Houston BBQ Throwdown went off yesterday. Great, great event as always. There were no duds once again. The idea of the event is to come up with a creative barbecue dish unique to Houston.
Here's a quick & dirty overview:
In attendance - Feges, Harlem Road, My Yard Reaction, El Burro & The Bull, Pit Room, Pappa Charlies, Tejas, Pinkertons, Blood Bros, Gatlin's, Brisket House, Tin Roof, Beaver's, Roegel's.
Of these, I'd never tried Beaver's barbecue and I'd never even heard of My Yard Reaction.
Tin Roof won people's choice. They had a very good beef rib. But honestly, they were the least creative - it was just a beef rib to be honest. They had a fire the night before and still showed up to compete. That was impressive.
El Burro & The Bull tied with Beaver's for the Judge's Choice.
El Burro served posole. I loved the concept - it was the best idea at the entire event. Not the best posole I've ever had, but it was good and fit the theme perfectly.
Beaver's served one of three tacos and they were easily the best. They had homemade tortillas with brisket fat. The meat was shortrib & brisket and it was topped with pico, queso fresco, crema and pickled onions. It was an outstanding taco. Apparently these guys are improving every day and may become a contender in Houston bbq.
A few other Standouts:
Feges had some tremendous Pork Belly Pastrami (it got my vote).
Pit room had a Whataburger parody "A1 Bacon Smokehouse" with a great smoked cheeseburger sausage and bacon. Sausage is a gamble at this event, but they nailed it.
Tejas put together some porkbelly with Poblano and Oaxaca Mac & Cheese. It was a complete dish and very good.
Blood Bros is always one of my favorites. They just do such interesting stuff. On this day it was Brisket Fried Rice with Pork Jowl Char Siu. The rice was solid, the jowl was smoky. Great food, unique concept, perfect for this event. They're working on a permanent location, so I'm pumped about that.