Todd in Tyler: A visit to Stanley's

From our man Todd Plunk:

A few thoughts from my first visit to Stanley's Famous Pit BBQ in Tyler, TX. 

On a recent trip to East Texas, I stopped in for lunch at Stanley's Famous Pit BBQ in Tyler, TX. Stanley's is no secret to Texas BBQ fans, as evident by the many "Best of" lists, so I was excited to experience it first-hand. 

I ordered sliced brisket (fatty with bark), chicken, baked potato and of course their baby back ribs! Brisket tends to be my meat of choice when measuring up a joint, and Stanley's did not disappoint. The bark, the smoke ring, the flavor all added up to a great piece of meat.

The ribs were equally as good...a great flavor without overpowering the meat. They were moist and easily fell of the bone for easy eating. It's no surprise their ribs have won more awards than a boy scout.

I capped the trip off with a visit with the Pitmaster himself. Shaw (@PitmasterShaw) came out to introduce himself and give a tour of the pits. Cooking an average of 50 briskets and racks of ribs a day is no easy task, but Shaw gave mad credit to his great kitchen crew, a true team player and leader.  Thanks for the pit tour, your time and of course a great lunch Shaw!

It's good to know East Texans have a great BBQ place to call their own, and I look forward to making another trip.

Todd

Red Dirt BBQ Festival today!

Just want to wish everyone at today's Red Dirt BBQ Festival a great time, and want to wish the organizers a successful event. I'm enjoying seeing pics tweeted from the event. Enjoy the event, Tyler!

VIDEO: "The Southern Weekend" visits Stanley's

The Southern Weekend made a stop at Stanley's Famous Pit Bar-B-Q (Tyler, TX) and sat down with owner Nick Pencis. Check it out.

Last pics from Stanley's

Last of my pics from my 1st visit to Stanley's:

Rest from the table at Stanley's

Rest of the food pics from my 1st visit to Stanley's:

More from Stanley's

More pics from my 1st visit to Stanley's:

First visit to Stanley's Famous Pit Bar-B-Q (Tyler, TX)

First few pics from my first visit to Stanley's Famous Pit Bar-B-Q (Tyler, TX). On the table: brisket and brisket-&-turkey sandwiches, jalapeño-cheddar sausage, pulled-pork taco, baby-back ribs.

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.

QOTD: What's the best BBQ in the Tyler/Longview area?

Okay, East Texas. We know you love your BBQ. I haven't made my first trek to the Tyler/Longview/Kilgore area, but it's on my to-do list. In the meantime, I'm curious what folks think is the best BBQ joint in the area. Tyler, Longview, Kilgore, Overton, Whitehouse, Gladewater, Hallsville, etc. Whose BBQ is best?

Stanley's, Blue Ribbon, & Franklin on the cutting boards

(Brad's 2nd round of pics from the Super Bowl Media Party in Dallas)

Four of Maxim's "10 Best Temples of 'Cue in the World" are in Texas

Stanley's Famous Pit Bar-B-Q (Tyler, TX), The Church of Holy Smoke (Huntsville, TX), The Salt Lick (Driftwood, TX), and Smitty's Market (Lockhart, TX) are numbers 7-10, respectively, on Maxim magazine's top 10 picks for BBQ, as featured in the latest edition (July 2010, p. 64). (I won't tell you what all else is featured.) FWIW, #4 on the list is the BBQ joint I've eaten at more than any other: Leo & Susie's Famous Green Top Bar-B-Que, about 20 minutes from my hometown of Jasper, Alabama. But I digress.

The list only includes 2 pics, one of which is of a sandwich at Stanley's, which I'm happy to say is an affiliate of The Q Card (Present The Q Card at Stanley's, and you get a 2nd of anything you buy half off!). The snippet for Stanley's describes the sandwich: "Stanley's Famous Pit Bar-B-Q boasts a sandwich called the Brother-in-Law: a butterflied hot link sausage, a slice of cheese, a vinegar-and-molasses sauce, and chopped brisket. Perfect."

KLTV News highlights Nick Pencis (Stanley's Famous Pit BBQ, Tyler, TX)

A couple of folks have emailed me a video that features my buddy Nick Pencis, who owns and operates Stanley's Famous Pit BBQ in Tyler, TX. I met Nick at Gettin' Sauced!, when he showed up with loads of his BBQ sauce, which the video shows him whipping up in the kitchen of Stanley's. The video is about the recent study revealing that BBQ sauce has some healthy qualities (see my post from last week). I love the part where Nick says he'll be filling prescriptions. Might need to come up with some sort of medical/doctor "nick" name. See what I just did there?

Anyway, Nick is great. When I met him, my first thought was "Well, shoot, I'm never gonna be as cool as this guy." We plan to make a road trip to Tyler this summer, to dine at Stanley's and take Nick with us to some other joints in the area. Also, Stanley's might be taking part in a new BBQ-savings program we're gonna roll out during the coming weeks, so stay tuned, and you can save a little money whenever you stop in. In the meantime, dive into some sauce. It's for your own good.