Top Fifty
(alphabetical, by city)
Jennifer says: Does anyone have the recipe for the Salt Lick’s coleslaw in DriftWood, Tx? (August 16th, 2009 at 5:53pm)
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EAGLE LAKE: Austin’s BBQ and Catering You have to fight for one of the two picnic tables out front or sit on your car hood if you want to eat at Ron and Denice Janow’s converted gas station, where the old garage bays are filled with smoke from two portable cast-iron pits. Meat is serious business here in hunting country, and this is some of the most serious barbecued meat in Texas—outstanding brisket meant to be eaten with your fingers, five-star boneless pork, and pork ribs with a tantalizing pecan flavor and a peppery kick. Save room for the buttered potatoes and the usual sides, as well as banana pudding, coconut pie, and 7-UP cake. This place is definitely worth the thirteen-mile detour off Interstate 10. Brisket plate $5.50. BYOB. Rating: 4.5. 507 E. Main, 979-234-5250 or 800-256-0166. Open Thur-Sat 8-6. JNP
EAST BERNARD: Vincek’s Smokehouse The tan brick exterior is plain and institutional, but inside, Vincek’s exudes a sense of place, from the “Jak Se Más” (“How Are You?”) Czech welcome on the menu board at the end of the long meat counter and the homemade bread, kolaches, and tea rings in the bakery case to the local polka CDs for sale and the posters advertising the Triumphs playing Riverside Hall. Even the sweet abuela who cut our order spoke with a slight Czech accent. The pecan-smoked brisket was first-rate, with a salty bite and the obligatory red ring, and the ribs were exceptionally meaty, but it was the spicy, coarsely ground sausage that hit the spot. Choose between the too-sweet house sauce and a runny, vinegar-based type. Sides include Spanish rice and coleslaw with a pucker-inducing tang. Brisket plate $5.75. Beer. Rating: 4. Texas Highway 60 and U.S. 90A, 979-335-7921 or 800-844-MEAT. Open Tue-Sat 7-6, Sun 8-3. JNP
ELGIN: Crosstown B-B-Q This unassuming little operation, with its bare plywood walls and minimal decor, was packed with folks when we visited, including what must have been the entire Elgin High School baseball team. We liked its lean, subtly spiced sausage more than any other local links we sampled. The oak-smoked brisket and chicken were moist, and the peppery ribs meaty and tender. Standard sides. Brisket plate $5.50. BYOB. Rating: 3.5. 202 S. Avenue C, 512-281-5594. Open Sun-Thur 10-8, Fri & Sat till 10. Checks accepted, no credit cards. ES
EL PASO: Chris’s the Brisket BBQ The beef rib is still king in El Paso, but unlike other ‘cue joints way out west, where the ribs come like snow cones (they taste like whatever syrup is poured on top), these ribs have no marinade. Instead, a simple salt-cayenne-and-black-pepper rub allows the ribs to taste like ribs: tender, rich, never stringy. Pit boss Chris Ivey treats the rest of his meat with the same care, producing a shiny black crust over a thin red ribbon on the brisket and a crunchy black skin on the sausage, all smoked over pecan. Ivey says his secret is never to leave the meat and the fire unattended, and he gets to his pits each morning at three o’clock. The early start allows him to make potato salad, chili beans, and coleslaw fresh each day and also whip up several cakes for dessert. His sauce is intentionally bland, and so is the restaurant’s interior. The only decoration was a tableful of slow-pitch-softball trophies and a Christmas tree, which was still up in April, festooned with yellow ribbons in support of the troops. Brisket plate $6.50. Rating: 4. 11420 Rojas, 915-595-0114. Open Mon-Fri 11-3. John Spong
EVERMAN: Longoria’s BBQ Using a custom-made oak-fueled, vertical-barrel steel pit, Fidencio “Fred” Longoria and his sons, Danny and David, turn out just-right barbecued chicken and succulent brisket and pork ribs that could use a pinch more smokiness. But the real star at this small, neighborly place is the astonishingly unfatty beef sausage: The Longorias make it by grinding their own brisket, which they also use in their sublime smoked burgers (that’s the way everyone in Everman cooks ‘em). Among other sides, the mustard potato salad is chunky and the ranch beans are seasoned with cumin and other Tex-Mex spices. The thin, brown sauce balances sweet with tart. The top desserts are banana-nut bread and carrot cake made by Kathy Williamson, the wife of employee Cliff Williamson. Brisket plate $4.75. BYOB. Rating: 4.5. 100 Christopher, 817-568-9494. Open Tue-Sat 11-7. JM
FORT WORTH Angelo’s These brick pits still turn out the best brisket in Cowtown—hickory-smoked, fatty but not too, fork-tender but holding together, with a militantly beefy aroma. The pork ribs, seasoned with a dry rub, are black on the outside and pink at the bone, while the chicken squirts juices when its crusty skin is penetrated. The tomatoey sauce is thin and slightly sassy; the slaw, potato salad, and beans are standard. A combination hunting lodge, Western saloon, and cavernous warehouse, Angelo’s is famous for frosty beer in eighteen-ounce schooners. Brisket plate $8.50. Beer. Rating: 4. 2533 White Settlement Road, 817-332-0357. Open Mon—Sat 11—10. Checks accepted, no credit cards. JM
FORT WORTH Railhead Smokehouse Though the bright, upscale bunkhouse atmosphere fails to inspire, it’s hard to find much else to complain about at this popular, depot-size place launched some sixteen years ago. Smoky, mouthwatering brisket is cooked over hickory for so long it resembles Mexican shredded beef, and the ribs, though small, are state of the art and low on fat. The sausage is a judicious mix of beef and pork, and the moist chicken goes down easy. Barbecued bologna and salami are an acquired taste worth acquiring now and then. Thick red sauce, above-average sides. Brisket plate $7.75. Beer. Rating: 4.5. 2900 Montgomery, 817-738-9808. Open Mon—Sat 11—9. JM
FREDERICKSBURG Ken Hall and Co. Texas Barbecue The former Houston Oiler’s mesquite-smoked brisket was uncharacteristically leathery on one visit, but small pork ribs, heavily charred on the outside and pink on the inside, and a spicy, moderately fatty pork-and-beef sausage made up for it. The traditional sides are a much better choice than the bland green beans, corn, and the like. Utilitarian but comfy, the room is decorated with cowboy gear and sports memorabilia. Brisket plate $8.19. Beer. Rating: 4. 1679 S. U.S. 87, 830-997-2353. Open Wed—Sun 11—2. Checks accepted, no credit cards. JM
GLEN ROSE Ranchhouse Barbecue This place was recommended by a local, who declared that he expected his brisket to fall apart “just by my lookin’ at it.” That didn’t quite happen when we visited, but the small, meaty ribs and peppery hot links were well worth the drive. (The smoked bologna, served in a half-moon chunk, is the tofu of barbecue, in our opinion.) For dessert, the hot buttermilk pie, with its perfectly browned top and thin, crispy crust, almost beat out the foamy banana pudding and the homemade peach cobbler—but not quite. Brisket plate $6.95. BYOB. Rating: 4.5. 1408 N.E. Big Bend Trail, 254-897-3441. Open Wed & Thur 11—8, Fri & Sat till 9, Sun till 5. Checks accepted, no credit cards. KV
HASLET Lee’s Hickory Smoked Bar-B-Q This small, cafeteria-style eatery has a hickory-stoked rotisserie cooker, which produces a less-smoky flavor than traditional pits, but the firm brisket yields easily to a fork, the rib meat pulls effortlessly from the bone, and the well-charred pork loin is pink inside. Pork-and-beef sausage, beef hot links, and chicken are also satisfying. The thin sauce, darkened by soy and Worcestershire, has a gentle kick. Sides include creamy slaw, canned (but customized) pinto beans, and hot veggies like steamed cabbage and corn on the cob. Brisket plate $7.80. BYOB. Rating: 4. 103 Schoolhouse Road, 817-439-5337. Open Mon—Sat 11—8 (closed third Saturday of each month). JM
HENDERSON Bob’s Bar-B-Que Bob’s operation epitomizes time-motion efficiency. You step up to the counter in the immaculate cinder-block building. Your order is taken; you pay and step back, joining the other customers patiently waiting. Bob Allen himself is slicing the brisket, smoked over hickory, its flavor a testament to the adjective “sweet” often applied to that wood; notably lean, the meat can be a tad dry. Bob’s sons, Michael and Mitchell, are cutting the beautiful, meaty little ribs. Bob’s wife, Billie, makes sure things run right. The mashed-style potato salad is seasoned with a dash of mustard; the beans are sweet, as they often are in East Texas. Folks order to go or tear into their lunch at four picnic tables under a small outdoor pavilion. Brisket plate about $7. Rating: 4. 1205 Pope, 903-657-8301. Open Tue—Sat 10—7. PS
HOLLAND Jackson’s Smokehouse Sitting by the side of Texas Highway 95 in the tiny town of Holland in Bell County, the Smokehouse feels more like a roadhouse from the forties: concrete floor, aged counter, picnic tables with tablecloths. Claude Jackson, who was born and raised around here, cooks his meat in one of the three pits out back. The brisket is moist and yields to the touch of a fork, and the pork ribs fall from the bone; the sauce is sweet and vinegary. We wish he put a little effort into the potato salad and the beans. The Smokehouse gets pretty busy at lunch, but while you wait you can sit and watch the cars roll north and south on the highway or check out the train sets for sale. Brisket plate $5.95. Beer. Rating: 3.5. 301 N. Franklin (Texas Highway 95), 254-657-7107. Open Thur—Sun 11—8. Local checks accepted, no credit cards. MH
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