Restaurant Name: Terry Black’s Barbecue Address: 3025 Main Street, Dallas, TX 75226
My first stop on the 2023 BBQ Tour took me to Terry Black’s BBQ in the Deep Elum district of Dallas. Terry Black’s is based out of Austin, TX and has a long history and a strong reputation as being of the best not only in Texas but in the country. For this particular visit, I was able to be joined by my sister Kay, her husband Jesse, and my youngest niece Evie and we enjoyed the spread below of beef brisket, pork spare ribs, smoked sausage, green beans, mac n cheese, and seasoned rice.
The atmosphere of Terry Black’s in Dallas is a modernized industrial space. Open ceilings with a painted exposed structure above with metal siding and sealed concrete floors provide a great look. Lots of signage on the walls and a really neat mixture of strip and pendant lights provide a comfy vibe on the inside. I didn’t sit outside as it was hot but the outside had a patio on the main level and. araised upper level patio/mezzanine which looked really cool. Terry Black’s had an open pit room where you can see their wood stick burner smokers.
Since we eat with our eyes first let me talk a little bit about the appearance of the food. The food comes served on a plastic tray lined with parchment paper. The meats are sliced fresh and in front of you and placed on the paper and sides are put into cardboard boats. A small boat garnish of pickles and red onions are available if you desire. Overall, the look of the tray is amazing! Great colors on the meats and visible smoke rings. The sides that I choose provide great color as well to the tray.
My favorite thing to eat here was the pork spare ribs and the mac n cheese. The pork spare ribs were that perfect tenderness that I like which is a little bit of a tug but still easy to eat. They were packed with a good smokey flavor and that tried & true Texas style BBQ rub that’s heavy in the salt & black pepper. They were so good that I didn’t even need sauce to eat them. The mac & cheese was a nice large elbow macaroni with a super creamy cheese sauce that made it absolutely delicious. The brisket was great and had a solid smoke ring, tenderness, and flavor. The green beans were crisp, buttery, and well seasoned.
My only negatives were the smoked sausage and the seasoned rice. The sausage was a bit dry and the casing didn’t have that “snap” that I always appreciate and look for in a good smoked sausage. It was definitely smoked and had good smokey flavor though. The seasoned rice was just something I didn’t expect from a BBQ restaurant and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen it at any previous BBQ restaurants I’ve been to. Most likely a Texas thing which I get but at the end of the day I had hard time differentiating the seasoned rice to a typical Mexican restaurants seasoned rice.
The annual BBQ Tour took place this past weekend and thrown in the middle of it is my 2nd oldest nieces wedding. Their wedding took place in Texarkana, TX and so for my 10th trip I decided to do a best of Texas tour since I’ll be in Texas for my nieces wedding. Since I was limited on where I could go for this trip, I decided to do the best of Dallas, TX for this BBQ Tour. I’m simply looking for the best overall BBQ experience. When judging “Best Overall BBQ Experience” I take into account (3) criteria: #1 – Appearance of the Food, #2 – Atmosphere of the Restaurant, & #3 – Overall Taste of the food. Traditionally I have others go with me and we do an average score that is weighted based on the (3) criteria but since this trip was just me, I simply did a straight up score out of 10.
My first stop took me to Terry Black’s BBQ in the Deep Elum district of Dallas. Terry Black’s is based out of Austin, TX and has a long history and a strong reputation as being of the best not only in Texas but in the country. For this particular visit, I was able to be joined by my sister Kay, her husband Jesse, and my youngest niece Evie and we enjoyed the spread below of beef brisket, pork spare ribs, smoked sausage, green beans, mac n cheese, and seasoned rice.
The atmosphere of Terry Black’s in Dallas is a modernized industrial space. Open ceilings with a painted exposed structure above with metal siding and sealed concrete floors provide a great look. Lots of signage on the walls and a really neat mixture of strip and pendant lights provide a comfy vibe on the inside. I didn’t sit outside as it was hot but the outside had a patio on the main level and. araised upper level patio/mezzanine which looked really cool. Terry Black’s had an open pit room where you can see their wood stick burner smokers.
Pit RoomSauced Pork Rib Tips
Since we eat with our eyes first let me talk a little bit about the appearance of the food. The food comes served on a plastic tray lined with parchment paper. The meats are sliced fresh and in front of you and placed on the paper and sides are put into cardboard boats. A small boat garnish of pickles and red onions are available if you desire. Overall, the look of the tray is amazing! Great colors on the meats and visible smoke rings. The sides that I choose provide great color as well to the tray.
Green Beans, Seasoned Rice, & Mac n CheeseSmoked Sausage, Beef Brisket, & Pork Spare Ribs
My favorite thing to eat here was the pork spare ribs and the mac n cheese. The pork spare ribs were that perfect tenderness that I like which is a little bit of a tug but still easy to eat. They were packed with a good smokey flavor and that tried & true Texas style BBQ rub that’s heavy in the salt & black pepper. They were so good that I didn’t even need sauce to eat them. The mac & cheese was a nice large elbow macaroni with a super creamy cheese sauce that made it absolutely delicious. The brisket was great and had a solid smoke ring, tenderness, and flavor. The green beans were crisp, buttery, and well seasoned.
My only negatives were the smoked sausage and the seasoned rice. The sausage was a bit dry and the casing didn’t have that “snap” that I always appreciate and look for in a good smoked sausage. It was definitely smoked and had good smokey flavor though. The seasoned rice was just something I didn’t expect from a BBQ restaurant and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen it at any previous BBQ restaurants I’ve been to. Most likely a Texas thing which I get but at the end of the day I had hard time differentiating the seasoned rice to a typical Mexican restaurants seasoned rice.
With all that being said, I’d give Terry Black’s a score of 9.5 out of 10. Some small dings for the smoked sausage and rice but overall still really really good food and definitely the best ribs on this trip.
After eating lunch at Terry Black’s with some of my family, I attempted to burn some of those calories going for a walk but it was too hot and so I went to my hotel and relaxed for a few hours until dinner took me to Ferris Wheeler’s Backyard & BBQ south of Dallas Love Airfield & near Trammell Crow Park. This place didn’t look like much from the outside looking at it from the street but when you get inside AND go to the backyard it’s like a whole new world. Inside the restaurant wasn’t anything fancy but it had a rustic cafeteria vibe which I can appreciate for a BBQ restaurant. Speaks to my laid back, let’s have some fun attitude when it comes to BBQ. The backyard though is when the fun begins! There’s a live band stage area and a wonderful bar area with a great view of the stage. Rope lights strung everywhere provide ample lighting for eating outside. Oh, and did I mention that there’s legitimately a ferris wheel in the backyard?
For this meal I enjoyed a wonderful platter of smoked turkey (what they’re most famous for apparently), beef brisket, campfire beans, and mac n cheese. The food is served to you on a metal tray/platter lined with butcher paper. The sliced turkey is layered nicely allowing you to see the wonderful smoke ring and excellent bark on the outside of the slices. The sliced brisket is kinda just stacked up but it still provides a nice visual smoke ring and the top piece of the brisket was an end piece so you know that bites going to be packed with flavor. The side dishes are served in cardboard boats. The macaroni is actually wheels which is a nice touch and topped with some crumbled up doritos for a little extra crunch. The beans look thick and flavorful and you can see the array of beans used in the mix. Pickles are added to the tray for added garnish along with a serving of their house mustard sauce and house BBQ sauce.
Beef Brisket & Smoked TurkeyCampfire Beans & Mac n CheeseDinner is served!
My favorite things to eat here were surprisingly the smoked turkey and the campfire beans. Turkey,, similar. tochicken, is very difficult to make really good on the smoker. Turkey tends to dry out very easily. Ferris Wheeler’s though did an absolutely awesome job on the turkey as it was moist, tender, smokey, and super flavorful. It had a solid bark showing the dry rub which also added to the overall flavor. The campfire beans were great! You can see the array of beans that they used to make the side dish. The flavors are smokey, peppery, and nice bite of heat. The mac n cheese was good and I appreciated the fact that they used wheels as the macaroni to go with their name of Ferris Wheelers. The cheese sauce was nice and smooth and they crumbled up some chips to add a nice texture similar to that of bread crumbs.
My only negative was sadly on the beef brisket. I know brisket can be fatty and that fat is flavor but there was just too much fat in the slices I got and I really only ate about half of the brisket. Once I got through the excess fat the brisket I did eat was flavorful, moist, but I could tell it was a little over done as it pretty much fell apart on me.
Overall, Ferris Wheeler’s was a nice surprise. The turkey and beans were PHENOMENAL but the brisket did force me to knock it a little bit but still give it a solid 9.4 out of 10.
Day #2 of the BBQ Tour took me back to the Deep Elum district and to a spot from my OG trip in 2013: Pecan Lodge. This go around my parents and my oldest nieces husband Griffin was able to join me for this meal. Pecan Lodge is another BBQ place that is consistently found in lists. asone of the best not only in Texas but also around the country. In a rustic brick building with exposed ceilings and pendent lighting it provides a classic and modernized twist to an industrial building.
When I first visited the Pecan Lodge in 2013 we ordered brisket, beef ribs, spare ribs, and a whole spread of sides to feed a crowd. This go around we were more selective and had meats of smoked turkey, brisket, and smoked sausage. We had sides of mac n cheese, potato salad, and collard greens. All the food gets served on a metal tray with butcher paper and the meats are placed directly on the tray. The sides are served in cardboard boats. A garnish of pickles and onions accompanies every tray and the tray definitely looks full and delicious.
Pecan Lodge was on my OG trip in 2013 for a reason and even though I tried different meats this go around they were still really good all around. The smoked sausage and collard greens definitely steal the show for me. The smoked sausage is smoked perfectly, has some jalapeno inside, and has an excellent snap when it comes to the casing which I absolutely love in smoked sausage. The collard greens are sweet…not traditional for collard greens but it is a very pleasant surprise and they taste amazing. The mac n cheese with bacon was tasty and a classic good side dish along with the potato salad. The turkey was moist and tender but didn’t quite have the smokey flavor that I was hoping for. The brisket looked amazing and had a solid smoke ring but it was thick cut which means that it was a bit too tender for my liking and it was a tad fatty and greasy. It did taste good though…fat is flavor!
Mac n Cheese w/ Bacon & Collard GreensPotato Salad, Brisket, Turkey, & Smoked Sausage
The Pecan Lodge is a staple place for me to visit everytime I visit Dallas because they are consistently really good. This visit was no different as the food, atmosphere, and platters were all really good. Small ding for the fatty and greasy brisket puts the Pecan Lodge at a solid 9.5 out of 10 on this trip.
After a day and a half of not eating BBQ because my niece Ember decided to get married I made one final stop on my BBQ tour before flying back to Indy and it was to Heim Barbecue. Heim Barbecue is a little bit of the “new kid on the block” when it comes to BBQ in the Dallas area with their first location opening in 2016. The location I went to is their newest one right next to Dallas Love Airfield. The building looked fresh and newly renovated (being a construction guy I can notice these things). Nice vaulted exposed ceilings with sealed/polished concrete floors on. the inside and a nice covered patio with picnic tables offers a cozy outdoor seating area.
The food is served on a metal tray with butcher paper. The meats are placed directly on it and the side dishes are served in cardboard boats. For my final BBQ meal of this tour I had beef brisket, bacon burnt ends, coleslaw and green chile mac n cheese.
Beef Brisket, Bacon Burnt Ends, Cole Slaw, & Green Chile Mac n CheeseGreen Chile Mac n CheeseBeef Brisket & Bacon Burnt EndsCole Slaw
I’ve ate A LOT of BBQ over the years and ever since I’ve started this food blog I’ve always been balanced in my reviews and I’m always one to be able to find a critique or something that I would do differently or prefer vs. what was done. I can officially say that this platter was pretty much the MOST COMPLETE BBQ plate I’ve ever had! Literally everything on this plate was top notch, excellent, & delicious. Let me start with the bacon burnt ends. Also called pork belly burnt ends, these nuggets of joy were sweet and smokey and sticky and tender and absolutely wonderful to eat. The beef brisket was super thick so I was expecting them to be too tender and fall apart but they pulled really well (maybe just maybe a slight tug) and they had a solid smoke ring and flavor. The crust owas top notch and flavorful and it was delicious. The green chile mac n cheese was AWESOME! My friend Krista has traditionally made the best mac n cheese I’ve ever had and sadly, the throne has been taken over (sorry Krista!). The green chile’s add such a great flavor and it was very balanced in the amount of heat, smoke, and earthiness to the well cooked macaroni and creamy smooth cheese sauce. The cole slaw was simple…red cabbage, carrots, and a cream based sauce but it was so fresh and crisp that it would cleanse the pallette every time you ate it.
The photo above says it all! I can’t give them a perfect score so a 9.9 out of 10 will have to do!
Every year since 2013, I’ve ventured with some friends on an epic road trip in search of some of the best BBQ the great United States of America has to offer. On this 9th trip, I decided to visit all the past champions from the previous eight years and have them all face off head to head for the best overall BBQ experience. When judging “Best Overall BBQ Experience” I took into account (3) major criteria: #1 – Appearance of the Food, #2 – Atmosphere of the Restaurant, & #3 – Overall Taste of the food. Criteria #1 & #2 are weighted at 25% each and #3 is weighted 50% on a scale of 1 to 5 to get a their respective BBQ Guru Index or “BGI”.
This years trip took place over Labor Day weekend and this post is all about the places we visited, the food we ate, our critique and thoughts about the food, and some fun highlights along the way. I hope you enjoy reading my thoughts about each place that we visited!
Our first destination took us to the northwest region of Indiana and my “Best of Indiana” tour winner, Bombers BBQ. Since I last visited them in 2017 they’ve moved to a new location not super far from their original spot. On this trip, I ordered the sliced brisket, pork rib tips, macaroni & cheese, and a slice of jalapeno cheddar cornbread
When I’m judging appearance, I look at the plate (in this case a tray) as a whole and I ask myself “Do I want to eat everything on this plate or not?” Bombers BBQ did a really good job plating. First, you get a metal tray which is good vs. a traditional plastic basket, paper plate, Styrofoam container, etc…Secondly, everything is spaced nicely on the tray. The brisket slices you can see a smoke ring and a really solid bark. The rib tips are sauced, admittedly a little gloppy, but the sauce does provide a nice sheen look. The mac n cheese has a cornflake crumble on top which blends in a little bit with the dish but some burnt/charred noodles are visible. The jalapeno cheddar cornbread has some noticeable jalapenos in it. Overall, this plate scored really well on appearance.
Sliced Beef BrisketSauced Pork Rib TipsMac n CheeseJalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
The best thing on this plate was 100% the sliced brisket. I already mentioned it looked amazing and the taste didn’t disappoint. It was smoky, beefy, savory and the bark was AWESOME! It passed the pull test when it comes to tenderness even though I did notice the slices were a little thinner than I expected. I would definitely go back for their sliced brisket alone. The pork rib tips were OK/Good…just really depended on if the rib tip was mostly meat or mostly grizzle. If it was mostly meat then it was good if it was mostly grizzle it was OK. Flavor profile was great and they were tender, but I would’ve liked a little more consistent ratio of meat/grizzle on the tips. Both side dishes were great and I know heavy on the starches, but hey, it’s BBQ! The mac n cheese uses rotini pasta which was a nice twist on mac n cheese and the corn flake crumble on top added a really nice texture to the creaminess of the cheese sauce. The jalapeno cheddar cornbread was very balanced and every bite had cornbread, jalapeno, & cheddar cheese in it.
All in all, Bombers BBQ got the 2022 BBQ Tour started on a great foot and really set a high bar and everyone agreed that “We’re gonna have a lot of really good food this weekend!”
Our second destination took us to the windy city of Chicago, IL. After an afternoon touring the Navy Pier, going on a high-speed boat tour, and walking the riverwalk area for a couple hours, we visited my best BBQ Chicken winner from 2016 Smoque BBQ. This go around I ordered the half BBQ chicken, BBQ beans, mac n cheese, coleslaw, and pecan caramel bread pudding.
Looking at this plate it screams “I’m not leaving here hungry!”. This is a packed out tray of food! The half chicken just looks PHENOMENAL and that bark is and was super tasty. The beans you can see had some meat in it but it does look “soupy” for BBQ beans in my opinion. The mac n cheese looks tasty with a bit of a crust on top. The vinegar slaw had some red onions for a nice color contrast. The pecan caramel bread pudding looked a bit like a hodgepodge of earth tones but I’ll share later that it didn’t disappoint.
Half BBQ ChickenPecan Caramel Bread PuddingBBQ Beans and Mac n CheesePecan Caramel Bread Pudding & Coleslaw
The half chicken was my main entrée as it won my best BBQ chicken and it was as good as I remembered. The skin got an excellent crust that was packed full of flavor and I’m sure my heart wasn’t super thankful but my tastebuds definitely were! When it comes to the meat itself, the dark meat was great! Smokey, moist, and tender. The white meat had a few parts that were a tad dry and it needed some sauce. White meat chicken is very difficult to keep moist so I understand the difficulty. I will be honest, that the beans and mac n cheese I wasn’t a big fan of. There was a spice or something in the beans that I can’t tell was super heavy. Could be cumin but there was a strong bitter taste in the beans that I had. The mac n cheese was traditional but not super creamy and the crumble on top didn’t quite provide the texture that the mac n cheese at Bombers BBQ did provide earlier this day. The coleslaw, which was vinegar based, was surprisingly good and provided a nice freshness to the meal. The pecan caramel bread pudding is an ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE! I will admit, I’ve become a little bit of a bread pudding snob/connoisseur and I usually try it every time I see it and this bread pudding was AWESOME! It is very rich (too rich according to one of my friends) but it’s a great balance of sweet and savory and the pecans add a really nice texture that take this dessert over the top.
Day #2 of the BBQ Tour took us to Pappy’s Smokehouse in St. Louis, MO. Pappy’s has a lot of national recognition and is actually a (2) Time BBQ Tour champion winner winning my inaugural trip in 2013 with best ribs and my best of St. Louis trip in 2018. This year, we ordered what’s called the “Adam Bomb”. It consisted of a half-slab of ribs, a pulled pork sandwich, a brisket sandwich, a chicken sandwich, (3) ears of deep fried corn on the cob, a side of BBQ beans, and “frito pie” which is essentially corn chips with smoked sausage, beans, cheese, and onions. We also got a 1/4 pound of beef burnt ends. PHEW!
Looking at this spread of food everything looks delicious! You can see a nice shine to the ribs, the corn has a little character being deep fried, and the frito pie looks like a mess…a deliciously tasty & smoky one! I will knock Pappy’s that our plates were plastic baskets with butcher paper…this is just a personal peeve of mine. The BBQ sandwiches (Chicken, pork & brisket) were already cut in half which was a very nice touch as my friends and I were able to easily share the sandwiches.
Ribs, Chicken Sandwich, & Burnt EndsBrisket Sandiwch & Pork SandwichFried Corn on the Cob & BBQ BeansFrito Pie
Pappy’s is a place that I always have high expectations at. They’ve won twice on my BBQ trips and have lots of national recognition and me and my friends said the word that best describes the food at Pappy’s is simply “CONSISTENT”. Their food is just so darn consistently good it’s tough to beat! The ribs were of course the highlight of the meal. The ribs are sweet in flavor and a bit too tender to my liking but the flavor of the ribs definitely overcomes the tenderness. On one visit to Pappy’s I got to help them unload one of their smokers and carried a tray of about 20-25 racks of ribs to the kitchen…fun times! The sandwiches were mixed reviews among me and my friends. The pulled pork sandwich was probably the best of the three sandwiches straight up. The chicken was smoky but it was dry and needed sauce. The brisket was tender but wasn’t smoky and also needed sauce. The fried corn on the cob was AWESOME! Only knock on it is that it doesn’t come pre-buttered and I had to butter it myself LOL. The beans were very good and had some smoked meat in it which provide some next texture. The Frito Pie was just flat out great…crunchy, melted cheesy, smoky, BBQ goodness!
Day #2 of the BBQ Tour took us to Jack Stack BBQ in Kansas City, MO for dinner. Jack Stack BBQ won my Best of Kansas City BBQ Tour back in 2020 beating out other Kansas City, MO BBQ staples like Arthur Bryant’s, Q39, Slaps BBQ, & Joe’s BBQ. This visit to Jack Stack I ordered a 3-meat dinner which included pulled pork, pork spare ribs, and brisket burnt ends. I had sides of BBQ beans and potato salad. My friends and I shared a skillet jalapeno cheddar cornbread and a large slice of carrot cake.
Jack Stack BBQ probably did the best plating on this trip and big plus in that happening is the fact that the plate and even the sides are in actual plates! Besides that I do enjoy a full looking plate of food and the drizzle of sauce is a nice touch. I wish the beans and potato salad dishes could’ve been a bit tidier from an appearance standpoint but I didn’t ding them too bad for that. I liked the sprinkling of dry rub on the potato salad and you can see some smoke and charred parts in the pulled pork. The ribs are stacked nicely and cut in a way where you get meat on all sides of a bone vs. just one side. The brisket burnt ends are cut into cubes very nicely and uniform but I would’ve liked to have seen some smoke ring on it. Beef Burnt EndsPulled PorkBBQ Beans & Potato SaladSkillet Jalapeno Cheddar CornbreadCarrot Cake
When it comes to taste at Jack Stack it was across the board good to really good. I liken the word of “consistent” that I used for Pappy’s Smokehouse to be similar to the meats here at Jack Stack. We knew going into this trip that the meats were going to be good so a place really needed to bring it to score above average and the meats at Jack Stack were simply good to very good. The spare ribs were near fall apart tender which I personally don’t like but I get it. The flavor though was very good. Smokey, sweet wit a little bit of tang. The beef burnt ends were also really tender but not falling apart which is really good. They had a smoky flavor even though I couldn’t see much of a smoke ring on them. The pulled pork was also smoky, tender, & moist but it didn’t have any specific property jump out to take it over the top. The side dishes though…helped Jack Stack the most as they were very good to great. The beans have some of that tangy bbq sauce in it along with some smoked meats. The beans are also thick which is a big plus for me. The potato salad stole the show though for the side dishes. I usually don’t get cold sides but I knew the potato salad was good so I got it again. It’s creamy, rich, and the dry rub sprinkled on top makes it a little savory and really provides a nice balance to the dinner.
Now hold the front door open because the carrot cake ultimately stole the show! First it’s a massive carrot cake “slice” but it was flat out delicious. It was served warm which was a very nice touch and made the cake portion very filling. The frosting on top was killer good. The crumbled pecans added a nice texture to it and the fact that there’s some carrots in it makes me think I’m eating something healthy…ish HA! If you have room for dessert at Jack Stack BBQ you must get the carrot cake.
Day #3 of the BBQ Tour takes us to Memphis, TN and Central BBQ. Central BBQ is my most recent BBQ Tour champion winning my best of Memphis tour last year in 2021 beating out other BBQ joints like Rendezvous, The Barbeque Shop, A&R Barbeque, & Pig on Beale. Sadly, the location we went to last year was under construction/renovation so we had to visit another location, but nonetheless the food should still be as good even when you franchise. I ordered a 3-meat plate that consisted of pulled pork, pulled chicken, and baby back ribs. I got sides of potato salad and mac n cheese.
This location provided us hard plates which is different than the location I usually go to so that was a nice touch. The ribs have that traditional memphis style dry rub look with a little bit of shine. The pulled pork had some nice smoky parts and strands. The chicken though looked dry but it was crowded on the plate as well. The plate itself looked a little disorganized and appeared to be “thrown” together as there was a lot of dead space on the plate. The sprinkling of rub on the sides was a nice touch but the plastic containers was a blah to the appearance of the plate in my opinion.
I will admit that. Iforgot to take zoomed in photos of my individual meats and sides but I did get a photo of the banana pudding. I also included photos of the plates that my friends got. Everybody got ribs but one friend went with turkey and one went with smoked sausage. The best thing I ate at Central this day was the ribs hands down! This was the first place that had competition style ribs where the tenderness isn’t fall off the bone so that was really good to see and the classic dry rub flavor of Memphis style ribs was on point. The pulled pork I got was really good. It was smoky, tender, flavorful and moist. The chicken though was dry and needed sauce. The chicken did have a nice smoke flavor though so that was good to taste. The sides were OK to good…the mac n cheese was traditional and the dry rub sprinkle added a nice pop of flavor. Same for the potato salad…traditional but nothing over the top. The rolls appeared and tasted like store-bought Hawaiian rolls. The banana pudding was super good and was a really nice sweet end to the meal. It was creamy, had some good texture of moist cake and crispy wafers, and plenty of banana flavor to go around.
Day #4 of the BBQ Tour took us to our last BBQ place on this trip, Red State BBQ, in Lexington, KY. I do want to put a quick plug that Lexington, KY had another past champion in Lyles BBQ which won my best of Dixie (Kentucky/Tennessee) trip but they sadly closed up shop due to the pandemic. Red State BBQ though endured and won my best pulled pork sandwich trip back in 2015. My visit this time featured the pulled pork sandwich with beer cheese grits. My group also ordered a 3-meat platter to sample their ribs, hot link sausage, sliced brisket, BBQ beans and corn pudding. My friends got a pulled pork sandwich with mac n cheese and the beer cheese brisket sandwich also with mac n cheese. We also split an order of BBQ egg rolls.
First glance at everything screams this is a table that’s going to eat good! Taking a closer look at the sandwich and side that I specifically got the main thing that jumps out to me is the amount of meat on the sandwich. I do like that the top bun is also slightly off the sandwich so the eater can see a large majority of the meat on the sandwich. The meat itself you can see some of the smoky end parts and the pulled strands appear to be moist and the bun is buttered with a slight toast which is a nice touch. The beer cheese grits I’ve never had before and it looked bland or in other words cheesy grits. The pre-packaged plasticware was also blah.
Even though the plating at Red State was less than desirable, the food was definitely worth it! The pulled pork sandwich was for the most part moist and needed no sauce but the array of sauces that Red State has provided plenty of complimentary flavors…the South Carolina mustard being my personal favorite. The beer cheese grits were actually really good! The texture was similar to a very creamy and cheesy mac n cheese but with the texture of well cooked grits. I like a creamy grit vs a rough one so it was an excellent beer cheese grits side. The ribs were good but needed sauce. The hot link sausage was tasty and had a really nice snap on the casing when you bite into it. I was disappointed in the brisket. It was overcooked and fell apart on us everytime and it was more like chopped beef. It lacked smoke ring but had a little bit of smoky flavor. The mac n cheese, BBQ beans, and corn pudding were good but nothing really made them jump out as super exciting. The BBQ egg rolls were a nice touch. Pulled pork, mac n cheese, wrapped up in an egg roll wrapper and deep fried. Definitely going to have to give it a try sometime.
Shout out to my friends Adam Lamb & Jacob Burki for joining me this year on this trip!
As I’m writing this blog post the US in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic. During my time stuck in my house, I figured I’d dig up some old BBQ adventures of mine that I haven’t written about yet. This post is about the Pecan Lodge in Dallas, TX.
The Pecan Lodge sits in Deep Ellum district of downtown Dallas. My first experience with the Pecan Lodge was when my boss from work brought back some BBQ from here when we had a job site in Dallas nearly 10 years ago. Since then I’ve been to the Pecan Lodge twice…once was on my very first BBQ Tour in 2014 and then most recently for a work trip and a day of vacation. Here’s their awesome menu board:
On this particular day, which was vacation, I had just wrapped up a pretty successful round of sporting clays so I rewarded myself for my lunch before heading back to Indy. My lunch consisted of a pork sausage link, beef brisket burnt ends, collard greens, mac ‘n cheese, and peach cobbler.
When my name got called this tray was waiting for me and I about passed out in the glorious view of my lunch. Everything looked absolutely delicious! Most appealing to my eye is probably the amount of bacon in the mac n cheese. The sausage link and the brisket burnt ends had a great color and I could tell they were legitimately smoked. The mac n cheese also screams CREAMY and it most definitely was. The collard greens looked fresh and it was a good size serving. I will admit that I barely finished this platter for my lunch but of course I did finish it LOL. Here’s some closeups of the individual items I got.
Brisket Burnt Ends
Peach Cobbler
Collard Greens
Pork Sausage
Potato Salad, Turkey, Brisket & Sausage
Let’s talk about the flavor experience that Pecan Lodge is. Traditional Texas style BBQ is beef, salt, & pepper. The brisket burnt ends match that pretty much perfectly. Paired with a sweet sauce though it was off the charts delicious. It was super tender…almost fork apart tender. The pork sausage was a good spicy with good hints of smoke. The casing had a solid snap when you cut into it AND bit into which is a texture I really like in smoked sausages.
Of the two sides and dessert that I had the mac n cheese was definitely my favorite. The greens and peach cobbler were delicious but the mac n cheese took this meal completely over the top. The macaroni noodles were super soft, the cheese sauce was super creamy, and the fresh chopped up bacon on top was a delicious salty delicacy that makes all tastebuds put a cowboy hat on and say “Yeehaa!”. The collard greens had a great smokey flavor as they had some pulled pork in it and it was very balanced with onions as well. The peach cobbler was a great finish to the meal and probably put me close to gluttony but not quite. It was warm, smooth, and the crust was solid.
Very tough to find a true “negative” at the Pecan Lodge. The burnt ends may have been a bit too tender for me as I do enjoy a good chew. Ice cream would’ve been nice to have on the cobbler but I guess you can’t expect them to be excellent at everything.
SUMMARY
The Pecan Lodge in Dallas, TX is an absolute must visit if you’re in Dallas area. GET THERE EARLY! There is always a line usually wrapped around the building just to get in to the building…you still have about another 100 feet or so to go before you actually get to the counter to place an order but I 100% GUARANTEE you the food will be worth the wait and worth the money.
The 2019 Bang Bang BBQ Tour comes to an end and Lyles BBQ in Lexington, KY is the restaurant in the clean-up position. Will they hit it out of the park or will one of the earlier five places take home the championship for best BBQ experience in Kentucky & Tennessee? Let’s find out!
Lyles BBQ sits in a street facing storefront off of Clays Mill Road on the southwest side of Lexington and only a few miles away from the University of Kentucky. On the outside they have a cool looking sign with an American flag hanging just below it. I found out the place was started by a veteran so that was awesome to hear!
For my final meal of the trip I went with a classic! Beef brisket sandwich, baked beans, and mac & cheese. I also ordered an extra side of hushpuppies. My friends with me ordered the pulled pork sandwich, beef brisket, same sides as me, but we also split a 1/2 pound of burnt ends.
When my food came out, the very first thing I noticed was a FULL PLATE of food! Every square inch of the metal tray pretty much covered with food or had food within an inch of it which makes the meal even more delicious when it comes to me. They do say that you eat with your eyes before you do your mouth and this plate didn’t disappoint.
The brisket sandwich was really good. It had a great tenderness that wasn’t falling apart and it surprisingly had a really good smoke flavor even though the brisket slices really didn’t have a smoke ring that we typically see with smoked brisket. The baked beans actually had chunks of brisket in it which was an intriguing add to beans as it’s very common to see pulled pork added to it. I will say the brisket did add a nice texture to the beans that was different in a good way. It added the smokey flavor I like in beans and overall the beans were tasty. The mac & cheese was really good but lacked the creaminess I like in mac & cheese. The choice to use shells in lieu of macaroni was a nice twist. There was a subtle hint of smoke to the mac & cheese as well. I just wish the cheese portion was more creamy vs. sticky. The hushpuppies were FIRE! Near PERFECT! I like my hush puppies to have a crunch on the outside and a fluffy, airy, soft inside and these hush puppies were super super close to reaching that. I’m thinking 10 more seconds in the fryer and they would’ve been 100% spot on to the best hush puppies I’ve ever had.
Lyles has an array of sauces at the table and 1 sauce on ice near the counter you order at. The highlight of this meal was the Alabama white sauce…the sauce at the counter that was on ice. If you’re unfamiliar with the Alabama white sauce and why it’d be on ice you should know the base of this sauce is mayonnaise vs. vinegar or tomatoes but has horseradish and a few other spices mixed into it for a creamy and robust flavorful sauce. The white sauce at Lyles was awesome. I put it on the brisket sandwich, burnt ends, brisket, and hush puppies and it made every bite even better.
The only “negative” I have about this meal I had mentioned earlier and it was the lack of a smoke ring on the brisket. Not sure if the meat just “grayed” on them or not as it was still smokey but just not visually speaking smokey.
SUMMARY
Lyles BBQ was a place that interacted with me on Instagram when I mentioned I was coming and they said they were looking forward to having me there and they’re product performed excellently. The experience was so good it earned them the championship of the 2019 Bang Bang BBQ Tour! They scored an adjusted BGI (BBQ Guru Index) of 4.617 points out of 5 possible points running away by .367 points to Knoxville based Sweet P’s BBQ. Congrats Lyles BBQ!
IndyBBQGuru 