Review of Chisholm Trail BBQ  (Lockhart, TX)  

Johnny's Webpage, Facebook, & Instagram 

Be warned: This is arguably the most divided of our reviews so far, thus proving the point that taste is subjective (and in James’ case, wrong! (J/K)). But we were definitely divided on two of the staples.

We’d mentioned previously that Mike likes to ask local law enforcement about their favorite local BBQ place. So when a Sheriff’s Deputy stated that Chisholm Trail BBQ was better than any of the more famous Lockhart places, we felt we’d better see if he was right.

Mike, James and I headed down late Saturday morning and arrived about 11:00. Chisholm, Trail is typical counter service, but they are open for breakfast hours, and in addition to the usual choice of BBQ meats (ham, turkey, sausage, brisket, chicken, pork ribs, beef ribs), they also offer salads, potatoes, and a pretty big selection of side. We order a variety of things to try.

Turkey: I’m the only one who tries the turkey, and when I did I was asked an unusual question: Did I want it warm or cold? I said warm (of course), and was treated to the sight of a plate of wrapped sliced turkey being taken out of the refrigerator and placed in a microwave. Hard to say what it would have been like otherwise, but this is very dry and chewy. It has a light smoke flavor, but no other noticeable spice. My suspicion is that the turkey is primarily used on salads, but no one said anything about that. Tom: 4.0/10.

Chicken: The chicken is also a little on the dry side. It is also very bland, with the only noticeable flavor coming from the sauce Mike added to it. Otherwise, even the skin doesn’t have much flavor. Tom: 4.0/10, Mike: 3.0/10. Avg: 3.5/10.

Brisket: The brisket looked a little dry when we saw it on the cutting board, and mine at least matches. I ordered moist, but it is tough, somewhat dry, and fairly bland. There’s not much smoke or flavor from the rub. Mike agrees with this. James likes his however, feeling that it has a good flavor. Tom and Mike: 4.0/10. James: 7.0/10. Avg: 5.0/10.

Sausage: I found the sausage hard to score. It was definitely well-made with a good snap in the casing. It was very tender as well. But (mine at least) had no flavor to speak of, so it tasted like I was eating a hamburger flavored hotdog with maybe a smidgeon of heat well at the end. As a result, the grease was very noticeable. On the other hand, Mike and James liked theirs a lot more, agreeing that it was well-made, but feeling it had decent flavor. Tom: 4.0/10. Mike: 7.0/10. James: 8.0/10. Avg: 6.3/10.

Pork Ribs: The pork ribs are a touch tough, but they have a good crust and an excellent flavor. A nice rub and there is some good smoke in the taste as well. These are quite good. Tom and Mike: 8.0/10.

As you can see, on everything all three of us tried there was at least one person who was throwing off the average. We’ve always said taste is subjective, and this review probably shows that more that any other review of a single place we’ve done.

Is it worth a visit? Splitting the difference, probably. James indicated he would go again if he lived in the area, and Mike would for the sausage and ribs. I probably would not (and would stick to ribs if I did).

Is it worth a trip? We all agreed it was not.

-Tom

Review of Johnny's  (Salado, TX)  

Johnny's Webpage, Facebook, & Twitter 

Scott had the week off (Happy Birthday, BTW) and I'm off on Tuesdays, so seemed like a good day for a BBQ run. We figured we'd swing up to Salado and check out Johnny's, so we loaded up James and headed north.

 

Johnny's is a little different in that it is a true sit down restaurant. No counter ordering here. They bring your menus, your food, etc. From a BBQ perspective they offer chicken, turkey, brisket, pork ribs, and sausage (original and jalapeno). But they also have a substantial menu of other items: steaks, burgers, chicken, pork chops, sandwiches, catfish on Fridays, etc. In fact, it seems as though BBQ is a secondary part of the menu. We also notice a sign that indicates their food is prepared fresh …. (Foreshadowing: A valid literary technique). But James orders brisket and jalapeno sausage, Scott orders brisket, jalapeno sausage, and turkey, and I order brisket, original sausage, and pork ribs.

Brisket: The brisket has a nice smoke flavor (mine does anyway), and a nice bark. But the fat isn't well rendered on a lot of it. It's also a bit tough and dry in places. Scott comments that his is actually a bit bland. James seems to like his a bit more, but he's smothered his in sauce. Scott and I give ours 6.0/10. James gives his 8.0/10.

Jalapeno Sausage: It's well made, with a nice snap in the casing and reasonably moist and tender. But Scott commented that there wasn't as much heat as he would like (bland comes up again). He scores it 7.5/10.

Original sausage: This sausage is also well made, with a nice snap, and is juicy and tender. There's actually a fair amount of heat, and a flavor that reminds me of Christmas ham. Possibly clove or allspice. There is one thing missing, which I'll comment on below. I'll score it 7.5/10.

Turkey: The turkey has a very nice spice flavor, as well as some pepper. It's an excellent rub. But it is a touch dry and tough in places. Scott likens it to Saturday after Thanksgiving leftovers in terms of texture. Scott and I score it 6.0/10. James gives it 7.0/10.

Pork Ribs: The ribs are overdone, and fall completely apart when picked up. They are also extremely bland with no real flavor at all (not even much pork flavor). No crust to speak of. I score them 4.0/10. Scott gives them 6.0/10.

You'll notice bland comes up an awful lot here. And with the exception of the brisket, you'll notice the absence of another word: smoke. Except for the brisket, none of the meats had any noticeable smoke flavor to them. If someone told me that the turkey and sausage were roasted in the oven and the ribs in a slow cooker, I'd believe it.

It's a shame really, because there's definitely some potential here. The turkey and the original sausage both had an excellent base flavor, and there was a nice smoke flavor to the brisket. Like the Cubs in game 1, they have the runners on base, but can't seem to bring them home.

It was also interesting to note the sign about "Our Food is Prepared Fresh. Please be Prepared to Wait". At a table service place some waiting is expected, but I found it interesting that we waited as long as we did given that (based on what we ordered) everything should have already been ready to go. They may work under a philosophy of first come, first served, but I saw one table of two that sat after ours that got their burgers before us.  So I'm really wondering if the "Our Food is made fresh" part applies to the BBQ as well.

But I suspect this place is more popular for the other items on the menu. Of the tables I could see while we were there, no one else had ordered BBQ. Steaks, burgers, and sandwiches seemed to be the dominant theme.  

Is it worth a visit? It seems like an OK place for lunch.

Is it worth a trip? From a BBQ perspective, nope.

-Tom

Texas Monthly BBQ Brisket Brunch  (Austin, TX) 

Texas Monthly Event Site 

Juliet Ristorante Webpage,  Facebook, & Twitter  

The Beast Paris Smokehouse Webpage,  Facebook, & Twitter 

Barbecue Wife Webpage, Facebook, & Twitter

 

On October 29th, 2016, Texas Monthly BBQ held their first annual BBQ Brisket brunch. And they started off with a bang, hosting a collaborative event with Pitmaster Thomas Abramowicz from The Beast Paris Smokehouse (Paris, France) and Chef Jacob Weaver from Juliet Ristorante (Austin, TX). A shout-out also goes to Aaron Franklin, who loaned out a pair of pits so they would have smokers available.

2nd from left - Thomas Abramowicz; Far right - Jacob Weaver

 

 

Free mimosas and Bloody Maries (with the latter courtesy of Barbeque Wife) were served at the beginning. After a brief speech by Daniel Vaughn (Texas Monthy's BBQ Guru), they began serving.  

First course consisted three dishes: Smoked red beets with pickled gold beets, Dijon Chantilly Culatello, and chervil; Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio with Parmigiano, fried capers, pea tendrils, and Tonnato; and Grilled Beef tongue with Black truffle hash browns, shaved red onion, pickled jalapeno, and Balsamic BBQ sauce.

The beets had a wonderful smoky flavor. They had some moisture but were not overly juicy. Smoking seemed to make them a little less sweet than normal (which is a plus in my book). I normally don't like beets, but I liked these. 

The Carpaccio was extremely tender and had a wonderful flavor. Fried capers were an interesting touch.

The grilled beef tongue also tasted wonderful, and was easily cut with a fork. The balsamic BBQ sauce made a nice contrast. I did not try the hash browns (allergy issue).  

Second course consisted of: Jalapeno cornbread muffins; a greens salad; sliced brisket; pork and duck liver terrine, Dijon, Cornichon, and Mostarda; and a Cassoulet with Duck, Tarbais beans and other wonderful things.

The jalapeno cornbread muffins and the salad were both good for what they are. The salad had a dressing that had an interesting bitterness to it. I liked it, but noticed that not much got eaten by the rest of the table.

The brisket had an excellent smoky flavor, as well as some nice pepper. Having said that, it was definitely on the tough side, as it had to be cut with a knife. This was commented on by others at the table. If I was scoring it on a Recon scale, 6.5/10. Flavor is excellent, but for a Texas style BBQ it needs to be a lot more tender.

I've never had pork or duck liver before, and to be honest I expected to not like this one. But this tasted really good. It looked almost like slices of bread, and had a nice slightly sweet flavor. You could taste both meats in there, and this was my favorite dish so far….

Until the Cassoulet. Oh my goodness. The Pitmaster and his team would come out later and talk about this dish. It was prepared in the smokers, and had homemade sausage, smoked duck, what appeared to be pork belly, and some wonderful beans and onions. Honestly, if I had gone home having had just this dish, it would have been a worthwhile event.

Third Course: Apple pie with a cheddar crust and caramel whipped cream. The apple pie part itself was very good, as was the whipped cream. I've never had a cheese crust in pie, and this just didn’t appeal to me. I know apples and cheese are a popular combination with some, but I'm not a fan of that flavor combination and it also made the crust a lot tougher.

This was an excellent first brunch. The food was outstanding and the combination of styles made for some interesting dishes. Hats off to Thomas, Jacob, and their staff, and a big Thanks to Texas Monthly for setting this up. See you there next year!

-Tom

Review of Pecan Lodge (Dallas, TX) 

Pecan Lodge Webpage,  Facebook, & Twitter 

October 21st, 2016. Friday. About 1:30pm. In less than 24 hours I'll be participating in the Dallas area Tough Mudder. Given that I'm 47 and not in the greatest shape, where should I have what may be my last meal? Let's try Pecan Lodge.  

Located in what I believe is called the "Deep Ellum" area of downtown Dallas, Pecan Lodge still manages a rustic feel on the inside, as well as a decent-sized outside dining area. You order at one counter and pick up at another, and they also have a separate line for large orders (5 pounds or bigger I believe).

(Scott's Comment: Deep Ellum is actually east of downtown.)

Their smoked meat menu isn't as large as some places, as they offer brisket, beef ribs, pulled pork, pork ribs, and sausage (original and jalapeno). But I do see a sign inside for burnt ends, and they also serve fried chicken. I decide to get a three-meat plate (moist brisket, pulled pork, pork ribs), and add on a link of original sausage.

Sausage: The original sausage is a pork sausage. The casing has an excellent snap, and there is plenty of moisture inside. It has a nice smoky flavor and a touch of heat from the spices. Call it 9.0/10.

Pulled pork: The pulled pork is moist but not greasy. It also has a nice smoke flavor, but there's a touch of sweetness in there, as well as some pepper. It stands quite well on its own without sauce. I give it 9.0/10.

Pork Rib: The rib had a very nice crust, but was still tender inside without being overdone. There's a lot of meat on the one I got. Again, there's a lot of smoke flavor, some nice pepper, that touch of sweetness, and just a bit of heat. This rib is excellent. Call it 9.5/10.

Brisket: The brisket has an excellent bark and is incredibly tender. It has a very strong smoky flavor (always a plus), and a nice strong pepper flavor as well. It practically melts in the mouth. Call it 9.5/10.

I'd heard good things about Pecan Lodge, and it certainly lives up to the hype. It's easily a contender for one of the best places in Texas (and the lunch lines seem to support it). Jeremy (the Pitmaster) is certainly turning out some of the best BBQ in the state.

Is it worth a visit? Absolutely.

Is it worth a trip? Again, absolutely. I'd come to Dallas primarily for the Tough Mudder, but if I'd turned around and gone home after eating here, I'd still have considered it a day well spent.

One thing to note: As near as I can tell, there's no free parking in the area. Plan on paying (I spent $2 in the lot a block over).

-Tom

PS: It wasn't pretty, but yes, I did survive the Tough Mudder.

(Mudder's response: "You survived this time... Next time however...")

Visiting the Gettin' Sauced Festival (Austin, TX - Shady Springs Party Barn) 

Gettin' Sauced Festival Facebook, Twitter, & Webpage  

BBQ Festivals come in all shapes in sizes. At one end you have Texas Monthly’s BBQ festival, which will have 27 participating BBQ joints this year and will have thousands of visitors (with correspondingly long lines). On the other side you have Gettin’ Sauced . 

A smaller and much more laid-back affair, Gettin’ Sauced held their 6th annual festival (and their 5th was held in 2014) this weekend. A grand total of 12 vendors were there, and two of them were sauce only.  

Yes, Gettin’ Sauced is a BBQ sauce festival as much as a BBQ festival, with a sauce judging contest. So we will actually be discussing sauce in this posting.   

You wonder: For a cost of $40 is it worth going to? Well, not only do you get to sample (mostly unlimited) BBQ from some of the better places around, but there was also live music AND free beer. Several breweries including Independence, Middleton, Infamous, and St. Arnold were there, and if you bought a BBQ pass the beer was free. There was free Topo Chico mineral water as well. In short, you actually got a lot of extras for your $40.  

You can see the list of BBQ places on the website above. It should be made clear that there was nothing bad there. Everything ranged from at least good to excellent.

Six of us went to the festival: Myself (Tom), Tish, Scott, Sherrie (whom you may remember from TMBBQ Fest last year), Stephen, and James. What we’ve decided to do is ask each of us what three food items and sauces stood out the most from the festival. (Not everyone replied).  

Tom: For Food, the three items that stood out the most would have to be BBQ Brotherton’s Blackened Shrimp boudin (which was awesome), the pork rib from Milt’s (which had a delightful bit of heat), and the boudin from Tin Roof (which was also excellent)! For sauces it would have to be Mikey V’s Cherry BBQ Sauce (at the BBQ Brotherton table) which has an awesome flavor but would seem to go best with pork, chicken, or seafood;  Louie Mueller’s Mustard -based sauce; and Slab BBQ’s Mustard based sauce.  

 

Tish: For food it was the pork rib and the boudin from Tin Roof BBQ, and the serrano cheese sausage from 2M Smokehouse. For sauce it was Louie Mueller’s Jalapeno sauce, the Mikey V’s Rasberry Reaper, and Tin Roof’s original sauce.  

 

Stephen: Brotherton's had the best overall. This includes meat and sauce. Their raspberry sauce was amazing. Only thing is that if I had a BBQ at home I would still need some other sauce. As good as the raspberry sauce was I don't think I could have eat it with a whole meal. 

Louis Miller had a great mustard sauce. I'm not a huge pulled pork fan. I don't hate it I'm just ambivalent. But that mustard BBQ sauce was the perfect compliment. 

I wasn't particularly impressed with any of the brisket. Maybe I'm spoiled with having Valentina's right down the road but they all could have been rendered a bit more. That said the very first booth (Tin Roof) had some great ribs. But their sauce wasn't good.  It was way too “tomatoie”. I like my BBQ sauce thin. I also like my spaghetti sauce thin and I couldn't tell which of the two this was supposed to be. 

 

Sherrie: (Sherrie only commented on one of each). For sauce it was Slab BBQ’s mustard sauce (hot and tangy without being sweet). . For food it was Louie Mueller’s pulled pork (moist and tangy).  

 

 

I will say that a low key festival like this is really nice. TMBBQ offers more selection, but there’s a lot more to enjoy in a quiet atmosphere like this. We all had a good time and it is definitely something we hope to go to again. 

-Tom (writing on behalf of all of us)

La BBQ Revisited (Austin, TX - Aztec Food Park) 

La BBQ Facebook, Twitter, & Webpage 

 

It has been a little over a year since I visited La BBQ, and in that time they moved from their old location to a new one on East Caesar Chavez. Mike mentioned he and Johnny were going to pick up some BBQ and I headed on down to say “Hi”, pick up some for Tish and myself (and Scott chimed in for some as well), and see what (if anything) had changed.

They are now located in the Aztec Food Park, and lines do start forming early. There were about 15 people ahead of us and another 40 or so behind us at 10:45. When I get to order (more on that at the bottom) I order moist brisket, pork ribs, turkey, sausage, and a beef rib.

Sausage: The sausage is still their hot gut. It had a flavor last time that didn’t quite appeal to me. Not sure what they changed, but this is definitely better. It is still excellently prepared, with a nice snap, and there is some very nice heat in the flavor. Incidentally, if you like savoring the different flavors of your BBQ I’d eat this one last. I’m now scoring this 8.0/10.

 

 

Pork Ribs: They still have a wet rub in the process, but there’s definitely a better crust this time. They have a nice combination of sweet and spice, and are tender without being overcooked. I’m now scoring them 8.5/10.

 

Beef Rib: The beef rib has a nice smoky flavor, and is nice and tender. There’s a lot of good pepper and it isn’t as salty as last time. Call it 9.0/10.

 

Turkey: The turkey is tender and juicy, with a nice amount of pepper in the rub. It has a nice smoke flavor as well. Call it 9.0/10.

 

Brisket: The brisket is as excellent as I remember. It has a nice bark, is moist and smoky, and there’s a nice pepper flavor as well. Still 9.5/10. 

It looks like the move hasn’t hurt La BBQ in terms of quality. Everything was either the same or has improved. They are definitely turning out one of the best smokes in the area, and it is worth checking out if you have the time.  

And if there’s a catch, it is going to be time. In my last write-up, I commented that as a trailer the line seemed to move slower. It sparked a post on perception, as I had been in a line half as long as a Franklin line, but still waited 2 hours. 

But today there were 15 people in front of us, and they weren’t all separate orders. Line started being served at 11:00, and I got my order at 11:58. So basically an hour to serve 18 people (and not 18 orders). I’m not sure what’s slowing things down (although it seems that take-out orders may be part of it) and maybe I just caught them on a really bad day. But be aware that the wait at La BBQ seems to be a lot longer than the norm (even for trailers). 

Is it worth a visit? Absolutely. *

Is it worth a trip? Again, absolutely. * It is some of the best BBQ in the area. 

*With the caveat that the wait may add substantially more to the time than the norm. 

-Tom

Porker's BBQ Review (Naples, FL @ Naples Beach Brewery) 

Porker's BBQ Facebook, Twitter, & Yelp Page (Website is there; but not really up yet)

Naples Beach Brewery 

 

You've heard mention of Al, who lives in Marco Island, Florida and has posted to this blog a few times. Our friend Loni and I went to visit him. While the bulk of the time was spent eating seafood (Loni may live in the Houston area but I live in Austin), we did want to see if there was good BBQ in the area. As luck would have it, we were able to combine the trip with some good beer.

Porker's is not a typical business (at least by Texas standards). As near as I can tell, they are a small trailer only open Friday and Saturday at the Naples Beach Brewery (you were wondering why that was linked above, weren't you?).

(Al's comment: In talking with the guys, it looks like they have a commissary in the same park as the brewery, but that is mostly for the catering side of things.)

 

Despite being small they have a fairly good selection of meats. We hit the brewery about noon on Saturday, and ordered our BBQ about 12:30pm. They do a combo platter for one or two, so we just got it for 3. It consisted of pork belly, pork ribs, brisket, burnt ends, original sausage, and jalapeno-cheddar sausage.

Jalapeno-Cheddar Sausage: Al and Loni tried this one. It is an all-pork sausage. They both felt that while the basic preparation was good (juicy, good snap), the cheese was overpowering. That's one thing I seem to hear a lot about this particular type of sausage. It's hard to strike the balance, and too much cheese can get in the way. They rule it as decent, but not great. Loni gives it 6.0/10. Al gives it 6.5/10.

 

Brisket: Al and I try the brisket. It is tender and moist. Both of us agree that it is a touch heavy on salt, and light on pepper and smoke. There's a decent bark on it, so it is partially the rub and partially the wood. It is definitely on the high end of good, but not quite into great. The burnt ends (they were served separately) don't really change our impression. Al and I both give it 7.0/10.

 

Pork Ribs: The ribs have a good crust on them. There's a nice smoke flavor, and they are definitely tender without being overdone. There's a lot of meat on them. The rub has some nice pepper but also just a touch of sweetness from their sauce. Al and I both give them 8.5/10.

 

Pork Belly: The pork belly has a good smoky flavor. It's very tender and there is a very nice pepper flavor to them. They are a touch sweet as well. Loni gives it 8.0/10. Al and I give it 8.5/10.  

Pulled Pork: Again, there's that touch of sweetness, and an excellent smoky flavor. It's moist without being greasy. It tastes just fine without the sauce, although sauce doesn’t hurt it. Loni gives it 8.0/10. Al and I give it 8.5/10.

Pork Loin: The pork Loin is tender and moist with a nice crust. It has a nice smoky flavor and  a good touch of spice with just a hint of heat. Al and I both give it 8.0/10.

 

Original Sausage: This is also a pork sausage. There's a nice snap in the casing. You can taste smoke, some spice, and just a bit of heat. It's very tender and juicy as well. Al gives it 8.0/10 while Loni and I give it 8.5/10 (and Loni liked it enough that she ordered a second link to nibble on while Al and I were drinking).

The question I asked before I left on this trip was "Could anyone recommend a good BBQ place in South-West Florida"? No one came up with any suggestions. But it looks like we managed to find some anyway. Porker's is definitely turning out some fine quality smoked meats. Nothing scores below good, and everything pork related (except the jalapeno-cheddar sausage) rates as excellent and can hold its own with anything over here.

(Al's comment: It's my oasis in a BBQ desert. :-))

Is it worth a visit? Absolutely.

 

Is it worth a trip? Absolutely, with a disclaimer. To the best of my ability to determine, it is only open on Friday and Saturday at the Naples Beach Brewery. The Brewery is certainly worth a trip in itself, and there are some board games there as well as the usual TVs showing sports, but you may want to consider whether you pack the young kids up for a 60+ mile trip just for the BBQ if the venue doesn't appeal. But then, what's not to like about great BBQ and great beer?
 

-Tom