The Smoky Rose opens tomorrow in Dallas

Via Dallas Observer, I learned of a new spot for smoked meat in Dallas (8602 Garland Road): The Smoky Rose. The article includes a press release from the restaurant and the menu. Check it out.

"50 States of BBQ" (Travel Channel)

Travel Channel published its list of the best BBQ in each state. What do you think of the list?

"Inside the smoky altars to Texas’s other religion: Barbecue" (The Washington Post)

Thought you might be interested in this piece from The Washington Post: "Inside the smoky altars of Texas's other religion: Barbecue"

"The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America" (Eater.com)

Via Eater: The 23 Essential Barbecue Dishes in America. Four of the 23 are found in Texas. What do you think of the list?

Eater Austin BBQ poll

It's barbecue week for Eater Austin, and they've posted a poll, asking you to pick your favorite Austin BBQ joint. The choices they list are below. Click here to vote.

What is your favorite Austin barbecue place?

•  Brown's Bar-B-Que
•  Franklin Barbecue
•  Freedmen’s
•  John Mueller Meat Co.
•  Kerlin BBQ
•  La Barbecue
•  Micklethwait Craft Meats
•  Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew
•  Terry Black’s BBQ
•  Valentina’s Tex-Mex BBQ
•  It's not on this list (leave a comment)
•  It’s in Lockhart/elsewhere (leave a comment)

"Top 10 southern barbecue joints in the US" (The Guardian [UK])

It's often nice to read an outside perspective, and I enjoyed reading the one from a Sam Evans and Shauna Guinn, a couple of folks from the UK who made a BBQ trip in the U.S. Check out Top 10 southern barbecue joints in the US. What do you think of their ranking?

"Top 5 Mouthwatering BBQ Joints Across America" (The List)

The List has published Top 5 Mouthwatering BBQ Joints Across America, yet another list of top BBQ joints. Of the 5 on the list, 1 is from Texas. Landing at #1 is Kerlin BBQ (Austin, TX). Check out the list.

"WHERE THE LOCALS EAT BBQ" (Austin CVB)

The Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau has just published WHERE THE LOCALS EAT BBQ. Nine joints made the list. What do you think of the list?

"A Texas Barbecue Road Trip" (Matthew Odam, Austin American-Statesman)

The Austin American-Statesman's Matthew Odam recently embarked on a multi-city BBQ road trip.  He covered more than 1,200 miles in less than a week. And he lived to tell about it. Check it out.

Valentina's makes USA Today's 10Best taco list

USA Today has just published 10Best: Places to get your taco fix on Cinco de Mayo. Two Texas restaurants made the list of 10, and 1 of them is Austin BBQ joint Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ. Check out the list.

"The pitfalls of defining true 'cue" (J.C. Reid, Houston Chronicle)

Our buddy J.C. Reid is a talented writer. He does a fantastic job writing about BBQ for the Houston Chronicle. His piece yesterday explores the issue of poking and prodding at how BBQ proprietors ply their trade. Check it out, & check out his others!

"10 Best Places to Eat Barbecue in Texas" (Better Homes and Gardens)

Another day, another best-BBQ-in-Texas list. This one courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens. What do you think of their 10 choices?

"Best BBQ in the American South" (Huffington Post)

Just saw yet another best-BBQ article. This one on Huffington Post is entitled Best BBQ in the American South. The article begins,

A 2,500-mile, three-week road trip across the American South in search of this vast and varied region's best BBQ turned out to be one of the smartest -- and tastiest -- travel ideas I've ever had. A heaping helping of delectable local culture at every stop was all but ensured alongside the opportunity to enjoy some of the most deeply satisfying meals of my life -- usually presented with warm reception at independent, family-owned establishments.

The journey is chronicled in a series of "BBQ Bound" posts published on my personal blog, tikichris. Have a look at the complete series here:
tikichris.com/category/bbq-bound

But for those preferring to cut to the chase and get to the meat of the matter, listed below are the 25 best BBQ eateries visited during my trip. Each one of these independent and mostly family-owned establishments astounded my palate profoundly with authentic and traditionally made American food.

The Texas joints that made the author's (Chris Osburn) list are as follows:

Franklin (Austin)
Micklethwait (Austin)
Lockhart Smokehouse (Dallas)
Pecan Lodge (Dallas)
Smoke (Dallas)
Salt Lick (Driftwood)

"Central Texas Barbecue" (Drew Thornley, FoodieHub)

FoodieHub just published Central Texas Barbecue, an article I wrote for them about Central Texas Barbecue (Here's their Facebook post about it.). I discuss Texas BBQ, generally, and then say a few words about some of the many popular Austin and Austin-area BBQ joints. Also, this past weekend, I was in London for FoodieHub's Global Awards. A post about it will be on the blog soon.

Thrillist: "11 BBQ SPOTS AROUND AUSTIN THAT ARE WORTH THE ROAD TRIP"

Yesterday, Thrillist posted an article entitled 11 BBQ SPOTS AROUND AUSTIN THAT ARE WORTH THE ROAD TRIP. What do you think of their list?

Thrillist's "The 11 Best BBQ Cities in America"

Another day, another BBQ list! This one from Thrillist: The 11 Best BBQ Cities in America. Two of the 11 on the list are in Texas. Can you guess which 2? They landed at #3 and #1. Check out the full list, and let us know your thoughts!

Jess Pryles on cover of The Weekly Review!

It doesn't get much better than seeing good things happen to your friends. So, I was so pleased to see my friend and favorite Aussie Jess Pryles (who runs the blog Burger Mary) get some love on the cover of The Weekly Review. The article, "Smokin' hot," is about the rise of American-style BBQ in Australia. And no one there knows more about our brand of BBQ than Jess, who splits her time between her native Melbourne and Austin. Congrats, Jess!

Austin American-Statesman: "In barbecue-loving Austin, theft of giant smoker hits a nerve"

Today's Austin American-Statesman has a piece about the recent theft of a smoker in Austin. The article's focus is the visceral reaction many have had to the theft. Why are people so worked up about a smoker theft? Read & find out.

Texans tweet about brisket

From KERA:

Researchers at the University of Arizona combed through 3.5 million tweets from October 2013 to May 2014 to map out the food people had on their mind the most. 

They sorted tweets by the state they were written in, and the verdict: Texans love brisket.

Of course, the study had a bigger purpose: researchers found that food language was a big predictor of each state’s obesity rate, diabetes rate, and political leanings. So states who tweeted more about Mexican or fried food were more likely to have a higher rate of diabetes than the national average, and more Republican states tended to have food-related tweets centered on work and home.

The researchers also found that people in Dallas (and the South in general) love lunch, and eating out on a porch.

Now eating brisket during lunch out on the porch? Sounds like heaven.

(H/T to The Washington Post.) 

"Best BBQ Joints in America" (Huffington Post)

Seems like each day gives us a new "Best BBQ" list. A few days ago, I ran across another one, Best BBQ Joints in America, courtesy of Huffington Post. Putting aside my thoughts on an list that picks spots in California, Illinois, & New England but not my home state of Alabama or other Southeast states like Mississippi, here's the article. On Texas, they write,

Texas

When it comes to barbecue, we're starting big. Whether it's bittersweet with mesquite smoke in West Texas, long-smoked with hickory in East Texas, or served barbacoa-style in that ribbon of land where the south of Texas meets Mexico, the Lone Star State earns its reputation as a barbecue mecca.

Where to Get It: Consistently claiming the top spot on "best of" lists, Franklin Barbecue in Austin has been called "barbecue nirvana" by Serious Eats for its famously tender brisket piled high on wax paper. Lines commonly wrap around the bright-blue¬-painted building by 9 a.m., so get there early and bring reading material--or a lawn chair. Overall, the Texas capital has become something of a barbecue destination, and insiders say John Mueller Meat Co. and Stubb's, with its live indie music, are well worth visits, too. A half hour away in Lockhart, Kreuz Market, serving up sauceless barbecue, has been a favorite for some 75 years, while in Driftwood, locals and tourists crowd The Salt Lick's communal tables under glowing strings of festive lights for brisket and snappy sausages from a circular stone pit.

Elsewhere in the state, Dallas brings us legendarily no-frills Pecan Lodge, where a brisket-and-fried-chicken lunch is best capped off with creamy banana pudding (and a nap). Stanley's Famous Pit Bar-B-Q in Tyler is known for $3 breakfast burritos that make eating barbecue twice in one day a completely reasonable undertaking. And starting at 4:30 every morning way down south in Brownsville,Vera's Backyard Bar-B-Q slings traditional barbacoa wrapped in corn tortillas and topped with mini mountains of fresh salsa. The takeout joint has no website and its location is more than a bit remote, but it comes with a Texas-sized cult following.

Every few years, Texas Monthly rounds up a list of its 50 best barbecue joints (and agrees with us that Franklin is tops). Take a gander and start planning a cross-Texas road trip.