agcrock2005 said:

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I thought Stanley's had some of the best ribs I'd ever had, but didn't like their brisket. I'd like to try it again though. Not out there very often.

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A long time ago I had ribs from there that were incredible. Now when I go I get the brisket which has always been consistent and very good. Their ribs are too up & down.

CDub06 said:

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I do my best to keep a somewhat prioritized list of my favorite BBQ places. It's a challenge as some trips extend over a couple of years. If anyone is interested, my top 20 looks like this:

1. Franklin
2. Snow's
3. Killen's
4. Louie Mueller
5. Black's Barbecue
6. Heim Craft Barbecue
7. Hutchins BBQ
8. La Barbecue
9. Kreuz Market (Lockhart)
10. Lockhart Smokehouse (Dallas)
11. The Pit Room (Houston)
12. Tejas Chocolate Craftory
13. BBQ on the Brazos
14. Fargo's Pit BBQ
15. McMillan's (Fannin)
16. Lambert's Downtown Barbecue
17. Corkscrew
18. Joseph's Riverport Barbecue
19. Micklethwait
20. Brooks' Place

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Big fan of the Joseph Riverport in Jefferson and when going up to Arkansas on that route I stop but I would put Truth in Brenham above it and as I said a big fan of Joesph Riverport

Mr_mo8268 said:

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agcrock2005 said:

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I thought Stanley's had some of the best ribs I'd ever had, but didn't like their brisket. I'd like to try it again though. Not out there very often.

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A long time ago I had ribs from there that were incredible. Now when I go I get the brisket which has always been consistent and very good. Their ribs are too up & down.

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I've found their ribs to be consistently great on my visits but the brisket, while normally pretty dang good, isn't always great. Even the bad days are good there though. I'm in Tyler every week for work and eat there a few times a month. I absolutely think that place is one of the best overall BBQ places around.

Someone else mentioned the chicken and it's great every single time. That mother clucker sandwich with the chicken is one of the best things I've ever eaten.

Recommendations in Crockett area?

BMX Bandit said:

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Recommendations in Crockett area?

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Get on Hwy 21 south and come home...

As for Truth, I think they are doing all of their meats really well, but I've never been blown away. They're Top 50 for sure and they're the best in a 50 mile radius. But for some reason, I'm just not as high on them as everyone else is. I know I'm the only one that thinks that.

Can someone explain the Micklethwait's lovefest? I know any place can have an off day but the only time I went I got a regular 1 meat plate with brisket and left very unimpressed there. The brisket reminded me of C&J's in B/CS, it had no smoke flavor and was very bland. Had a buddy who lives in Austin go there and say the same thing. And none of the sides were worth writing home about either. I really want to go back as I always give BBQ places two chances as most places will have an off day but it seemed like a few others shared my experience as well.

Really want to get down to Truth BBQ in Brenham since thats only about 40 minutes away from me. And looking forward to the new list in June, if Killen's does overtake the #1 spot I'm gonna have to try it once just to say I did like with Franklin's....

agfan2013 said:

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Can someone explain the Micklethwait's lovefest? ...The brisket reminded me of C&J's in B/CS, it had no smoke flavor and was very bland.

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BBQ is hard to get right consistently so you could've gone on a bad day. Hell, I've been to Pecan Lodge twice now and both times the food was ***** When I went to Micklethwait they had some of the best brisket I've ever had. Probably third best behind Franklins and Snows. Also, they're very well known for making their own sausage which is phenomenal.

Quote:

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And none of the sides were worth writing home about either.

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Did you try the jalapeno cheese grits? I'm not a grits person but I tried them and they were amazing.

Well sounds like I did everything wrong about that visit. No I didn't get the sausage even though I really like to if the place does their own stuff in house and no didn't get the cheese grits either. Just beans and potatoe salad maybe? It's been awhile. I'll have to give them another shot as it seems like a bunch of other people have really good experiences with them.

I'd say my top 3 brisket places would be Blacks, Franklin's, and LM. And what I had the day I went wasn't even half as good as what those crank out.

agfan2013 said:

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No I didn't get the sausage even though I really like to if the place does their own stuff in house and no didn't get the cheese grits either.

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Yeah, they probably have the best sausage I've ever had and it's called "knockwurst". Not sure what that means although I'm sure google could answer that pretty quickly, but it was very very good. Definitely try the grits too if you do go back.

Am I the only one that does not get sides at a barbecue place (other than a slice of cheddar)?

nope, I do it the exact same way, meat, cheese, pickles, onions, jalapenos.

I usually get bread as well to get some carbs in me.

But some places have sides worth trying, so I muscle down some vegetables to make me feel better about myself.

What's the Top 5 in Houston?

army01 said:

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Am I the only one that does not get sides at a barbecue place (other than a slice of cheddar)?

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Beans are important to me...also if you have a side that people rave about I'll try it.

AlaskanAg99 said:

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What's the Top 5 in Houston?

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My top 5 in no order:

Corkscrew
Pinkerton's
Killen's
The Pit Room
Luling City Market

Other notables are Virgie's, The Brisket House, Gatlin's, and Brook's Place.

Just had cattleack for the first time. Super impressed.

My Houston area Top 5 would be:

1. Killen's
2. The Pit Room
3. Tejas
4. Corkscrew
5. Brooks' Place
(Jackson Street, Gatlin's Virgie's, Pinkerton's, Pappa Charlie's)

AG 07 said:

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Just had cattleack for the first time. Super impressed.

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Really want to try this. Was hoping for tomorrow but I won't be able to make it happen.

agcrock2005 said:

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AG 07 said:

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Just had cattleack for the first time. Super impressed.

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Really want to try this. Was hoping for tomorrow but I won't be able to make it happen.

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Let's see if this pic works:

My Saturday plan is knocking a few off of the list in San Antonio.

Objective #1 remains 2M Smokehouse. Their hype train is about to leave the station. I've had B Daddy's (Helotes) on my radar for a while. Nelson's and BBQLife are two others I may tick.

Well i know where I'm going next Dallas trip. That looks amazing.

Pappa Charlie's was the one i forgot and left off my Houston list earlier.

Just saw Cattle Ack's hours. Gonna have to make it first Saturday of the month next trip to catch that.

John Mueller is getting back into the game starting this weekend at Red Poppy Festival in Georgetown. Is starting with a trailer called Black Box BBQ, but will eventually have a brick and mortar building. Looking forward to this!!

AG 07 said:

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agcrock2005 said:

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AG 07 said:

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Just had cattleack for the first time. Super impressed.

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Really want to try this. Was hoping for tomorrow but I won't be able to make it happen.

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Let's see if this pic works:

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That's the thickest cut brisket I've ever seen.

army01 said:

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Am I the only one that does not get sides at a barbecue place (other than a slice of cheddar)?

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Same here. Meat, bread and some pickles on the side is all I ever get.

You don't win friends with salad.

JR_83 said:

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John Mueller is getting back into the game starting this weekend at Red Poppy Festival in Georgetown. Is starting with a trailer called Black Box BBQ, but will eventually have a brick and mortar building. Looking forward to this!!

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Great to hear this! He's put out the best brisket I've ever had and I was bummed to hear he closed shop.

His issues at JMueller came from conflict with his sister in how to run the place.

The second time, he closed up his own place due to mismanaging money.

We'll see if he can make nice with the owner this time around...

This was my favorite tweet on the topic:

AG 07 said:

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agcrock2005 said:

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AG 07 said:

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Just had cattleack for the first time. Super impressed.

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Really want to try this. Was hoping for tomorrow but I won't be able to make it happen.

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Let's see if this pic works:

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I'm checking them out next week for sure. I think I'm going to hit pecan lodge Thursday and Cattleacks on Friday just for a comparison. Pecan Lodge isn't even in my personal top 5 based on my one experience there. Gonna have to try it again.

JR_83 said:

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John Mueller is getting back into the game starting this weekend at Red Poppy Festival in Georgetown. Is starting with a trailer called Black Box BBQ, but will eventually have a brick and mortar building. Looking forward to this!!

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Is he looking at setting up a shop in Georgetown as well? This would be most excellent for me as that's where the inlaws are.

Jock 07 said:

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JR_83 said:

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John Mueller is getting back into the game starting this weekend at Red Poppy Festival in Georgetown. Is starting with a trailer called Black Box BBQ, but will eventually have a brick and mortar building. Looking forward to this!!

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Is he looking at setting up a shop in Georgetown as well? This would be most excellent for me as that's where the inlaws are.

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Yes, Black Box BBQ in downtown.

CDub06 said:

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His issues at JMueller came from conflict with his sister in how to run the place.

The second time, he closed up his own place due to mismanaging money.

We'll see if he can make nice with the owner this time around...

This was my favorite tweet on the topic:

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I thought his conflicts with his sister had to do when he cooked for her at Labbq? And he was supposedly stealing or mismanaging money there and so she fired him?

I thought it was after that he started his own place (JMuellers) that he owned? No idea what happened from there.

* disclaimer: all of the above from the intertron so no idea if any true...

At the time of the split, LeAnn owned JMueller and John managed the pits. John and LeAnn couldn't get along because John's ego, drama, and yes - financial improprieties. She fired him and hired John Lewis while changing the name to LA Barbecue. John Mueller struck out on his own (he may have had investors) with John Mueller Meat Co. until he was shut down for not paying taxes.

He's proven that he can cook, but he can't run a business.

So, now with Black Box, he's trying again to just manage the meats and let someone else manage the money. We'll see if his attitude has changed, but I doubt it.

CDub06 said:

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At the time of the split, LeAnn owned JMueller and John managed the pits. John and LeAnn couldn't get along because John's ego, drama, and yes - financial improprieties. She fired him and hired John Lewis while changing the name to LA Barbecue. John Mueller struck out on his own (he may have had investors) with John Mueller Meat Co. until he was shut down for not paying taxes.

He's proven that he can cook, but he can't run a business.

So, now with Black Box, he's trying again to just manage the meats and let someone else manage the money. We'll see if his attitude has changed, but I doubt it.

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Ah, got it. Thanks. I was thinking it was Labbq that whole time he worked for his sister.

So that's why he always wanted you to pay cash.

Had Corkscrew for the first time on Friday!

Pretty impressed. Some of the best Pulled Pork I have ever had. Turkey was the low spot though. It was fairly moist but I thought was pretty bland flavor wise. Other than that I thoroughly enjoyed!