Oh, and a couple more recent stops!

Hays County BBQ in San Marcos:
Brisket was just a little dry. Heavily peppered crust gave it a nice jerky flavor. Good smoke, good flavor.

Ribs were simple with pepper rub, well done straight forward.

Great sausage, perfectly smoked with a little spice.

Grade: B++

Two Bros BBQ Market in San Antonio:
I really wanted to like this place but the meats were just too TOO dry. Maybe it was a bad day?
Brisket was ok, fine flavor, very dry. Ribs had good smokey flavor but were very tough. Sausage nothing special.

Grade: C++

[This message has been edited by CDub06 (edited 8/19/2013 11:39a).]

has anyone attended the Texas Monthly BBQ Fest in the past? I was thinking of going this year if past reviews are good.

http://www.tmbbq.com/events/tmbbq-fest-2013/

I'll be there. It sells out quickly. Previously it's conflicted with Aggie Football so this will be my first time.

I'm planning on going as well! Have the date for buying tickets - next Thursday - on my calendar. Watching the video on that page made me all sorts of hungry.

There is no ticket info yet on that site other than the date. I was thinking of doing VIP to beat the crowds if I do end up going.

Yeah, I was considering doing that as well.. Just depends on what the price difference ends up being for me.

2012 ticket info::

VIP tickets: $118*

General Admission tickets: $58

*NOTE: Children 5 and under are free

VIP Ticket:

2 beverage coupons
One (1) BBQ Festival T-shirt
One (1) one-year subscription to Texas Monthly
One (1) Q Card redeemable at participating restaurants and retailers (click here for more Q Card details)
Admission onto the festival grounds for one hour (12pm-1pm) prior to general admission ticket holders.

The extras don't excite me so for two of us, we'd be paying $120 extra for an hour with no lines. That's a little steep but I freaking hate lines!

[This message has been edited by BSD (edited 8/19/2013 7:45p).]

That's an expensive t-shirt!

For briskets if you get a good piece of meat (which is 80-90% of success for a good brisket IMO) than some good wood, a slow smoke, and know your temp, you can't go wrong. I did my first brisket Superbowl this year on my Green Egg and it turn out like sweet salty butter with nice crust. Done several since and the quality of meat really made a difference. The first one was a Houston Rodeo auction cow and then I tried some HEB or Kroger briskets and they were much toughter and inconsistent. Then I tried a Pete's Fine meats and Whole Foods ($2.99 lb by the way so not bad) and they were much better. You got to get the brisket to at least 200 or 205 IMO.

Pork ribs are pretty much all the same. Tried cheap Walmart brand and "grain fed organic" and not much difference. 3-4 hours and lots of spice/rubs to your liking.

Beef Ribs - to get these to Mueller's grade, haven't figured it out yet. I think my fault is not being able to find the good thick cut good quality beef ribs like they use. Gotten close but not there yet.

On Texas BBQ places

Franklins and Muellers are tops
Haven't made it to Snows.
Kruez, Blacks, and Smitty's are hit and miss with Blacks being most consistent lately. Still like Luling. Going to Corkscrew next week.
Went to Fargo's last week. No brisket or chicken and ribs were good and sausage was terrible.

In the end I prefer my brisket and ribs and go to Mueller's for beef ribs and others for the other stuff.

I'm so hungry right now.

TM BBQ Fest
GA $75.00
VIP$135.00
Damn

[This message has been edited by RioAg79 (edited 8/22/2013 4:31p).]

Wife and I are interested in buying tix to the TM deal. What do you get for your money? Are the samples inside free or do you pay additional? Drinks? Just curious how it works.

They raised the prices? Those b*****s.

Damn. Me + wife + VIP = $270? ouch.

I went to the Riverfront BBQ place in Jefferson, TX from the list a week ago.

Horrible. No smokey flavor at all on the meat dry brisket, decent ribs but no smoke, horrible sauce. Just bad.

[This message has been edited by bobbyb0322 (edited 8/25/2013 3:37p).]

I'm not exactly a cheapskate but at those prices, not worth it for my wife and I. We'll be much happier to spend the time we would've spent parking and in line instead driving to the original locations, and spend the money we would've spent on tickets and parking on a full meal at each place.

That's half the fun of some of these places, the ambiance.

Went to Brooks Place in Cypress a few days ago. Definitely a solid top 50 place, but definitely not in the upper echelon of the top 50. The pulled pork was great. I didn't have any lean brisket, but the moist end was very moist. However, he cuts the moist end weird, so it is with the grain. If he actually cut it across the grain, that brisket would be amazing.

Not on the top 50 list, and apparently for a reason:

Burnet Feed Store BBQ.

Sides were good, sausage was fine, but the brisket tasted like it was smoked for two hours then stuck in a crockpot for a few more. Very thick slices too, so it was hard to imagine I was eating anything other than a smoky pot roast.

Agreed. I ate there a couple of months ago. Just like my visit to Big Rusty's in Windthorst yesterday, the locals swear by these places and they're terrible. I feel sad for them.

Tickets for the TMBBQ Fest are bought!

I decided against it because of price.

Me too. I spend too much money on beer these days.

But I do have a BBQ Review. BBQ on the Brazos in Cresson (outside Granbury) is EXCELLENT. Beautiful bark on the brisket, perfectly rendered fat. They cut the brisket very thick and it is absolutely delicious. The ribs were well smoked and good with a touch of sweetness. It's worth checking out.



[This message has been edited by CDub06 (edited 8/29/2013 11:01a).]

quote:

---

Me too. I spend too much money on beer these days.

---

Since I'm not buying beer/wine, that is how I justified my purchase. Honestly though, I would have justified it in some other way had I still been able to drink.

Had Pecan Lodge in Dallas a couple of months ago. Was excellent; I had the brisket, jalapeno sausage, and the pork ribs. I couldn't justify getting the beef rib along with all of that since I was alone. The brisket was incredible, better without BBQ sauce than with it. The ribs were actually my favorite, again with no sauce. The sausage was incredible as well. I will post pics, but I do not have them on this computer. Great BBQ, and I believe it is worthy of a top 4 ranking.

I also had Leon's last week when I was in Galveston for a conference. Great little hole-in-the-wall place about a block from the sea wall. Very good brisket, but the highlight was their handmade sausage. I think I will go on record to say it is my favorite sausage ever eaten. And unlike Pecan Lodge, their BBQ sauce needed to be used. Not because the meat was bad, but because the sauce was that good. Not overpowering by any means, and the meat stood on its own. The sausage had almost a boudin type texture, and it had a little spice as well. I was blown away.

The sides were excellent as well. Some of the best potato salad i have ever had. The beans were sweet and spicy at the same time, and the cornbread was great as well.

Very deserving of being in the top 50. The atmosphere alone, the family environment, and the location really increase the value of the food as well. If you go to Galveston, I recommend trying Leon's.

I realize now that my Leon's post makes it sound like the sauce at Pecan Lodge was not any good. That was not the case; the meat was just that good, and the sauce was good but not an exceptional-have to have it-kind of sauce.

A block from the seawall? Are you sure it was Leon's? Leon's is right off Broadway.

maybe we were further from the seawall than I thought. I wasn't driving, and we went around the backside to get there. It was definitely Leon's as I met Leon himself.

Zimmerhanzels is damn good. You have to get there early though. They sell out by mid afternoon. Pork butt on Fridays and Saturdays is worth the stop alone. His pork ribs are the shat

[This message has been edited by Somebodysteponaduck (edited 9/27/2013 11:45a).]

Cowpokes in Pearsall has really good sides but average to bad meats.

Went back to Gatlins today. That place is full of win. Besides having awesome ribs and brisket, along with a great spicy sauce, their dirty rice is one of the best I've ever had. We got there at 10:50 and by 11:00, there were 20-25 people waiting behind us.

Gatlin's dirty rice is the tits! Brisket and ribs are good; sausage is great.

My main goal in life is to find a beer as cold as a woman's heart