shot at the beer we drank. That's low.…

Joints - 06/12/2012

History more interesting than BBQ at Pizzitola's in Houston

Pizzitola's. Great name for a pizza joint. And that's exactly what what some potential customers mistakenly thought until the place changed its signs several years ago, adding references to barbecue, said manager Lexie Moore. "Everyone thanked us for bringing barbecue to the neighborhood," Moore said. "We had it all the time." We arrived at Pizzitola's Bar-B-Cue on Shepherd Drive in Houston about an hour or so before closing on a Friday night. The joint touts itself as "Houston's Home for Spareribs" and they weren't bad. Neither was the sausage. But the brisket was closer to roast beef, dry and without…

Joints - 06/12/2012

If you want good BBQ in Houston, get in a car and drive 2 hours

Gatlin's BBQ, located just a few miles from downtown Houston, might have the best motto we've ever run into on our barbecue tours. "Welcome to Gatlin's," the sign said. "Where love is the secret ingredient." And if you want to experience the reality of life in a no-zoning, anything-goes big city, this is the place. Next door is a garden expo that looks like a nursery. Directly across the street are an engine repair business, a house where people live and an automotive sales building. Welcome to Houston. Gatlin's gets rave reviews from some, but the Posse was underwhelmed. "If…

Joints - 06/11/2012

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