Monday, February 29, 2016

Catching up with old friends at Stanley's

Saturday, for the first time ever, I paid a visit to Stanley's Famous Pit Barbecue in Tyler, TX. I'd eaten their food before but had never been to the restaurant. Pics from the meal to come, but, first, pics with my buddies Nick Pencis (owner) & Jonathan Show (Pitmaster). Talk about guys who work hard at what they do. It had been far too long since I'd seen them, so it was awesome to catch up a bit.



Sunday, February 28, 2016

Big ol' BBQ spread at Hays County

After learning about brisket & taking a pit tour with the owner, we settled in at the tables for a final meal of the day at Hays County Bar-B-Que (San Marcos, TX). The meat-&-sides spread:












Saturday, February 27, 2016

Texas BBQ Wannabe: 167

167. Texas Pete's Authentic Southern BBQ (Hamilton, New Zealand)

Updated list: 

1. Texas Smokehouse (Decatur, AL)
2. Hill Country Barbecue (Manhattan)
3. Dallas BBQ (Manhattan)
4. Tim's Texas Bar-B-Q (Beijing)
5. Capital Q (Washington, DC) - RIP
6. Little Texas (Iasi, Romania)
7. Back Forty Texas BBQ (CA)
8. West Texas Barbeque Co. (Jackson, MI)
9. Dr. Hogly Wogly’s Tyler Texas BBQ (Van Nuys, CA)
10. Barn Burner Texas Barbeque (Pasadena, CA)
11. JR’s Texas Bar-B-Que (Sacramento, CA)
12. Texas West BBQ (3 CA locations)
13. Tootie’s Texas Barbeque (Cathedral City, CA)
14. Armadillo Willy’s Real Texas BBQ (Los Altos, CA)
15. The Original Texas Barbecue King (Los Angeles)
16. Longhorn Barbecue (3 WA locations)
17. Bubb's Big Texas Style BBQ (Big Bend, WI)
18. The Texas BBQ Company (Northborough, MA)
19. DJ's Texas Style BBQ (Lewiston, ME)
20. Serious Texas BBQ (3 CO locations)
21. Abbey's Real Texas Bar-B-Q (San Diego, California)
22. Jake's Authentic Texan Bar B-Q (Rensselaer, NY)
23. Buster's Texas Style Barbecue (3 OR locations)
24. Howard's Texas Barbecue Service (Portland, OR)
25. Bennett's BBQ (CO, TN, & NC)
26. Kin Folks Texas Style BBQ (Altoona, IA)
27. Cecil's Texas Style Bar-B-Q (2 FL locations)
28. Shaw's Texas Style BBQ (Hercules, CA)
29. Backwoods BBQ (Corona, CA)
30. Cedar River Smoke House (Renton, WA)
31. Big Al's Texas BBQ (Lehi, UT)
32. East Texas BBQ, LLC (Huntsville, AL)
33. Bonehead's Texas BBQ (San Francisco, CA)
34. Huntsville Barbecue Company (Huntsville, UT)
35. Bart's Texas Style BBQ (Traverse City, MI)
36. Roland's Bar-B-Que Company (Hot Springs, AR)
37. Ralphies Texas Style BBQ & Ribs (Fairmont, WV)
38. Taste of Texas Bar-B-Q (Spencerport, NY)
39. Danny's Little Taste of Texas (South Windsor, CT)
40. Taste of Texas BBQ (McCook, NE)
41. Lockhart's BBQ (Royal Oak, MI)
42. Big John's Texas BBQ (Flagstaff, AZ)
43. Big Star Texas Barbeque (Flagstaff, AZ)
44. Big Mouth BBQ (Great Falls, MT)
45. Bull Durham’s Texas BBQ and Steakhouse (West Chester, PA)
46. Texas Ribs and BBQ (Clinton, MD)
47. The Silver Spur Texas Smokehouse BBQ (Elm Grove, WI)
48. Elmer's Authentic Texas BBQ (Battle Lake, MN)
49. Doc's Texas BBQ & Burgers (Sonora, CA)
50. Dixie's Smokehouse Texas BBQ & Rotisserie (Kings Park, NY)
51. Bob's BBQ & Mexican Grill (Pattaya, Thailand)
52. Bob's Texas BBQ (Boise, ID)
53. Hickory River Smokehouse (6 locations in OH & IL)
54. Texas Tony's BBQ Shack (Naples, FL)
55. Roosters Texas Style BBQ & Steakhouse (Nashville, TN)
56. Lee's Texas Style Bar-B-Q (Detroit, MI)
57. Texas Smokehouse Bar-B-Q (Woodinville, WA) - RIP
58. Austin BBQ (Wheaton, IL)
59. Alamo BBQ (Richmond, VA)
60. Austin's BBQ (Mountain View, CA)
61. 4C BBQ (Ponce De Leon, FL)
62. Rotuno's Texas Style Barbeque (Elyria, OH)
63. Smoke City Market (Sherman Oaks, CA)
64. The Ranger Texas Barbecue (Manhattan)
65. 4Rivers Smokehouse (2 FL locations)
66. Podnah's Pit Barbecue (Portland, OR)
67. Taste of Texas BBQ (Keystone, NE)
68. Bubba's Barbecue (Jakarta, Indonesia)
69. Molly's Smokehouse Texas BBQ (Wahiawa, HI)
70. Smokin' J's BBQ - Real Texas Barbeque (Gulfport, FL)
71. Texas BBQ & Steaks (Nha Trang, Vietnam)
72. Texas BBQ (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)
73. Lynyrd Skynyrd BBQ & Beer (Las Vegas, NV) - RIP
74. Red River BBQ (Melbourne, Australia)
75. Triple A Bar (Toronto, Canada)
76. Texas Bar-B-Q (Puebla, Mexico)
77. Bubba's Texas BBQ (Philadelphia)
78. Tex's World Famous Bar-B-Q (Nashville, TN)
79. Gilley's BBQ (Las Vegas)
80. Texas Pit BBQ (St. Thomas, VI)
81. Texas Best BBQ (Valley Village, CA)
82. Selma's Texas Barbeque (Moon Township, PA)
83. Texas BBQ House (Phoenix)
84: Bludso's BBQ (Compton, CA)
85. Wayne's BBQ Shack (Superior, CO)
86. Little Miss BBQ (Phoenix, AZ)
87. Wise Barbecue Company (Los Angeles)
88. Hickory River Smokehouse (multiple locations in OH & IL)
89. Jim's Pit Bar-B-Q (Reddick, FL)
90. Burnt to a Crisp Texas Smokehouse (Los Angeles)
91. Smoke Ring (Rome, Italy) 
92. Texas BBQ Grill (Chehalis, WA)
93. Texas Joe's (London, England)
94. Texas Stockyards BBQ (Lady Lake, FL)
95. Bubba's Texas Style Bar-B-Que & Saloon (Shanghai, China)
96. Hill Country Barbecue (Brooklyn, NY)
97. Hill Country Barbecue (Washington, DC)
98. Double J Texas BBQ (Havelock, NC)
99. Bar-B-Q Shack (Brighton, England)
100. White Smoke - A Texas Smokehouse (Tokyo)
101. Kim's Texas BBQ (San Diego, CA)
102. Swingin' Door Texas BBQ (North Hollywood, CA)
103. Brick's Barbeque (Sarasota, FL)
104. Texas Hold'em BBQ (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
105. Texas Ribs (multiple locations in Mexico)
106. The Beast (Paris, France)
107. Texas BBQ (Tel Aviv, Israel)
108. Horse Thief BBQ (Los Angeles)
109. BBQ Rush (Tucson, AZ)
110. Allison's Texas BBQ (Mesa, AZ)
111. The Proper Pig BBQ (Cleveland, OH)
112. The Beach Pit (St. George Island, FL)
113. Rangers Texas BBQ (Sydney, Australia)
114. Taste of Texas BBQ (Waitara, Australia)
115. Marley's Central Texas BBQ (Albuquerque, NM) 
116. Round Up Texas Smoked BBQ (Cold Spring, NY)
117. Texas Pit BBQ (Cloudcroft, NN)
118. Joe's Texan BBQ (Currumbin, Australia)
119. The Calhoun Family's Texas Barbeque (Murrieta, CA)
120. Rio Grande Texas Barbecue (Balgowlah, Australia) 
121. The Texan Bar-B-Q & Chili House (Algonquin, IL)

122. Bob's Omahoma Barbeque (Wooster, OH)
123. Gary Ray's Texas BBQ (Tucson, AZ)
124. Texas Barbecue Cafe (Stabekk, Norway)
125. Morgan's Brooklyn Barbecue (Brooklyn, NY)
126. All Friends Smokehouse (Westport, MA)
127. Firehouse on the Run Famous Texas BBQ (Black Forest, CO)
128. Texas Smoke Barbecue (Lake Hopatcong, NJ)
129. Jersey Shore BBQ (Belmar, NJ)
130. Smokehouse BBQ (Bali, Indonesia)
131. Andy's BBQ (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
132. Moonie's Texas Barbecue (Flowery Branch, GA)
133. Wabba Texas BBQ (Guadalajara, Mexico)
134. Frank's Texas BBQ (Bay Area, CA)
135. Bronco Belle Texas BBQ (Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada)
136. City Butcher (Springfield, MO)
137. Kaiser's Real Texas Bar-B-Q (Salt Lake City, UT)
138. Jimbo's Texas BBQ (Chantilly, VA)
139. Rocco's Smokehouse Grill (Williamsburg, VA)
140. Howard's Meat Co. (London)
141. Mike's Smokehouse (Eau Claire, WI)
142. Windy City Pizza (San Mateo, CA)
143. Texas Jack's Barbecue (Arlington, VA)
144. Hoodoo Brown BBQ (Ridgefield, CT)
145. Bonehead's Texas BBQ (Lafayette, CA)
146. Texas Pit Bar-B-Que (Lake Forest, CA)
147. Texas BBQ Saloon (Tianjin, China)
148. Holy Smoke Texas Style BBQ (Bishop, CA)
149. Shaffer Farms Texas BBQ (Summertown, TN)
150. Texas Pit BBQ (Angier, NC)
151. Joe's Texas BBQ (Green Bay, WI)
152. Lonestar BBQ (Tioga, ND)
153. R&J Texas BBQ (Milbank, SD)
154. Texican's BBQ Pitt (Crestwood, KY)
155. Straight From Texas Bar-B-Que (Richmond, KY)
156. Double SS BBQ (Cambridge, WI)
157. Lone Star BBQ Catering & Event Center (St. Peter, MN)
158. Delicious Texas Pit BBQ (Portland, OR)
159. Jack's BBQ (Seattle, WA)
160. Texas Rotisserie & Grill (New York City)
161. Joe-Bear and Sons Texas BBQ (Macon, GA)
162. Haywood Smokehouse (Waynesville, NC)
163. Yardbird Smoked Meats (Keego Harbor, MI)
164. Matt's BBQ (Portland, OR)
165. Bob's Bar-B-Q Pit (Tacoma, WA)
166. Holy Smokes (Jakarta, Indonesia)

167. Texas Pete's Authentic Southern BBQ (Hamilton, New Zealand)

Friday, February 26, 2016

Ending a day's tour at Hays County

After a stop at Deep Eddy Vodka, I took a Texas Q Tours group to Hays County Bar-B-Que, for a final stop of the day. Before the meal, owner & pitmaster Michael gave us a brisket-prep presentation and showed us the pit.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Post-vodka craft beer

After a relaxing stop at Deep Eddy Vodka, we took a Texas Q Tours crew to Twisted X Brewing Company (Dripping Springs, TX). Craft beer & Jenga!!!

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Pulled-pork dinner

A few nights ago, a college and friend spent the day smoking pork and invited us over for dinner. Pulled pork, potato salad, mashed potatoes (with cheese), and baked beans. He also whipped up a vinegar-based sauce. I keep good company!

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Texas BBQ Wannabe: 166

166. Holy Smokes (Jakarta, Indonesia) - "Holy Smokes is a Texas-style slow-smoked BBQ house at its very best! Standing by the low 'n' slow technique of Texas BBQ, we guarantee that your unfulfilled cravings for good meats will be satisfied. With a fast casual dining concept that brings a relaxed and family-friendly atmosphere, it is the ultimate carnivore's paradise." 

Updated list: 

1. Texas Smokehouse (Decatur, AL)
2. Hill Country Barbecue (Manhattan)
3. Dallas BBQ (Manhattan)
4. Tim's Texas Bar-B-Q (Beijing)
5. Capital Q (Washington, DC) - RIP
6. Little Texas (Iasi, Romania)
7. Back Forty Texas BBQ (CA)
8. West Texas Barbeque Co. (Jackson, MI)
9. Dr. Hogly Wogly’s Tyler Texas BBQ (Van Nuys, CA)
10. Barn Burner Texas Barbeque (Pasadena, CA)
11. JR’s Texas Bar-B-Que (Sacramento, CA)
12. Texas West BBQ (3 CA locations)
13. Tootie’s Texas Barbeque (Cathedral City, CA)
14. Armadillo Willy’s Real Texas BBQ (Los Altos, CA)
15. The Original Texas Barbecue King (Los Angeles)
16. Longhorn Barbecue (3 WA locations)
17. Bubb's Big Texas Style BBQ (Big Bend, WI)
18. The Texas BBQ Company (Northborough, MA)
19. DJ's Texas Style BBQ (Lewiston, ME)
20. Serious Texas BBQ (3 CO locations)
21. Abbey's Real Texas Bar-B-Q (San Diego, California)
22. Jake's Authentic Texan Bar B-Q (Rensselaer, NY)
23. Buster's Texas Style Barbecue (3 OR locations)
24. Howard's Texas Barbecue Service (Portland, OR)
25. Bennett's BBQ (CO, TN, & NC)
26. Kin Folks Texas Style BBQ (Altoona, IA)
27. Cecil's Texas Style Bar-B-Q (2 FL locations)
28. Shaw's Texas Style BBQ (Hercules, CA)
29. Backwoods BBQ (Corona, CA)
30. Cedar River Smoke House (Renton, WA)
31. Big Al's Texas BBQ (Lehi, UT)
32. East Texas BBQ, LLC (Huntsville, AL)
33. Bonehead's Texas BBQ (San Francisco, CA)
34. Huntsville Barbecue Company (Huntsville, UT)
35. Bart's Texas Style BBQ (Traverse City, MI)
36. Roland's Bar-B-Que Company (Hot Springs, AR)
37. Ralphies Texas Style BBQ & Ribs (Fairmont, WV)
38. Taste of Texas Bar-B-Q (Spencerport, NY)
39. Danny's Little Taste of Texas (South Windsor, CT)
40. Taste of Texas BBQ (McCook, NE)
41. Lockhart's BBQ (Royal Oak, MI)
42. Big John's Texas BBQ (Flagstaff, AZ)
43. Big Star Texas Barbeque (Flagstaff, AZ)
44. Big Mouth BBQ (Great Falls, MT)
45. Bull Durham’s Texas BBQ and Steakhouse (West Chester, PA)
46. Texas Ribs and BBQ (Clinton, MD)
47. The Silver Spur Texas Smokehouse BBQ (Elm Grove, WI)
48. Elmer's Authentic Texas BBQ (Battle Lake, MN)
49. Doc's Texas BBQ & Burgers (Sonora, CA)
50. Dixie's Smokehouse Texas BBQ & Rotisserie (Kings Park, NY)
51. Bob's BBQ & Mexican Grill (Pattaya, Thailand)
52. Bob's Texas BBQ (Boise, ID)
53. Hickory River Smokehouse (6 locations in OH & IL)
54. Texas Tony's BBQ Shack (Naples, FL)
55. Roosters Texas Style BBQ & Steakhouse (Nashville, TN)
56. Lee's Texas Style Bar-B-Q (Detroit, MI)
57. Texas Smokehouse Bar-B-Q (Woodinville, WA) - RIP
58. Austin BBQ (Wheaton, IL)
59. Alamo BBQ (Richmond, VA)
60. Austin's BBQ (Mountain View, CA)
61. 4C BBQ (Ponce De Leon, FL)
62. Rotuno's Texas Style Barbeque (Elyria, OH)
63. Smoke City Market (Sherman Oaks, CA)
64. The Ranger Texas Barbecue (Manhattan)
65. 4Rivers Smokehouse (2 FL locations)
66. Podnah's Pit Barbecue (Portland, OR)
67. Taste of Texas BBQ (Keystone, NE)
68. Bubba's Barbecue (Jakarta, Indonesia)
69. Molly's Smokehouse Texas BBQ (Wahiawa, HI)
70. Smokin' J's BBQ - Real Texas Barbeque (Gulfport, FL)
71. Texas BBQ & Steaks (Nha Trang, Vietnam)
72. Texas BBQ (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)
73. Lynyrd Skynyrd BBQ & Beer (Las Vegas, NV) - RIP
74. Red River BBQ (Melbourne, Australia)
75. Triple A Bar (Toronto, Canada)
76. Texas Bar-B-Q (Puebla, Mexico)
77. Bubba's Texas BBQ (Philadelphia)
78. Tex's World Famous Bar-B-Q (Nashville, TN)
79. Gilley's BBQ (Las Vegas)
80. Texas Pit BBQ (St. Thomas, VI)
81. Texas Best BBQ (Valley Village, CA)
82. Selma's Texas Barbeque (Moon Township, PA)
83. Texas BBQ House (Phoenix)
84: Bludso's BBQ (Compton, CA)
85. Wayne's BBQ Shack (Superior, CO)
86. Little Miss BBQ (Phoenix, AZ)
87. Wise Barbecue Company (Los Angeles)
88. Hickory River Smokehouse (multiple locations in OH & IL)
89. Jim's Pit Bar-B-Q (Reddick, FL)
90. Burnt to a Crisp Texas Smokehouse (Los Angeles)
91. Smoke Ring (Rome, Italy) 
92. Texas BBQ Grill (Chehalis, WA)
93. Texas Joe's (London, England)
94. Texas Stockyards BBQ (Lady Lake, FL)
95. Bubba's Texas Style Bar-B-Que & Saloon (Shanghai, China)
96. Hill Country Barbecue (Brooklyn, NY)
97. Hill Country Barbecue (Washington, DC)
98. Double J Texas BBQ (Havelock, NC)
99. Bar-B-Q Shack (Brighton, England)
100. White Smoke - A Texas Smokehouse (Tokyo)
101. Kim's Texas BBQ (San Diego, CA)
102. Swingin' Door Texas BBQ (North Hollywood, CA)
103. Brick's Barbeque (Sarasota, FL)
104. Texas Hold'em BBQ (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
105. Texas Ribs (multiple locations in Mexico)
106. The Beast (Paris, France)
107. Texas BBQ (Tel Aviv, Israel)
108. Horse Thief BBQ (Los Angeles)
109. BBQ Rush (Tucson, AZ)
110. Allison's Texas BBQ (Mesa, AZ)
111. The Proper Pig BBQ (Cleveland, OH)
112. The Beach Pit (St. George Island, FL)
113. Rangers Texas BBQ (Sydney, Australia)
114. Taste of Texas BBQ (Waitara, Australia)
115. Marley's Central Texas BBQ (Albuquerque, NM) 
116. Round Up Texas Smoked BBQ (Cold Spring, NY)
117. Texas Pit BBQ (Cloudcroft, NN)
118. Joe's Texan BBQ (Currumbin, Australia)
119. The Calhoun Family's Texas Barbeque (Murrieta, CA)
120. Rio Grande Texas Barbecue (Balgowlah, Australia) 
121. The Texan Bar-B-Q & Chili House (Algonquin, IL)

122. Bob's Omahoma Barbeque (Wooster, OH)
123. Gary Ray's Texas BBQ (Tucson, AZ)
124. Texas Barbecue Cafe (Stabekk, Norway)
125. Morgan's Brooklyn Barbecue (Brooklyn, NY)
126. All Friends Smokehouse (Westport, MA)
127. Firehouse on the Run Famous Texas BBQ (Black Forest, CO)
128. Texas Smoke Barbecue (Lake Hopatcong, NJ)
129. Jersey Shore BBQ (Belmar, NJ)
130. Smokehouse BBQ (Bali, Indonesia)
131. Andy's BBQ (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
132. Moonie's Texas Barbecue (Flowery Branch, GA)
133. Wabba Texas BBQ (Guadalajara, Mexico)
134. Frank's Texas BBQ (Bay Area, CA)
135. Bronco Belle Texas BBQ (Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada)
136. City Butcher (Springfield, MO)
137. Kaiser's Real Texas Bar-B-Q (Salt Lake City, UT)
138. Jimbo's Texas BBQ (Chantilly, VA)
139. Rocco's Smokehouse Grill (Williamsburg, VA)
140. Howard's Meat Co. (London)
141. Mike's Smokehouse (Eau Claire, WI)
142. Windy City Pizza (San Mateo, CA)
143. Texas Jack's Barbecue (Arlington, VA)
144. Hoodoo Brown BBQ (Ridgefield, CT)
145. Bonehead's Texas BBQ (Lafayette, CA)
146. Texas Pit Bar-B-Que (Lake Forest, CA)
147. Texas BBQ Saloon (Tianjin, China)
148. Holy Smoke Texas Style BBQ (Bishop, CA)
149. Shaffer Farms Texas BBQ (Summertown, TN)
150. Texas Pit BBQ (Angier, NC)
151. Joe's Texas BBQ (Green Bay, WI)
152. Lonestar BBQ (Tioga, ND)
153. R&J Texas BBQ (Milbank, SD)
154. Texican's BBQ Pitt (Crestwood, KY)
155. Straight From Texas Bar-B-Que (Richmond, KY)
156. Double SS BBQ (Cambridge, WI)
157. Lone Star BBQ Catering & Event Center (St. Peter, MN)
158. Delicious Texas Pit BBQ (Portland, OR)
159. Jack's BBQ (Seattle, WA)
160. Texas Rotisserie & Grill (New York City)
161. Joe-Bear and Sons Texas BBQ (Macon, GA)
162. Haywood Smokehouse (Waynesville, NC)
163. Yardbird Smoked Meats (Keego Harbor, MI)
164. Matt's BBQ (Portland, OR)
165. Bob's Bar-B-Q Pit (Tacoma, WA)

166. Holy Smokes (Jakarta, Indonesia)

Monday, February 22, 2016

Which Texas BBQ joint has the best outdoor seating?

Of all the Texas BBQ joints that have outdoor seating, I'd love to know which is the one you like most. Where in Texas is the best outdoor seating at a BBQ joint?

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Tour stoppin' at Deep Eddy Vodka

After a stop at Opie's Barbecue, we took a Texas Q Tours group to Deep Eddy Vodka, for some refreshing drinks and relaxation:

Saturday, February 20, 2016

All-you-can-eat at Hutchins BBQ (Frisco, TX)

A buddy of mine dined at Hutchins BBQ (Frisco, TX) yesterday and sent me pics of his meal: Brisket, turkey, jalapeño-cheddar sausage, potato salad, macaroni & cheese, and banana pudding.



Friday, February 19, 2016

Good Union Urban Bar-B-Que open in Richardson

Learned last night via Twitter (hat tip, Sarah Blaskovich) of a new BBQ joint. Good Union Urban Bar-B-Que is open for business in Richardson, TX, at 1150 State St. Open daily from 11-8:30. Here's the menu.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Touring the pit at Opie's

After our meal, our Texas Q Tours crew checked out the smokers at Opie's: