2017 Texas Monthly Top 50

Texas Monthly just announced the updated Top 50 BBQ joints in the world. In case you did not know, I did help contribute to the list. I wrote a description for 6 of the 7 barbecue restaurants from the Houston area. I am not going to write about any of the places I visited on my blog though. I will let the pictures tell the story. There is some truth to this tweet:

I truly believe I could write barbecue reviews to 90% accuracy based on photos of the meat alone. https://t.co/dTfQcLIekH

— Daniel Vaughn (@BBQsnob) July 26, 2016

Here are all the places I visited (in chronological order) for the June issue:

Killen's Barbecue

Central Texas BBQ

Skeets Barbeque

Southern Goods

Whole hog with slaw and cornbread

Smoked beef belly burnt ends on cheesy grits

Texas Brisket

Brookstreet BBQ

El Hidalguense



Cabrito

Jackson St BBQ

El Burro and the Bull

The Brisket House

Tres leches

Red River BBQ

Dickinson BBQ Company

A J's Meat Market

Kat's BBQ

Cattle Drive BBQ

4 Corners BBQ

Killen's STQ

Beef rib tamale

Beef rib ravioli

Brisket pappardelle

Candied bacon tres leches bread pudding

Pinkerton's Barbecue

The Pit Room

Midtown Barbeque (closed)

Willow's Texas BBQ

Corkscrew BBQ

Q-Shi BBQ & Sushi

BBQ fried rice and ribs

Sushi topped with brisket

Southern Q

Gatlin's BBQ

Roegels Barbecue Co.

Reuben with in-house smoked pastrami

Pappas Bar-B-Q

Valley Ranch Grill & Barbeque

529 BBQ

Pappa Charlies Barbeque

No Name Bar-B-Q

Ray's Real Pit BBQ Shack

Pizzitola's Bar-B-Cue

Luling City Market

Dirrty's BBQ Company

Virgie's Bar-B-Que

Burns Original BBQ

Triple J's Smokehouse

Beaver's (Westhemier)

Dozier's Grocery & Market

Lenox Barbecue & Catering

The Caboose BBQ

McMillan's Bar-B-Q

KB's BBQ

Aunt Jo's BBQ

Limon's BBQ Smokehouse

Mumphord's Place BBQ

Baker Boys BBQ

Southside Market & Barbeque

I love barbecue if you could not figure that out. I am passionate about it so it was an honor and a privilege to help. I had a blast along the way. I ended up visiting 49 different places in the Houston area, Victoria area, Gonzales, and Elgin and covered 2700+ miles. It was a pleasure working with editors Daniel Vaughn and Pat Sharpe. After completing my assignment, I went a whole week without eating barbecue. A whole week! Also, a shout out to my wife. Thanks for letting Texas BBQ take over our lives for about a month...

Leftovers on the dash

Leftovers in the Yeti

Until next time, happy smoking...

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CattleAck Barbeque (First Impression)

Amber and I were in the DFW area for the Cleveland Indians game against the Texas Rangers. We went to Heim Barbecue the day before when we had some extra time. Getting to CattleAck Barbeque has been the Holy Grail of BBQ for me. They are only open a couple days of week (Thursday and Friday) and the first Saturday of the month. I was thinking of going to the Opening Day game, but the ticket prices were stupid expensive. We settle on a Wednesday night game so I can make it to CattleAck the next day for lunch. We met Daniel Vaughn and his friend there.

Not sure we ordered enough meat for four people... We tried a little bit of everything. We got brisket, a beef rib, some pork ribs, turkey, sausage, smoked bologna sandwich, brisket Que-T pie, collard greens, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, banana pudding, and crack pie. The whole meal was really, really good. Everything was cooked perfectly. The brisket slices were outstanding. They were tender and had a good flavor with a good amount of smoke. The meal did not stop there. I could have eaten a few bones of the pork ribs. The moist meat stayed on the bone and had a nice clean smoke taste with a slightly sweet finish. The beef ribs and turkey were on the same level as well. There is only so many ways you can describe how great the barbecue here is. I think you are getting what I am trying to say at this point. The sausages are made in-house. The texture of the grind and snap of the casing were ideal. The flavors were good but nothing stood out to me on this visit.

The smoked bologna sandwich was a million times better than what I ate when I was a kid. If today's youth had access to this sandwich, they would all be barbecue fiends. The brisket Que-T pie was fantastic. I had to go back and order some more to-go. It is like an empanada filled with chopped brisket, veggies, and cheese. So, so good. The flaky exterior and salty meat made for a great duo. The attention to details did not stop at the meats. The homemade sides and desserts held their own ground. The collard greens had a nice heat with bits of pulled pork in it. The coleslaw and macaroni and cheese complemented the meal nicely. You could not finish the meal any better than getting down on some banana pudding and crack pie. The crack pie is similar to buttermilk pie with a crispier crust.


Brisket, turkey, and Que-T pie

Sausage, bologna sandwich, beef rib, and pork ribs

Collard greens, coleslaw, mac and cheese, and banana pudding

Brisket Que-T pie

Crack pie

The wait to get to CattleAck Barbeque was worth it. Sort of. I wish I had come by much sooner. Owners Todd and Misty David are good people. I run into them at so many random events but never stopped in at their restaurant. I am glad I did. CattleAck is nestled in an area of Dallas with office parks and retail fronts so it is easy to miss it. If you do miss it, you will regret it. Look out for the rotating menu specials. Todd and company also smokes a whole hog on the Saturday they are open on top of their normal offerings. I have not tried a lot of DFW BBQ joints. I hope to change that this year. With the new Texas Monthly Top 50 about to come out, I need to check some more off the list. Is it possible that I already got a head start? Hopefully CattleAck Barbeque will expand their hours to reach more of the masses.

Until next time, happy smoking...

Address: 13628 Gamma Rd, Dallas, TX 75244
Phone: 972.805.0999
Website: http://www.cattleackbbq.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CattleackBarbeque/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cattleackbbq

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Heim Barbecue (Revisit)

Amber and I headed to DFW for the Cleveland Indians game. Our first stop was lunch at Swiss Pastry Shop in Fort Worth with one of Amber's friends. Afterwards, the plan was to check out the new Heim Barbecue location. Amber's car had something else in mind. Her car battery was completely dead. We had to go buy tools and get the battery swapped out at Costco. We somehow did all of this in a reasonable period. We had just enough time to go to Heim, check in at our hotel, and make it to the game before the first pitch. Here are some images of the new spot:

Bacon burnt ends in the shade. So good that I had to post two shots of it.

3 Oylers in a cool smokehouse

Patio and where the line begins

We were not hungry, but I had to get some bacon burnt ends and banana pudding. I love the bacon burnt ends. I wish these were more accessible to me in Austin. They are rich, meaty, and sweet. I could easily eat a pound of them in one seating. Last time I went to Heim, I forgot to order the banana pudding. By the time I remembered, they were sold out. The homemade pudding was good, but it was not as thick as I like it to be.

Heim Barbecue's new spot is really cool. There is a lot of room and a bar to relax and chill at. They do specials for dinner like wings and burgers. A second location is in the works right now. I wish owner Travis and Emma Heim all the success.

Until next time, happy smoking...

Address: 1109 W Magnolia Ave, Fort Worth, TX 76104
Phone: 817.882.6970
Website: http://heimbbq.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heimbarbecue/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeimBBQ

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