Right before finals began, I decided I was in the need for a BBQ fix, and so I called up a couple of friends and we took a quick 45 minute drive on over to Mexia, TX for a place called Kirby's BBQ out by the airport.
This place has all the basics in spades! It's hard as all get out to find because the address online is wrong. When you pull in, it doesn't have paved parking, and the building looks like something out of a western. Upon walking inside, you see pictures on the walls of local high school sports teams they sponsor and pictures of famous people who have visited. It's about as small town Texas as they come, and I love it.
As always, I snagged a 3 meat plate with brisket, sausage, and ribs with a side of beans, and after hearing their pie is homemade everyday, I snagged a slice of buttermilk pie with my meal.
The brisket was very thinly sliced without much fat on the pieces which was not particularly to my liking, but it did have a good bark and a nice smoke ring around it. It had a solid flavor but nothing overwhelming. It was able to be cut with just the fork, and I did enjoy it but wasn't amazed.
The sausage was probably the most disappointing of the three meats I ordered. It was basic link sausage that tasted like something you could've bought at a grocery store. It was not hardly spicy at all and was overall unimpressive.
The ribs were well smoked and had good seasoning that were well accompanied by the sauce that was provided at the table. It had a good tenderness and just about fell off the bone.
Normally i'm not one to review sides and desserts because they just do not really matter to me when deciding what's good BBQ or not, but for Kirby's I have made an exception for one reason and one only. Their buttermilk pie is the absolute best buttermilk pie that I have ever consumed in my entire life. It was extremely creamy, and unlike any i've ever had, it had a crust across the top like a crème brûlée. To be clear, I would drive an hour again just to get more of that pie. It is that good y'all.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Monday, June 30, 2014
THE CHAMPION...... so far.
Well since moving to the metroplex, there has been one BBQ joint on my list that I had to tackle, and that one is Pecan Lodge. It was opened about 4-5 years ago as a catering business by a husband and wife who quit their corporate jobs to pursue BBQ. As their BBQ gained some local renown, they opened up a booth in the Dallas Farmer's Market. They've since moved to a bigger location in Deep Ellum after being consistently in the Texas Monthly Top 50.
So for one of my first free weekends of the summer, Drew, Ryan, and I took a little trip into big ole Dallas at about 10 in the morning on Saturday to discover the best that the metroplex had to offer. Thankfully there was some rain so we were actually the 2nd group in line. We braved the weather for an hour before they opened at 11.
Upon entering, I knew I was in a great place. The walls were covered with old time photographs, and it felt like a run down BBQ place even though it was a fairly new building. I chose to order a 3 meat plate with brisket (DUH), jalapeño cheese sausage, and ribs with a side of their bacon mac and cheese (yes, bacon in the mac and cheese). And of course, I snagged a koozie while I was there.
The most important thing though is, of course, the food. The brisket had a great bark and smoke ring, and it was cut thick and fatty which is exactly how I like it. Upon my first bite, I thought that I had briefly died and went to heaven. It's easily the 2nd best brisket in the state. The not-fatty parts are not quite as good as Snow's which remains the best brisket to date, but the overall flavor and texture is excellent.
I've said before that Miller's Smokehouse in Belton has the best jalapeño cheese sausage. Well that has since been supplanted by Pecan Lodge. It is the best sausage in the world. I am fully convinced there is none better on this planet. It had a great spicy flavor from the jalapeños with a ton of cheese to cool it off, and instead of giving you a few slices, they give you a whole link to nom on.
Lastly, I had the beef ribs. Wow, they were a surprise. I normally get ribs as an afterthought because places that don't specialize in them normally don't make them that well. They were fall off the bone texture with great flavor, and the thick tomato based sauce that was on the table complimented them beautifully.
Overall, this is the best BBQ I have experienced in Texas. The brisket comes in 2nd, but the rest of the food is so fantastic that nothing else compares to date. However, the monster looming in the background of all of this is the grandaddy of them all, Franklin's BBQ. Hopefully, I will be making that trip in August.
So for one of my first free weekends of the summer, Drew, Ryan, and I took a little trip into big ole Dallas at about 10 in the morning on Saturday to discover the best that the metroplex had to offer. Thankfully there was some rain so we were actually the 2nd group in line. We braved the weather for an hour before they opened at 11.
Upon entering, I knew I was in a great place. The walls were covered with old time photographs, and it felt like a run down BBQ place even though it was a fairly new building. I chose to order a 3 meat plate with brisket (DUH), jalapeño cheese sausage, and ribs with a side of their bacon mac and cheese (yes, bacon in the mac and cheese). And of course, I snagged a koozie while I was there.
The most important thing though is, of course, the food. The brisket had a great bark and smoke ring, and it was cut thick and fatty which is exactly how I like it. Upon my first bite, I thought that I had briefly died and went to heaven. It's easily the 2nd best brisket in the state. The not-fatty parts are not quite as good as Snow's which remains the best brisket to date, but the overall flavor and texture is excellent.
I've said before that Miller's Smokehouse in Belton has the best jalapeño cheese sausage. Well that has since been supplanted by Pecan Lodge. It is the best sausage in the world. I am fully convinced there is none better on this planet. It had a great spicy flavor from the jalapeños with a ton of cheese to cool it off, and instead of giving you a few slices, they give you a whole link to nom on.
Lastly, I had the beef ribs. Wow, they were a surprise. I normally get ribs as an afterthought because places that don't specialize in them normally don't make them that well. They were fall off the bone texture with great flavor, and the thick tomato based sauce that was on the table complimented them beautifully.
Overall, this is the best BBQ I have experienced in Texas. The brisket comes in 2nd, but the rest of the food is so fantastic that nothing else compares to date. However, the monster looming in the background of all of this is the grandaddy of them all, Franklin's BBQ. Hopefully, I will be making that trip in August.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Snow's BBQ: A Pilgrimage
This past summer, two of my friends and I decided to take our lone Saturday we all had off to drive to Lexington, Texas to sample one of the most renowned BBQ places in Texas, Snow's. The whole place looks like something out of a story book. Snow's is the only place open in Lexington on Saturday mornings, and the 3 hour drive was well worth it.
I learned when I got there that they smoke their brisket all night on Fridays for the 4 hours they are typically open on Saturday. That's right. They are only open on Saturday mornings for about 4 hours.
While waiting in line, they let us eat some of the scraps off the turkey they were carving in front of us. Let me tell you something. If I wasn't a brisket fan first, I would've just eaten that whole turkey by itself because it was so dang good.
I ordered the 3 meat plate with brisket, ribs, and sausage. I started with a bite of the ribs and sausage first. The ribs were pretty moist but not quite fall-off-the-bone quality and had a pretty solid overall flavor. The sausage was a little tough in my opinion with little to no pepper flavor and is probably the weakest part of the meal overall.
Now to the Pièce de Resistánce, the brisket. To this day, no brisket has even gotten close to Snow's quality in my opinion. They gave me a really nice fatty piece, and all of the slices I received were nice and thick. It had a great kick of peppery crust and a thick smoke ring. In fact, the brisket is so moist that I cut it only with the plastic fork they gave me. The sauce was a nice additive to the great brisket, but as is the case with great brisket, you don't really need it.
Overall, Snow's is a great experience. They have a a really nice outside seating area right next to their pit with some great merchandise for sale (of course, I bought a koozie). If I was rating it on just the brisket, it would receive as many stars as I could possibly give out, but unfortunately, in my opinion, their sausage was poor, leaving them with a rating of 4.8/5.
I learned when I got there that they smoke their brisket all night on Fridays for the 4 hours they are typically open on Saturday. That's right. They are only open on Saturday mornings for about 4 hours.
While waiting in line, they let us eat some of the scraps off the turkey they were carving in front of us. Let me tell you something. If I wasn't a brisket fan first, I would've just eaten that whole turkey by itself because it was so dang good.
I ordered the 3 meat plate with brisket, ribs, and sausage. I started with a bite of the ribs and sausage first. The ribs were pretty moist but not quite fall-off-the-bone quality and had a pretty solid overall flavor. The sausage was a little tough in my opinion with little to no pepper flavor and is probably the weakest part of the meal overall.
Now to the Pièce de Resistánce, the brisket. To this day, no brisket has even gotten close to Snow's quality in my opinion. They gave me a really nice fatty piece, and all of the slices I received were nice and thick. It had a great kick of peppery crust and a thick smoke ring. In fact, the brisket is so moist that I cut it only with the plastic fork they gave me. The sauce was a nice additive to the great brisket, but as is the case with great brisket, you don't really need it.
Overall, Snow's is a great experience. They have a a really nice outside seating area right next to their pit with some great merchandise for sale (of course, I bought a koozie). If I was rating it on just the brisket, it would receive as many stars as I could possibly give out, but unfortunately, in my opinion, their sausage was poor, leaving them with a rating of 4.8/5.
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