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WHAT'S ANDY EATING?

Two years before he opened a barbecue joint that almost instantly asserted itself as one of the best in Texas (and therefore among the best in the country), Grant Pinkerton looked into his freezer, saw a package of duck chunks and had an idea. He was cooking for a tailgate before the Texas Bowl that matched his alma mater Texas against Arkansas, so he needed to please a big crowd. His idea? Duck and sausage jambalaya.

Then-Arkansas coach Bret Bielema would later describe that game as "borderline erotic" because his team held Texas to 1.4 yards a play in a 317 win. While Pinkerton would prefer to forget everything that happened on the field that day, he never forgot how his friends reacted to jambalaya turned into a rich, silky delicacy by rendered duck fat. So when Pinkerton opened his restaurant in December 2016, he included the duck and sausage jambalaya on the menu as something between a side and an entree.

When I visited Pinkerton'sa six-minute drive from downtown Houstonon Saturday, an order of that jambalaya sold for $7.50. If Pinkerton only sold that jambalaya and charged twice as much, his place would still draw lines. But that jambalaya, which I'd happily fill a swimming pool with so I could eat my way out, isn't even the best item on the menu.

The competition for that prize is between the brisket and the Candy Paint ribs, which multiple Houston Texans think they named even though Pinkerton came up with the sobriquet years ago. The brisket is textbooktender and velvety under a layer of crispy bark and a deep red smoke ring. My final bite on Saturday might have been the perfect bite of brisket. It was a chunk from the side near the corner of the giant hunk of meat, so it had bark on three sides covering a moist nugget of beef. I was completely stuffed full of jambalaya and ribs and the rest of the brisket, but I had to take this one more bite. And I'm so glad I did.

I was so full because of those ribs. If you read this space often, you know how I feel about barbecue sauce. It isn't necessary if the meat is cooked properly. And no sauce is necessary on anything at Pinkerton's. But glazed ribs fall into a different category for me. In their case, sauce is applied near the end of the cooking process to create something that comes much closer to candy topping than sauce. Too much of this can be terrible, but used judiciously, that glaze can produce a sweet-smoky-salty combo that pleases nearly every cluster of taste buds. That's what Pinkerton's ribs do. A glimmer of glaze sits atop a pad of thick, juicy pork and produces supremely satisfying bites. Half of a rack can disappear within minutes.

But don't worry. There's always more brisket and borderline erotic duck jambalaya.

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NotGibbs said:

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CDub06 said:

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Rolled up to Reveille Barbecue Co. In Magnolia at 10:50am. First in line. One other guy showed up by 11:00. A bbq friend of mine showed up after opening, ordered immediately. We just left - no line.

Why am I going on about this? Because this was fantastic barbecue with no wait! They're open on the weekends and they nailed every meat.

Brisket, ribs, sausage, pastrami. We skipped the beef rib. Even the sides were good - shi****o peppers & elote.

I might have more thoughts later, but I was impressed. A- bbq with no line in MoCo!

Edit: Y'all just want pictures anyway.

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Stopped yesterday for the beef rib. Got there a little before noon, no line, and maybe 5 people sitting there eating. Beef rib was incredible, and everything else was very good as well. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture because we were in a bit of a rush, but I'd definitely recommend it

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Koldus131 said:

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I would think that depends on how well it was wrapped. Assuming you ordered to-go.

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CDub06 said:

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I've never been disappointed with Tejas. I do have some contrary opinions on some of the other Top 50 places.

I do feel like it's hard to judge a place if you're transporting the food elsewhere - especially if they brisket has been sliced. Once it's been sliced, it's immediately going to start drying out.

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Bulldog73 said:

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If not, head to Whitney and get some Flores (I've personally liked it better than Guess, but both are good).

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MTTANK said:

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If I can make it to truth bbq around 2 today, will there be anything left?

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MTTANK said:

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If I can make it to truth bbq around 2 today, will there be anything left?

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MTTANK said:

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Appreciate the intel. We made it to Truth around 2. Only a two couples in line, and still had everything. It was our first trip, I was really impressed. Had brisket, ribs, greens, and tater tot salad. Will post pics when I get a chance. I'm not a rib guy, but glad I tried them. I would put them at the top, right there with fargos in their prime.

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FriedTex said:

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Which brisket is better? truth or corkscrew

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agfan2013 said:

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Had Kreuz in Lockhart for lunch today for my second time. Pretty much same experience as the first, I can see fringe top 50, but not anywhere close to a lot of the other elite places I've had.

I cringed a little bit when I saw they were still selling shirts proclaiming Lockhart as the "bbq capital of Texas". German potatoes were excellent though.

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I split the money muscle off because I love it sliced instead just shredding it. I'm curious if anyone else does that.

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