Saturday, January 30, 2010: Meyer's Elgin Smokehouse (Elgin, Texas)

Between trap shooting and scotch & cigars, the guys headed to lunch at Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse for Russell’s Man-Day (Man-Up's version of a birthday). I wasn’t there for the visit, but it sounds like it was a visit worth missing, unlike our first visit in 2009. Here’s what some of the guys had to say:

Russell: “Personally, I thought the dino/beef ribs were excellent as usual. The service was clearly the 'B squad' (maybe even the ‘C’ or ‘D’ squad), as the guy behind the counter couldn’t figure out my order and gave me a girly-man beef rib to start with -- though I do like the atmosphere. Everything else at Meyers on Sat -- pork rib, brisket, and chicken -- was inconsistent and subpar at best. Their quality this time was just not up to par. Very different than last time I was there and the Meyer’s family gave us a personal tour of the vacuum meat tumbler.”

John T.: “Overall: FAN, Great history and heritage, with friendly folks! Sausage (All Varieties): FAN, This is their thing, full of flavor and worth the drive (you can buy it in stores, but not the same as at ‘Sausage HQ’ {TM, jtw}) Pork Ribs: FAN, Meaty and great flavor, you can't go wrong with combo plate of ribs and sausage. Beef Ribs: NOT A FAN, WORTH A TRY. I truly appreciate the tender loving care that goes in to these beasts, but just not my thing, too much like roast on a bone. Brisket: SOMEWHAT A FAN, Flavorful, but I like others' better.”

Todd: “My first visit to Meyer's and sadly I was drastically underwhelmed. I have not had BBQ this bad in a long, long time. I'm hoping they were just having a bad day. Dinosaur Ribs: they were out. Pork Ribs: these had no taste at all. Brisket: ok, not great. Chicken: the best of my 3 meat plate. Corn: decent. Sweet Tea: a sad excuse for sweet tea. I had to add my own sweetener and they didn't have sweet-n-low. Really?”

James: “I'm too emotional to score it. I had hopes that were far too high and I didn’t like it at all (it = pork sausage, beef sausage, Dino ribs, side dishes, either barbecue sauce, even the wedge of cheese I purchased). I think the Dino ribs everyone rants about were more like stringy and dry rib roast that was cooked too hastily and without flavor. I guess there is no smoke involved. That having been said, one of the many reasons I love barbecue is as follows.... Even a bad serving of Texas barbecue can be a fine meal. I had a fine time with the gang at Meyer's, but will not return.”

Russell’s scores – Brisket: 8.01; Pork ribs: 7.72; Beef ribs: 9.89; Chicken: 7.88; Service: 3; Atmosphere: 9; Overall experience: 6.95

Ryan’s scores – Brisket: 5; Pork ribs: 4; Banana pudding: 9; Beans: 7; Potato salad: 5; Atmosphere: 6; Overall experience: 5

John T.’s scores – Brisket: 8; Sausage: 9.5; Pork ribs: 8.5; Beef ribs: 6.5; Overall experience: 8.8

Todd’s scores – Brisket: 7.8; Pork ribs: 5; Chicken: 8.2; Corn: 8.7; Sweet tea: 4; Service: 8; Atmosphere: 8.3. Overall experience: 7.98

Overall Man-Up Score: 7.1825